Eating at Nationals Park

[TedE]

This is a definite worry. If InBev is specifically in control of the Red Porch, I think the variety on the taps (and the Friday firkins) is under threat.

Well, it was technically MillerCoors previously, unless this new InBev branding agreement is wider in scope as it pertains to the taps throughout the ballpark.  I guess we'll find out which multi-national conglomerate is more evil on Opening Day!

It should be noted that InBev's Goose Island still has a quasi-independent arm of their operations producing barrel series, etc., but hopes that any of them make an appearance at the ballpark are slim.  I'm sure we'll just see their Sam Adams clones.

[TedE]

I hear the Red Porch is gone and it is being changed to the Budweiser Brew House.  Whether it will exclusively have Budweiser-branded beer is another question.  

Ugh, I glossed over that.  Yeah, it's going to be InBev exclusively.  There were some really great local options at the Red Porch; more critical now that they don't nix the District Drafts stands.

[Bart]

I hear the Red Porch is gone and it is being changed to the Budweiser Brew House.  Whether it will exclusively have Budweiser-branded beer is another question.

Not even commenting on the possible change in beer available, this name change sucks.

[Pat]

Not even commenting on the possible change in beer available, this name change sucks.

I agree. They didn't need to change the name.  I daresay it will be obvious who is running it without an advertisement in the name of the place.

[JSnake]

I hear the Red Porch is gone and it is being changed to the Budweiser Brew House. Whether it will exclusively have Budweiser-branded beer is another question.

You know, people keep telling me about the existence of Budweiser beer but all I've ever found is their bottled water.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Is there a chance they will upgrade the horrible food options?

[Kev29]

Is there a chance they will upgrade the horrible food options?

All over the Park or just in the Red Porch/Brewhouse?

[Lydia R]

After the Terrance social media storm last fall, there won't be much insider news trickling out about changes. 

 

Official news is so scarce, Rebecca Cooper's article in the Washington Business Journal quotes Twitter posts and Atlas' Justin Cox optimistic thoughts about his offerings. Unfortunately, his 1500 brew was not offered at District Drafts, but at a few of the food stands. 

 

Let the front office know if you want to keep craft offerings available in whatever the Red Porch is called - contact the Nationals via their FB page or "contact us" tab on their Nationals.com website. Please don't let a memory of this May 2013 offering fade into mass market sameness.

 

I guess we'll find out which multi-national conglomerate is more evil on Opening Day!

Their evil will be cloaked because their Trojan Clydesdales will be in attendance on Opening Day!

[Lydia R]

From Scott Allen in yesterday's WaPo Sports Blog:

"Anheuser-Busch will be our promotional partner in the park for 2016 and beyond," said Camillo, who explained that the new partnership "” a switch from MillerCoors, the team's primary beer partner since 2005 "” is exclusive from a marketing perspective. In other words, Anheuser-Busch is the only beer company permitted to advertise in Nationals Park, but beers from outside the Anheuser-Busch InBev portfolio will continue to be sold. Yes, that includes the rotating selection of craft beers at Nationals Park's four District Drafts stands. They'll be back this season.

"There will be craft beer," Camillo said. "It's not going to have an impact on our ability to serve craft beer or local beers."

Another thing that won't change at Nationals Park in 2016: beer prices. (The cheapest beer per ounce at Nationals Park was around the MLB average last season.)

Levy Restaurants handles the pour rights for the Nationals and is responsible for determining the allocation of beer at Nationals Park. A Levy Restaurants spokesman said that the beer list for 2016 is still being finalized, but confirmed that MillerCoors products will continue to be sold at Nationals Park.

OK, let's play ball!

[jandres374]

Haute Dogs and Fries and Pinch Dumplings are two new local eateries being added this season.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/top-shelf/2016/03/two-local-restaurants-to-play-ball-at-nationals.html?ana=twt

[Kev29]

From Scott Allen in yesterday's WaPo Sports Blog:

OK, let's play ball!

Too bad the link to the Clydesdales on Capitol Hill in my previous post is broken:

http://anheuser-busch.com/includes/images/lb-clydesdales/images/028.jpg

I think the only thing not specifically covered in Allen's summary of changes is what's going to happen to the beer offerings inside the Red Porch (now Budweiser Brewhouse). Red Porch has/had about a dozen independent craft offerings (Flying Dog, Heavy Seas, Dogfish, many others) -- I'd be amazed if those stay inside a "Budwesier Brewhouse" -- some Goose Island taps at best.

