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Eating at RFK Stadium


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As an 81-game Nationals season ticket holder, I was very much looking forward to this past weekend's "Paint the town Red" promotion for the Cubs series, as designed by the new owners, the Lerner Family and team president Stan Kasten.

Since the stadium is 45 years old, owned by the district, and due to be vacated by the Nationals in 21 months, there wasn't a whole lot that the new owners could do to improve the fan experience there but the highlight is definitely the new Terrace Food Court, occupying the formerly vacant space that was the Capitol View Terrace.

I didn't have take the time to visit it on Friday night, and I had to work on Saturday, but today I finally wandered up there and I was very favorably impressed.

There were serveral new and interesting dining choices, but I settled on the Hard Times Café stand, where I puchased a chili cheese dog and some nachos with chili and a 32 oz. cup of iced sweet tea. They were, in my mind, delicious. Not cheap, though - I paid $19.50 for those three items, but they were very satisfying and filling and a real nice change from the grilled hot dog or sausage that I usually get.

I am usually a purist, just wanting to get the best hot dog that I can, along with some ketchup, mustard and relish, but I think that I'll spend the next several games trying out all of the diffferent food offerings.

I saw what looked like a nice crab cake platter, and some Texas barbecue. Prior to this weekend there has been Red, Hot & Blue barbecue available on the 300 level in far left field. They offer a pulled-pork or beef barbecue sandwich and a platter (which includes baked beans and coleslaw) for around $10-11. Pretty decent stuff.

Here's a more thorough account, from the Nationals website:

(Nationals vice president of communications Chartese) Burnett and Greg Costa, Aramark general manager at RFK, led the media group past the old food stands and through the concourse of the park, hitting the high points of what changes the Nationals hope will increase fan involvement and improve the fan experience at home games.

Starting Friday, there will be a new Red Hot and Blue stand, along with a Papa John's Pizza stand, on the 500 level. On the 200 level, a new Glatt Kosher stand will appear on the third-base side. That will open Sunday.

On the whole, 100 new concession points of sale will open for permanent use at RFK. But the largest single change is on the mezzanine level of the stadium, where the Terrace View Food Court will open. It will feature five new vendors from the D.C. area, including: Capital Q, ARs, Cluck University Chicken, Cantina Marina and Hard Times Cafe.

The five vendors were chosen from a pool of 25, and even with construction noise in the background as the tour was ongoing, Costa said they will be ready for Friday's game.

"It's a work in progress," Costa said. "There are still some TVs and things like that to go out here, but we'll be ready tomorrow."

Costa said that he had heard some criticism regarding the ballpark last year and believes that the Lerner Group and Aramark are headed in the right direction.

"I think the criticism has been reduced dramatically this year over last year," Costa said. "With that being said, there was a call for adding additional variety. Again we started the beginning of the year with Red Hot and Blue and Papa John's, and this is building upon that foundation."

I'd had the Papa John's pizza there before, and it is well-prepared and tastes just as you'd get it if it were delivered to your home. The grilled hotdogs and grilled sausages are tasty, though I've heard a few complains about what I think must be the "regular" hot dogs at the main concession stands ("Super dogs", I think that they are called) but I've never had a problem with them.

All this work is no small consideration, as I've heard many angry attendees say that Aramark ought to be dumped in favor of another food company, and that their employees were surly and not helpful.

The Post's Thomas Boswell even had this to report:

Last month, Mark Lerner joked that the family's goal was to scrub the park and "try to make sure that you can get two hot dogs that are the same color.".... Food at the new Food Court was first rate by ballpark standards. Five minutes before game time, there was no wait for a beer or margarita on that scenic Food Court concourse. Lines at nearby food stands were only a few minutes long.

In another column recently, he reported:

If you are one of about 110,000 people who are expected to attend the Nationals' "grand reopening" at RFK Stadium for their three-game series against the Cubs this weekend, try to focus on the new cuisine at the stadium -- crab cakes, "riblets," chili, kosher knishes, burritos, stuffed potatoes, beef brisket, fresh popcorn and microbrews. The "Texas sausage" is nice.......Try the new catfish platter on the 200 level, it's not bad.

