Eating at Nationals Park

[Kev29]

9 hours ago, rockcreek said:

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. 

IMP were running the concessions on the field and I had no problem getting food, beer or water all day. I did bring a lot of cash because I know all about RFK!

[DanielK]

Weird about not taking credit cards at the FF show, because they have been taking cards at RFK at United games for many years.

[saxdrop]

4 hours ago, Kev29 said:

IMP were running the concessions on the field and I had no problem getting food, beer or water all day. I did bring a lot of cash because I know all about RFK!

I had the same experience, both on the field and on the concourse. I remember getting in was a little slow, but never had a problem getting beer, liquor, or water. And i don't usually carry cash but always bring some to events - i used both cash and card that day.

There was a weird portion in the middle where because of a thunderstorm, they paused the show and moved everyone to the covered stands. But they made the right call there. And to be fair to rockcreek, I didn't stay to the very end, so maybe things went sideways after I left.

[Pat]

I had a seat all the way up in 402 today (actually a pretty good seat) and didn't want to go far for food. There was a Kapnos and also a Catchfly pretty much right behind us.  The line for Kapnos was much longer, so instead of going with lamb gyro I'd already sampled, I got the Nashville hot chicken sandwich at Catchfly.  The service there was quite bad. A bunch of people had ordered popcorn chicken and were having a hard time getting their orders. That held everything up.

The hot chicken was not all that spicy hot, but that was probably good being at the ballpark. My water bottle was almost empty and super hot would have been a problem. The sandwich was okay. It's also the worst item I've gotten from an Isabella stand.

 

[jrichstar]

On 5/14/2016 at 9:06 AM, Lydia R said:

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...

I was so excited to try the lamb sliders after your awesome recommendation.  Went to the game yesterday and unfortunately, they are no longer offered at Haute Dog.  Hopefully they'll be back.

[JBag57]

We went to the game on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and, having "missed out" on getting the special tickets to the "Taste of the World" promotion (my wife wanted to get the salt and pepper shakers, for some unknown reason), we gave Haute Dogs a shot.  I am pretty sure that they had the lamb sliders that evening, but my wife homed in on the Chili Cheese Tots (she is really missing Hard Times) and I broke an at least decade-long abstinence from hot dogs, thinking that theirs would be worth it.

The tots themselves were good, and the chili is indeed better than Ben's by quite a bit, but not really all that good.  I think I read in one of the posts above a recommendation to skip/forego the cheese sauce.  It is pretty bland and gloppy (7-11 nacho cheese sauce consistency, maybe less flavor), but is probably needed to better glue the chili to the tots when eaten.  Possibly it would be best to ask them to reduce the amount put on an order (they do ladle on quite a bit of it).

On to the dog--I had the banh mi dog, which had some of the standard bahn mi toppings and a couple of squirts of sriracha sauce extending along the top.  The toppings were decent, and the bun was above average and definitely not a run-of-the-mill ballpark hot dog bun.  The hot dog itself was severely disappointing.  Very rubbery/flaccid and virtually without taste (and, no, not taste masked by the rather flavorful toppings).  Not at all what I expected from a place that supposedly serves gourmet hot dogs.  Will pass on these in the future.

[bookluvingbabe]

We sat in 131 for the Cardinals game a few weeks back.  BL-3rd grader had random hot dogs and then truly awful nachos from the Nacho stand right by our seats.  Mr. BLB and I had the Italian sub and the Chicken Parm sub from G Sandwiches.  The Chicken Parm was seriously overcooked and dry, dry, dry.  In contrast the Italian sub was drenched and dripping in mayo.  My teeth squeaked biting into it.  I'm not quite sure WHY i thought the chicken parm was a good idea in 100 degree heat. 

Mr. BLB spent a good inning mumbling about the fried bologna sandwich and the cruelty of the world.  BLB-3rd grader saw his first grand slam and his first Nats win (also his first Cardinals loss...)  We'll be heading up the Frederick Keys for the rest of the season though.

[Genevieve]

On 6/16/2016 at 2:25 PM, bookluvingbabe said:

We sat in 131 for the Cardinals game a few weeks back.  BL-3rd grader had random hot dogs and then truly awful nachos from the Nacho stand right by our seats.  Mr. BLB and I had the Italian sub and the Chicken Parm sub from G Sandwiches.  The Chicken Parm was seriously overcooked and dry, dry, dry.  In contrast the Italian sub was drenched and dripping in mayo.  My teeth squeaked biting into it.  I'm not quite sure WHY i thought the chicken parm was a good idea in 100 degree heat. 

