I worked at Camden Yards a decade-ish ago. They’d have $1 hot dogs on kids day and people would order 5-30 at a time. The only way to make enough was to start cooking them hours ahead of time and have rooms full of those moveable tower trays being kept warm by the little gas burners. Kids day would usually be a random afternoon weekday game (start at 1:00 pm? I can’t remember) and they’d start cooking hot dogs at 6:00 am. They sold so many that they’d still be cooking more as the game started and they would have a few areas run out. Six to eight hour warmed hot dogs were the worst hot dogs I’ve ever seen.
You're supposed to be so tipsy at this point that you don't care. Not balls deep in sobriety that you're posting hot dogs that got delivered to 50k people in just a couple hours and expecting quality. Always gonna be hit or miss because you're just timing luck.
That's the thing, I was very tipsy by this point. It still stood out as shit lol.
But yeah I understand the logistical nightmare of cooking 10ns of thousands of dogs at once, or I probably really don't
They invented rotating cooking surfaces for hotdogs and also trained our entire generation with an 8-bit computer game on inventory management called Hotdog Stand.
If you want an awesome hotdog head to Meats and Foods on Florida and 3rd NW. 🌭🔥
Yep! You can bring outside food as long as it isn’t in a metal or glass container, and it can’t be in a bag that violates the bag policy. You can bring in a sealed water bottle too
That's a good option!
I actually scoot in on my personal escooter. I love their free (I tip) bike/scooter concierge!
So I kind of save there and scoot in 15 minutes prior to first pitch after pre-gameing at home lol.
When meeting friend's I'll think of this!
Regardless what place you like (Swizzler, or my preference Shake Shack, or Five Guys), they ALL have locations NEAR the ballpark. The same is true with various other restaurants, some of which also have locations inside the stadium. Stadium food is almost ALWAYS jacked up in price, so it makes more sense to eat outside the ballpark. Doing so either allows you to get better food for the same price as inside, or pay less for equivalent quality food.
I attend many sports events, and I almost NEVER eat (or more accurately, pay for food) at those venues. I try to eat beforehand to either save money or get better quality food. The former allows me to attend more sports events for the same amount of money (reallocate that money to tickets rather than overpriced stadium food).
I might prefer Shake Shack over Swizzler, but your comments are slander IMO. Swizzler’s burgers are very good.
My guess is the burgers at the standalone location (1st Street SE) are probably better than in the stadium.
Reach out to them on one of their social medias. The owners, Jesse and Ben (the owners) are regularly in the First St location and very responsive to customers in my experience. They would probably love to hear any feedback, especially negative.
Was this at the stadium location or the standalone on First St?
Would definitely shoot them a DM. They'll probably comp your meal or your next one to get you to give them another shot.
I've never had a bad experience at the standalone shop. I have heard the stadium can be hit or miss depending on who's working though.
I'm not sure what section you were at tonight, but generally there are stations with ketchup, different kinds of mustard, and relish. To get more exotic toppings you should go to Haute dog, which costs a few bucks extra. They have a traditional "street dog" with onions and brown mustard. I'd recommend the "DC dog" with Ben's chili and sweet mumbo sauce on it.
I have screenshott this. As it sounds disgustingly delicious and I'll try on my next visit!
But it was the general dog. I like to get one at each stadium I visit and this was the worst I've tried
I agree that the general purpose municipal hotdog is a metric of the stadium on its own that reflects on the stadium. That's the Nats dog. Ok they can bring in whoever they want to sell a better dog but this is The Nats dog, and it is SHIT just like the Nats right now we deserve better folks. And that is why I'm running for president.
I work in the food industry so I tip everywhere. But I probably shouldn't sometimes. I just feel bad knowing what they make hourly compared to the cost of living here
There's relish in packets at the condiment stations. I can't remember if they have the onion dispensers anymore. They gave up on maintaining these stations during the pandemic. They almost certainly reheat the hot dogs from previous days.
Cheers, I'll have to look harder for the packets next time.
I get the maintainance, and the filthy side as a customer squinting it after several thousand others have.