[ktmoomau]

I think the only thing not specifically covered in Allen's summary of changes is what's going to happen to the beer offerings inside the Red Porch (now Budweiser Brewhouse). Red Porch has/had about a dozen independent craft offerings (Flying Dog, Heavy Seas, Dogfish, many others) -- I'd be amazed if those stay inside a "Budwesier Brewhouse" -- some Goose Island taps at best.

Maybe Starr Hill?  Aren't they owned by them now? (Nevermind looks like that ended a few years ago.)

[TedE]

I think the only thing not specifically covered in Allen's summary of changes is what's going to happen to the beer offerings inside the Red Porch (now Budweiser Brewhouse). Red Porch has/had about a dozen independent craft offerings (Flying Dog, Heavy Seas, Dogfish, many others) -- I'd be amazed if those stay inside a "Budwesier Brewhouse" -- some Goose Island taps at best.

And the almost certain death of Firkin Fridays

[Deac]

More Mike Isabella:

Kapnos at the Park is the latest variation of Isabella's Greek restaurant, which also includes spinoffs Kapnos Tavern in Arlington and Kapnos Kouzina in Bethesda. This Kapnos will center around Greek gyros stuffed with marinated lamb, falafel, fried chicken, or chili-roasted steak. Sides will include hummus, tzatziki, and fried potatoes with aleppo pepper and "Greek island sauce." A watermelon lemonade cocktail will be available on draft.

The second ballpark venture is something new for the chef and restaurateur: a Southern-style fried chicken and St. Louis-style ribs joint called Catchfly Kitchen. Named after a flower found in the South (and the obvious baseball reference), Catchfly will also serve popcorn chicken, fried pickles, and banana pudding and pour draft mint juleps.

They'll be side-by-side by section 301

[ktmoomau]

Am I correct that Haute Dogs is also replacing Hard Times?

[Kev29]

Am I correct that Haute Dogs is also replacing Hard Times?

Correct. The always informative JDLand has it covered -- in the comments

http://www.jdland.com/dc/index.cfm/4360/Whats-New-at-Nats-Park-for-2016#comment13343

[DanielK]

One of the local microbrewers (nanobrewer, really) being added to Nats Park is Old Ox, which was founded and is run by an ex-colleague of mine.

[JBag57]

Sorry to say this, but the inclusion of Old Ox in the District Drafts rotation is a downgrade.

[Lydia R]

Today is the 2016 home opener for the Washington Nationals. Rain is falling and a delay or postponement is distinctly possible. The two exposition games last Friday and Saturday gave fans a first look at the food and beverage changes briefed at February's Hot Stove event.

I'll let Bill DeBaun, DC Beer, lead-off with his thoughts on the change-up from Miller/Coors to Budweiser/InBev (ABI).

Given the above, it might surprise you to hear that you can actually take in a baseball game without losing yourself in the politics of beer. The Nats will hopefully play more than 81 games in their home confines this year on their way to the postseason success that has eluded them in their first decade. Regardless of who has branded the terrace...restaurant...loft...staircase...emergency exit...happy hour...and so forth, it's encouraging that even with a new sheriff in town the option for consumers to choose local, craft beer remains intact.

I was pleasantly surprised to see familiar faces and taps at District Drafts. There were similar offerings at their stands at sections 117 and 139.

Similar independents were on the far end of the Red Porch's tap line. The Three Stars (peppercorn saison), Atlas (Rowdy Rye), Flying Dog (blood orange ale), and Port City were also available at the various District Draft stands. The Elysian (pineapple habanero sour) is probably an acquired taste. The remaining taps were ABI: Goose Island (goose ipa, 312 wheat), Shock Top (lemon shandy & Belgian white), Stella Artois (beer & cidre), Blue Point (toasted lager), Elysian, Bud, and Bud Light.

Sadly, the in-stand vendors had 100% compliant ABI offerings (Bud, Bud Light, Stella, Stella Cidre, Shock Top, etc.). I'll miss the Heineken and Flying Dog. Maybe their offerings will evolve during the season. The exclusively Nationals Atlas 1500 draft  was missing from last season's tap at G-sandwiches, maybe its tap is somewhere else.