Team president Stan Kasten was, as one would expect, effusive about the new food offerings, telling MLB.com's Bill Ladson the following:

I have to tell you, I just had lunch at our new food court, which was not good, not great, it was spectacular. Someone had a brisket sandwich from the Capital Q and immediately declared that you couldn't get a better brisket sandwich anywhere in the city. I don't know what was my favorite. The chili, which was outstanding, the fish and chips, the chicken wings, french fries. It was sensational, and everyone is going to love it.

So what have YOU had at R.F.K.? Did you enjoy it or not? What foods are hits, which are misses and what would you suggest that they offer instead?

Also, let's here from the Camden Yards folks and fans who've attended games at other major league ballparks - what do they have that you wish that we had?

(Moderators, if you like, feel free to expand this into a thread about stadium food in general, at FedEx, the Verizon Center, et. al.)

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So what have YOU had at R.F.K.? Did you enjoy it or not?

I have three words for you:

PLASTIC CHEESE NACHOS.

Did I enjoy them?

They are the only reason that I attend sporting events (unless it's hockey season).

I have found that at RFK, the higher up you go, the better the food is.

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The game looks better higher up, too.

When we attended the pre-season exhibition game against the Orioles, my husband missed more than a full inning waiting in a concession line. The quality of the food was acceptable (basic ballpark food), but that wait was not. How speedy is service now?

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Most games I go to I end up at Dominc's for a Sausage. I've been very impressed everytime. I had the pulled BBQ from Red, Hot, and Blue the last time I went and wasn't impressed at all as I thought it was very dry.

I'm with you, the Dominic's sausages and grilled dogs are good. The RH&B bbq is okay, but it does require a lot of sauce.

Perrik, to answer your question, it really depends upon where you buy food and at what point of game day you do it. If you're buying food less than, say, 20 minutes before the first pitch, expect some lines.

I had NO line when I bought a grilled hot dog on July 4th right near first pitch, but I was also down by Gate F and the weather was swealtering, so some folks didn't seem to want hot food. I find that, the closer you are to the Main Gate or Gate A, it's generally more crowded.

The upper decks to me usually mean more limited beer selection, I haven't considered the fod options, but it does seem to me that the team is really making a solid effort to improve whatever they can as quickly as they can. I definitely see a committment to quality. I predict that eventually our stadium food will be considered the best in baseball.

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I'll tell you what Katsen needs to do: He needs to remove Schweaty Beer Guy from the stands. Seriously. There's an absolutely disgusting plus-sized beer vendor who works at RFK, and the guy is flat-out gross. He sweats on patrons, he sweats on the beer bottles, he holds money in his mouth (uh, no thanks - keep the change). He probably scares little children. I know he scares me. I'm glad he's losing a few pounds during every game, but I wish he'd do it in private rather than in plainview. Really ruins my appetite for baseball and just about everything else. (I once saw the same guy at a Dylan-Willie Nelson show in Bowie, and it was the same sweaty drill. Ewwwwww.)

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Up until this year Camden had a place named after the Butcher's Hill neighberhood on the first base side right on the corner of the Eutaw street concourse. They had like 5-6 different types of dogs and sausages. Every game I use to walk right past the huge lines at Boogs and head straight for that place but this year it is just a Boardwalk fries stand. I was so bummed. That place was great, really good brats. Now they just have italian sausages, which aren't bad, at all the regular grill stations. I could down a dozen fish tacos in a sitting at PETCO park. I was not impressed with Pimante Bros. at PNC despite all the talk.

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When we attended the pre-season exhibition game against the Orioles, my husband missed more than a full inning waiting in a concession line. The quality of the food was acceptable (basic ballpark food), but that wait was not. How speedy is service now?

Only an inning? That's still up from last season, when it took me THREE inningsat each of two games to get a dog.

I'm a purist--stick with the (Dominic's) dog and peanuts--but was happy to finally find the Guinness stand there in the high-rollers' section behind home plate. I suppose they think the unscrubbed masses in the upper deck can only afford Michelob?

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I was not impressed with Pimante Bros. at PNC despite all the talk.
Primanti's -- It's best thought of as the Pittsburgh version of Ben's Chili Bowl -- the story is more important than the food. It's also somewhat of an acquired taste.
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I prefer my RFK old and smoke bomb stinky...I can't wait for the Nationals to leave and we get our soccer stadium back...DC United fans will understand.

