Day 252 - AT&T Park

And with this shot, we say farewell to the City by the Bay . . . and there can never be enough neon lights in the city at night.

Day 251 - Bay Bridge

The San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge is visible beyond the left field corner.

Day 250 - AT&T Park

While the palm trees outside the main entrance are pretty and all, they really obscure the aesthetics of the architecture.

Day 249 - Ballpark Food

While it's possible to graze your way through nine innings, it's not advisable . . .

Day 248 - Ballpark Food

If you go hungry while watching the Giants, it's your own fault. These stands are behind the scoreboard in center field.

Day 247 - Ballpark Food

Gilroy, California is unofficially known as the "Garlic Capital of the World;" if you get these fries in AT&T Park, you'd better have some breath mints.

By the way, I didn't buy these - I asked someone walking away from the concession stand if I could take a picture of them.

AT&T Park Panoramas

Day 246 - AT&T Park

With apologies to my brother, the Reds' Joey Votto is seriously challenging the Cardinals' Albert Pujols not only for the National League MVP, but also for the Triple Crown, something that hasn't been done in the Senior Circuit since 1937 (Joe Medwick, also with the Cardinals, if you're keeping score at home.)

Against the Giants last week, Votto blasted an opposite-field homer to left on this swing.

Day 245 - AT&T Park

Say what you will about the Giants, Willie Mays was one of the greatest players to ever play the game, and deserves his statue in front of the stadium.

San Francisco Food Review #2

After such a mediocre experience at Burger Joint, I (A) was still hungry and (B) still had time before the 12:45 p.m. game time, so I walked further down King Street along the stadium and found Pedro's Cantina.



The sandwich board out front was touting street tacos, at $8 for three, which isn't too outrageous.

Street tacos are a small stack of corn tortillas, and filled with carne asada, grilled chicken, or carnitas (a slow-stewed pulled pork), and served with chopped onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime.

Add $4 for a full-sized pint of Sierra Nevada, and my meal was still at least half of what it would have cost inside the stadium. While the tacos weren't the best Mexican food I've ever had, and the boisterous pre-game sports bar atmosphere wasn't the most authentic, it was passable for lunchtime.

A solid B . . .

Day 244 - AT&T Park

As a Dodger fan, it's a genetic predisposition to detest the Giants and Yankees; San Franciscans feel the same way about the Dodgers, as evidenced by the multitude of "Beat L.A." shirts and hats in the team store.

But as a fan of the game itself, I have to appreciate the greatness of a player like Juan Marichal, despite what he did to Johnny Roseboro in 1965. And the statue of him outside the rear entrance to AT&T Park sure is neat.

San Francisco Food Review #1

After eating only ballpark food my first night in San Francisco, I decided to try some of the local restaurants surrounding AT&T Park the following day. I had passed Burger Joint walking back to my hotel the previous night and made it my first stop of the day, just after they opened.

Prices weren't bad, $12 for a cheeseburger, fries, and a draft Anchor Steam - about what you'd expect to pay in the heart of the city. The burger was ok, but the "Niman Ranch Natural Angus Beef" burger didn't taste much different than one of the higher end burgers here in L.A. from say, The Counter or Father's Office.

















The draft beer was ice cold, and had very little head, rare for the first pull of the day. Seemed a bit smaller than the advertised "pint," but maybe that's just me.



















































Veggies were way fresh, especially the in-season tomato, but there was too much red onion, which threatened to overpower everything else.

The french fries were BY FAR the weakest part of the whole plate. Woefully undercooked to the point of being mushy, they were saturated in oil and limp. Hardly worth the effort . . .

All in all, Burger Joint rates a C-.

Day 243 - San Francisco

The Giant Dog fared better, but I'll reserve judgement until I can have a Chicago Dog at Wrigley (hint, hint, Dave.)

Day 242 - San Francisco

On the recommendation of a friend and colleague from the Bay Area, I had to have the nachos on last week's visit to AT&T Park to see two of the Giants' games against the first place Reds.

And despite their photogenic nature (thanks, natural sunlight!) these nachos were nothing special.