The Haute Dogs stand is near section 106's The Fan booth (not serving funnel cakes, yet) and in the old Hard Times location. Their menu leads with hot dog concoctions, but the lamb sliders and tots will be the first things I order:

If you have a spare hour, maybe during a rain delay, I recommend listening to NPR Latino USA's podcast with host Maria Hinojosa and producer Michael Simon Johnson detailing "the past, present and future of baseball. From how Latino players bent the rules of the color line to why Dominican fans started showing up at Boston's notoriously white Fenway Park." (I'll miss you Big Papi)

[Kev29]

Great post, Lydia. Definitely Port City Porter weather today.

Anyone know what the Heineken Bar by mezzanine section 205 has turned in to? (edit: answer to my own question below...)

Heineken Star Bar is now the Shock Top Bar (via CBS Local)

[Bob Wells]

Sorry to say this, but the inclusion of Old Ox in the District Drafts rotation is a downgrade.

Would love to see the reasoning behind this post, especially as it followed a post from someone with a connection to the brewery.

[TedE]

Sadly, the in-stand vendors had 100% compliant ABI offerings (Bud, Bud Light, Stella, Stella Cidre, Shock Top, etc.). I'll miss the Heineken and Flying Dog. 

We found at least one roaming vendor in the 300s who had Flying Dog cans, so they are still out there somewhere.

Sadly, I'm going to agree with the comment on Old Ox; I think there are better local offerings.  They seem to have knocked 3 Stars from the District Drafts stand outside 309.  Breweries rotated somewhat in years past, so maybe they'll be back at some point.

[DanielK]

Would love to see the reasoning behind this post, especially as it followed a post from someone with a connection to the brewery.

Just FYI - I've only ever tried two of Old Ox's beers, which were good but not spectacular. I just happen to know the guy who started it, which I threw out because I thought it's kinda cool that my friend has a tap at Nats Park. 

[Lydia R]

Sadly, the in-stand vendors had 100% compliant ABI offerings (Bud, Bud Light, Stella, Stella Cidre, Shock Top, etc.). I'll miss the Heineken and Flying Dog. Maybe their offerings will evolve during the season. 

We found at least one roaming vendor in the 300s who had Flying Dog cans, so they are still out there somewhere.

Yesterday, in-stand vendors in the lower bowl had orange/peach cans of Flying Dog Snake Dog (7.1 ABV) too. But, for me, it was a Port City Porter kind of day (it won't be in July).

The 14-minute condensed game video pretty much skips over the 85-minute rain delay between the top & bottom of the second inning. Oh, and Bryce hit his 99th MLB homer in the 7th.

[Pat]

Are we going to have fully-equipped St. Bernards in the stands tomorrow?  I'm really regretting these tickets.  Rain, snow, and 50+ mph winds.  Oh, yeah.  I'm so down with this...

[Kev29]

Are we going to have fully-equipped St. Bernards in the stands tomorrow?  I'm really regretting these tickets.  Rain, snow, and 50+ mph winds.  Oh, yeah.  I'm so down with this...

Well now you have some rain checks for a warm Summer day

[Marty L.]

That ol' pastime standby, Babka 'n' Ice Cream.  Color me dubious, but I suppose I'll try it . . . 

[Lydia R]

Today the Red Porch has (left to right) Blue Point (blueberry ale), Kona (big wave golden ale), Elysian (blood orange pale), Goose (4-star pils, ipa, 312 urban wheat), Shock Top (lemon shandy, belgian white), Stella (beer, cidre), Blue Point (toasted lager), Elysian (pineapple habanero sour), Blue Point (nitro stout), and bud light. There was also a huge Bud Signature tap with a Farenheit temperature display (31F) in its own Buick-looking parking space off the line. The Three Stars, Atlas, Flying Dog, and Port City taps from the exposition game days have been taken over.

The dedicated eCash line at Shake Shack is at the left-most register when facing their bay of registers. During previous games this season, their crew would have benefitted greatly from a road trip visit by the Shake Shack NYC-based management team. Maybe they're on-site today.

If not reported upthread, the relocated tacqueria is now at section 233.

[Pat]

My husband wanted a sandwich yesterday, so I set off in search of something he would like.  After going halfway around the park, I decided a sandwich from G was going to exceed by far anything else I had passed.  I got him an Italian hero, which he had liked before.  He liked it again.  I stole a couple of bites, and it was very good. We also had a couple of Atlas Home Rule drafts from District Drafts.  That's not a whole lot to eat and drink for $34.25, but at least it was high quality   

[Mississippi Snopes]

Max's Kosher Deli, whose turkey/lamb shawarma was by far my favorite food at Nats Park, is not on the online listing of the 2016 food vendors on the Nats website. Has anyone walked by there to see if they're really gone?

