Thursday, October 9, 2008

I'll Have a Cheesesteak: Hold the Cheese, Hold the Steak

When I think veggie fare, I tend not to think Philadelphia. But that's where I'm wrong:
IN 2007 AND AGAIN in 2008, Citizens Bank Park was named North America's Most Vegetarian-Friendly Ballpark. And after more than a decade of drought, in 2007 and again in 2008, the Phillies made the playoffs. Coincidence? Not if you ask Scott Geiger, the Phillies fan who's been helping the ballpark expand its menu . . .

. . . 2007 saw the addition of a vegetarian cheesesteak (or as Geiger calls it, a vegan steak sandwich, if you get it without cheese), and the Phillies went just over the wire, getting swept out of the National League Division Series by the Rockies. This year, CB Park pulled out all the stops, piling on both a mock-chicken cheesesteak and crabless crab cakes - and yes, now the Fightin' Phils are playing for the National League pennant, on their way to becoming World Series champions!
No, the article doesn't take the veggie food = winning argument very seriously, but at the same time, I don't think it takes the vegan cheesesteak = abomination argument seriously enough.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

in addition to the obvious vegan steak sandwich=abomination issue, i'd like to know if they've ever actually sold one at a ballgame. seriously, if for some reason i decided that selling vegan food in philly was how i planned to make my fortune, i think "at phillies games" would be pretty low down on my list of likely places they'd sell like hotcakes.

Matt Glenn said...

I've had tickets to every Sunday home game the Phillies have played over the last couple years and been to more than a handful of other games. Until I read this post I had no idea there was vegetarian food in CBP.

So they're trying to sell overpriced (I'm assuming, since it's stadium food), bad tasting health food in a city where most of the fans could pass themselves off as John Kruk's family members? I bet they're really raking in the dough . . . .

Next up, vendors carrying alcohol-free beer!

Unknown said...

You know, the Vet was a giant concrete American Standard household appliance of a stadium, but they never stooped to that.

TC said...

Philadelphia: City of Contradictions. Famous for cheesesteaks, but home to a lot of good vegetarian and vegan fare. Home of chubby, hairy, loud bullies. Also, very gay friendly. Remarkably racist, and yet, two black mayors in a row.

Seriously. Living here sometimes: confusing.

Unknown said...

Don't ask me. I just miss the Tastykakes.