We had the same G Sandwiches on Monday and they were good that night - my chicken parm wasn't overcooked or dry, and my Mom really liked her Italian sub (though I don't know re the mayo).

[reedm]

6 hours ago, DonRocks said:

It's the 7th inning, and Strasburg is working on a no-hitter against the Reds.

Edit: 6 2/3 innings of no-hit ball (relievers still have the no-hitter in progress), and Strasburg is going to be 11-0 after today.

Went to the game with my daughter today. Lucked out and snagged incredible seats in 214, so I had a perfect view of the action. 

Stras certainly lacked some control, and his misses were consistently to the first base side of the plate. As a result, he threw a ton of pitches--at least 100 through the 6th. Even though there was little chance of a no-hitter, it was a lot of fun watching the team try to get him there.

5 home runs? Awesome.

Checked out two Isabella spots, and both produced winners. The cauliflower sandwich had sold out right before the game, but I returned later and snagged one for my daughter. (Note to Mike; it was not apparent that half of the sandwiches were not available.). In addition to the cauliflower, they offered a chicken parm, a roast beef, and one other option. Sadly, the Italian coldcut was not on the menu. At $12, the cauliflower sandwich is a great deal. 

I ventured up to 301 to check out Catchfly/Kapnos. It's an odd location, so the line was non-existent despite a 37k crowd. The Kapnos menu was uninspiring, so settled on Catchfly. The ridiculous price of $18 for what appeared to be four pork ribs made me move on to the Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich, which was a relative bargain at $14. (A side of waffle fries was $7, but the indifferent service was included.). The chicken sandwich turned out to be quite tasty. The bun didn't quite hold up, but the flavor of the chicken was great. 

[Pat]

Got the shawafel sandwich again today. The falafel wasn't as noticeable in the sandwich as in the past, but it was still a good sandwich. We were in 108 and I didn't want to be gone long. Haute Dogs next door had a long line. I walked right up to Shawafel. I was only out of my seat 1/2 inning.

[rockcreek]

On 7/4/2016 at 3:26 PM, Pat said:

Got the shawafel sandwich again today. The falafel wasn't as noticeable in the sandwich as in the past, but it was still a good sandwich. We were in 108 and I didn't want to be gone long. Haute Dogs next door had a long line. I walked right up to Shawafel. I was only out of my seat 1/2 inning.

BECAUSE 'MERICA. 

[jandres374]

Heading to a game this weekend. Any new/noteworthy beer options?

[Pat]

Down near sec 110 (might have been more like 112) last night, I got something I really liked from District Drafts but I can't recall which one it was. I think was DC Brau's El Hefe Speaks, but I'm not sure  The selection there was (mostly) stuff I hadn't come across there before, in any case.

[Al Dente]

The lines were long everywhere except those italian sausage/brat stands. So I got a sausage with pepper and onions. When I got back to my seat, there was so much liquid from the veggies that the bun was impossible to pick up. Ate what remained with my bare freakin' hands. Lesson: check your food before you go back to your seat. 

[reedm]

5 hours ago, jandres374 said:

Heading to a game this weekend. Any new/noteworthy beer options?

I don't recall what I had a few weeks ago, but it might have been a White Ghost from 3 stars. I'm happy with just about anything from that brewery.

[u-bet!]

On 8/10/2016 at 11:29 AM, jandres374 said:

Heading to a game this weekend. Any new/noteworthy beer options?

You really do need to stick with the District Drafts stands, which have a nice variety of rotating local craft brews. Only Anheuser-Busch brands now in the Budweiser Brew House (what used to be called the Red Porch). The days of Dogfish Head and Flying Dog offerings are gone.

[saf]

3 hours ago, u-bet! said:

You really do need to stick with the District Drafts stands,

You can also get Atlas's 1500 at the Baseline Brew stands. It's very tasty and a dollar cheaper than the beer at District Drafts (which are also very nice).