If so, it's a huge loss. 

[Lydia R]

On April 24, 2016 at 6:18 PM, Mississippi Snopes said:

Max's Kosher Deli, whose turkey/lamb shawarma was by far my favorite food at Nats Park, is not on the online listing of the 2016 food vendors on the Nats website. Has anyone walked by there to see if they're really gone?

If so, it's a huge loss. 

Max's cart was moved closer to the escalator. It'll reopen after Pesach.

[Josh]

7 minutes ago, Lydia R said:

Max's cart was moved closer to the escalator. It'll reopen after Pesach.

Thank god! It would've been such a loss.

[Mississippi Snopes]

Lydia - Thanks for the great news. Made my evening. 

 

[rockcreek]

Been to the park twice so far this season. 

During the first trip, Blue Smoke was roundly disappointing - they too have added mac n cheese (in something like a mac and bbq sandwich), but failed to anticipate the demand, so they were sold out when they sold it to me, but didn't mention it until after a half-inning had passed. So I got some other platter, pulled sauce-drowned dried-out jerky-tasting something, that came with a dry biscuit and some weird cheese thing that had a hair in it. In a weird way, it saved me from calories I didn't need so ... thanks?

The next time, the older son wanted mac n cheese, so we got it from Virginia Biscuit Co. (There's now one on the 300 level.) Not bad, all things considered. One of my friends got a ham biscuit, which was ... fine, the ham had a nice saltiness to it, but the biscuit was really dry.

We like to sit in the 300s behind home plate, so we're relatively easy reach of Kapnos at the Bat (or whatever) and Pinch Dumplings, so that might it for me before I start smuggling more food in.

[DonRocks]

13 minutes ago, rockcreek said:

The next time, the older son wanted mac n cheese, so we got it from Virginia Biscuit Co. (There's now one on the 300 level.) Not bad, all things considered. One of my friends got a ham biscuit, which was ... fine, the ham had a nice saltiness to it, but the biscuit was really dry.

Is this actually called "Virginia Biscuit Co.," or is it "Virginia Country Kitchen?" I read that they changed the name last year (thanks for the update, btw).

[rockcreek]

1 minute ago, DonRocks said:

Is this actually called "Virginia Biscuit Co.," or is it "Virginia Country Kitchen?" I read that they changed the name last year. (Thanks for the update, btw.)

You know, I wasn't paying that much attention, but it's probably "Virginia Country Kitchen." When I go to the ballpark, usually one or both conditions are in effect:

• I am herding young children
• I am drunk

FWIW, it's much easier now that they have a working knowledge of SmarTrip, and can read maps. I LOVE BASEBALL!

[Bob Wells]

I'm going to the Nats-Marlins game on 5/15 with my kid and a few thousand other Little Leaguers. Looking forward to trying some of these offerings.

[Kev29]

21 hours ago, rockcreek said:

before I start smuggling more food in.

No need to smuggle, you're allowed to bring food in. 

Outside Food and Beverage Policy at Nationals Park

[rockcreek]

2 hours ago, Kev29 said:

No need to smuggle, you're allowed to bring food in. 

Outside Food and Beverage Policy at Nationals Park

Huh. Well how about that!

We're headed up to Oriole Park tonight, so I'll check in there and see what's up. 

[Lydia R]

On April 7, 2016 at 10:52 AM, Lydia R said:

The Haute Dogs stand is near section 106's The Fan booth (not serving funnel cakes, yet) and in the old Hard Times location. Their menu leads with hot dog concoctions, but the lamb sliders and tots will be the first things I order:

I have a new favorite!

While the dumplings at Pinch (at sec 302) are fresh and well-seasoned, plan to eat them at the nearby picnic tables because they do lose something when they travel (at least in the cold weather we have now). Pinch is much better run than the Isabella stands across the concourse. At a recent promotion for STH, the Isabella staff flunked line management; so I bailed. 