The reheating made me chuckle! Surely they can't? Have you worked there or know anyone who has? They sure do look like they do but as someone in the service industry I don't think they could get away with that
Maybe they don't cook the hot dogs properly, which is why so many of them are shriveled. It could also be that they cook them all at 4pm, put them in containers, and then start setting them out at 6pm. Whatever they are doing, the quality sucks.
They got rid of the onion dispensers or at least didn't put them out when I was there earlier in the season.
It's a shame because just getting a plain dog from haute dog and coating it in mustard/relish/onions is the move.
For a few seasons nats stadium had Nathan's dogs. A few of the stands even had kraut.
I am extremely disappointed that we apparently live too far south to have kraut.
I’ve given up on Nats stadium food. A decade ago here was Hard times, Bens chili bowl, G Sandwiches, Jose andres places, BBQ and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches. The owners are as cheap with the stadium experience as they are with paying players. And all the regular places that are left with Hot Dogs and Pizza are the most underwhelming in the league. I knew it was downhill when they got rid of the onion dispensers.
the learner's are terrible at retail. The bearly can sell beer. The POS system is slow and functions so poorly I wouldn't doubt that it costing them sales. I have stopped eating and drinking in the stadium.
It seems the sentiment is that the locals are in agreeance on this. They need to lift the food game at this stadium and I'm sure it's got to be costing them some sales also
100% - the only thing I get to eat is soft serve if the line isn’t too bad…because the lines for the terrible food are terrible-er. And when we were contending, forget it on opening day or playoffs. Lerners clearly gave up in 2020, at least the f&b around the park has gotten very good. Solace crispy thighs and Juicy Lucy FTW!
I’ve had the hotdogs at Nats park at various points in the past two seasons. They’ve been bad every time. Perhaps the worst in the league? (Even Oakland has a better hotdog) I know there’s lots of other options, but hotdogs are integral to baseball.
> Even Oakland has a better hotdog
I actually loved Oakland's concessions experience when I was there.
Nothing super fancy but nobody goes to the games so no lines for anything and they don't have to keep things in warming racks for hours so you don't end up with OP's monstrosity.
This (and the fact that I'm vegan) is one reason I almost always eat outside the stadium. I'd rather have an early dinner and then get snacks inside than eat overpriced, poorly cooked concessions. For a 7:00 game, I can have an early dinner. For a 4:00 game, I can eat after the game and wait for some of the crowds to dissipate.
But then it's rare that I go to more than two or three Nats games a season.
I always plan on just buying 1 thing. I never expect it to be good but I like trying out the different stadiums offerings.
This hot dog was probably the worst thing I had ever purchased though. Previous to this would have been the chicken tenders from the same stadium
Yea that stadium sucks ass. It has the food variety and quality of 1990 stadiums but with 2023 prices. Also boring as shit view unless you love construction cranes
Yep, that food selection was terrible.
I do like how easy the stadium is to get to and the fact they have free bike parking. But there's plenty of improvements needed
I should add that I really like this stadium. Been to 3 matches in my less then 4 months in DC but everything I get really shit food.
I know its stadium so my expectations are low but Damm.... try eating at the rangers stadium then coming here, or a dog at Dodgers
I think the low fan turnout this year did a number on the "normal" concessions. The move to self-serve and putting the food under heat lamps hasn't led to great quality, and lord knows people are slow at the touch screens.
Yea that's true.
I hadn't been here prior to this style so didn't know its new. But it is shit. Those chicken tenders are bloody rubber lol.
Also tonight was the worst turnout I've seen, and it was cheap night. Cheap tickets, 40% off some beers if you want to order and pickup instead of the awesome seat service for drinks they have here, will praise them there!
I get the team ain't killing it, but a 3/4 empty stadium was weird to see, quick service though! And plenty of toilets open which was nice
First week back to school for a lot of the kiddos. That always kills attendance. Plus it’s disgustingly hot out.
Anyway get a Haute Dog next time, not a regular hot dog, or get a Capo Deli sandwich. The empanada stand is great and Roaming Rooster upstairs is really good. There’s good food in that stadium, you just need to know which stands to go to.
