First and foremost I must mention that this book is being independently published and that all the royalties from the purchase of this book are being donated directly to the Second Harvest Food Band of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties of California. This book is available for purchase on amazon.
Lately ball park food is more than just the hot dog. This book explores not only hot dogs but your peanuts and cracker jacks, the new food era and even concludes with a culinary tour of Major League Ballparks.
I didn’t realize that the original 1908 version of take me out to the ballgame was written about a girl named Katie Casey! In 1927 it was changed to Nelly Kelly. Interesting stuff. There’s even a chapter on the official Cheese Doodle of the New York Mets!
Now that I’ve taken a virtual tour of all the ballpark’s food offerings – I think I know where I should be going for my next few games! (Atlanta for Waffle House and Cinnamon Glazed Pecans, Boston for a Whoopie Pie, Chicago Cubs for a Brownie, Chicago Whitesox for Mac & Cheese Bites and a Strawberry Churro, Cincinnati for a waffle bowl sundae, Cleveland for Fried Cookie Dough, Colorado for Loaded Tater Tots, Detroit for a bacon burger, Kansas City for some BBQ, Philly for a Cheesesteak, Seattle for a fried twinkie, & Toronto for poutine!)
It might be in your best interest to have dinner before checking out this book – but as the author says – you’ll be able to tour 30 ballparks and not gain a pound!
Loved this book and it was an interesting look at some baseball history!
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.
About the Book
Baseball is a game that is identified with food. We even sing about it at every ballpark during the seventh inning stretch: “….buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack…” The famous song was written by Jack Norworth in 1908.
From the early part of the twentieth century until the 1980s, classic baseball fare consisted mostly of hot dogs, ice cream, peanuts, and Cracker Jack. Then ballparks slowly began to sell new items. A proliferation of new food offerings during the 1990s was fueled by the opening of twelve new major league ballparks.
Now, teams around the country sell a variety of exotic food as well as wide variety of hot dogs.
The Joy of Ballpark Food: From Hot Dogs to Haute Cuisine begins with the history of the first hot dog at a ball game and concludes with a culinary tour of all 30 major league ballparks.