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July 14, 2006
Dodger Stadium and french fries
I'm a fan of the Dodgers and go to my fair share of games. I am not a fan of seeing Carl's Jr., Panda Express and especially California Pizza Kitchen at the stadium though. I thought having Pizza Hut in the stadium was bad. I can't even bring myself to ask what kind of toppings are on a CPK pie at a baseball game. Sliced Farmer John hot dogs and peanuts would be most appropriate but hardly tempting. Then again, there is only one thing on a CPK menu that I find at all edible -- and I certainly wouldn't want to order it at a baseball game.
There is no place for Famous Stars, orange chicken and artichoke pizza at a baseball game. Now that I am bringing my 5-year-old son to games, I am trying to instill a habit of forgoing the fast food and sticking with the traditional staples of our national pastime: hot dogs, Cracker Jack and cotton candy. So far I have been fairly successful, save one thing: french fries.
There are a few places to get french fries at Dodger Stadium. One is at Carl's Jr. Another is at Gordon Biersch. My 5-year-old son has no interest in Gordon Biersch fries, mainly because they are covered in garlic. The pallette of any 5-year-old is extremely senstitive, and my son's is no different. Carl's Jr. fries, on the other hand, are right in his wheelhouse. It's times like this when I feel sorry for my children. (I have a 1-year-old too, but he has only been to two games -- three if you count the one game my wife went to while she was pregnant with him -- and has yet to extend his Dodger Stadium menu past popcorn). My 5-year-old has developed a taste for Carl's Jr. fries and will never know the pleasure of enjoying the old Carl's Jr. fries. They were probably crinkled fried styrofoam for all I know, but they were the most tasty papa ever created. Thank God for Del Taco. They make the closest thing to a Carl's Jr. french fry today. Order cheese fries at Del Taco and experience one of the finest combinations ever created in fast food.
Once again, I digress.
Now I have to try and steer my son away from Carl's Jr. french fries, especially at Dodger Stadium. One way to take Carl's Jr. completely out of the equation is to sit in the pavillion. Actually it's a way to take most of the unneccessary fast food offered at Dodger Stadium out of the equation. As far as I have seen, only CPK is available in the pavillion. Out there we are stuck with Dodger Dogs, peanuts, Cracker Jack and lemonade. And I am OK with that.
This is a disturbing dilemma for me. I am a fan of french fries, but I have a real problem ordering anything from Carl's Jr. at a baseball game. My son has already developed a taste for Carl's Jr. fries at Dodger Stadium and it will probably be some time before he is ready for garlic fries. Lucky for us, we enjoy sitting in the pavillion. And until Dodger Stadium decides to evict Carl's Jr. from its premises, it will be our section of choice.
Now if we can only bring back the Cool-a-Cool back to the stadium...
Posted by Tim Haddock at July 14, 2006 3:33 PM