With one of the most well-known and popular signature concession items in baseball highlighting their ballpark menu, the Dodger Stadium food masterminds could easily rest on the success of the Dodger Dog. Instead, they continue to reinvent and innovate, with several new offerings available at Chavez Ravine this season.
Thanks to Season 2 of "Over the Plate," a show for the foodie baseball fan that is available to all MLB.TV subscribers and also airs on MLB Network, you can get an up-close view of these tantalizing items. Your guides on this culinary journey in Episode 1 of the new season? That would be Mike Rosenthal and 12-time Grammy Award winner John Legend, the co-founders of It's Good, a curated list-keeping app for saving, sharing and discovering the best places to eat and drink.
Rosenthal and Legend were joined at Dodger Stadium by the ballpark's executive chef, Christine Gerriets, as they sampled the Korean fried chicken bowl, the chicken Katsu club, the pastrami burger and more while discussing beloved baseball memories.
The Dodger Dog is just one of many signature dishes at MLB stadiums, and if some players had their way, that list would be expanding.
As part of the fun on the "Over the Plate" season premiere, players such as Jackson Jobe, Manny Machado, Sal Frelick, Michael Wacha and Tyler Glasnow made their cases for having their own menu items, even taking a shot at naming them. Frelick's "Sal's Chicken Parm" and Jobe's "The Jobe Dog" didn't stretch the limits of imagination, but they had an easier time naming their foods than Wacha had trying to stylize his nacho dish.
Wacha couldn't decide between the "Nacho Wacho" and the "Nacho Wacha," finally conceding that "I might have to come up with something a little bit better."
Next up, celebrity chef Beau MacMillan hosts a dinner party for retired 13-year MLB veteran Jonny Gomes and Minor Leaguers Cale Lansville (Giants) and Derek Diamond (Pirates).
Gomes is accustomed to enjoying life's finer offerings and said team dinners were among the highlights of his career.
"Team chemistry starts with going out to eat together and falling in love with just the food language," Gomes said.
Lansville and Diamond aren't as familar with fine dining.
"In the Minor Leagues," Diamond said, "we're not quite going to the steakhouse."
Gomes experienced multiple eras of Rays baseball. In his sixth and final year with the Rays, 2008, they advanced to the World Series. But when Gomes was a rookie in 2003, Tampa Bay was in a transitional period.
Still, Gomes was in the organization at the same time as future Hall of Famer Fred McGriff, and in Spring Training he soaked up the experience of other established stars.
"[Tampa Bay] was kind of like this melting spot for a lot of guys to finish their career," Gomes said.
In his first big league camp, Gomes found a way to take in the knowledge of clubhouse neighbors McGriff and longtime first baseman Tino Martinez.
"That was like 50 years of big league experience between those two guys," Gomes said. "And I would just tuck my chair literally like in my locker, and I would lean forward so they could see each other. So if they could see each other, they would talk more, I thought."
In the next segment, Royals No. 3 prospect Carter Jensen and Orioles No. 12 prospect Creed Willems, Arizona Fall League teammates, take their turn at the outdoor kitchen.
Willems works up his chicken alfredo while the two discuss cooking philosophies. Jensen espouses his love of broccoli in alfredo, which reminds Willems of his No. 1 rule as a native Texan:
"Beans do not belong in chili," he said.
While the two prospects may or may not have a future in the kitchen, Willems did share one piece of wisdom that all cooks could take to heart.
"Usually I just [cook] until it looks like it's ready," he said.
Finally, Chef MacMillan turns the tables on Gomes, quizzing him on cullinary terms that sound like baseball sayings. Gomes returns the favor by asking MacMillan to identify food-related baseball phrases.
You can test your knowledge of terms like "on the fly," "stretch it," "pickle" and "high cheese" while playing along.
"Ribeye" isn't just MacMilan's favorite steak, it's a statistic all batters are chasing. Here's a hint: Gomes had 526 of them during his career. And, he admits, a few at the dinner table.
For the full episode and for all the other MLB.TV programs, click here.