[Kev29]

17 hours ago, u-bet! said:

You really do need to stick with the District Drafts stands, which have a nice variety of rotating local craft brews. Only Anheuser-Busch brands now in the Budweiser Brew House (what used to be called the Red Porch). The days of Dogfish Head and Flying Dog offerings are gone.

Actually you can still get some interesting regional beers at a few other stands. I like Baseline Brews behind section 133 - I've seen DC Brau, Atlas, Victory and other good stuff there. If you want Flying Dog, go up to the 223 area (near a District Drafts too) and there's a bar with 2 or 3 of their brews on tap. 

[u-bet!]

16 hours ago, saf said:

You can also get Atlas's 1500 at the Baseline Brew stands. It's very tasty and a dollar cheaper than the beer at District Drafts (which are also very nice).

 

3 hours ago, Kev29 said:

Actually you can still get some interesting regional beers at a few other stands. I like Baseline Brews behind section 133 - I've seen DC Brau, Atlas, Victory and other good stuff there. If you want Flying Dog, go up to the 223 area (near a District Drafts too) and there's a bar with 2 or 3 of their brews on tap. 

Good information and good news! I was always used to going to the Red Porch for the interesting brews and assumed all of the "permanent" built-in stands would be strictly A-B at this point, so never bothered to check. I think I also remember spotting a roving vendor selling Flying Dog a couple of seasons ago, as is mentioned upthread. If any of them still do, I suppose finding them is catch-as-catch-can.

[Kev29]

4 minutes ago, u-bet! said:

Good information and good news! I was always used to going to the Red Porch for the interesting brews and assumed all of the "permanent" built-in stands would be strictly A-B at this point, so never bothered to check. I think I also remember spotting a roving vendor selling Flying Dog a couple of seasons ago, as is mentioned upthread. If any of them still do, I suppose finding them is catch-as-catch-can.

There's some roving Atlas 1500 lager cans too...

 

[Lydia R]

The bar formerly known as Red Porch is good for air conditioning and bartenders Laura/Karen. Today, they had a Honeycrisp Apple Wheat beer from Shocktop that was light and refreshing (sweet too)! The rest of the tap line was the usual "brewed the hard way" ABI line-up. 

If you ask nice, the in-stand vendors have (or will bring) tallboy cans of Atlas/1500 or Port City/Optimal Wit. Since the beginning of the season they've openly carried Flying Dog/Snake Dog, but the others are more recent additions.

This may not be a representative sample, but  the District Drafts at Sec117 (DuJuan - attached beer list starts with Mad Fox) and Sec129 (Sharon - list starts with Heritage) tonight have: 

Here are some updates for the last half of the regular season:

Sadly, according to a cashier, Haute Dogs isn't selling the Lamb Slider anymore because "not enough people ordered it." I still like their chili, but will wait until the heat wave's over to get more. 

During a previous home stand, I was in the Club level and eagerly tasted what turned out to be a freezer-burned, inedible Babka & ice cream sandwich and sat next to somebody trying to eat one of their soggy deli sandwiches. I hope their upcoming brick and mortar Chinatown location is able to focus on quality because I have no reason to return to On Rye's ballpark stand.

Last month, I shared an elevator with a gray-polo-shirted Shake Shack manager. Probably because I was carrying a Shake combo, they asked about my customer experience. They noted the NY-based managers have never left and are trying hard to maintain quality. They've gone so far as to bring line workers from NY to replace under-performing local hires. Because there are now three eCard registers, the line moves fast enough to be in my rotation. Their customer attentiveness and "sense of urgency" with keeping the lines moving are only matched by Max's. Oh, and their fries stayed crisp!

At least the "Mac Tonight" moon hanging from the construction crane behind left field isn't trying to send me subliminal messages anymore and has been dark the past few games. [After game update: the illuminated moon was switched back on and provided random color changes and strobes throughout the game. Thankfully, I don't feel compelled to go get a Big Mac.]

[Lydia R]

Tonight, the Nationals hosted season ticket plan holders in the Club Level for a Hot Stove event. There's a great round-up on Let Teddy Win’s blog detailing special event dates, bobble heads, etc. Valerie Camillo, Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer, teased a few of the events, but noted there are no chias or gnomes giveaways this coming season. We also previewed upcoming TV spot that will begin airing after "the big game" ends the football season. 

This year, the Hot Stove was moved up a couple of weeks and held on a weeknight because the front office will be heading down I-95 to the new park at West Palm Beach for Spring Training.

