Though the Twins have had a slow start to the 2011 season

When it’s mud, not salt, that keeps your car from sparkling in the Minnesota sunshine, us northerners know winter is on its way out. While there are a select few hardy Minnesota folk that really love the cold weather, most of us count down the days to our favorite season: summer. I, on the other hand, count down the days to my favorite season: baseball.
My Dad had tickets but was out of town for the home opener. I’m his only offspring in the Twin Cities, so I got his tickets. I brought Mr. Katt, my boyf, EVEN though he is a life-long Brewers fan… Love makes you forgive things like that.
For me, baseball is as much about watching Thome dominate at the plate as it is about the grub. When Target Field replaced the Dome last season, I was beyond psyched for the food. Big press about Murray’s steak sandwiches, Kramarczuk’s sausages, the decadent Vincent burger– ambitious, even gourmet, food from local names. But after a full season eating my way through the ballpark fare, I discovered something about myself…
Who needs “gourmet” at a ball game? I’m sticking with the classics. It’s not that the food is bad per se (though what’s with Kramarczuk’s, which serves some good fare, not offering spicy mustard? Bummer!), but to me baseball is all about tradition. When else does a simple hot dog, peanuts, and cold, crappy lite beer taste so good?
My fave dog is the cheapest in the park– maybe $3.75? It arrives on a soft, squishy bun (not a hard, dry one). It’s small and probably supposed to be for kids, and they sell it at one lone concession stand on the main floor concourse, behind home plate. It was so difficult to find at the game that Mr. Katt went ahead and bought this foot-long dog, along with the Leinie’s cheese curds, served in a little cardboard canoe. Like I said, he’s a Brewers fan. It did the trick.

Other highlights from the stadium included sunny weather, a first pitch from a berry, berry good ballplayer Tony Oliva (who stepped in when Hall of Famer and all around amazing guy Harmon Killebrew couldn’t make it due to his treatments for esophageal cancer… please keep him and his family in your thoughts), Carl Pavano’s mustache, the Twins beating the A’s after a pretty uneventful game, and learning that Hrbek’s bar serves beer well-after the game wraps, unlike the rest of the stadium that closes up shop after the 7th inning. Leave it to Hrbie to keep the party going.

Low point? Maybe this incredibly pathetic “Farmers Market” stand. Overly ripe bananas, oranges, two crummy apples and a lone lemon (why?). Seriously, Twins Territory can do better than this. Heck, a gas station does better than this. We do have farmers in Minnesota, right?

Though the Twins have had a slow start to the 2011 season, we’ve never been much for sprinting right out of the gate. We’re marathoners, and I think this will be a great season for us.
Who’s your team, and what’s your favorite ballpark food? Oh and by the way, Andrew is both a Yankees fan AND a Twins fan (don’t ask me how this is even possible), and his favorite food at Target Field is the Throwback Dog, Kramarczuk’s sausage, and the gelato.