Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

A delightful unexpected tidbit from PETA revealed that our Detroit Tigers ballpark is ranked # 3 of Top 10 veg friendly ballparks across the country.  You may remember that info from an earlier Exploits post in May.  As it happens we had the opportunity to attend our first Tiger game since becoming vegan and finally could try out their veggie options firsthand.  For years, I’ve wanted to share in the sacred ceremony of enjoying a hot dog at the ballpark, alongside my fellow fans with the meaty original version and did not know that it was available in our Comerica  ballpark until the news from PETA.

As you can imagine, we scoured the park website before attending the game to find exactly where we could purchase the veggie dogs and discovered it was in a place called the Brushfire Grill.  In addition to the dogs, they serve up veggie Italian sausage, veggie burgers and black bean burgers…..a veritable boon of choices for many casual restaurants, let alone a ballpark.  There was also a food court vendor that served veggie stir-fry too.  Cool.

The Grill was my first choice, because I wanted a ballpark hot dog to accompany my ice cold Summer Shandy. So we left our seats in the third inning and scooted down to partake in this baseball rite of passage.

They sold the hot dogs in a basket of two that included slaw, chips and a pickle.  Two veggie dogs? Yes please. We asked for a combo without slaw and they graciously offered us an extra pickle and chips.   Unlike the meaty dogs, they made the veggie dogs to order, so they came up fresh, hot and deliciously off the grill.  We really couldn’t believe how sensational they were, smothered in ketchup, mustard and relish. I felt like we were included in the tradition of a perfect summer evening, a rousing game of baseball and a ballpark frank. It was the ballpark experience with a compassionate twist.

As we stood in line, others came up and ordered the veggie dogs as well, a good indication that there is a demand for them. People asked for them and now they are there. When enough people ask for veggie friendly foods, they are added to the places we love to be. This is good news since a handful of people in our group were veg and one even asked us to bring a basket back to the seats with us, so they could enjoy them without leaving the action.

In case you were wondering, the Tigers came out on top, winning the game against the White Sox 8-1 and the night ended with a breathtaking fireworks display. We felt like winners too, scoring veggie dogs in a non-traditional place.  Thank you Comerica Park and the Tigers, the evening was a homerun as far as we are concerned.

Have a delicious Labor Day weekend.

Tags: ballpark veggie dogs, Comerica Park, compassionate eating, dairy free, trying vegan, trying vegetarian, vegan challenge, vegan wannabe, veggie dogs