Bring Progressive Field Feels Home
Whether baseball is back or not, here are a few ways to make home feel more like a day at the ballpark.
Grab some merch. Just because your usual spot in right field has been replaced by your couch, doesn’t mean you can’t gear up. With Nike as the new on-field supplier for MLB, Karen Fox, the Tribe’s director of merchandising, thinks jerseys are going to be a hot ticket. “It’s got the Nike swoosh on it, which is huge from a brand perspective,” she says. And Fox has a pro tip for anyone wanting to skip potential shipping times when ordering from MLB.com. Email the Team Shop directly (cteamshop@indians.com), let them know what you want (they have jerseys, bobbleheads, pennants, hats, etc.), and the team will arrange shipping. “We have all the gear they would need to commemorate this season,” Fox says.
Do your dogs right. Few things can replicate the joy of finishing off that sixth Dollar Dog night hot dog at Progressive Field. But making the popular game day grub from home means you’re in control. Phil Cubic, chef and general manager at Dan’s Dogs Diner in Medina, says the best way to grill hot dogs is by placing them along the grates, so the grill marks go along the length of the dog. “I do three turns,” he says. “It takes about four or five minutes, it’s nice and hot, not burnt, overcooked or charred. It’s just the right kind of done.” Cubic says to grill your buns for added texture. “Butter your buns and toast them right next to your hot dogs while you’re finishing your last flip,” he says.
Give ’em shell.
According to The Joy of Ballpark Food: From Hot Dogs to Haute Cuisine, peanuts’ role as an indelible baseball bite can be traced back to 1895, and no trip to Progressive Field is complete without them. And while the Peterson Nut Co. retail shop near the stadium closed earlier this year, owner King Nut relocated it to its Solon headquarters and offers shipping through shop.kingnut.com. Hit a grand slam and whip up spiced boiled nuts by throwing them into a Crock-Pot with chopped chilies, jalapeno, a bay leaf and whole peppercorns, then covering them with water and leaving them on low for 24 hours. “The shells are going to soak up all this awesome flavor,” says Hook & Hoof chef and owner Hunter Toth. “It’s just a cool snack.”
