This Minors team takes concessions very seriously -- watch out for the grasshoppers
This is an excerpt from The Baseball Traveler Newsletter, formerly known as Ben's Biz Newsletter, delivering Minor League Baseball business and culture news to your inbox each and every Thursday. Check out the full newsletter and background on the name change HERE.
On the final night of July I visited Truist Field, home of the Winston-Salem Dash, High-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Seven weeks later I covered that visit in full, save for one important aspect: the food. The ballpark eats were in abundance that evening -- too much to fit into the confines of my original article -- so today we return to Winston-Salem for a feast (ably documented by MLB Live Content Creator Kathryn Skeean, who joined me at the ballpark on this memorable evening).
Most of the items featured below debuted in 2024. Some may return next year, others may not. Let this overview serve as ample evidence that the Dash take concessions seriously, aren’t afraid of polarizing items and take pride in showcasing the depth and breadth of their menu.
Partaking of this feast were Designated Eaters Seth and Cindy Mendelsohn, who now live in Charlotte after many years in Los Angeles. Seth’s a video game design consultant, a veteran of the industry whose credits include Aladdin and The Lion King.
“I let him talk at parties, because no one wants to talk about banking,” said Cindy, of her allegedly less interesting profession. Both Seth and Cindy love to visit Minor and Major League ballparks, a passion shared by their daughter, Maddie (now in college).
The Dash went all out for Seth and Cindy, setting them up at a table adjacent to the first-base dugout and delivering two items per inning (from the second through the sixth). It was a great night to be a Designated Eater.
Second Inning -- Pickle Corn Dog & Bird Dog
Seth and Cindy’s culinary journey began with the Pickle Corn Dog, a unique vegetarian option depicted in bitten form at the top of this segment.
Cindy: “Surprisingly good!”
Seth: “Yeah, that’s a good pickle.”
Next up was the Bird Dog: A chicken tender served in a hot dog bun, topped with shredded cheese and honey mustard sauce.
Seth: “Really good crunch to it. Nice flavor. Not spicy.”
Cindy: “Sweet deli mustard, and the cheese is not overwhelming.”
Third Inning -- Heart Attack Dog & Tarp Water
The Heart Attack Dog, apparently predicated on the notion that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, is a sausage topped with mac and cheese and a heap of bacon.
Seth: “Nothing with bacon can possible be bad. Oh, bacon, I love you.”
Cindy: “Oh, there’s some barbecue [sauce] on there. And good smoky sausage."
Tarp Water is the Dash’s take on Ranch Water, a cocktail made with tequila, lime juice and mineral water.
Seth: “This revived me after the Heart Attack.”
Cindy: [Struggling to find something nice to say, not saying anything at all.]
Fourth Inning -- Pineapple Pizza & French Toast Bacon Burger
Pineapple Pizza is a polarizing item. (Dash president Brian DeAngelis told me that his name for it is “The abomination.”) The only thing I have in my notes, or on video, regarding this concoction is Seth saying, “Life’s too short for bad pizza.” That could be read either way, regarding whether or not he liked this particular pizza.
The French Toast Bacon Burger came next. Sweet, meet savory.
Seth: “Good burger. Bread’s good, has a nice texture to it. This one’s a winner.”
Cindy: “The burger, it reminds me of the ones we used to have in the school cafeteria.”
Fifth Inning -- Gator Bites & Country Crepe
The game had crossed past the halfway point, and so had Seth and Cindy’s Designated Eating adventure. Next up for them was -- embrace the randomness! -- Gator Bites with Cajun aioli.
Seth, his eyes lighting up because he was about to make a joke: “Cajun flavor gives it a good bite!”
Cindy, after chewing for a long time with a wary expression on her face: “Chewy.”
Sixth Inning -- Cinnamon Toast Crunch Apple Pie & Dirt Cup
Finally, it was time for dessert. The self-explanatory Cinnamon Toast Crunch Apple Pie was up first.
“Very good, the pie’s warm,” said Cindy, nodding enthusiastically. Seth simply smiled while enthusiastically extending his thumb in an upward direction.
And now, for the grand finale, the Dirt Cup.
The Dirt Cup is chocolate pudding topped with crushed Oreo cookies. Looks innocuous enough, right? Cindy took a couple bites, seemed to like it well enough, and then a frown crossed her face. “I think there’s a bug in it,” she said.
And, indeed, there was.
Our first impression was that this was an embarrassing faux pas. The Dash had gone out of their way to showcase these food items, and they somehow served us an item with a dead bug in it?
Cindy dug around some more, excavating more and more bugs in the process. Soon, the reality of the situation was explained to us: This item contains grasshoppers! I procured even more of these salty bugs -- I like ‘em, they have a nice crunch -- and sprinkled them atop the pudding. Hey, when in Rome!
Seth simply shook his head “no” after taking a grasshopper-laden bite.
“There’s bugs in this,” he added incredulously, trying to convince himself of the reality in which he now found himself.
Cindy was more forgiving. “I’ve never eaten a bug, but it wasn’t bad,” she said.
From pickles to pizza, gator to grasshopper, Seth and Cindy had an evening to remember. They were both delighted with the Dash’s hospitality and went home happy.
“This,” said Cindy, “was one of the best nights we’ve had in a long time.”