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Finally tried Five Guys last night: (lifted from my blog)

"I went up to section 240 to try my luck with the Five Guys stand. I've never had Five Guys burgers before, but I've heard about them for years, and I was happy to see that either the Nationals or concessioner Centerplate made a deal to get them into the ballpark because they originated here in our area, so they are "local" even if they are franchised now. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with raw onions, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup and relish, and also an order of fries.

I'll say here and now that this was the greatest fast-food burger I've ever had in my entire life. Seriously. No joke, no exaggeration. Five Guys lives up to their vaunted reputation and hype. The only better burgers I've ever had have been at top restaurants here in D.C. such as Michel Richard's Central and also at Circle Bistro. On top of how fantastic the burger was, I LOVE how they served me. You ordered, you paid, then you waited for your number to be called. And the burger was wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in its own paper bag, and the fries were placed in a cup and in their own paper bag. BRILLIANT! These were easy to carry (MUCH easier than a cardboard tray) and kept me from having to worry about dropping or spilling any of them.

I haven't tried every single food offering yet, and I haven't actually been to the Ben's Chili Bowl stand itself (though I've really enjoyed the Ben's half-smoke "all the way", that's a great meal), but I'll say for the record that, if asked, my vote for the best Nationals Park food goes to Five Guys first (both due to quality and service) and Hard Times a close second, with Ben's in third place but not by much. We have some pretty darned good stadium food to be proud of, I think."

By the way. the fries were okay, I enjoyed them, but they weren't anything that I thought merited any special mention. Nothing wrong with them, but I'm sorry that they weren't at the same level of excellence as my burger. I'd buy them again, they just weren't a "must-have".

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why oh why do you foresake me, Washington National's? Why?

We went to the game on Saturday. They got hammered by the Cubs. Hammered. But worse than that? The food.

The lines were crazy long. There was no way that I was going to get anywhere near the front of the line at Ben's, Cantina, or 5 Guys unless I wanted to wait 3 innings. Same was true for the lines for the chinken fingers and fries. We eventually settled on italian sausage with peppers after waiting, no shit, about 20 minutes. When we got to the end of the line to get the dogs there were no peppers and onions left nor italian sausage. We both had to settle for cold hotdogs with cold sauerkraut. LAME.

I can't believe that I am going to say this, but I WANT THE CONCESSIONS AT RFK back. At least you didn't have to wait 20 minutes for food. And don't give me the excuse that it was the 2nd largest crowd of the year and they couldn't handle it. I have been to 12 major league ballparks and even at Wrigley Field where every game is a sellout, you don't have to miss three innings of baseball to get your food, yo.

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We went to the game on Saturday. They got hammered by the Cubs. Hammered. But worse than that? The food.
I was the guest of a 20 game season ticket holder on Sunday afternoon. Luckily, we didn't get really rained on and the Nationals had some of the luckiest turn of events leading to their shut-out win against the Cubs. It seems that the scoreboards are showing better information, but the pitch-speed camera may need some calibration [it seems to be underreporting speed by as much as 10 - 15 mph].

The food offerings are better than I'd expected with only a couple of easily fixable gaffes. The condiment tables in the 100 & 200 concourses were stocked with 8# Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard pump jars -- and NONE in the 300 concourse. Additionally, the Mayorga Coffee stand on the 300 level was never staffed despite the gloomy weather and suddenly chilly winds. I had a Ben's Half Smoke [all the way], Home Run Ale, a Blue Moon and later a hot Noah's pretzel [vanilla spiced?].

Overall a good day.

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We've got 20 game season tickets in 202. There's a little bar set up right by us that had a bartender who made OK drinks. Much better than the "margarita" from Cantina. The seasoned fries from Cantina, in contrast to the drink that shall never be ordered again (why oh why didn't I spot the spinning red frozen crap *before* I asked for it???) were good and fresh, and the popcorn guys right outside our section filled our box straight from the popper. Gotta love that. And it wasn't too salty this game. And, not to forget, WE WON! And winning always makes the food taste better. We gave away our tickets for Tuesday, but we'll be there Thursday for bobblehead night. Oh yeah.