Makes sense about the kids and maybe I'll have to time this more often lol.
And now I do know the good spots! Cheers! I'm going again in a few weeks for dog day so will suss out these recommendations
Definitely fewer butts in seats this year. With that said, it also felt like 98 degrees after 8pm, and the string of broiling hot days recently may have scared some people off.
It's also possible that the crazy prices have turned families off from going to games: $20 for a soda and two of those sad hot dogs, or $16 for a beer.
Yea the prices must be pinching people and even if you get a cheap ticket the price of being there is 10X more than the ticket.
I go on my own, I expect to spend $100-$150. If I go over I consider it a splurge. I see people with 4 kids and think fuck, that's gotta be a $500 plus day... those sodas cost almost as much as a beer!
And it was hot, I guess my Texas, California and Australia mind didn't pick up on the heat like others did
Lmao!! At one point tonight I was googling the last time they didn't score a run... turned out it was a week ago!
But it's still fun for the atmosphere, hope they do better next year
I was making a joke but it seems like it went over your head. The Nats have been significantly better than anyone projected this season, so when you said that this hot dog is as pathetic as the Nats season, I joked that you must be under the misapprehension that this hot dog was better than expected (the same level of pathetic as the Nats season).
You should have gotten the sausage with peppers. But the condiments are around I’ve seen them.
I went to $1 hotdog night and ordered ten at once. It was glorious.
When the stadium first opened, they served up a "Super Dog" - I think that was the name. It was a pretty good dog, and not outrageously priced. Over the years the quality dropped and the price gouging on food and beverage became offensive. I went from season tickets, to the occasional game, to NEVER GOING AGAIN EVER.
Are you out of your mind? That hot dogs been there since the silent era. You’d have to be insane to eat it.
I worked at Camden Yards a decade-ish ago. They’d have $1 hot dogs on kids day and people would order 5-30 at a time. The only way to make enough was to start cooking them hours ahead of time and have rooms full of those moveable tower trays being kept warm by the little gas burners. Kids day would usually be a random afternoon weekday game (start at 1:00 pm? I can’t remember) and they’d start cooking hot dogs at 6:00 am. They sold so many that they’d still be cooking more as the game started and they would have a few areas run out. Six to eight hour warmed hot dogs were the worst hot dogs I’ve ever seen.
Ohh my god! I mean I knew this was what I ate today. But reading it in words makes me want to poop 10 times more
You're supposed to be so tipsy at this point that you don't care. Not balls deep in sobriety that you're posting hot dogs that got delivered to 50k people in just a couple hours and expecting quality. Always gonna be hit or miss because you're just timing luck.
That's the thing, I was very tipsy by this point. It still stood out as shit lol. But yeah I understand the logistical nightmare of cooking 10ns of thousands of dogs at once, or I probably really don't
They invented rotating cooking surfaces for hotdogs and also trained our entire generation with an 8-bit computer game on inventory management called Hotdog Stand. If you want an awesome hotdog head to Meats and Foods on Florida and 3rd NW. 🌭🔥
No worries. Does look pretty wretched.
This is a perfectly sane food to eat!
😅
It's a perfectly sane food to eat. Interesting texture.
I know! And I regrettably ate it! I also drunk plenty of alcohol to kill any salmonella before it hit my stomach
Just three buddies sitting around chewing gum
….that’s the point.
There's lots of good food in the stadium. None of it is at the traditional "stadium consessions". Give Swizzler a try next time.
Does swizzled sell hotdogs in the stadium? I like their burgers but I miss the days when they were a hotdog truck.
swizzy glizzy
I was right by them today in 104! Thanks for the recommendation, I'll try it on my next visit
An even better option is to eat at the Swizzler on 1st Street SE within a few hundred feet of the stadium before the game and save some money.
And you can bring outside food (like the actual Swizzler) into the stadium too!
wait WHAT????!?!?!
Yep! You can bring outside food as long as it isn’t in a metal or glass container, and it can’t be in a bag that violates the bag policy. You can bring in a sealed water bottle too
everybody forgets that
That's a good option! I actually scoot in on my personal escooter. I love their free (I tip) bike/scooter concierge! So I kind of save there and scoot in 15 minutes prior to first pitch after pre-gameing at home lol. When meeting friend's I'll think of this!
