Bay Baseball Bites - SF Edition # 1
San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies - June 20, 2021
It had been 630 days since I had last stepped foot inside a ballpark. The last game I had gone to was the final game of the season for the Seattle Mariners in 2019, which was at home on Sunday, September 29th versus the Oakland A’s. If you would have asked me then what the next baseball game I would go to after that I would have told you it would be the home opener for the 2020 season in Seattle. But, you know, the world completely changed and had different plans for all of us.
So that’s how we get to it being 630 days in between going to games for me, plus some life changes that brought me to now live in the Bay Area so T-Mobile Park is no longer my home ballpark (still a true to the blue Mariners fan though).
I had been to a game in San Francisco one other time before this (back in 2017 and under the former name of AT&T Park) so I had some idea of what to expect walking through the gates of this ballpark. I knew I absolutely needed a famous Ghirardelli sundae. I needed some subsistence too and I remembered that there was an organic food stand that had caught my eye last time I was here but didn’t get a chance to try. And to round things out, I needed some Anchor Brewing beer because local beer and baseball is a perfect pairing.
The Ghirardelli Sundae
Ballpark sized Ghirardelli Square
The Ghirardelli sundae is probably the most well-known food offering at Oracle Park. It is one of those things that everyone talks about and tells you to get if they hear that you are going to this ballpark for the first time, which rightly so, because it is a special food offering.
This isn’t your usual sundae because it has that flavorful, creamy real (not soft serve) ice cream, the rich and decadent hot fudge, whipped cream, and of course, a cherry on top! It has everything that you want from a sundae in a setting where you can usually only get your basic soft-serve ice cream (but no shade on that - I still appreciate that kind of ice cream, especially when it comes in a mini helmet, which this does not and would be the way to make me love this dessert even more.)
The Ghirardelli perfectly rounds out a meal at the ballpark, but it was number one on my priority list to make sure that I got when coming to this ballpark so that’s why it gets its appreciation and write-up about it first.
What beats a Ghirardelli sundae on a Sunday?
The Organic Coup - Corn Dog & Tots
When you see a stand at a ballpark or sports arena advertising organic food it sticks out from the other food offerings and that’s why I have had the Organic Coup in my memory since the first time I went to a Giants game. And finally I got around to trying it!
As you could probably tell from their sign, they take the most pride (and probably sell the most of) their fried chicken sandwich. But if you read the smaller sign underneath their restaurant name you will see that they are “Proudly serving America’s first certified organic corn dog.” That’s where they got me.
Corn dog and tots from the Organic Coup
This corn dog did not disappoint. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but this beat all of those expectations that I had coming into it.
I can honestly say that it was the best stadium corn dog that I have ever had. It had the perfect crispy exterior without being too chewy on the inside. And it came with tots! Getting a little side with a corn dog is something that I always crave because corn dogs have always just come on their own at any other ballpark that I have gotten them at. Getting the tots was a nice touch (even though I wish they were slightly crispier, but I’ll take it!)
Anchor Brewing
Whenever I visited the Bay Area before moving here no trip was complete without getting a pint of Anchor on tap, even if it was just at a bar at SFO before heading back out of town. Though Anchor is distributed and I knew where to find bottled six packs of it in Seattle, but it just tastes better on tap and when I’m in the Bay. So obviously this is becoming my beer of choice when I go to a Giants game.
There is a great Anchor Brewing stand out in the center field plaza where you can find the best variety of Anchor (in cans and on draft) in the ballpark. The best deal I saw for it is purchasing it on draft at this stand, but be prepared there aren’t really any great deals on food or drinks at this ballpark. It is all so much more expensive than I have seen anywhere else that I have gone to a baseball game.
Anyways, back to the beer. The Anchor Steam beer and the California Lager are going to be what you’ll find in cans throughout the ballpark but at the Anchor stand you will find two other styles of beer that are only available on draft and easiest to find directly here, though I believe they are also scattered around other stands in the park you just have to hunt them down.
That was a well-rounded day of ballpark food at Oracle Park! I can’t wait to try more of it and let you know all about it. And of course, check out the ballpark on the other side of the bay and report back about the ballpark food there as well!
#baybaseballbites