Hot Dog Alert #28

Another new baseball season, and another new name for the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox play. Frankly, they change names so often I have given up trying to remember what it is called. There was nothing wrong with New Comiskey Park, but that was too practical for the Sox...and there was no money in it. 

While they can't get the name right for their digs, the White Sox never disappoint in the chow line. They change up their hot dog offerings fairly often and keep the selection unique. This year the Sox are offering, among others, the Cutter Dog. It is named after a pitch, but this is one pitch you won't mind if it hits you in the mouth. 

The Cutter starts with a chorizo sausage, then guacamole is serpentined across the top and then sprinkled with tortilla cheese shavings. It is a simple concoction that provides a pungent taste that will please your pie hole. 

If you make it to the White Sox ballpark, try one...and then e-mail me and let me know what they are calling the stadium this week. 

Hot Dog Alert #27

Not only do the Kansas City Royals have one of my favorite ballparks, every season they introduce a new specialty hot dog. My last few visits to Kauffman Stadium have left my tummy full and palate satisfied. This year, KC introduces the Sweet Tooth Lucky Dog. 

The Sweet Tooth Lucky includes a beef frank on a garlic butter toasted New England style bun, sweet baked beans, a maple-pepper bacon blend, chopped onions and yellow mustard. If you have not tried baked beans on a hot dog before, prepare to be pleasantly surprised. 

The Sweet Tooth Lucky is only available that the cleverly named Dog Father hot dog stand in the ballpark. 

Hot Dog Alert #26

It is always a good time at Coors Field in Colorado. How could you not have a blast at a ballpark named after a beer company? Beer makes anything taste good. But this year, the Colorado Rockies don't need a hoppy beverage to help ballpark food taste better, for 2018 marks the year of the Triple Play Dog. 

This meaty beast is a footlong that not only has a juicy frank on it, but is piled high with pulled pork, bacon bits and topped with purple slaw. Purple because it's the Rockies. Get it? If you are non baseball fan, first of all unfriend me, and secondly, purple is a primary color of the Rockies' uniforms. So, purple slaw. Now do you get it?

This dog is considered to be an extreme dog, but I consider a hot dog extreme when I need help eating it. I have a trip planned to Denver this summer to catch the Rockies in action and to down this dog as well, and from the look of it, while it will be a meal, I will have no issue devouring it solo.

No word on price, but nothing is cheap at the ballpark. My advice is use your credit card and don't look at the invoice until the following week to keep the indigestion from flaring up at the stadium. 

Hot Dog Alert #25

Great news! It's baseball season again! Watching the Pirates play in the snow sort of made it a weird start to the season, but it really, finally is here again. What are your plans for this season? Catching any games.

If you do, be sure to stop in Arlington, Texas for the hot dog (sort of) that is this season's talk of the town. It's the Dilly Dog. 

So what is a Dilly Dog? It is a large pickle stuffed with an angus beef hot dog frank and then battered up and deep fried like a corn dog. The Texas Chili Company makes the frank and another Texas firm provides the pickles. They are keeping it local in the metroplex.

It's $10, but that is a small price to pay for eating this year's most talked about monstrosity. And the fans agree. The Rangers sold over 2,500 of them opening week and are having a difficult time keeping up with demand.

Thank you Rangers, who gave us the Boomstick Dog, for keeping baseball concessions....well...interesting. 

Sunrise in the Evening

Earlier this year I reported on the Sunrise Hot Dog served up at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. I never intended to actually try this dog, but as fate would have it I caught a Royals game recently. Know what I had to eat at the ballpark? Yup, the monstrosity that everyone in Kansas City is talking about.

It must be said that the concessions folks at Kauffman are some of the nicest in the business. As for the hot dog, it tasted....well...unique. It reminded me a lot of biscuits and gravy on a bun. I am not a fan of biscuits and gravy, never have been. But a lot of people are, so if you like that breakfast dish, you will probably like this hot dog. It has a Farmland frank, bacon, cheese, gravy and eggs to order. 

I love Kauffman Stadium

I don't think I would order it again, but not because of the overall experience with it. But because it is sold at a hot dog stand on the right field concourse that offers up many other unique dogs that would probably please my tastebuds better than the Sunrise Dog. I do think this meal would be a hit if someplace local would offer it as a breakfast item. Unfortunately, the earliest most games start is noonish.

Here's a marketing idea. The Royals should have a 9 am game a few times a year, and include with each ticket a Sunrise Dog and a cup of coffee. That's a deal worth getting out of bed for. 

Hot Dog Alert #24

The Washington Nationals had a hot dog quandary. Due to their geographical location, they serve fans from several distinct regions. The most prominent being Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. To complicate  matters, each of areas have their taste preferences. Their problem was how does a team serve up a hot dog that satisfies all of those diverse tastes?

Not to be confused with the Department of Motor Vehicles, the DMV Dog caters to the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia fans by creating a confluence of ballpark favorites. It is a double dog (two hotdogs end to end) containing a half-smoke sausage for the frank, Maryland crab and Virginia ham. How is that for a home run of a dog? 

It cost $12 but it WILL be the only thing you eat at the ballpark. Again, the DMV Dog does not stand for "Department of Motor Vehicles." If it did, you would have to stand in the concession line for 2 hours only to be told they were not serving it that day. Fortunately, Nationals Park serves it every game. Get one. 

Unique Ball Park Features

During my ballpark wanderings, I am also asked which stadium I like the most. The absolute 100% truthful answers is PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

But each MLB ballpark has its own charm and something the makes it unique. Rather than bloviate about it here, I made a BuzzFeed post as a guide to the top ten unique ballpark features in Major League Baseball. 

Here is the link. Enjoy.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomlohr/top-ten-most-unique-mlb-ballpark-features-31ob4?utm_term=.xplq1yPMYA#.ox8DyZwxpB