Teddy Folkman, Chef at Granville Moore's, lends a helping hand at the 2008 Brainfood Grill-off in Washington, D.C.

Not much cookin’ on the field for D.C. baseball fans, but Nationals Park will host the stadium’s first-ever grill-off on Sunday, July 19 prior to their game vs the Chicago Cubs.  Partnering with Food Network and Levy Restaurants, the ball club will set the stage for a cooking competition between Phil Bucco (manager of menu concepts at Nats Park) and Teddy Folkman (Next Food Network Star finalist).

Following the mold of Food Network shows such as “Iron Chef America” and “Chopped”, the chefs will not know which ingredients they are working with until the grill-off begins. The chefs will each receive a basket of items they must incorporate into their dishes, and have access to a limited pantry.

The flame-masters will have 45 minutes to concoct a judge-pleasing dish based on originality and taste.  Fans on hand will be able to participate in a Q & A session and also have the opportunity to be chosen as part of the judges panel.

Source:
Washington Nationals, Levy Restaurants and Food Network host first-ever grill-off at Nationals Park [MLB.com]

Teddy’s Barbecue debuted during last night’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, and The Kosher Grill will begin operation during the series finale on Sunday.

Teddy’s Barbeque, operated by Levy Restaurants, will serve authentic Carolina-style barbeque including a beef brisket sandwich, BBQ pulled pork sandwich and pulled chicken sandwich. The stand will feature the newest signature item at Nationals Park, The Rough Rider Rib. The jumbo beef short rib is brined for 12 hours in true Carolina fashion, sealing in all the flavors of the meat. The dish is then slow-smoked for an additional 12 hours to further enhance its flavor.

The Kosher Grill, operated by local vendor Max’s Kosher Cafe in conjunction with Levy Restaurants. Located in Wheaton, Maryland, Max’s has been serving the Kosher community since 1994 and is a glatt kosher restaurant under the supervision of the Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington. The Kosher Grill will serve Kosher hot dogs, sausage, falafel, knishes and schawarma, Sundays through Thursdays at all Nationals home games.

It’s good to have options, but if I learned one thing from my visit to Nationals Park — other than visiting fans outnumber home fans — is that it’s also good to have a fat-ass wallet.  I dunno, in my opinion, ballpark product prices should mirror the product on the field; in the case of the Nationals we would be seeing several Dollar Kosher Dog nights.

Source:
Washington Nationals introduce new menu concepts at Nationals Park [MLB.com]

Related:
Levy Restaurants
Max’s Kosher Cafe

The Washington Nationals are hitting on all cylinders, if you only count things they screw up.  Nevermind the baseball-skill aspect, this Nats organization can’t seem to do anything right.  (Remember the misspelled jerseys)?  The latest example is one of pyrotechnic problems.  During a fireworks display yesterday vs the New York Mets, a game in which they lost 7-0, some debris from the fireworks landed on someone in the stands. 

Sounds pretty harmless, except when the Nationals accidentally spray soot on someone in their ballpark…that someone happens to be the arrogant D.C. Fire Chief.  Dennis Rubin was reportedly quite livid and ordered for the fireworks show to be shut down.  Sources close to the action stated that Rubin even resorted to the “Do you know who I am?” tactic; a card that the Washington Nationals could only wish they could play.  They have to go to their “Please forget that we exist” ploy.

Source:
D.C. Fire Chief Rubin Shuts Down Fireworks @ Nats Games [Washington City Paper]