Sorry grumpy this morning...the only food I've ever eaten at RFK are the peanuts, prepackage, less risk of getting food poisoning...and paying too much for crap beer...but at least I get to run a tab with Bill the Beerman.

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I pigeonholed Adrian Fenty one day while he was walking the streets of Capitol Hill, he promised me a stadium for DC United, not that I'm counting on that. Apparently he is a DCU fan and his campaign manager (or some other higher up) has season tickets behind the supporter sections.

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I was at the game yesterday and there are definitely a lot more concessions open all over the place. I did a lap in the new Terrace Court and saw Cluck U Fried Chicken, some type of crabcake platter, Hard Times Cafe (my bro had a chili dog that he said was big, good and juicy around $7+), Capital Q BBQ (beef brisket and pulled pork) and in the center was a beer stand.

I opted to check out the Kosher Sports concession behind Section 220. They had hot dogs, italian sausage, big pretzels, peanuts and bottled beer. Sadly none of the meat is grilled, but the hot dog I had was good, better than the regular Superdog and only 75 cents more ($4.75). Except for the meat products, the rest of the food is the same as you'd get at any of the other stands.

I was thinking next time about going to Capital Q for beef brisket. Anyone tried it? How does it compare to Red Hot and Blue's beef?

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last year, i spent half a game trying to locate the grill that was selling chorizo. . .eventually found it.

as for other stadiums- pierogies from pnc (btw, the pnc primanti bros is nothing close to getting one from the restaurant, in much the same way as getting ivar's at safeco is not the same as actually going to ivar's). brats from miller park (if i remember, miller is considered to have the best stadium food in baseball, plus they have the lowest prices).

but. . what i love most is when the stadium offers up its local (cheap) beer. wrigley sells old style, pnc sells iron city. . .i would love camden to sell natty-boh, or even rfk (after all, natty-boh was an big senators sponsor). heck, even busch used to sell allllll the busch varieties.

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"I'll tell you what Katsen needs to do: He needs to remove Schweaty Beer Guy from the stands."

We saw Schweaty Beer Guy on Friday night at the game! We were contemplating buying a Bud Light until we saw the sweat fall from his visor in to an open beer bottle. Part of me was disgusted and part of me wonders would sweat alter the taste of Bud Light. Oh Schweaty....

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. . .i would love camden to sell natty-boh

Sometimes dreams really do come true. National Bohemian, although it is no longer from the Land of Pleasant Living, is available at Camden Yards this season.

My food strategy at games is simple but it does require a bit of prep. I bring in food from the outside. And, more importantly, I bring a "bar in a bag." It involves a messenger style bag with lots of separate compartments, one water bottle filled with gin and another with tonic, plastic cups, ice and lime slices. It works because they allow you to bring in your own water at Camden Yards (without checking to see if the seal has been broken) -- something that a surprising number of parks don't allow.

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Sometimes dreams really do come true. National Bohemian, although it is no longer from the Land of Pleasant Living, is available at Camden Yards this season.
Alternatively, you can pound a sixer of natty-boh (at USD 2.00/each) at one of the bars across the street (Sliders?) and arrive appropriately sloshed/slouched/surly.
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Well, last night after the Nats jumped way ahead of the Giants, I went back to the Hard Times stand and I enjoyed the Chili Mac (5-ways) with cornbread, and another 32 oz. sweet tea.

Not only was it delicious, it was filling and a really nice change from yet another hot dog or grilled sausage.

I also confess that I'm developing a taste for that sweet tea. I enjoy iced tea and it's nice to have some over the souveir Sierra Mists that I usually get. (I have about a hundred of those plaastic cups, I think)

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Well, last night after the Nats jumped way ahead of the Giants, I went back to the Hard Times stand and I enjoyed the Chili Mac (5-ways) with cornbread, and another 32 oz. sweet tea.

Not only was it delicious, it was filling and a really nice change from yet another hot dog or grilled sausage.

I also confess that I'm developing a taste for that sweet tea. I enjoy iced tea and it's nice to have some over the souveir Sierra Mists that I usually get. (I have about a hundred of those plaastic cups, I think)

Before the game, I hit the Hard Times stand for the chili nachos. I think that they were around $8.50, which wasn't too bad a deal for the ball park. I'm actually not that big a fan of their chili; too much cinnamon(?), but these really hit the spot. The nicely minced onion and jalapenos that you can add yourself are pretty nice, too.

