We got our mitts on the Charleston RiverDogs 2015 stadium menu and let’s just say there’s an Asian fusion element this year that we didn’t see coming.
RiverDogs F&B Director Josh Shea has been in the test kitchen all winter working to up both the wacky food element people have come to expect, as well as add some healthy choices. The result? Items like this year’s signature brisket ramen bowl. A press release says, “it’s a healthy serving of ramen noodles sauteed in an orange teriyaki glaze topped with smoked beef brisket, snow peas, carrots, green onions, and a hard boiled egg.” Slurping noodles field-side might sound messy, but at professional Japanese baseball games ramen is de rigueur.
And there’s more Asian influences. The Korean side dish of kimchi also is a starting player in this year’s menu. The RiverDogs have added a Southern Kimchi Dog — a Hebrew National hot dog topped with collard greens, soy sauce, sesame seeds, piquant peppers, and kimchi.
To satisfy the health conscious, there’s a new Summer Harvest Salad that includes an entire head of hydroponic butter leaf lettuce (go big or go home?). The generous dish is meant to serve two-to-three and will be filled with grape tomatoes, edamame, quinoa, sunflower seeds, and a creamy avocado dressing.
But who are we kidding? The real draw are the decadent eats and the RiverDogs have plenty of those this year as well. A smoked turkey wing basket channels Medieval Times with a whopping two pound turkey wing slow-smoked and served with blackberry sage barbecue sauce over — what else? — a bed of cooked pork rinds. The beer shakes are back too, and this year include a Palmetto Espresso Porter Chocolate, Guinness Caramel, and Shock Top Creamsicle. And if that’s not enough to send you racing for the Lipitor, you can snack on a deep-fried cheesecake on a stick or chocolate-covered pepper bacon.
The RiverDogs 2015 season kicks off on April 9 with a seven-game homestand against the Lexington Legends. For more info, visit riverdogs.com.
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