There again was a promise to improve Wi-Fi coverage in the seats. This time, the effort will be in conjunction with “the League” and probably paired with the increased functionality of the At The Ballpark App (powered by T-Mobile). Valerie Camillo gamely described doubling Wi-Fi coverage by wiring the tops, bottoms, and centers of the seat sections. Someone just sent me the current BBWAA password, please.  

On 9/12/2014 at 9:25 AM, Lydia R said:

Note to the Nats front office: I'll know you're serious about the "status I deserve" when there's <snip> dependable WiFi that reaches down to my seats.

Here are some of the National's food and drink updates:

There will be some upgraded food items at existing stands (e.g., sausage burger, Chicken Fried Steak, and Change Up Chicken's marinated chicken skewers), but no new high-visibility, celebrity-run stands. The item that piques my interest is the CFS at the existing Virginia Kitchen Biscuit stand.

“Tots & Wings Project” will be where the Boardwalk Fries stand was located. The name for this stand is still in development. I don't see this "tot bar" as an incremental improvement because the Haute Dogs stand already serves tots. 

DMV Distillery: There will be stands serving liquor from MD/DC/VA on both the 1^st and 3^rd base sides. There were no specific distilleries listed. This has the potential to increase their visibility more than selling bottles at local farmers' markets. 

Devils Backbone Balcony: The Lime-A-Rita stand on the third base side is being replaced by the now ABI-owned brewery beer stand.

Goose Island area (3^rd base side in old Sam Adams location) is being upgraded to be more like the Captain’s Cove bar on the first base side. It will still serve ABI's Goose Island, but will include mixed drinks as well.

A new Mojito cart will be in the Center Field Plaza.

Spiked Seltzer Water: Canned, fruity, low-carb, gluten-free, fizzy, 6% booze will be available throughout the Park. 

As an optimistic close, here's an image from @aNatsFan's Twitter feed of the bobble head being given away on 12 May. The Opening Day 8-Ball is in the background. 

[fuzzy510]

8 hours ago, Lydia R said:

Chicken Fried Steak

pleasebeawesomepleasebeawesomepleasebeawesomepleasebeawesome

[Pat]

Trea's bobblehead looks like he's reading a book.  "He gets there so fast, he has time to read a couple of pages before the next pitch." 

[Pat]

Update on the food and beverages. They've already replaced Isabella's spots. I hope those workers got reassigned to new jobs.

[DonRocks]

30 minutes ago, Pat said:

Update on the food and beverages. They've already replaced Isabella's spots. I hope those workers got reassigned to new jobs.

Of course they did. You're a good person for caring, but you don't even need to give this one a second thought.

[TedE]

13 hours ago, Pat said:

Update on the food and beverages. They've already replaced Isabella's spots. I hope those workers got reassigned to new jobs.

Interesting that the two stands in 301 were probably already on the way out prior to the recent allegations.  I had no inside knowledge of this but had assumed those would be the first replaced.  Our seats are up in the 300s; Catchfly never seemed to get much business.  Kapnos was maybe the best option up on that level, but it was really expensive even for ballpark food.  Tucked up there in an outfield corner, even right next to the main ramp and escalator and the foot traffic that entails, there were never any lines like the ones that plague similar stands out on the centerfield concourse.  I would guess that they were maybe two of the most underperforming stands in the park.

[MarkS]

Drink pouches seems nuts.  Do people really need bad drinks on a hot summer day.  Sounds like they will have more craft beer choices, which is always a good thing.

Personally, I don't think about Baseball until the Stanley Cup is awarded.

[lovehockey]

3 hours ago, MarkS said:

Drink pouches seems nuts.  Do people really need bad drinks on a hot summer day.  Sounds like they will have more craft beer choices, which is always a good thing.

Personally, I don't think about Baseball until the Stanley Cup is awarded.

I can see why they'd offer the drink pouches.  It's been awhile since I've been to Nats Park, but if things haven't changed since I have these will offer more variety in the non-beer department, since if you don't drink beer and want an alcoholic beverage it's cheap wine or basic cocktails like a bourbon and Coke or a margarita (and the basic cocktails cost as much as the drink pouches).  Although just thinking of the calorie and sugar amounts those bags must have makes me cringe a bit.