I love cluck-U, but I can't imagine eating buffalo wings at the ballpark. My shirt would be red before the first pitch.

Does anyone know where you can get the knishes? I didn't see them in the food court terrace.

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was happy to finally find the Guinness stand there in the high-rollers' section behind home plate. I suppose they think the unscrubbed masses in the upper deck can only afford Michelob?

I was very happy to see the Guinness stand as well the last time I was at a game. My GF's company has season tickets behind home plate in the 300 level and it was only a couple sections over to the Guinness stand. Made the game much more fun to watch, especially considering they lost something like 18-7.

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The Kosher stand, and its knishes, is (I believe) located at/near section 220.

Thanks,

Kevin

The Kosher stand is at section 220, but I haven't seen knishes on the menu either last Sunday or last night. Anyone actually had one?

Last night I tried Capital Q's beef brisket sandwich at a whopping $9.75 (you have to love ballpark prices :) ). It was a large and filling sandwich, but not very hot or tasty. If you do get this, I highly recommend lots of barbecue sauce, because the meat by itself is dry and lacks flavor.

As I asked before, anyone had the beef at Red Hot and Blue? Hopefully, it is better.

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I managed to keep the Cluck-U wing sauce off my shirt last night, my first visit to RFK since the re-vamp. Although not all that different, the variety of food spread around the park is much improved. Not fantastic, but definitely better (and much appreciated.) I'm looking forward to trying out a few of the other new vendors.

My biggest RFK gripe continues, however. I think I am yet (on my 15th game of the season) to be able to get the size and type of Dippin Dots I want on the first try. In the 4th inning, the nearest Dippin Dots stand was down to only rainbow. Blech. So we walked halfway around the stadium and found the last two cups of mint chocolate, before that stand ran out and was left with only chocolate.

During previous games, they've run out of cups several times, been out of flavors before the first pitch, and from time to time an employee will cite some rule that they aren't allowed to mix flavors. Bah! Although my favorite was the high school-age employee with pink hair who needed a calculator to figure out how much two small cups cost. But hey, not everyone is a math whiz. I guess the people running the stands aren't business whizzes either... I say again, they ran out of cups during three of my 15 games!

So as far as this Nats fan is concerned, until the Dippin Dots gets their act together, I'll... I'll... I'll probably keep wandering around the stadium looking for another Dippin Dots stand. :)

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**UPDATE FOR 2007 SEASON**

Okay, a new season and new food and beverage choices (and issues).

The sad news? No more Hard Times Café! I am outraged, but this is not, I repeat NOT, a decision by the club. It was an inability on Aramark's part to come to terms with them.

One of the very best Nationals bloggers is a guy who goes by the moniker "Screech's Best Friend" (SBF for short) and writes on Nats320. He has addressed this very issue in no unspoken terms.

The good news is, the brisket is still very good at Capital Q Barbecue. There is some new hot dog stand in place of Hard Times, but I haven't tried it yet (hey, the season is still young).

The sweet teas seem to have shrunk in size but not in price. Still $4, but hardly 32 ounces.

I now understand some of the machinations behind beer selection. I spoke with the representative of one local microbrewery and asked him about getting into R.F.K., which shouldn't be difficult because his beer is already carried by Premium distributors (the Miller distributor, which practically owns the beer concession there) and he replied, "Sure - you have $20,000?" :blink: I can't believe that the brewery would have to kick in so much just to get in the doors. Way too bad.

More to report as I attend more games. I hope that Aramark at least has hot chocolate for tonight's game, which is going to be C-O-L-D.

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The good news is, the brisket is still very good at Capital Q Barbecue.

Where is the Capitol Q stand? I ended up having lunch at Red Hot and Blue yesterday and maybe it was just because it was cold as hell, but it wasn't that good and I actually don't mind their pork in the restaurants.

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More to report as I attend more games. I hope that Aramark at least has hot chocolate for tonight's game, which is going to be C-O-L-D.

Seriously.

I'm headed there tonight with passes to the Diamond Club buffet. My experience there last September was not great (though not terrible either). Barbeque was dry. Hopefully things are better this season.

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Where is the Capitol Q stand? I ended up having lunch at Red Hot and Blue yesterday and maybe it was just because it was cold as hell, but it wasn't that good and I actually don't mind their pork in the restaurants.