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Oh, and if anyone is lucky enough to be offered Diamond Club or President's Club tickets? TAKE THEM! Talk about swanky accommodations! If you are in the President's Club, you won't care if there's a rain delay, that's for sure. For $300/ticket, I think that you get plenty of food and it's brought to you.

I am fortunate to have been given Diamond Club seats for tonight. No more RFK-style buffet area apparently, and I've read that each ticket comes with a $35 food/drink voucher instead. How does that work exactly -- are there sufficiently good options to spend the voucher within the Diamond Club area, or can/should one actually use it at other concession locations throughout the stadium?

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I am fortunate to have been given Diamond Club seats for tonight. No more RFK-style buffet area apparently, and I've read that each ticket comes with a $35 food/drink voucher instead. How does that work exactly -- are there sufficiently good options to spend the voucher within the Diamond Club area, or can/should one actually use it at other concession locations throughout the stadium?

I've done the Diamond Club a few times. Some thoughts (and apologies if this is a bit late)....

When you first walk in, get your ticket "validated" so you can spend your $35. They'll give you a little wrist band that says "I'm Special!" Ok, maybe it just says that in your head....

The buffet looks big but it's actually three setups of the exact same thing. Usually a pasta, a chicken, and a red meat, along with some sides. There is also a big desert section w/ massive cupcakes and baseball shaped iced cookies (generally). It costs $24.95, I believe. Not sure it's really worth it, but fun to try once. They are stingy on the red meat -- it's usually carved by an employee who only wants to give you 2 tiny pieces. Fight him on it. ;)

The left over ten bucks won't buy you much. Just a glass full of pop and ice costs $4.95 and I believe a beer is $6 or $7.

If you don't want to do the buffet, you can spend your $$ on a la carte items either at the big bar or outside w/ seat-side service. I've never tried to spend my $$ outside the Club, so not sure if you can do that.

Break away from the Club when you can and get a Nathan's pretzel. Beats the pants off of anything you'll get inside. In general, Diamond Club is fun for it's bathrooms, good bar service and great seats. The buffet? Eh....

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Went to my first game yesterday.

I had my first ever Ben's halfsmoke. Unfortunately, by the time I bought it at Ben's and got to my seats up in 418, it was cold. Next time, I'll have to just get it at a Nats Dogs close to wherever I sit so I can actually have a warm one. I wasn't impressed with the fries from Ben's. With Boardwalk and 5 Guys there, I'd probably lean towards getting their fries to go with a halfsmoke.

Has anyone tried the taco/bbq stand on Half St.?

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I had my first ever Ben's halfsmoke. Unfortunately, by the time I bought it at Ben's and got to my seats up in 418, it was cold.

It couldn't have been any worse than the one I had at the original Ben's last week. And the chili cheese dog? GROSS! A nasty hot dog, canned-tasting chili - and the cheese! A yellow liquid, ladled up from one of those bins, and poured all over the hotdog. After two bites, I tilted the sandwich towards the plate, and watched all the goo run off, all at once, just like The Blob falling from a window.

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Has anyone tried the taco/bbq stand on Half St.?

Yes, I had a chicken taco from the stand last week. They run $5 for 2 tacos and the stand offer pork and vegetarian versions as well. The chicken taco was fresh, clean and simple. The chicken was in a mild red sauce. They did have some hot sauce on the side, but I wish the chicken itself had a little more heat. Considering the cost of stadium food and the quality of the taco, I will definitely be back to the taco cart.

Alex

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Has anyone tried the taco/bbq stand on Half St.?

The "On the Fly" cart (the one with the big wings on it)? I had the turkey chili and brought it with me into the park. It was tasty, a little on the sweet side. I think it was around $5 or 6 for a 16 oz. container, so it's a good deal.