I think the packaging will be a big draw, at least at first, and there will likely be people taking the empty bags home with them to reuse.  It's something new and interesting, and I'm sure there will be people foregoing a beer to try one of these (more expensive) items, especially if the beer line is long and it could be faster to get one of these.

I assume they're pre-made and will be sitting in coolers or on ice, because when it does get hot they will be a cold beverage option.  Pounding headache to come later.

[TedE]

36 minutes ago, lovehockey said:

I can see why they'd offer the drink pouches.  It's been awhile since I've been to Nats Park, but if things haven't changed since I have these will offer more variety in the non-beer department, since if you don't drink beer and want an alcoholic beverage it's cheap wine or basic cocktails like a bourbon and Coke or a margarita (and the basic cocktails cost as much as the drink pouches).  Although just thinking of the calorie and sugar amounts those bags must have makes me cringe a bit.

I think the packaging will be a big draw, at least at first, and there will likely be people taking the empty bags home with them to reuse.  It's something new and interesting, and I'm sure there will be people foregoing a beer to try one of these (more expensive) items, especially if the beer line is long and it could be faster to get one of these.

I assume they're pre-made and will be sitting in coolers or on ice, because when it does get hot they will be a cold beverage option.  Pounding headache to come later.

Based on the number of people I see walking around with those ludicrous, over-priced novelty mini-yards of "daiquiri" (sorry: Daqs and/or 'Ritas) these drink pouches will fly out of the coolers when it warms up.

More seasonably appropriate: it's nice to see a couple more dedicated local coffee stands.  Think what you will about Compass (I like them, I know they have detractors), it's miles above what was available previously.  I think they only had one or two coffee/hot chocolate places last year (was it Peet's?  Caribou?).  On days like today early in the season it was either stand in insane lines there, or get a cup of something truly awful at a normal concession.  That is provided you got there before they ran out in the 2nd or 3rd inning ...

From the Post article:

Quote

District Draft stands will again offer a rotating selection of beers from breweries in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The “guest tap series” at select District Draft carts will also return.

“What we started doing a little bit of last year was taking a couple of tap handles and working with some of the much smaller breweries that don’t necessarily have the capacity to be on a draft line all year long, but we can give them a little publicity,” Stahl said.

This is good news.  With every passing season I worry that InBev will continue tightening the screws on beer distribution within the gates, that Devil's Backbone or Dominion would start consuming more and more of the local tap handles since they are under the under the corporate umbrella now.  However, these stands seem to operating outside of that influence (for now).  Continued support of independents keeps the only decent beer options viable.  Occasionally some gems show up: Aslin or Ocelot, plus some of the low-volume seasonals from DCBrau/Atlas/3 Stars, etc.   At one point early last summer there was a particularly funky, cloudy, astringent, true-to-style Berliner Weisse on tap (Mad Fox, I think), and the nice lady who always runs the taps near our section kept telling customers "Are you sure you want that one, dear?  I think the keg may be bad" 

[Lydia R]

On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 1:04 PM, TedE said:

 With every passing season I worry that InBev will continue tightening the screws on beer distribution within the gates, that Devil's Backbone or Dominion would start consuming more and more of the local tap handles since they are under the under the corporate umbrella now.  However, these stands seem to operating outside of that influence (for now).  Continued support of independents keeps the only decent beer options viable.  

Yes, I sometimes wonder if District Drafts will go the way of the Inside Pitch program/scorecard (it's not coming back this season). Yesterday, my District Draft favorites were back: Dujuan at Section 119 and Sharon at Section 129. They had both the regular and new "big format" cups. The overhead screens weren't working so it we couldn't readily see what was on offer, or the new prices. The bar formerly known as Red Porch was missing both Laura and Karen behind the bar.

Isabella's former G-sandwich space garage gate was closed and the sign was gone. There was no "coming soon" signage indicating its successor. Hopefully it's something good and portable.

I agree about supporting the independent breweries. It might help if the breweries came and educated the beer pourers in the DD stands. In the mean time, Port City tweeted out their tap schedule for the whole season. [As an aside: this weekend, it was a pleasant surprise to see their Monumental IPA available at the Kennedy Center lobby bars]

[TedE]

On 3/29/2018 at 3:40 AM, Lydia R said:

I agree about supporting the independent breweries. It might help if the breweries came and educated the beer pourers in the DD stands. In the mean time, Port City tweeted out their tap schedule for the whole season. [As an aside: this weekend, it was a pleasant surprise to see their Monumental IPA available at the Kennedy Center lobby bars]

This is interesting, I'm assuming the other locals know their tap schedule for the season, too.  I would LOVE to see that!  To be honest, Port City is usually at the bottom of my selections list at those stands, but the Wit does go down well on hot days.

