It's baseball season, and we're a little obsessed 'round these parts. The MLB kicked the season off on Sunday when the Braves beat the Phillies, but for us Slashfoodies baseball is as much about beers and brats as it is about worrying how our teams will fare.

With that in mind, this week's Slashfood Ate (8) is dedicated to recent brew-related stadium stories.

1. Philadelphia Daily News' Joe Sixpack hints at some of the new draft beers at the Phillies stadium.
   
2. D.C. Sports Bog brags about the beers at Nats Park this year. And rightfully so. Do any other ballparks offer up Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA?
   
3. Not too far up the road in Bal'more, Kasper on Tap reflects on what Camden Yards is serving.
4. CNBC breaks the story on which stadiums boast cheapest beer prices in the league (the Pirates) and which are the most pricey (thanks a lot, Red Sox Nation).
5. Raucous Yankees fans can once again purchase beer in the bleachers. ...
6. ... But in a sign that the new Yanks stadium is still out of touch with the times, 24-ounce cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon will retail for an absurd $9.
7. The New York Mets turn up their noses at such piracy, lowering beer prices at their new stadium, Citi Field.
8. Sports fans, keep your boozin' in line or all of the above will be a moot point: Alcohol sales were banned for game two of the Tigers-Blue Jays series after drunken revelers ruined a rowdy opener.
   

Seen any interesting new suds offerings as your local ballpark? Can you even afford MLB beer prices in this economy?

Earlier this week, Slashfood got a sneak peek at the new Mets fare at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. The Yankees rolled out their food offerings for Workout Day today and like everything the Bronx Bombers do, they did it big, expensive and fancy.

The new Yankee Stadium has steakhouse, a Hard Rock Cafe, the Legends Club, a Mohegan Sun Sports Bar and a slew of other high- and lowbrow dining experiences. There's even branded ketchup for the plebs who might revolt when they learn beer here is now $9 a bottle. (Let them drink $8-a-plastic-glass Yellowtail, Steinbrenner might say).

Slashfood literally bumped into Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon on the ascent to NYY Steak, the year-round steakhouse run by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (which explained the heavy presence of Seminole VIPs trying out the menu).

Find out about the food (and see pictures!) after the jump.

Iron Chef, Times-style: Food section writers Kim Severson and Julia Moskin each make dinner for six for $50, and restaurant critic Frank Bruni judges.

Severson's menu, with recipes: Chili-spiced peanuts, carnitas tacos with cabbage-radish slaw and fresh tomatillo salsa, and dark molasses gingerbread with whipped cream.

Moskin's menu, with recipes: Cold tomato-cilantro soup, cheddar puffs, pasta with chicken, currants and pine nuts, tangerine-vanilla floats.

Will they ever allow wine sales in New York grocery stores, like they do in 35 other states? Eric Asimov discusses the upcoming vote.

Homemade sausages, no grinder or casings required. With several recipes.

The Minimalist's take on Asian-flavored noodle soup.

What's on the menu at the new Yankee Stadium? Noodle bowls, Cuban sandwiches and sushi. Oh yeah, and hot dogs.

Not to be outdone, Mets fans will get pulled-pork sandwiches on brioche buns, shrimp rolls and frozen custard with fresh blueberries at the new Citi Field.

The New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys are teaming up to improve your ballpark experience with better food!

The two teams have become partners in a new company: Legends Concessions. According to the chairman, Mike Rawlings (a former Pizza Hut president), baseball fans want quality products more than they want low prices. So get out your credit card.

Still, according to the New York Times:
"'It's the nonsuite holders where we hope to see the biggest jump in satisfaction,' said Mike Rawlings, the Legends chairman, and a former Pizza Hut president, who cited research saying only 31 percent of fans are satisfied with ballpark customer service. He promised faster service, shorter lines and hot food that will stay hot."

Legends Concessions is going to bring us beer, hot dogs, and margaritas, and we have a feeling that it's going to be really, really good. I can't wait to try it at the new Yankees' Stadium!

Oh, and Mike Rawlings? Prepare for a heckuva rant if the food's not worth it. Your friend, Annie

I was born in Hollywood and living in Los Angeles until I was nine years old. The Dodgers were the first major league baseball team I ever saw and I remained devoted to them until I moved to Philadelphia in 2002. Over the last six years, in the face of the ferocious loyalty that Philadelphians demonstrate towards their sports teams, my allegiance to the Dodgers has slipped. I'm now watching this series between the Phillies and the Dodgers, hoping with all my might that the Phils pull it out tonight and win a fourth game tonight.

This cake was baked by Isgro Bakery in South Philadelphia (the bakery has been there since 1904) and the picture was taken by Scott.

This week, the Times is a little less pretentious and a little more...well, all-American.

Check out the interactive map of baseball stadiums across the country, and click on those featured for what to order and what to avoid at each.

