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Kosher dogs have their day at BOB
Vaad-OK'd franks also will return at Suns' games
RANDI BAROCAS
Staff Writer
Relax, kosher-conscious sports fans. Now you can go to the ballgame and eat your hot dogs, too.
That's right. Bank One Ballpark, where Arizona's new Diamondbacks baseball team plays, recently introduced glatt kosher hot dogs to its list of concession offerings. And America West Arena, which had the hot dogs up until two years ago, will again offer the kosher stadium staple this fall, said Morey Fischel, president of the Phoenix Vaad Hakashruth, the organization that oversees kosher supervision for the stadiums as well as area restaurants, markets, bakeries and hotels.
Hot dogs aren't the only kosher items now being offered at BOB, says Rabbi David Rebibo, director of the Vaad. All soft pretzels have the Orthodox Union's stamp of approval, and Rebibo said he is looking into getting kosher ice cream at the stadiums as well.
But why all the fuss over kosher food at the ballpark?
"When the arena was being built we had heard from many people, 'How can you enjoy a baseball game without having a hot dog? We'd like to have a kosher hot dog,' " Rebibo recalled. "That's really the number one reason for all this. A number of people had brought up the question."
That's all it took to spur Fischel to ask his contacts from the kosher hot dog days at America West Arena to look into the matter.
Fischel said he had maintained ties with Bill Cutler, former assistant director of concessions at America West Arena, who now serves as director of concessions for BOB, and called on him to work out a kosher arrangement.
"It's critical to understand that nothing that has gone on here would have happened if it wasn't for the determination of Bill Cutler and his boss, Dan Mijajlovic (general manager/vice president of Restaura, the company that provides concessions to the stadiums)," Fischel said.
"The decision to have this at Bank One Ballpark was a decision that goes all the way to the top. ... Jerry Colangelo's organization decided that this is what is going to be."
Fischel said he expects kosher hot dogs to be available at America West Arena when the Suns' season begins this fall. Mijajlovic confirmed to Jewish News that kosher hot dogs will be available at the arena for the upcoming season.
Making kosher food selections available at ballgames can make a big difference to observant Jewish families, Rebibo said, adding that the Vaad is waiving its regular supervision fee to make the undertaking possible.
"We're doing this strictly as a public service to help people who love sports so that they don't have to feel deprived," the rabbi said. "The object is that a person who eats kosher can go there and fress (eat heartily) as much as he wants."
The Osherwitz glatt kosher hot dogs weigh in at 3.2 ounces and cost $4, compared to their non-kosher, 2-ounce counterparts, which cost $2.75, according to Mijajlovic.
Cutler said the stadium also offers a jumbo non-kosher hot dog, weighing about 4 ounces, for $4.25.
And while those who sink their teeth into the tasty kosher beef franks may not think twice about the behind-the-scenes measures that keep them kosher, Rebibo said there are many "complications to overcome" to maintain a kosher status at the sports venues.
Everything that accompanies the hot dogs - buns, mustard, ketchup and relish - have to be kosher as well. And because the buns used for the ballpark's regular hot dogs were not kosher, kosher buns have to be ordered from Holsum Bakeries to make this undertaking fly, Rebibo said. The kosher hot dogs also are subject to strict rules regarding how they are cooked and kept warm for serving.
Such rigid criteria make it impossible for the hot dogs to be sold at every concession stand at BOB, Rebibo said. So forget about waving down the nearest stair-climbing, hollering ballpark vendor, because these gems are only available at five concession stands: 109, 117, 134, 305 and 324.
And before purchasing the treasured treats, Rebibo said consumers should make sure they see the "hot dogs kosher Vaad" sign at the stand they are patronizing. Only then, he said, can they be certain that the food they are about to eat has the Vaad's seal of approval.
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