After a few visits, my general tip for ballpark dining is to get whatever food you are going to get (but no drink), then head to the Gifford's stand and get a milkshake to go with your food.

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I went to my first game on Sunday with my brother, the parents, and my grandfather.

First we hit the taco stand on Half St. Got myself a Julia's Empanada ($5 - Jamaican). Man, that was good, and hit the spot just right.

Walked up to our seats in section 227 and was impressed with the choices around us. I grabbed a Miller Lite while waiting because a) the Baseline Brews with Firehouse wasn't open yet and ;) I mis-read what the Cantina had. $7.50 for it. Eh.

As the game approached we went to the Nats Dogs stand and got a Ben's Half-Smoke all the way ($6.75) and a Bass (also $7.50). Bass just tastes funny to me a lot of the time anymore. The half smoke was very good and I destroyed it.

After the Bass I switched to Stella Artois (again, $7.50) as my other choices in the immediate area appeared to be Bud or Bud Lite in bottles, Miller Lite or MGD on draft, or Fosters or Blue Moon. As the game went on, I got a 1/4 lb. Hebrew National dog (normally $5.50 but the cashier gave me a discount due to some rudeness from another person, so it was the cost of a Nats Dog or $4.50) and some peanuts ($4, and I was impressed with the number of empty shells in my peanut bag).

The lines weren't bad. At worst, it took us an inning to get anything, but one time that was because of a group of people all trying to do some kind of special order and using mangled print-out coupons for the Internet and the second time was due to the before-mentioned rudeness (basically, as she tried to fill up our beers, another cashier came over and pushed her out of the way to fill up his beers).

My dad got some Five Guys and was very happy with it, but he's only ever had the Richmond branch(es) of Five Guys and therefore might be suspect on how good it was. The fries were fine for me, but then again, I'm never been overly impressed with Five Guys fries. (I know, I know, I'm a heretic.)

All in all, though, I thought that the service, convenience, and quality of the food completely blew away RFK, and was even better than FedEx, if a bit expensive. When I'm at a game, though, I hardly notice the price. (I probably should!) And the fact that a lot of the concession stands took credit cards was also a big bonus.

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Where exactly is the taco stand on Half St? I was thinking about getting some Julia's @ dupont before the game, but that would be even better! Are they there/open for all games?

The one game I went to, they were in an alley on the right side just before you hit N Street.

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Finally tried Five Guys last night: (lifted from my blog)

"I went up to section 240 to try my luck with the Five Guys stand. I've never had Five Guys burgers before, but I've heard about them for years, and I was happy to see that either the Nationals or concessioner Centerplate made a deal to get them into the ballpark because they originated here in our area, so they are "local" even if they are franchised now. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with raw onions, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup and relish, and also an order of fries.

I'll say here and now that this was the greatest fast-food burger I've ever had in my entire life. Seriously. No joke, no exaggeration. Five Guys lives up to their vaunted reputation and hype. The only better burgers I've ever had have been at top restaurants here in D.C. such as Michel Richard's Central and also at Circle Bistro. On top of how fantastic the burger was, I LOVE how they served me. You ordered, you paid, then you waited for your number to be called. And the burger was wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in its own paper bag, and the fries were placed in a cup and in their own paper bag. BRILLIANT! These were easy to carry (MUCH easier than a cardboard tray) and kept me from having to worry about dropping or spilling any of them.

I had a Five Guys burger here last night, and while not "horrible," the two patties weren't much more than two well-done, flattened meatballs - tiny, tasteless, and really more akin to one of those benches made out of recycled plastic than anything resembling hand-formed ground beef. However, the kosher hot dog with mustard wasn't all that bad, and the french fries were good even after they got cold. On a side note, I can't remember the last time I've seen Five Guys fries that didn't come from Rigby, Idaho, not that it much matters at this point.

The beer selection is pathetic - the Bass Ale on draft is nothing more than amber-colored club soda, and Stella Artois is a diluted, clear-colored version of same. The Hook and Ladder Light (in bottle) tasted no better than either of these.

