Get your kosher dogs at Dodger Stadium!
Published July 31, 2015
The Dodgers may never be as great as they were in Brooklyn, but now, at least, they’ve brought a bit of Brooklyn to them — in the form of hot dogs.
Earlier this week, Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium opened its first-ever kosher hot dog stand, Jeff’s Gourmet Sausage Factory. The stand — which is open for the season’s remaining home games, except for those on Shabbat and Jewish holidays — is currently serving up three versions of its titular tube steak: regular ($9), jalapeno ($9) and sweet Italian sausage ($10).
The hot doggery, which opened Tuesday, was a welcome development for Dodgers fans and observant Jews alike. “It was inconceivable to me that the second largest Jewish community in America does not have a kosher dog stand,” Michael Berenbaum, a professor at American Jewish University and an outspoken advocate for a kosher dining option at the stadium, told the Jewish Journal. “It felt absolutely terrific to have a hot dog with all the trimmings.”
The Dodgers, of course, have a long history of Jewish ties, most notably the team’s Jewish players: from legendary lefty Sandy Koufax to current center-fielder Joc Pederson.
In other Jewish-related snacking news: Lay’s recently unveiled four new potato chip flavors as part of its annual “Do Us A Flavor” contest, in which average folks dream up their wackiest ideas for potato-chip tastes. The finalists this year are Greektown Gyro, West Coast Truffle Fries, Southern Biscuits and Gravy and — wait for it — New York Reuben.
While not technically kosher — most Reuben sandwiches have Swiss cheese, along with corned beef and sauerkraut — it’s a flavor evocative of Manhattan and its Jewish-style delis.
You can vote for the Reuben chip here (or not — reviews of the offerings have been mixed, to say the least). Serving a kosher hot dog on the side is strictly optional.