I've now had Haute Dog's tots with chili and their lamb sliders. The tots are hot & crispy and their chili beats Ben's* by a mile. My new favorite park food is the lamb sliders ($13 for two bigger than slider sandwiches) with juicy, griddled-to-order lamb patties, mint, diced onion, tomato, and savory seasonings. Because each is made-to-order, the sliders take six minutes to prepare and the freshness screams. 

Thank you, Morgan, for your kindness. I was your last customer yesterday.

At the previously known as Red Porch, the best of their all ABI line-up is (the recently ABI-acquired) Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager. Ole!

* Edit to add: before tonight's game, Dusty Baker escorted Viginia Ali to Home Plate so she could deliver the line-up card to the umpires. Guess he's a fan. Also, consider skipping the cheez sauce on the tots...

[saf]

On May 6, 2016 at 4:11 PM, rockcreek said:

 before I start smuggling more food in.

But you don't have to smuggle. They let you bring in food. We do it all the time.

[saf]

On May 7, 2016 at 11:13 AM, rockcreek said:

We're headed up to Oriole Park tonight, so I'll check in there and see what's up. 

They let you bring in food too - used to do it all the time.

[DanielK]

Sidebar: RFK does NOT let you bring in food or water.

[Bob Wells]

Here's a quick report from yesterday. We were in section 237 so we ate on that concourse.

I started with the garlic frites from Box Frites. Pretty tasty but a poor value for $9.50.

The kid got vanilla gelato from the gelato stand. He reported it was VG.

For the maine course we hit Shake Shack. The line moved pretty quickly. The kid got a Double Shackburger and a vanilla shake. Both quite good. I got to have about a third of the burger and 1/4 of the shake. Shake is really rich, delicious. And that is a tasty burger! I got a 'shroomburger, which is a single patty toppped with a fried portobello. I liked it a lot but I think next time I would go for the classic shackburger or the highly touted Smokeshack.

[saf]

23 hours ago, DanielK said:

Sidebar: RFK does NOT let you bring in food or water.

That may be team- dependent. When the Nats were there, it was allowed.

[DanielK]

27 minutes ago, saf said:

That may be team- dependent. When the Nats were there, it was allowed.

RFK might change their policies, and perhaps the Nats leaned on them for different rules, but United has no say in RFK policies.

This one is great - you can buy a horn or an umbrella at the stadium from the United team store, but RFK security won't let you bring either in through the gates.

[rockcreek]

2 hours ago, DanielK said:

RFK might change their policies, and perhaps the Nats leaned on them for different rules, but United has no say in RFK policies.

This one is great - you can buy a horn or an umbrella at the stadium from the United team store, but RFK security won't let you bring either in through the gates.

I don't think it's team dependent - I was at the horror show that was the 4th of July Foo Fighters concert. Events DC did all these things within 2 hours of the gate opening:

- didn't take credit cards
- didn't tell anyone they didn't take credit cards
- didn't check to see if the ATMs were working. (They weren't)
- ran out of water. On July 4th. JULY FOURTH. SUMMER. AROUND HERE.
- ran out of food
- ran out of beer 
- ran out of soda

Events DC's management of the event was so spectacularly incompetent that I suspect the new stadium is a partial apology to the team for the awful treatment they've had to endure while being tenants at RFK. Those guys can go eat a bag and all deserve to be fired. 

[Pat]

8 hours ago, rockcreek said:

Our original plan was to park by the University Medical Center, walk past the Potbelly, grab sandwiches and go. That didn't happen. ¯\_(í

[rockcreek]

On 5/17/2016 at 8:27 AM, Pat said:

We were in 314 on Saturday and my husband walked down the concourse a bit and got an Isabella lamb gyro that was pretty good. (I got a few bites.) He had no complaints about the service (re: the comment farther above). They had Stella on tap, so we split that too.  

Clarification: my above reference is to Oriole Park at Camden Yards. [Moved] (Yes, there's real food on the 300 level at Nats Park. Still figuring out our next getaway.)

Sorry for the confusion!

[Kev29]

11 hours ago, DanielK said:

RFK might change their policies, and perhaps the Nats leaned on them for different rules, but United has no say in RFK policies.

This one is great - you can buy a horn or an umbrella at the stadium from the United team store, but RFK security won't let you bring either in through the gates.

IIRC, the Nats actually started their policy of allowing food in to games at RFK (with permission from DC Events) because the facilities there couldn't possibly feed a baseball audience in the present day. Then that policy carried over to Nats Park when it opened.