Cheers,

Rocks

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Finally tried Five Guys last night: (lifted from my blog)

"I went up to section 240 to try my luck with the Five Guys stand. I've never had Five Guys burgers before, but I've heard about them for years, and I was happy to see that either the Nationals or concessioner Centerplate made a deal to get them into the ballpark because they originated here in our area, so they are "local" even if they are franchised now. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with raw onions, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup and relish, and also an order of fries.

I'll say here and now that this was the greatest fast-food burger I've ever had in my entire life. Seriously. No joke, no exaggeration. Five Guys lives up to their vaunted reputation and hype. The only better burgers I've ever had have been at top restaurants here in D.C. such as Michel Richard's Central and also at Circle Bistro. On top of how fantastic the burger was, I LOVE how they served me. You ordered, you paid, then you waited for your number to be called. And the burger was wrapped in aluminum foil and placed in its own paper bag, and the fries were placed in a cup and in their own paper bag. BRILLIANT! These were easy to carry (MUCH easier than a cardboard tray) and kept me from having to worry about dropping or spilling any of them.

I had a Five Guys burger here last night, and while not "horrible," the two patties weren't much more than two well-done, flattened meatballs - tiny, tasteless, and really more akin to one of those benches made out of recycled plastic than anything resembling hand-formed ground beef. However, the kosher hot dog with mustard wasn't all that bad, and the french fries were good even after they got cold. On a side note, I can't remember the last time I've seen Five Guys fries that didn't come from Rigby, Idaho, not that it much matters at this point.

The beer selection is pathetic - the Bass Ale on draft is nothing more than amber-colored club soda, and the Stella Artois is a diluted, clear-colored version of same. The Hook and Ladder Light (in bottle) tasted no better than either of these.

Cheers,

Rocks

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Has anyone compiled a "beer map". I have found the blue moon, but where is the bass ale?

I noticed Bass (and Stella, both on draft) in two places along the right-field line: a mixed-drink stand around section 131, not far from the posters of Brooks and Frank Robinson, and upstairs at a place not too far before you get to Five Guys, in a little pocket on the right side - a small sign says "microbrews," and this is the place that had the Hook and Ladder Light in bottle. All three were $7.50 a pop.

Cheers,

Rocks.

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I ran into an interesting phenomenon at yesterday's game - the lack of availability of food during extra-inning games. As I was walking around during the eighth and ninth innings, most of the concessions were closing up, cleaning grills, etc., although a few were still serving. It seemed to be pretty hit-or-miss. Can anyone pass along any tips as to which, if any particular concessions/food carts are more likely to keep serving into extra-innings?

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I ran into an interesting phenomenon at yesterday's game - the lack of availability of food during extra-inning games.

We had that problem too. No drinks, even! And they want people to stay? That said, my mango sorbetto in the first inning was really good.

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We had that problem too. No drinks, even! And they want people to stay? That said, my mango sorbetto in the first inning was really good.

They serve drinks at the bars -- not the regular food places where they stop serving after the 7th -- during the extra innings.

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Yep on Sunday I was able to get soda and soft serve ice cream but not much else in the later innings (up around section 240). The Noah's Pretzel vendor was walking through the stands, but I had already had a (crappy) Nats Dog pretzel earlier and had used up my carb allotment for the day. :lol:

So far the best food I've had has been the vegetarian empanadas from the On the Fly cart outside the park.

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They serve drinks at the bars -- not the regular food places where they stop serving after the 7th -- during the extra innings.
Also, the President's Club serves until 45 minutes after game end, at least for day games, anyway.
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The chili that comes with a Ben's Chili Bowl half smoke is much better than what you get when you order a regular bowl of chili. The chili in the bowl is flavorless by comparison. Or was it just the different batches we had on a recent night?

Beautiful park, by the way!

