Bay Baseball Bites - My Favorite Food (so far!)
It has taken a season and a half (and going to 19 games between Oakland and San Francisco) to finally discover a complete standout ballpark food item in the Bay area. That is a lot of baseball and ballpark food to bring me to this point to tell you about the most exciting and delicious ballpark item on the menu.
First, you are probably wondering what side of the Bay I found such a noteworthy item to talk about. Any guesses???
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Have you guessed yet?
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I found this wonderful culinary item in Oakland (did that surprise you?)
If you have previously read along to Bay Baseball Bites you know my focus in Oakland has been with the food trucks on Championship Plaza but this item is from a Coliseum vendor so it is truly a ballpark food item (not something delicious from an outside vendor that makes an appearance at the ballpark.)
The discovery of this ballpark food was on Saturday, June 23rd (a game versus the Texas Rangers - it was also a reversible bucket hat giveaway night) and though I cannot completely confirm, I do believe that this was one of the first times that you could order this item at the Coliseum.
This item only appears to be located in one location in the ballpark - at the Oakland Streats booth outside of the Treehouse. The Oakland Streats menu is small but mighty if you are looking for something unique to enjoy that you won’t find on the main concourse of the ballpark. It was the pop-up banner showcasing the item that I ended up trying and is already getting such high praise. That item is the “Dare to Pair” Flaming Hot Cheesesteak Sandwich.
The official description of this sandwich states it as “Thinly sliced beef with onions, cheese sauce and topped with Flaming Hot Cheetos on hoagie roll.” I was absolutely sold on giving this sandwich a try as soon as I read about it.
Oakland Streats located right outside the main indoor entrance to the Treehouse
Now back to the part where I mentioned that this night may have been one of the first times that you could order this item at the Coliseum. First, I had never seen this food vendor operating during any of my visits to the Coliseum. Second, the woman that I ordered from expressed some confusion about what I was ordering because she was not familiar with it. And third, the woman that made my sandwich asked if she could take a picture of it before handing it my way because she admitted to me that this was the first one of these that she had ever made. All signs point to that this was as new to them as it was to me (and maybe I was the first person to ever order this? It seems plausible but I do not want to stretch my experience quite that far - unless others can chime in on their experiences with this vendor and menu for a more historical reference than I have.)
Anyways, let’s get to the food itself. I was skeptical. When reading about it on the menu, it did seem very gimmicky. But once it was delivered to my hands I saw that there was something there that was more than just a ballpark menu gimmick.
It was a very large sandwich and my first concern with any sandwich of this size - and especially of the Philly Cheesesteak variety - is how well is it going to hold up. This sandwich stayed together so much better than I was anticipating. The bun was perfect and though there were a couple of pieces of meat to fall out (to be expected) I was able to eat this sandwich with complete ease.
The bread is a major factor in a sandwich like this but the rest of the ingredients also have to hold their own to really make it a standout. The beef was thinly sliced and created the platform for the rest of the ingredients to shine. The cheese was a sauce - not slices - which is the correct way for cheese to be included in a cheesesteak. Peppers and onions were in the mix. Then most importantly there was the Flaming Hot Cheetos crumble on the top. Flaming Hot Cheetos added a satisfying amount of crunch to the soft sandwich along with adding an element of heat that built along the way of eating the sandwich.
Dare to Pair Flaming Hot Philly from Oakland Streats
If you could not already tell, I was very impressed by this sandwich. It takes the cake of my favorite Bay Baseball Bite thus far (Oakland and San Francisco - I still believe you can both bring more to the table in your ballpark food offerings.) This menu item is inventive, tasty, and comes in a relatively good value (in ballpark price adjusted terms) at $15.49. During your next trip to the Coliseum seek this item out and give it a try (or any of the other Oakland Streats menu items that I have not gotten a chance to get around to yet.)