Capitol Q is located in the Terrace Food Court at RFK, which is right above the main gate. This is the food court that was added last July when the Lerners took over. The one where Hard Times Cafe used to be. In addition to Hard Times, I think there is at least one other vendor missing in that food court since last year. I went up there last Saturday just before the exhibition game, and boy did that place look empty. Until I got right up on it, I thought maybe it wasn't even open. I ended up getting a sausage wrap for $8 from Capitol Q, which was spicy and tasty. Although I don't know why they call it a wrap, because it was served in a bun.

On Opening Day, due to the crowd I opted instead for a Dominic's sausage from the stand on the 300 level near the main gate. There was a line, but it moved rather quickly. (This was about a half hour before the game started.) The sausage was nicely browned, unlike some that I got from the same stand last year which were cooked but not brown at all. A foot-long sausage for $6.75 - not a bad deal in a ballpark, actually. (The Capitol Q sausage is tastier than Dominic's, but only regular size and costs more. There's your tradeoff.)

Then I went up to my seat in the 400 level along the right-field line and stayed there through the whole game. I must be the only one who does that, though, because before the game the concourses were so crowded you could barely move even though the stands were relatively empty. I can only imagine what it must have been like when all those folks were standing in line for multiple innings waiting for a cold raw hot dog. But perhaps if they'd gotten there early like I did (by taking Metro) and gotten their food before going to their seats, there would not have been so many problems. Or maybe my life would have been worse, so perhaps I should scratch that last comment...

My prediction for next year in the new digs where the food choices will be much better and easier to get, and the concourses will be wider and designed so that the field can be seen from there: People will be complaining because there is no space at the concourse ledge to see the game, because three rows of tall people are blocking their view. But if that's so, I'll be happy - because I will be in my seat watching the game!

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**UPDATE FOR 2007 SEASON**

I now understand some of the machinations behind beer selection. I spoke with the representative of one local microbrewery and asked him about getting into R.F.K., which shouldn't be difficult because his beer is already carried by Premium distributors (the Miller distributor, which practically owns the beer concession there) and he replied, "Sure - you have $20,000?" ;) I can't believe that the brewery would have to kick in so much just to get in the doors. Way too bad.

More to report as I attend more games. I hope that Aramark at least has hot chocolate for tonight's game, which is going to be C-O-L-D.

Interesting that - Last year there was this article in the Post:

Clicky here

"Dave Freireich, senior public relations manager for Aramark in Philadelphia, says his company is "always open to working with small breweries, if they can provide us with the quantities required." He says fans at RFK can drop off requests or suggestions at the Guest Services office behind Section 309."

So the "quantities required" refers to $$$$s not kegs?! :blink:

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My prediction for next year in the new digs where the food choices will be much better and easier to get,

It's also very likely that Aramark will not be the vendor for concessions at the new park, thanks to the frustration their ineptitude has caused. The key difference here is that the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission controls the concessions contract for RFK Stadium, while concessions for the new ballpark will be handled by the ballclub.

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Are the lines always as rediculous as they were last night? We waited 20 minutes for a soft pretzel before we gave up. My mom told me that on Opening day she waited half an hour for a hot dog only to find that they had run out of buns.

I must admitt that the hot chocolate was better than I dared to hope.

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Are the lines always as rediculous as they were last night? We waited 20 minutes for a soft pretzel before we gave up. My mom told me that on Opening day she waited half an hour for a hot dog only to find that they had run out of buns.

I must admitt that the hot chocolate was better than I dared to hope.

I had the same experience as your mom on opening day, but in my visits since then (4) the lines have been manageable. The food court has been open only sporadically due to the cold weather, though.
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Isn't there still food served for United games and other events, though? Maybe there should just be an additional thread for the new stadium.

A fair point and inexplicable oversight on my part, as I am actually a DCU season ticket holder, though my guess is that the RFK food options were much more substantial at Nats games. No idea what other events (if any) are held at RFK these days.

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At DC United games at RFK I'll sometimes get pupusas, not the best pupusa ever, but usually cooked fresh in front of you.

I second the pupusa stand. Consistently cooked to order with plenty of curtido. Not the best in the district or anything, but when you're at a stadium you're ahead of the game just by finding something that is hot and fresh.

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