Bay Baseball Bites - SF Edition # 2
Back at Oracle Park before the seagulls dive in for the remnants of ballpark food as the game goes long, I followed up with the Organic Coup to try out their largely advertised fried chicken sandwich and (accidentally) recreated a moment from the first Giants game I had ever gone to at the then-named AT&T Park with one of my favorite beers.
The Organic Coup - Fried Chicken Sandwich
Fried Chicken Sandwich from The Organic Coup
The overhead shot to show how large this sandwich is.
Even though this sandwich has a large price tag, it is a large sandwich that has a ton of slaw on top. There was no possible way to contain the slaw within the bun of this sandwich from the get-go. The slaw is a better than your basic slaw. It has some jalapeños mixed into it that adds some texture and mild heat at times. I have to mention that when I ordered this sandwich I was asked if I wanted one of two or both sauces to put on this sandwich and I panicked and said neither. I wasn’t expecting to get a sauce option. I don’t even remember what those sauce options were. But honestly, I have no idea how I would have put sauce on this sandwich except as squirts added between bites. It wasn’t stable enough with the amount of slaw to disassemble and reassemble to put sauce on the chicken.
Overall, this is your better than average ballpark fried chicken sandwich. Not sure that it is totally worth the price tag (even in expensive ballpark food adjusted terms) but I am still glad that I gave it a try.
21st Amendment’s Hell-or-High Watermelon Beer - Then & Now
My second memorable taste of a San Franciscan beer after, of course Anchor Steam, was the Hell-or-High Watermelon wheat beer from 21st Amendment. I cannot remember exactly when I had it the first time, just that I was told to try it because it had become a San Franciscan craft beer classic, so that meant I had to try it despite the fact that I do not eat watermelon. And you know what, I really enjoy this beer.
And I repeat. I do not eat watermelon.
The first Giants home game that I went to was back in May 2017. It was over Memorial Day weekend and I don’t even remember who the Giants were playing that day or even if the Giants won. The things that I remember most from going to that game were as follows:
The view from the 1st base side of the stadium are amazing. You get such a great view of the field, the scoreboard, the bay, McCovey cove, just everything!
I could not believe that there was a slide in the Coca-Cola bottle structure out in left field (and that I wanted to go down it but that would have been frowned upon).
I was on a mission to experience the classic Ghirardelli sundae.
My boyfriend was on a mission to get us Hell-or-High Watermelon beers.
I did get my sundae (it was even better than I expected). I loved the views at the ballpark. It truly is a scenic place. Learned some new things about the structure that I had seen on TV in the outfield but did not realize was an area for kids to play. And my boyfriend did get us our beers.
The real surprise with the beers was that it was served with a slice of watermelon! I was very excited about that fact if you could not tell from the photo below.
Posing with my Hell-or-High Watermelon (circa 2017)
That was such a great and unique moment to have at a ballpark. A beer with a watermelon garnish!
(Please note that I did not eat the slice of watermelon. I still did not want to eat the slice of watermelon even though I enjoyed its presence in my beer for the style points. The slice of watermelon did not go to waste. I pawned that off to my boyfriend who joyfully ate it.)
Now that I live in the Bay Area, I have gone to a handful of Giants games this 2021 season and did not think that Hell-or-High Watermelon was available anywhere in the stadium. It was not until I was at a game over Memorial Day weekend during the series versus the Dodgers (which that alone is an experience that I was not ready for coming from being a Mariners fan as there is no historic or intense rivalry like that) when I spotted this beloved beer available on tap in the ballpark.
I spotted the Hell-or-High Watermelon tap handle at the Impossible Foods stand in the club level as I was waiting to get a beer from the neighboring beer cart. As soon as I saw the Hell-or-High Watermelon option I neglected the line I was in and hopped in the line at Impossible Foods so I could get my watermelon beer.
Posing with my Hell-or-High Watermelon (circa 2021)
As you can tell, I was once again very happy to have this beer. The beer this time around was smaller, without the watermelon slice, and cost more than the last time around. But it still brought out good times and smiles at the ballpark and isn’t that what it should all be about?
#baybaseballbites