Dinner at the Ball Park

Who says you have to eat hot dogs at the baseball game?  I know it's an American tradition but when we go to Mariner baseball games at Safeco Field, there is much, much, more.  Take these chicken wings pictured above.  These are not just your ordinary chicken wings.   These are 'Swinging Wings'.  You can order classic, honey serrano, or barbecue down at "The Pen".  

The Pen is located in left and center field adjacent to the home and visitor's bullpens, it is a bright, open area with a fire pit, cocktail lounge and various concession stands.  During our ten days in Seattle last week, we went to three Mariner games and enjoyed some of the food fare at the stadium.  One of Seattle's nationally acclaimed chef, Ethan Stowell, has put together some delicious selections at Safeco and that is where our Swingin' Wings came from.  They are the most delicious chicken wings you will ever taste! We knew they were good because the night before Nick let us sample his choices of Swingin' Wings and Dirty Tots.

Dirty Tots are also an Ethan Stowell creation of tater tots plus smoky pork belly, Beecher's Flagship Cheese, and pickled peppers.

These will actually give the garlic fries - the most popular Safeco food item - a run for their money!  OMG, so good! And if you get to the Pen early, they sell $5 beers up to one hour before the first pitch.  What a deal!  And that's exactly what we did.

The Pen is located near the bullpen so then we can watch the pitchers warming up.  On our second night, a Japanese super star was pitching for the Yankees, Masahiro Tanaka.

The crowd was going crazy with cameras during his warm up and most were Japanese fans.

Needless to say, the Mariners lost this game to the Japanese super star.  In fact, the Mariner's lost all three games we went to against the Yankees.  Those damn Yankees!  But we did get to see Derek Jeter one last time before his retirement.

His last at bat at Safeco Field was a 1-3 put out at first.

Anyway, enough about baseball, back to the food...doesn't this mound of Thai Ginger look good?

This has always been one of my favorite places at Safeco.  You can get beef, chicken or vegetarian stir-fry on rice.  And there's plenty of sriracha sauce to drizzle on top at will. I have never gotten this but these are nachos in a Mariner helmet.  I just had to take a picture of it.

If I don't go to Thai Ginger, then I will usually go to Ivar's for a salmon Caesar salad or on this night I got an Ivar Dog; fried fish instead of a hot dog smothered in Ivar's coleslaw in a bun.  Now, this is my kind of hot dog. 

The fans may not necessarily be screaming about the game because on our last game, it was Macklemore bobblehead night 

and Macklemore was there to throw out the first pitch.  He has a good arm, too!  I was impressed.

But before he threw out the first pitch, he had to take a "selfie".

Some of the Seahawks were at the game on Wednesday, their day off from practice, quarterback Russell Wilson, a MAJOR hero in Seattle with one of his offensive linemen.

And don't forget about the Moose!  We love the Mariner Moose, always fun to watch his antics.

You probably don't think I even watch the game, but I do.  There is just always so much other stuff going on, like when Macklemore showed up in our area to give a fan a prize.  I was so busy watching it on the big screen I didn't know he was only a few rows away!  I tried to get a photo in my frantic state, I missed the shot.

Then the big screen said for everyone to take a "selfie" like Macklemore did before his first pitch so, of course, we obeyed.

What can I say, Mariner baseball games are fun!