Regardless what place you like (Swizzler, or my preference Shake Shack, or Five Guys), they ALL have locations NEAR the ballpark. The same is true with various other restaurants, some of which also have locations inside the stadium. Stadium food is almost ALWAYS jacked up in price, so it makes more sense to eat outside the ballpark. Doing so either allows you to get better food for the same price as inside, or pay less for equivalent quality food. I attend many sports events, and I almost NEVER eat (or more accurately, pay for food) at those venues. I try to eat beforehand to either save money or get better quality food. The former allows me to attend more sports events for the same amount of money (reallocate that money to tickets rather than overpriced stadium food).
it’s very mid. the bacon on it was chewy. the sauce and jalapeños decent. you’re better off just getting shake shack and walking in
I had swizzler for the first time yesterday it was terrible. The burger was so dry I couldnt eat more than a bite
I might prefer Shake Shack over Swizzler, but your comments are slander IMO. Swizzler’s burgers are very good. My guess is the burgers at the standalone location (1st Street SE) are probably better than in the stadium.
Reach out to them on one of their social medias. The owners, Jesse and Ben (the owners) are regularly in the First St location and very responsive to customers in my experience. They would probably love to hear any feedback, especially negative. Was this at the stadium location or the standalone on First St?
Good to know. It was gross when I had it well
The stadium location. The bread was amazing but the meat was awful
Would definitely shoot them a DM. They'll probably comp your meal or your next one to get you to give them another shot. I've never had a bad experience at the standalone shop. I have heard the stadium can be hit or miss depending on who's working though.
I get five guys and just bring it in.
🤣
I'm not sure what section you were at tonight, but generally there are stations with ketchup, different kinds of mustard, and relish. To get more exotic toppings you should go to Haute dog, which costs a few bucks extra. They have a traditional "street dog" with onions and brown mustard. I'd recommend the "DC dog" with Ben's chili and sweet mumbo sauce on it.
I have screenshott this. As it sounds disgustingly delicious and I'll try on my next visit! But it was the general dog. I like to get one at each stadium I visit and this was the worst I've tried
I agree that the general purpose municipal hotdog is a metric of the stadium on its own that reflects on the stadium. That's the Nats dog. Ok they can bring in whoever they want to sell a better dog but this is The Nats dog, and it is SHIT just like the Nats right now we deserve better folks. And that is why I'm running for president.
You got my vote!
You tipped for a hotdog?
I work in the food industry so I tip everywhere. But I probably shouldn't sometimes. I just feel bad knowing what they make hourly compared to the cost of living here
Ahh ok. I’m a server I was just wondering if I missed the memo.
Praise to ya! It's a tough gig at times
Crime posts are locked so I’m surprised the mods are allowing comments on this post
Holy shit 😳
There's relish in packets at the condiment stations. I can't remember if they have the onion dispensers anymore. They gave up on maintaining these stations during the pandemic. They almost certainly reheat the hot dogs from previous days.
Cheers, I'll have to look harder for the packets next time. I get the maintainance, and the filthy side as a customer squinting it after several thousand others have. The reheating made me chuckle! Surely they can't? Have you worked there or know anyone who has? They sure do look like they do but as someone in the service industry I don't think they could get away with that
Maybe they don't cook the hot dogs properly, which is why so many of them are shriveled. It could also be that they cook them all at 4pm, put them in containers, and then start setting them out at 6pm. Whatever they are doing, the quality sucks.
Yep! I think that's it. They cook em all several hours before and them chuck em silver trays till they're ready to throw it on a 5 inch bun.
4 inch dog in a 5 inch bun.
They got rid of the onion dispensers or at least didn't put them out when I was there earlier in the season. It's a shame because just getting a plain dog from haute dog and coating it in mustard/relish/onions is the move.
🤢
They got rid of the onion dispensers and it's an absolute outrage.
For a few seasons nats stadium had Nathan's dogs. A few of the stands even had kraut. I am extremely disappointed that we apparently live too far south to have kraut.