In related news, Aslin has announced that they are going to have a pop-up beer garden at 1st and N during the hours just before and after most home games.  I *think* this is the little empty lot nestled on the corner next to the Hampton Inn, just across the street from Will Call; last year there was a BBQ pop-up/beer garden there occasionally.

[MarkS]

The Aslin beer garden is huge.. In fact I'm planning to go there for the beer, forget the Nats game.  Aslin has many styles of Dry Hoped  IPA beers, if you haven't had one you should.  Huge flavor profiles though they tend to the higher range of Alcohol, 7-12%. 

[Kev29]

8 hours ago, MarkS said:

The Aslin beer garden is huge.. 

Figuratively, not literally 

 

[u-bet!]

Grace's Kitchen has replaced G Sandwich at Nats Park.

[TedE]

On 3/29/2018 at 7:43 PM, Kev29 said:

Figuratively, not literally 

 

Got there too late to try this out today, but we walked by on the way out and it looks like a mini-Bullpen minus the the noise and plus good beer.  There were a couple of food trucks pulled up as well (I didn't note which ones).  It's a tiny spot, and was probably 80% full on a frigid day after last out, so I expect this will be pretty crowded as the season rolls on.

All of the draft beers, even the District Drafts, are available in large sizes now (I couldn't tell if the big cups were 20 or 24 oz.).  For the local beers at these stands price was up to $12 for a regular (the same size as last year) and $16 for the bigger serving.  Gulp.

[Kev29]

7 hours ago, TedE said:

All of the draft beers, even the District Drafts, are available in large sizes now (I couldn't tell if the big cups were 20 or 24 oz.).  For the local beers at these stands price was up to $12 for a regular (the same size as last year) and $16 for the bigger serving.  Gulp.

$12 for 16oz; $16 for 24oz (DC Sports Bog):

"Don't Freak Out about the $16 Nationals' Craft Draft Beer" by Scott Allen on washingtonpost.com

[Pat]

The smaller can of Bud Lite (16 oz.) is still $9, at least in the stands. The other prices are jaw-dropping. A guy down the aisle from me ordered a can of Goose Island and a little bag of peanuts, and it was $23. That is, no pun intended, nuts.

At one point when i was headed to the ladies', since I was right by the old G Sandwich space, I stopped at Grace's Kitchen. No line to speak of, which was different from every place else. As I walked up, they said they were out of the chicken, which was fine. That meant they still had the shrimp po' boy, which I wanted, chicken soup, and mac and cheese. I ordered the po' boy, paid, and then was told they didn't have them any more and I couple get a refund. Then a manager type came out from the kitchen and was saying they could make it with a few extra shrimp but they had no cole slaw. At that point, I just wanted my refund. It took a while to find someone authorized to give it, and in the meantime, they gave me a little coupon for a future free one. Whether I will use that or not, I don't know, but they couldn't have been more apologetic and accommodating than they were.

The game...ack.

[DaveO]

4 hours ago, Pat said:

The smaller can of Bud Lite (16 oz.) is still $9, at least in the stands. The other prices are jaw-dropping. A guy down the aisle from me ordered a can of Goose Island and a little bag of peanuts, and it was $23. That is, no pun intended, nuts.

The game...ack.

Concession prices have been Dan Snyderized.

I saw the Grand Slam On a large screen tv at a bar/restaurant while eating a  very filling but sort of mediocre egg plant parm over pasta in spaghetti sauce with a coke.  Bartender comped me the coke. Hefty  tip and it came to half what the neighbor in the aisle spent.  

Its always a bit less disappointing to watch a loss on a tv screen than at a game.

Fortunately it’s a long season

[TedE]

On 4/5/2018 at 5:18 PM, TedE said:

Got there too late to try this out today, but we walked by on the way out and it looks like a mini-Bullpen minus the the noise and plus good beer.  There were a couple of food trucks pulled up as well (I didn't note which ones).  It's a tiny spot, and was probably 80% full on a frigid day after last out, so I expect this will be pretty crowded as the season rolls on.

