Order a Krispy Kreme Burger? We Must Be at an Away Game

Fans who follow the Otters to area cities know they’ll come across some interesting and innovative menu options on the road.

Probably the most famous – or infamous – is the Krispy Kreme Burger served at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., home of the Gateway Grizzlies.

Jeff O’Neill, media relations director, said the 1,200-calorie bacon cheeseburger sits between halves of a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut. The doughnut is “split and grilled with the inside of the doughnut on the grill to harden it up a little, so it’s almost a toast,” he said.

“The glazed part is on the inside so you don’t get all sticky, and that way the sugar melts into the burger. It’s 100 percent pure deliciousness.”

The ballpark creates specialties based on a “Baseball’s Best..” theme In 2004, park personnel came up with Baseball’s Best Hot Dog, a fifth-pound hot dog with bacon, cheese, sauerkraut and grilled onions. In 2005, they came up with the Best Swiss Brat (sliced bratwurst with melted Swiss cheese, grilled onions and kraut). In 2006, it was the Krispy Kreme Burger, and in 2007, the only not-so- Best, a “slider” made of a White Castle burger, battered and deep- fried.

“It wasn’t bad if you got it fresh, immediately out of the fryer. But it’s not on the menu this year,” O’Neill said.

The 2008 specialty is Baseball’s Best Soft Pretzel.

“It’s a regular ballpark pretzel, sauteed in Buffalo wing sauce, covered with shredded mozzarella and served with ranch or blue cheese dressing,” he said. “We’re still tinkering with the best way to cook it.”

At the year-old Rent One Park in Marion, Ill., home of the Frontier League’s Southern Illinois Miners, dining is a big deal. Dylan Lipe, executive chef for the park’s full-service restaurant, general concessions and suite catering, said there are dining specials for each of the team’s four mascots.

“Food is an important part of a ballpark experience,” said Lipe, who created three of the four specials. “We have all of the classic ballpark fare, and a couple of healthy options (salads and grilled chicken wraps), a jumbo 2-pound turkey leg, an ice cream parlor and our specials.”

The Big John (the Miner) is a third-pound charcoal-grilled bologna steak on Texas toast with apple-smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.

The Grounder (a coal-mining mole) is a third-pound slice of homemade meatloaf wrapped in bread dough and baked, then served with marinara sauce. “It’s like a homemade Hot Pocket,” Lipe said.

The specialty for TNT Dynomite, a life-sized bundle of dynamite, is an Andouille sausage link marinated in a brown sugar and hot sauce mixture, then grilled and served with yellow mustard.

And The Lucky, the mascot that’s a coal miners’ canary, is a footlong Popsicle-style treat with six frozen layers.

“It’s like a bomb Popsicle on performance-enhancing drugs,” Lipe said. Made by the Nestle company, it’s sold in other areas of the country, but the Miners have an exclusive on selling it in this part of the Midwest. The creamy (think Dreamsicle) center is covered with a five-part twist of cherry, lemon-lime, blue raspberry, orange and grape flavors.

“Everything’s not necessarily healthy, but you’d be surprised to see the number of kids choosing a turkey leg over The Lucky Popsicle.”

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