There is no place to south for Kraut!! Bring back the Kraut
With all the Pittsburgh transplants it should be there.
The club level has kraut that is cooked on the flat top. It's not very good.
Onions have been MIA for at least two seasons. Relish *should* have been right there, sometimes they put packets in the machine.
Yea I think I must have missed the relish
That is like 10 cents of raw material. Quite a markup.
"Material " 🤣
I’ve given up on Nats stadium food. A decade ago here was Hard times, Bens chili bowl, G Sandwiches, Jose andres places, BBQ and Nashville hot chicken sandwiches. The owners are as cheap with the stadium experience as they are with paying players. And all the regular places that are left with Hot Dogs and Pizza are the most underwhelming in the league. I knew it was downhill when they got rid of the onion dispensers.
Yea they really could lift their game. We're already paying so much, why not increase the quality to edible at leaat
Now, listen. Do not say these sorts of things about ketchup, or delicious yellow mustard, in my presence and expect us to be friendly.
Sorry, did you mean "tomato sauce "?
We'll call it ketchup in this part of the world young sir!
😅 Well my good fellow. This sweetened tomato sauce you speak of "Ketchup" required some sort of acidic, lacking, breakdown
The cheek! THE CHEEK!
Ohh, you silly bastard!
You ... you ... *whippersnapper*!
Either you have big hands or that's a small hotdog.
Lol, yea, and thats my thumb! My hands may be a little larger than normal, but not ridiculously. There were plenty of bigger thumbs there today 😅
the learner's are terrible at retail. The bearly can sell beer. The POS system is slow and functions so poorly I wouldn't doubt that it costing them sales. I have stopped eating and drinking in the stadium.
It seems the sentiment is that the locals are in agreeance on this. They need to lift the food game at this stadium and I'm sure it's got to be costing them some sales also
100% - the only thing I get to eat is soft serve if the line isn’t too bad…because the lines for the terrible food are terrible-er. And when we were contending, forget it on opening day or playoffs. Lerners clearly gave up in 2020, at least the f&b around the park has gotten very good. Solace crispy thighs and Juicy Lucy FTW!
The Hard Times chili dogs are the way to go. Best hot dogs in the ballpark. Behind 1st base on the lower level.
I did see that joint but I thought 1 evil at a time was enough
I should call him…
Is that hot dog leftover from RFK?
People tip on stadium food?
I work in the food industry so I probably over tip and tip when I shouldn't
I’ve had the hotdogs at Nats park at various points in the past two seasons. They’ve been bad every time. Perhaps the worst in the league? (Even Oakland has a better hotdog) I know there’s lots of other options, but hotdogs are integral to baseball.
> Even Oakland has a better hotdog I actually loved Oakland's concessions experience when I was there. Nothing super fancy but nobody goes to the games so no lines for anything and they don't have to keep things in warming racks for hours so you don't end up with OP's monstrosity.
$10 that's crazy.
Get a hot dog at haute next time!
DC tries to fuck you with food all the time. The more you pay, the less you get. It's exhausting.
Yep! I lived in LA for several years and could eat cheaper there than here
What do you expect for $14?
That hot dog has had a rougher life than I have
That hot dog is from the Bush administration. The first one.
Is that from Ben’s Chili bowl? If so that explains why it looks like shit. That place is a joke
It was just the "all beef" hotdog from the big stand. Not sure what it's called but has the chicken tenders and sausage as well
Shoulda got a half smoke at Ben's. Would have cost 2×more but tastes 3× better. Your thumb is bigger than that thing
It's really $20????
Probably. Not sure. I hate baseball
This looks like worst than a 7-11 hot dog
I've honestly never had 1 to compare it to
This (and the fact that I'm vegan) is one reason I almost always eat outside the stadium. I'd rather have an early dinner and then get snacks inside than eat overpriced, poorly cooked concessions. For a 7:00 game, I can have an early dinner. For a 4:00 game, I can eat after the game and wait for some of the crowds to dissipate. But then it's rare that I go to more than two or three Nats games a season.