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The chili that comes with a Ben's Chili Bowl half smoke is much better than what you get when you order a regular bowl of chili. The chili in the bowl is flavorless by comparison. Or was it just the different batches we had on a recent night?

I would bet it is the "different batches" issue. I've noticed that the chili on the half smokes varies on different nights. It wasn't much different from a Friday to a Saturday night the other weekend, but over the course of a month or so it went from "pleasant" to "wow, that was surprisingly spicy" to "hey, that's about perfect in spiciness" - at least, to me.

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Am I the only one here that doesn't like the Noah's pretzels? I do not see what the fuss is about.

We found that they are pretty good right out of the oven, but they deteriorate in both flavor and texture as they cool. We let one sit one night while we ate a box of popcorn. Won't do that again.

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I can't believe I'm telling everyone this secret, but I discovered recently that there is a "real" Five Guys about a block away from the Navy Yard metro station. My husband and I ate there before a game recently and paid less than $20 for two cheeseburgers, large fries and sodas. It was not crowded at all. I think its located at 11th and New Jersey.

On a related note, has anyone recently brought food into the park? I was carrying a footlong Subway sandwich recently, and the lady at the ticket window told me that I probably couldn't bring it in. We were waiting for some friends for about 20 minutes so we ended up eating it outside the park, but the website says that "all [outside] food items must be contained in single serving bags within a soft-sided container or cooler."

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On a related note, has anyone recently brought food into the park? I was carrying a footlong Subway sandwich recently, and the lady at the ticket window told me that I probably couldn't bring it in. We were waiting for some friends for about 20 minutes so we ended up eating it outside the park, but the website says that "all [outside] food items must be contained in single serving bags within a soft-sided container or cooler."

We picked up tacos at the On the Fly cart a couple of weeks ago and took them inside in the little baskets they gave us. We didn't have a problem. I have been told that they won't let you take in opened water or drinks, but sealed ones are fine. It all may depend on who takes your ticket and what kind of mood they are in.

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On a related note, has anyone recently brought food into the park?

I brought in a container of turkey chili purchased from the On The Fly cart. No one batted an eye or asked me to open the container to see what was inside. When the team was playing at RFK, I brought in a sub from the Italian Store in its original brown bag. They did look inside the bag, but let me bring it in. Now THAT was some good ballpark eats!

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Last night we carried in empanadas from the On the Fly cart. Well, my friends did - mine disappeared between the time that I bought it and we got to the front gate somehow...

If they sold the empanadas in the stadium that'd probably be the only thing I'd eat there. :lol:

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Speaking of burgers, I had a tasty one at the game last night. Not 5 Guys, just the standard 1/2 lb. Gourmet Burger sold at the various non-specialty concession stands (I got mine at the one called "Grays Grill"). It was big, hot, juicy, with a fair amount of grease; just the way I like it. Not overcooked, and tasted pretty fresh. Served on a Kaiser roll with a slice of American cheese, slices of raw onion, and a lettuce leaf. $11.00 for the platter, which includes fries.

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My first game at the new park is tonight. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it will be in a catered luxury box. My g/f's company is the owner, and we nabbed tix. I'll report back on the quality of the catering, and if it's so-so, I'll trek around and check out the current offerings....

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Went to the Nats vs. Phils game on Tues. night. We took my mom (#1 Phillies fan) and she was BEYONED thrilled with our seating--I got tickets for handicapped seating (we plop her in a wheelchair for any distances over 30 feet :lol: ) and we were just beyond the visitors dugout right on the field. She was ooooohing and aaaahing at all of her favorite boys of summer in person.

Anyways, Mr. MV got us a thing of nachos because we were just starving and wanted something fast. We were close to Ben's, but the line..OMG...th line was huge even before the game began. After, he got us all Hebrew National hotdogs from Nats Dogs (I think that's the name) who btw, also sell half smokes.

Fried ;) , then grilled, these puppies were bursting with juice! It was the quintessential 'eat a dog at the ballpark' kind of experience. For $5.50....a steal at a ball game.

