Plus, bonus cuts from outside the Minor League stadiums [Ben's Biz Beat]( [By Benjamin Hill]( December 07, 2023 Imagine, if you will, that each installment of this newsletter is one inch tall. If you stacked them all in a pile, that pile would now reach a height of seven feet. Welcome to the 84th installment of the Benâs Biz Beat. Letâs talk about Minor League Baseball. â BALLPARK FOOD ROUNDUP, PART 4: FROM TENNESSEE TO OHIO [One proud Designated Eater] Throughout the season I highlighted concession items from every Minor League ballpark I visited. Now, for your secondhand gustatory enjoyment, these appetizing entrees have been collected into a series of massive meals. Some of these dishes were included in previous editions of the newsletter, while others are making their Benâs Biz Beat debut. Â Todayâs focus will be the final ballpark road trip I undertook this season, in September, which consisted of one team in Tennessee, two in Kentucky, one in Indiana and one in Ohio. The concessions in question were consumed and commented upon by each ballparkâs respective Designated Eater. This individual is recruited prior to the game and tasked with eating the ballpark cuisine my gluten-free diet prohibits. Â In each of the following five writeups, please find a link to each teamâs corresponding Minor League Ballpark Guide. Perhaps these culinary explorations will inspire your own 2024 road trip! [Designated Eaters in Nashville]( Team: Nashville Sounds
Ballpark: First Horizon Park ([Ballpark Guide](
Designated Eater: [Caroline Spence](  In addition to being an acclaimed recording artist, Caroline Spence is, as of this past September, a Designated Eater. She and her husband Tyler met me at the First Horizon Park Band Box, a food, beverage and, above all, social area.  First up was Totchos -- tater tots topped with smoked chicken, jalapeño queso, sweet corn, pico de gallo and cilantro crema. [Nashville's totchos] Tyler said that he and Caroline are âunited in Totchos,â with Caroline adding that crema was in their wedding vows. So, safe to say, they are fans.  Of the next item, Caroline said that it tasted âvery friedâ (this was a compliment, I think). That item? Empanadas con Carne. [Nashville empanadas] Dessert turned out to be the true star of the show: Salted Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream, created by Sounds food and beverage GM Buddy Richardson. [Nashville's custom ice cream] âItâs awesome,â said Caroline. âJust the littlest bit salty and so nice. Iâm so glad to know about this.â  Away from the ballpark, I enjoyed a couple of great meals in Nashville. The afternoon before the game, I met my co-worker Ben Weinrib for a barbecue meal at Bringleâs Smoking Oasis. [Bringles BBQ] The following afternoon, before leaving town, I stopped at Gabbyâs Burgers. This place is great. A little hole in the wall, where everyone seems to know everyone and the food is prepared with pride. I go every time Iâm in Nashville (the fact that they have gluten-free buns is another selling point). [Gabby's in Nashville] Gabbyâs is across the street from Greer Stadium, the Soundsâ former home. Except, thereâs literally no trace of Greer left. I couldnât find even the faintest basepath outline, or outfield wall fragment. [Nashville's empty place] Gabbyâs and Greer and, keeping with the alliterative theme, Grimeyâs Records. [Grimey's Records in Nashville] Grimeyâs was my final stop before leaving Nashville. A truly great record store, housed in a former church, featuring two floors of inventory. Did I buy more records than I was planning to? Yes. Yes, I did. [Bowling Green Designated Eater]( Team: Bowling Green Hot Rods
Ballpark: Bowling Green Ballpark ([Ballpark Guide](
Designated Eater: Chris Fickes  At Bowling Green Ballpark, the most distinctive eats can be found within the second-level stadium club. From this slightly elevated locale, Designated Eater Chris Fickes enjoyed a triumvirate of concession items. [Bowling Green's nachos] Copa Nachos, created in honor of the Hot Rodsâ Bólidos de Bowling Green identity, are topped with chicken, cheese, jalapeños, sour cream, corn, black beans and lettuce.  âAs they say in baseball, thatâs a hit,â said Chris. âWell thought-out, well designed, well consumed.â [Bowling Green's chicken] The Big South Chicken Sandwich is a fried chicken patty along with lettuce, pimento cheese, fried green tomato and a secret-ingredient âcomeback sauce.â Chris deemed it to be very good, despite the fact that the pimento cheese was ânot the worldâs greatest.â [Bowling Green bacon jam burger] Finally, the Bacon Jam Burger. Itâs topped with bourbon bacon jam, comeback sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle.  âNice and bacon-y,â said Chris. âThe way you want it. The way it brings you back for more.â [The Louisville Designated Eater]( Team: Louisville Bats
Ballpark: Louisville Slugger Field ([Ballpark Guide](
