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What do people REALLY eat at Baseball Games?

Edited by Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady

Despite Pushing Trendy Sushi and Sangria, Americans Will Stick With traditional Hot Dogs and Sauerkraut this Baseball Season

This year's baseball fan's will find a dizzying array of new foods including Sushi, Tacos and Sangria at their favorite ball parks, but these trendy menu additions won't make a dent in sales of the perennial American favorite:  a hot dog garnished with sauerkraut, according to the Fremont Company, producers of Frank's Sauerkraut.  Sauerkraut continues to be the country's second favorite hot dog topping, after mustard, as calculated by sales by weight.

WEINER IS TOP DOG

"I don't hear any mention of sushi in the classic 'Take me out to the ball game'," says Chris Smith, VP Director of Marketing for the Fremont Company.  "But I applaud the food operators for trying to innovate and bring new and interesting foods items to the ballpark."  Smith adds. 

"Despite competition from other foods the wiener remains top dog at stadiums," according to a statement issued by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council.

According to the Council, Americans will eat 29 million hot dogs in major league ballparks this year.  'If we assume that 1/2 of these hotdogs will be served traditionally, with sauerkraut, and that each dog receives a one and half ounce packet of our product, Americans will be consuming 2,268,750 pounds of sauerkraut this summer," says Chris Smith.

"Regardless of your home team, there's one thing nearly all baseball fans have in common: a love of the All American hot dog," said Council President Janet Riley.

In discussing changes at San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park, San Francisco Chronicle writer Robin Davis observed;"the number of food options have increased: sushi, ($6-$6.25), Japanese rice bowls ($6.25), Singapore chicken ($6.25); But do fans really go to the game for these items? The perfect complement to baseball is the hot dog ($4.75), and at Pac Bell, it came out on top."

"On the eve of Barry Bonds breaking Babe Ruth's home run record it's pretty clear that Americans are feeling reverent for tradition. And hot dogs with sauerkraut at a baseball park is about as honest an American tradition as you can find," says Chris Smith.

The American Museum of Natural History cites "Hot Dogs as America" on their website and references the #1 and # 2  incarnations as the New York Deli Dog and New York Street Cart Dog, both garnished with mustard and sauerkraut.

CRAVING HOT DOGS OUT OF SEASON?

Check out unique recipes at www.sauerkraut.com

Madelyn Miller is a writer and web entrepreneur who writes for www.travellady.com, www.chocolateatlas.com, www.cocktailatlas.com, www.carladynews.com, and www.todaysgooddeeds.com  She has several new websites in the works.

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