So, my advice is to skip the heavy lines and hit up a Nats Dogs for a HN.

ps...the buns were pretty good too. No kraut tho :o

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We had a couple of friends from Richmond come up for the game last night. It was fun to see someone have a half-smoke for the first time - she was not expecting it to be spicy and claimed that the name gave her no such indication. Plus, we actually played well and won! OK, it was against the Reds again, but still. Go Nats!

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I have no idea what possessed me, but I had a hot dog at Tuesday's game v. the Mets. A regular old plain hot dog with Gulden's. I think I was too lazy to walk on over to the Hard Times or something.

It's been a long time since I had food poisoning this badly, but it's Friday and I'm only barely recovered. GI doc confirmed FP and we're waiting for the lab results to figure out just what bug it was in there. Other foods ruled out because of timing or innocuousness (it wasn't the morning's oatmeal or banana or the late-night homemade chocolate chip cookie, oddly enough I didn't eat lunch).

Anyway, a friend of mine commented that the last time he checked out the hot dogs, they looked particularly grey - he suspected (based on that observation alone) that they had been reheated or something. I should have listened and stayed away.

Now I love a good half smoke, but my hot dog consumption is usually limited to one a year, always at a ballpark. Needless to say I'll be rethinking this annual tradition. Great reason to have Gifford's for dinner, don't you think?

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I think if they were all bad, even just that kind from that one window, I assume there would have been something in the press about it? Maybe not. But I figure it was just a rogue that I got or something, or my immune system wasn't able to handle what other people's could that night, or something like that.

GI doc called with test results - it wasn't any of the major ones at lest (not e.coli, not salmonella, et c). Makes me feel a little better.

Once I get over the aversion, I'll definitely be back to half smokes - they're not really hot dogs, right??

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Today was the inaugural NatsFest. Communication from the club didn't specify food options and turned out only Stars & Stripes was serving.

Luckily, we'd walked the 3 mile round trip from the Park to the Barracks Row Matchbox. Their Jazz Brunch was in full swing and they also served their regular lunch menu. Excellent spicy meatball pie. Made it back in time to get a good seat for George Will's Q&A.

Best part? Our sales exec walked us past security to "test drive" this season's seats. They're keepers -- way better than last season.

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Does anyone know more specifics about what the Levy Restaurants did to "revitalize" their other client's park concessions? From today's Washington Business Journal:

Beginning in the 2009 season, Chicago-based Levy will take over responsibility for the food and beverage offerings at Nationals Park, the team announced Monday. The company previously revitalized dining at such ballparks as Wrigley Field in Chicago and Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

<snip>

The plan is to remove the last row of 32 fixed seats in center field in front of the restaurant, called the Red Porch, and add more tables, seating 44 people in the space. The concrete back wall will be removed and replaced with roll-up garage doors that open up that side of the building, creating 88 outdoor seats facing the center field plaza.

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The beer selection is pathetic - the Bass Ale on draft is nothing more than amber-colored club soda, and Stella Artois is a diluted, clear-colored version of same. The Hook and Ladder Light (in bottle) tasted no better than either of these.
Looks like they're trying harder this year. From WaPo's D.C. Sports Bog:
But I just got the list of beers that will be offered at the Red Porch this season, and trust me, I will not be drinking precious few Nats Park beers this time around. If success on the field has any correlation to beer options in the stands, you should be in line for a massive improvement. I mean, playoff contention-style improvement.

Bottles: Budweiser, Bud Light, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bell's Oberon American Wheat Ale, Harpoon Summer Ale.

Draft: Peroni, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Bell's Kalamazoo Stout, Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale, Southampton Triple Abby Style Ale, Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen, Williamsburg Tavern Brown Ale, Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager.

In other words, if you want to drink to "I can't remember what happened in the third inning" levels, that will be a lot easier and tastier this time around.

(Via Beer Advocate, but this complete list was provided by the Nationals.)

Hopefully this will all be in place for Saturday's pre-season game.
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