Fenway Favorites

We are about a month into my one of my favorite times of the year- Baseball Season. Overall, this season represents everything fantastic in the world, warm summer nights, cheering on the home town team, grilling with friends, enjoying a cold beverage or two...there is just nothing better than a Sox win, a frosty beer and some tasty Fenway food.

I have been lucky enough this year to have already gotten to four games. Each time Ive gotten to sample different fun treats at the park and each time Ive have a fabulous time with fabulous people- win or lose.

Under normal circumstances, I don't incorporate sauasage or hot dogs into my daily diet. However, when at Fenway- there is nothing more obvious than ordering these items. The first game I went to- I walked around for quite a while trying to decide how I wanted to kick off my season of eating- Fenway Frank- the old standby? Sausage with onions and peppers? My friends advice that the cubans there are to die for? Or stick with something light and do a bit of a "Fenway Tasting"? I chose to go for the Sausage with peppers and onions- loaded with quite a bit of mustard. There is just something about the greasy sausage topped with cooked green peppers and onions with a nice yellow mustard layered on top that screams special treat a., and b. summer is here. I thoroughly enjoyed my sausage but was rather disappointed that they were out of the big pretzels when I went for one later, and only had kettle corn in place of real hot popcorn. Needless to say- I skipped my 7th inning snack.

Never fear though- last week I was able to satisfy some more cravings at my third game of the season. First stop on entering the park- the pretzel stand to indulge in one of those extra large, hot out of the "oven", nicely rock salted twisted bread sticks. I never use more yellow mustard than I do at the park- and I absolutely loaded up my pretzel that night. The combination of the acidity of the mustard along with the doughy pretzel and the salt is one of my private heavens. Later in the game, after much tracking of the stand seller, I got my first Fenway Frank of the season. I have to say...I know that they are riddled with non nutrients, and if thought about carefully, are a pretty disgusting food, but sometimes nothing hits the spot better than a nice hot dog, in a soft bun with- you guessed it- yellow mustard. There is something about them that reminds me of childhood, and the pure simplicity of it all.

This past weekend I enjoyed my final Fenway tradition- a sausage from outside the park from The Sausage Guy- this guy knows his stuff. More flavorful than inside the park, though including the same general ingredients- there's just nothing better.

Now obviously- the diet from meals at Fenway is seriously lacking some key nutrients, but it is my firm belief that when you are inside the home of the Boston Red Sox- you can eat or drink as you please and it just doesn't count. Walk off homers in the 9th though...do! :-)