We stopped in for a beer before Sunday's frozen marathon of a game.  Selection of four or five 16 oz. cans ranging from $8 (one of their lower ABV IPAs) to $11 (double IPA).  There is no atmosphere to speak of (they are selling beer out of a van, there are a couple of high top tables and port-a-potties), but the price-to-quality ratio is miles above anything you'll get at the Bullpen.  I know they tend to sell out of any high demand beer during the weekly brewery sales, so I doubt this location will ever see some of those options.  In my experience even the less "desirable" beers are still pretty good; some of them are, um, interesting, though.

The food truck was Dirty South Deli, and it looks like they will be there for the rest of this week.  No idea how often that will switch up, but they really only have room for one truck option at a time.

[Pat]

I redeemed my little coupon for a free shrimp po' boy yesterday, before I could lose or forget it. It was decent but way too messy for me to eat at the ballpark. There was a little spice that seemed to be from the sauce drizzled on top, and the shrimp were fried well. There were maybe 6 of 8 or them? I ate several of them individually with my fingers because it was just too unwieldy to pick up the sandwich and eat as is. The cole slaw was excellent and was the bed for the shrimp, but I was dropping it all over the place. The roll was fairly good too.  The sandwich was cold. I don't know how long before the shrimp had been fried but everything was thoroughly cold (including me). Of course, there weren't that many of us there, so they probably weren't selling many of these.

[Lydia R]

Grace’s Kitchen: the food sums up as super delicious, but impossibly messy.  A neighbor in the stands had Jamie Leeds’ shrimp po’boy and declared it the tastiest thing he’d had in the Park (multiple seasons), but it was too messy to get again. During a cold game, I had the prescription chicken noodle and matzo ball soup. It came filled to the rim in one of those indestructible plastic deli containers usually holding potato salad and was paired with a teaspoon. It would be perfect if I was home, opening it on my kitchen counter, and eating it with a proper spoon. Instead, I was wearing it and wishing there were no noodles to wrangle with the small spoon. Matzo balls are enough for this savory soup (maybe it’ll be back in October). Carla Hall’s macaroni and cheese was spicy and creamy but should not have been left with many others under the lights, uncovered. I doubt the chefs make operational decisions like packaging - they're probably made by @LevyRestaurants . Another good reason Shake Shack & Max’s use their own staff. I wonder what the Ground Rule Mule tastes like.

I haven’t found any remaining locations of Virginia Kitchen – if it's survived, where’s it located?

The Street Skewers’ keftedes (beef/lamb/pork mini-meatballs) are warm and juicy with a good creamy sauce. All their skewers are reheated on the same griddle and the vegetarian skewers share space with the carnivore options. This line takes a while possibly because daintily steaming the skewers with a squirt bottle and no dome is a time consuming process.

Yes, the pricing is creeping up. The vendors in the stands are disadvantaged by hauling the large-format cans and not being able to accept e-cards. They carry few small cans - all Bud Lite. One vendor noted the Diamondbacks only kept the big cans for two seasons (in the Arizona heat).

There’s an extra column on many of the menu screens for calories. Maybe the beer stands can show ABV as a public service. Some of the craft brews have unexpectedly high alcohol content.

The team has a new twitter account @NatsParkService staffed during the game. Let them know if you have a good experience or something else.

Matt Grace (#60): we recognized you at the gas station after yesterday’s game but respected your privacy. You’d have thought I was crazed, especially after witnessing my pinwheel-turns to get within hose-range of the pump.

[DaveO]

The Post carried an interesting, entertaining, and informative article comparing and contrasting the food and atmosphere at neighbors Nationals Park and Audi Field.

I haven’t made it to Audi Field yet but the team and atmosphere sound exciting.  I look forward to it.

Meanwhile I’m torn between tipping my hat or offering condolences to the fans that took in 2 games in one day.   I did something like that once long ago—actually double that;  it had to be late September years ago; a cousin and I were reminiscing.   On two consecutive days we saw a 17 inning Orioles game (stayed to the end) and then watched a pre season NBA doubleheader with 4 teams in Landover.   Definitely overkill.   

