If you’re a baseball fan you identify with two words, Spring Training.
Come March, Major League Baseball organizations gather all of their players in Florida or Arizona to start practicing for the long season ahead. As fans, we attend to see how our teams are shaping up, so the smack talk on who will win the World Series can officially commence. However, there’s another element to this event that involves some serious eating and drinking!
What’s a baseball game without a hot dog? Cotton candy, sunflower seeds, chocolate malts—there’s an emotional trigger one gets from the fare sold at the stadium. Going to a ball game doesn’t always revolve around the sport. It’s about the experience that each individual creates and often food can play a big role in your experience.
My dad and I have been attending Spring Training for five years now and we have our routine nailed down. We eat breakfast before our first game at a place called Big Bear Café right off interstate 10 in Goodyear, AZ. This café brings together authentic diner food with the efficiency of a committed tourist attraction. Once we get to the stadium we grab ourselves a beer and go find our seats. A couple of innings in, the beers get our appetites revved up again and we grab a couple of hot dogs. Happy as can be, and five pounds heavier the game comes to a close.
Ballpark fare hasn’t changed much over the years, and honestly, we don’t want it to. Whether it’s diner, hot dogs or beers the food alone evokes a sense of excitement every spring. Only days away from digging in folks, so get your ball caps on and your bellies ready.