The map is fun, as are the color photos of dishes at each stadium. But the quality of stadium food is highly debatable, especially if the food carries with it an air of nostalgia and tradition (ie: cheesesteaks in Philly or pizza in Chicago) or, y'know, if you've imbibed a bit too much (because let's be honest: after four beers, you won't care if the nachos are a little stale).

Although, I'll give it to the Times: the Philly cheesesteak shown in the photo was not a home run. Although I'll bet that somewhere out there, there's a diehard Phillies cheesesteak fan.

No more smuggling outside food into the stadium, because at the new Nationals baseball park, they're letting you bring your own food to the game, no questions asked.

Unlike neighboring RFK Stadium, the current home of the Nats, fans can tote in their own sandwiches and sodas instead of paying an arm and a leg for them at the stadium.

Nationals spokeswoman Chartese Burnett was quoted in a WTOPNews piece as saying, "I don't know who's going to want to bring in food with all the great offerings at Nationals park."

Gee, I dunno, Chartese - maybe people who don't want to shell out their life's savings for lunch at the ballgame. But if you get hungry after eating your meals from home, a full list of the stadium's vendors - including Ben's Chili Bowl, Boardwalk Fries, and La Piccola Gelateria - is available here. The new stadium is slated to open March 30.

Starting this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers are giving fans a reason to come to games other than to see baseball. Tickets for seats in the right field bleachers will be raised to $35 each ($40 on game day) and will include all-you-can-eat food. The deal includes Dodger dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos, sodas and more, but excludes ice cream, beer and candy. The way it will work is that fans in that section can simply walk up to the food booths and ask for whatever they want, whether it is just one hot dog and garlic fries or two dozen dogs for their whole group of friends. The Dodgers executive vice president and chief operating officer said that some foods may be set up in a buffet section to expedite service.

It isn't that hard to eat two Dodger dogs, despite the fact that they are quite large, but they run only $4.75 (or $5.25 for all-beef) each. A soft pretzel is $3.50 and peanuts are $5. It seems like the average fan may not eat $35 worth of food, excluding beer, during a game.

The ticket prices this season for right field were $10 each and the left field bleachers will still be available at that price.

Nick posted about the launch of this burger at GCS Ballpark, home of the Gateway Grizzlies in March, but I hadn't actully seen what it looked like until now. It is hard to find words for this thing. Baseball's Best Burger is a cheeseburger with two strips of bacon, served on a Krispy Kreme doughnut. It weighs in at about 1000 calories and 45 grams of fat. The Grizzlies say that they sell around 150 of the burgers, a $4.50 each, per game.

A deep fried Snicker's bar may be bad for you, but I think that this burger might just be able to knock it off the list of the worst foods you can eat.

For the next three years, Baby Ruth will be the official candy bar of Major League Baseball. In addition to having a logo proclaiming it as such on the packaging, the candy will also be featured in a number of in-game and TV promotions. The candy bar is nougat, coated in peanuts and dipped in chocolate. The fact that the name is almost identical to that of one of the greatest players of all time can only help endear it to fans.

Many people believe that the candy is named after the baseball player Babe Ruth, due to the similarity in the names. A Snopes article tends to support this theory, but the company that invented the bars, before they were sold to Nestle, says that they were named after President Grover Cleveland's daughter - who was named Ruth. Unfortunately this explanation has a few flaws, as Snopes points out. Not only were the bars introduced in 1921, but Ruth Cleveland died at the age of 12 in 1904, making her an odd choice to have a candy bar named after her.

 

 

The bagel shop Finagle a Bagel is offering a special bagel to honor the new Red Sox center fielder, Coco Crisp. No, not the cereal - that's his name. A spokesperson for to company says that the bagel is meant to honor the team as a whole, but one look at what goes into it, and it's pretty apparent that it relates to Coco Crisp more than, say, Trot Nixon. It is a bagel with cocoa powder, chocolate flavoring and chocolate chips, rolled in a crispy cereal coating. The bagel was introduced just over a week ago and has sold out daily. It will be available for 2-3 months.

No newspaper worth its weight in matzo doesn't have a story related to Passover. The San Francisco Chronicle dishes out some artichokes and fiery horseradish sauce. To change up the sweets filled with matzo, potato starch makes a sponge cake covered with berries.

It started with the Ferry Building Marketplace at Embarcadero, and now gourmet "food malls" are sprouting up all over the Bay Area.

The CIA at Greystone has expanded its program to include a full-fledged culinary program, just like its New York headquarters.

On the dining scene, watch the chefs at Rogue Chefs. John Bentley's gets a re-visit and an updated review, as does Cortez.

Baseball season has kicked off, and at Bay Area stadiums, the food has kicked off, too, with offerings beyond hot dogs and peanuts.

Pan-roasting the last of winter's vegetables gets praise, with a recipe for caramelized vegetables.

Thomas Keller is building a tiny empire over in the Napa Valley