All good things in moderation- much healthier

[washingtony]

Saturday's double header was an amazing time for all kinds of reasons (Scherzer complete game, Werth ceremony, Doolittle bullpen cart ride), but the proverbial cherry on the sundae was having my best stadium food experience of the season.  I'm not sure when it started, but there's a place called La Casita around section 142 that has pupusas and tamales.  I really hope they're back next season--shows that DC United isn't the only pupusa/sports game in town!  

[aivlys]

La Casita, yes! Friday night before I watched an inning of baseball that never happened - I had the corn tamales with crema.  They were a bit sweet but very very good and hot.  Saturday before the first game I had the pork pupusas.  They were hot,  but just a little more tasty than grilled cheese.  Now on a rainy Saturday a hot grilled cheese was perfect. 

It looks like they have their own employees with one Levy person as the cashier.  This combo works well and I will be sure to mention it in the end of year survey and hope they come back next year.

[Lydia R]

Having La Casita helps fight the concession-envy I feel from the Jose Andres curated Audi Field offerings. The unexpected cold weather snap on Saturday sent me looking for chicken soup, but I didn’t make it past SEC 139/140. Knowing La Casita is a successful MoCo mini-chain (Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, & Germantown) gave me confidence it would be good. Fresh off the griddle puposas were warm and filling.

Two other updates:

The larger format beer cans are still available in the concourse, but in-stand vendors don’t carry them anymore. They now carry small cans of sparkling wine and Atlas 1500.

At Grace’s Kitchen, the fried shrimp po’boy was replaced by a cold shrimp salad roll - best started with a fork and then picked-up to finish the last third of cool shrimp with the buttery, crisped, top-sliced roll.  The meatball sub was slightly downsized to a manageable four-ball ciabatta sandwich (bringing fresh picked basil from home is a good finishing touch).

Other than the debut of Childish Bambino and All Star Game festivities, this was a dull thud of a season.

[youngfood]

14 hours ago, Lydia R said:

Having La Casita helps fight the concession-envy I feel from the Jose Andres curated Audi Field offerings. The unexpected cold weather snap on Saturday sent me looking for chicken soup, but I didn’t make it past SEC 139/140. Knowing La Casita is a successful MoCo mini-chain (Silver Spring, Gaithersburg, & Germantown) gave me confidence it would be good. Fresh off the griddle puposas were warm and filling.

Two other updates:

The larger format beer cans are still available in the concourse, but in-stand vendors don’t carry them anymore. They now carry small cans of sparkling wine and Atlas 1500.

At Grace’s Kitchen, the fried shrimp po’boy was replaced by a cold shrimp salad roll - best started with a fork and then picked-up to finish the last third of cool shrimp with the buttery, crisped, top-sliced roll.  The meatball sub was slightly downsized to a manageable four-ball ciabatta sandwich (bringing fresh picked basil from home is a good finishing touch). 

Other than the debut of Childish Bambino and All Star Game festivities, this was a dull thud of a season.

Grace's Kitchen Shrimp Salad Po Boy is my go-to.  I prefer it to the fried version they had at the start of the season, especially on a hot day.  It is way overfilled though, so your suggestion to start with a fork is a good one.  I usually just make a mess of myself. 

[Pat]

Thanks to the La Casita recs, we got pork and cheese pupusas yesterday. Very good, though a bit of user error in spilling too much of the picking liquid from the curtido onto the pupusas. Made them a little soggy for ballpark eating. I'm going to one more game this season and will hope they're open. I wasn't sure they'd be open yesterday, since so many concessions were closed.  I hope they're back next year.

[Genevieve]

Did not know La Casita was there, but pupusas and horchata would definitely be my pick over almost all of Nats Park food, so I will definitely look for them next season.

[bookluvingbabe]

We have indulged in PNC Club seats twice this season when Scherzer was pitching.  He is the pride and joy of BL-6th grader's fantasy baseball team.  The first time, in early August, was perfect.  Great seats, and not terrible pricing if I wait to the last minute and don't bring Mr. BLB. 

But the second time, on Labor Day, was less than stellar.  Tables cleared of plates of food while we were still eating. One plate removed while I was chewing.  It was miserably hot and they could not keep up with ice and cold water.  The brunch offerings weren't as good as the dinner offerings. 

It was nice to have an a/c place to cool off though.  But next game we will be back in the 400s....