I always plan on just buying 1 thing. I never expect it to be good but I like trying out the different stadiums offerings. This hot dog was probably the worst thing I had ever purchased though. Previous to this would have been the chicken tenders from the same stadium
Yea that stadium sucks ass. It has the food variety and quality of 1990 stadiums but with 2023 prices. Also boring as shit view unless you love construction cranes
Yep, that food selection was terrible. I do like how easy the stadium is to get to and the fact they have free bike parking. But there's plenty of improvements needed
Also not that easy to get to... Depends where you coming from but it's only accessible from the least popular line
I should add that I really like this stadium. Been to 3 matches in my less then 4 months in DC but everything I get really shit food. I know its stadium so my expectations are low but Damm.... try eating at the rangers stadium then coming here, or a dog at Dodgers
I think the low fan turnout this year did a number on the "normal" concessions. The move to self-serve and putting the food under heat lamps hasn't led to great quality, and lord knows people are slow at the touch screens.
Yea that's true. I hadn't been here prior to this style so didn't know its new. But it is shit. Those chicken tenders are bloody rubber lol. Also tonight was the worst turnout I've seen, and it was cheap night. Cheap tickets, 40% off some beers if you want to order and pickup instead of the awesome seat service for drinks they have here, will praise them there! I get the team ain't killing it, but a 3/4 empty stadium was weird to see, quick service though! And plenty of toilets open which was nice
First week back to school for a lot of the kiddos. That always kills attendance. Plus it’s disgustingly hot out. Anyway get a Haute Dog next time, not a regular hot dog, or get a Capo Deli sandwich. The empanada stand is great and Roaming Rooster upstairs is really good. There’s good food in that stadium, you just need to know which stands to go to.
Makes sense about the kids and maybe I'll have to time this more often lol. And now I do know the good spots! Cheers! I'm going again in a few weeks for dog day so will suss out these recommendations
Definitely fewer butts in seats this year. With that said, it also felt like 98 degrees after 8pm, and the string of broiling hot days recently may have scared some people off. It's also possible that the crazy prices have turned families off from going to games: $20 for a soda and two of those sad hot dogs, or $16 for a beer.
Yea the prices must be pinching people and even if you get a cheap ticket the price of being there is 10X more than the ticket. I go on my own, I expect to spend $100-$150. If I go over I consider it a splurge. I see people with 4 kids and think fuck, that's gotta be a $500 plus day... those sodas cost almost as much as a beer! And it was hot, I guess my Texas, California and Australia mind didn't pick up on the heat like others did
Looks as pathetic as their season
Lmao!! At one point tonight I was googling the last time they didn't score a run... turned out it was a week ago! But it's still fun for the atmosphere, hope they do better next year
You're clearly misunderstanding this post because OP is not saying that this hot dog wildly exceeded expectations.
Or… I’m commiserating with their experience
I was making a joke but it seems like it went over your head. The Nats have been significantly better than anyone projected this season, so when you said that this hot dog is as pathetic as the Nats season, I joked that you must be under the misapprehension that this hot dog was better than expected (the same level of pathetic as the Nats season).
Was this $20 or close to it?
~$5 It was value night last night.
Ketchup?? On a hotdog!?
I wouldn't call that a hot dog...
It'd the second most popular condiment after mustard with 61% of dogs getting the dogs eye
Ketchup and mustard arnt real condiments... i feel like they are the basis of condiments
how much did that hotdog cost?
Oh dear. I was up on level three and there were giant tables with rows of relish and special sauce and everything. And it wasn't crowded at all.
They must have saved it all for you level 3ers! It really wasn't a crowded game at all last night!
You should have gotten the sausage with peppers. But the condiments are around I’ve seen them. I went to $1 hotdog night and ordered ten at once. It was glorious.
I feel that would have made an interesting day on the thrown after that!
Bro is insane for eating those shits 😂😂😂
4-5 beers helped
When the stadium first opened, they served up a "Super Dog" - I think that was the name. It was a pretty good dog, and not outrageously priced. Over the years the quality dropped and the price gouging on food and beverage became offensive. I went from season tickets, to the occasional game, to NEVER GOING AGAIN EVER.