At the June 18 baseball game at Sam Lynn Ball Park, my focus was not on if the Bakersfield Blaze were winning or not, but what was blazing on the grill.
That’s right, I had the fortunate (later unfortunate) privilege to gobble down as much food as humanly possible. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.
My first casualty of the evening was a thick, juicy hot dog. I originally wanted to try a footlong hot dog, but to my surprise the smaller concession stand I first ordered from ran out by about 8 p.m. One swig of Pepsi briefly followed before slowly engulfing a churro.
Churros have been my companion ever since my teeth learned to chomp, but this churro was unlike any other I have tasted. Cinnamon covered every square inch of the long soft piece of fried dough. It wasn’t crispy like I expected, and the over excessive amount of cinnamon made my mouth as dry as a desert. My fingers were sprinkled with the small specs of cinnamon and napkins were nowhere to be found. I was as messy as a little kid with a chocolate ice cream cone.
I next made my way up to the press box. My mission there was photography, but Jim Eggert, AKA”Santiago,” the guy who played the music throughout the game, insisted I eat the delicious food that he had cooked for the press box personnel. I tried to say no, but the pressure was too much, so I made a tri-tip sandwich and passed on the hot pot of chili beans. The sandwich was mouth watering. I didn’t care if I had already eaten; I had to taste that sandwich. The sandwich lived up to Eggert’s words, was enjoyable, and I planned on eating the whole thing if it wasn’t for the desserts that were awaiting my attention.
In between bites of the sandwich, I scooped up Rainbow Ice Dippin’ Dots. I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not; one bite numbed my whole mouth. My mouth automatically hovered over the sandwich, hoping it would be able to taste the stringy meat. The ice cream bowl was pretty small for $3, but Dippin’ Dots had nothing to worry about.
It was Keisha Westmoreland’s first night working at the Dippin’ Dots stand, but she seemed a pro at selling. Although her favorite flavor was the banana split, she said the popular flavor was the rainbow ice. My bowl, which started melting, looked too much like Trix cereal.
The Driller Brownie Sundae for $3.50 followed. The cherries and whip cream made it astonishingly good, but the brownie was too large. The brownie also was too sweet, so diabetics beware.
That was my last food for the evening, as I was as stuffed as I usually am on Thanksgiving. If you’re headed out to watch the Blaze this summer, keep some money stuffed in your pocket for food to stuff your face.
From The Grille, prices range from $1.50 to $7 and on The Sweet Spot, prices range from $0.75 for Pixty Stix to $3.50 for the Driller Brownie Sundae.