Designated Eater: Greg Hotopp  Greg Hotopp, like Chris Fickes the night before, is a rare example of the two-time Designated Eater. Greg was employed in this capacity in Indianapolis in 2014, and now here he was nine years later doing the job in Louisville.  Greg only sampled two Louisville Bats concession items, but oh what concession items they were. [whatta buncha bologna] The Fried Bologna Sandwich -- a.k.a. the filet mignon of Louisville Slugger Field -- is a beloved Batsâ staple. Greg reported, âItâs an elevated take on a Southern Classic.â [Louisville's grand slam] At the Overlook Grill, located on the outfield concourse, one finds a most formidable item. The Grand Slam, courtesy of local Four Pegs Smokehouse and Bar, costs $25 and consists of pulled pork, brisket, chicken, French fries and pickles.  Greg said that it was, âkind of transcendent. Itâs not Arbyâs. This is ALL the meats. They have the meats at Four Pegs.â  Unfortunately we did not visit Louisvilleâs [famous Cookie Lady]( afterwards, which was a real oversight. But should you ever find yourself at Louisville Slugger Field, make sure to sample the homemade goodies on offer from Elizabeth âThe Cookie Ladyâ Kizito. [Kizito cookies] Weâre approaching the homestretch, and none too soon. I wanted to finish this up before anyone made an unwanted intrusion, but my hopes have now been dashed. â JOSH JACKSON INTERRUPTS [Josh Jackson Interrupts]( This is Josh Jackson, ruining Ben's concessions-related gathering to momentarily steal your attention. You may know me as host of Ghosts of the Minors, The Show Before the Show segment in which I challenge you to identify the historical Minor League team or player hidden among two fakes. Last time, we got altitude sickness with Ralph Mountain. This time, I ask you which of these teams cleaned up in the Minors of yesteryear: - The Ventura Scrubbers
- The Naples Napkinmakers
- The Troy Washerwomen For the answer, check out the next Ghosts of the Minors on [The Show Before the Show]( â ON TO INDIANAPOLIS [Indianapolis Designated Eater]( Team: Indianapolis Indians
Ballpark: Victory Field ([Ballpark Guide](
Designated Eater: Will Carroll  You might know Will Carroll as â[The Injury Expert]( but on this September Saturday at Victory Field he had a different title: Designated Eater. The Indians were playing the Toledo Mud Hens, and therefore their Hot Dog of the Homestand was a Holy Toledo! Dog. [Indy's Holy Toledo! Dog] The Holy Toledo! Dog, an homage to Toledo hot dog institution Tony Packoâs, is garnished with pulled pork, Tony Packoâs pickles and shredded cheese. Will responded to it with muted positivity, and then we moved on to the tacos. [Indy's tacos] Two tacos were included in this platter, Shredded Beef and Cauliflower. The former featured kimchi, green onions and black cherry BBQ sauce, while the latter was topped with pickled onions (because they were out of chickpeas) and spicy cilantro sauce. Will said that the black cherry BBQ sauce had a ânice umami,â while the cauliflower had âgood crunch.â  But sometimes you just want something simple and reliable. To that end, hereâs a simple cheeseburger and fries. [Indy's burger] âItâs a legit good burger,â Will said. âThey donât go full Smashburger with the crispy edges, but itâs perfectly cooked, good melt, good ratio of burger to bun. The fries arenât too shabby either.â [The famous St. Elmo Steak House] Also not too shabby: the downtown Indianapolis institution that is St. Elmo Steak House. If youâre still hungry after the ballgame, walk over there and enjoy one of their famous shrimp cocktails. [Columbus Designated Eater]( Team: Columbus Clippers
Ballpark: Huntington Park ([Ballpark Guide](
Designated Eater: Austin Crull  Austin Crull, an Ohio University alumnus who now works for the American Cancer Society, was all business in his role as Columbus Clippers Designated Eater. After stopping at the Mooler -- a walk-in cooler -- for a beer, we headed to Dirty Frankâs for some hot dogs.  Dirty Frankâs is located at the top level of a building in left field. While waiting for the hot dogs, we contemplated this collage of â80s All-Stars. Can you name them? (Read until the end for the answer.) [Columbus All-Stars homage] Hot dog number one was the Strikeout Dog, adorned with tater tots, jalapeños, and cheddar cream cheese on a poppy-seed bun. [Columbus Strikeout Dog] Iâm not sure how far Austinâs taste buds wandered, but he said that, ultimately, âthe texture of the tater tots really brings it home.â The next dog, poorly chosen by me due to its similarities to the Strikeout Dog, was Puff the Magic Popper. [Magic Dog] Austin liked this one even better, as the bacon bits provided a more satisfying base than the tater tots. After leaving Dirty Frankâs, but before parting ways, Austin grabbed some chicken wings and mac ân cheese from Wings and Yuengs (as in Yuengling Beer). [Pork parfait] âAn enjoyable combo,â concluded Austin, and thatâs as good a way as any to sum up the entire premise of this article. Baseball and food is an enjoyable combo, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it throughout (and well beyond) the season.  Oh, and in case you were curious about that â80s All-Stars collage, here are the answers. [All-Stars answers] As always, get in touch about anything at any time: benjamin.hill@mlb.com. â [IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE INTERESTED IN RECEIVING THIS NEWSLETTER, TELL THEM TO SUBSCRIBE HERE]( â Contact [Benjamin Hill](mailto:benjamin.hill@mlb.com) [Twitter]( Online]( © 2023 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. [Visit MLB.com](. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners. Subscription required. Blackout and other restrictions may apply. Please review our [Privacy Policy](. You ({EMAIL}) received this message because you registered to receive commercial email messages or purchased a ticket from [MiLB.com](. Please add info@mail.milblists.com to your address book to ensure our messages reach your inbox. If you no longer wish to receive commercial email messages from [MiLB.com]( please [unsubscribe]( or log in and [manage your email subscriptions](. Postal Address: [MiLB.com]( c/o MLB Advanced Media, L.P., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.