I grew up in Maryland and thus spent many summer days as a child with my dad at Camden Yards rooting for Cal Ripken and the Orioles. As a kid, nothing was better than an afternoon with my dad, enjoying all the (very overpriced) hot dogs, cotton candy, peanuts and Cracker Jack I could cram into nine innings. But since then, my taste buds have become a bit more refined and as an entrepreneur, my wallet a bit more tight. My cash reserves for good meals are limited, so I have all the more reason to be picky about where my food money goes.

Today we headed down to Coors Field for a little baseball action with some old TechStars alum from last year and our pals from this years teams Ignighter, TripDoor, and BuyPlayWin. Of course in baseball there is plenty of downtime, which is time that I usually like to fill snacking on good food. To my disappointment the selection at Coors Field was just as it was in Camden Yards 15 years ago, mediocre popcorn, hot dogs, nachos, peanuts and a few ice cream stands here and there. Now I am all about the classics - baseball wouldn’t be baseball without hot dogs and peanuts, but…for the hundred stands that serve hot dogs, it wouldn’t hurt to take 5 and fill them with a little diversity. The good news is that AT&T Park in San Francisco and many other stadiums across the country (Rockies are you next??) have done just that. Peter Meehan from the New York Times reported on a few of his discoveries during his visit to AT&T Park:

By the seventh-inning stretch, I had sampled a peppery clam chowder served in a bread bowl dotted through with tender bits of clam; a fried catfish sandwich in a crisp, Cajun-accented crust; and a homey bowl of jerk chicken over rice, with a healthy dash of jalapeño hot sauce.

Peter recounts his journey across the country, tasting his way through baseball stadiums in a recent article in the New York Times entitled Buy Me Some Sushi and Baby Back Ribs. From what he found there is hope for all us foodie fans out there who crave something a little more gourmet when we spend an afternoon at the ballpark.