filed under Daily Dose
Veggie Vigilante: The Real McCoy
4:09PM ON
08/06/2008
BY
Daily Dose
As reported today by PBN and Ian at N4N, PETA has ranked McCoy Stadium, home of the Pawtucket Red Sox, as No. 4 among the nation’s Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Minor League Ballparks for 2008.
I recently attended a PawSox game at McCoy on a spectacular summer evening, and here’s what I found. While Fenway is perhaps veggie — but not exactly vegan — friendly (more on Fenway veggie eats in a future post), the gold star of ballpark vegetarian cuisine happens to be in our backyard at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket. Built in 1942 and renovated in 1999, McCoy is artfully described by a fan as “a nice blend of modern amenities with the quaint old school charm of the minor league park.” That description applies to its concessions as well.
Unlike Fenway, whose vegetarian food options are best described as “old school,” McCoy essentially dedicates an entire concessions stand to the vegetarian fan, with many explicitly vegan items on the menu. Strangely, it’s located at the Hess Express stand behind sections 1 and 2. A little weird, I know, but they serve garden salads, veggie trays, vegan portabella burgers, a lovely selection of assorted nuts, fruit smoothies, and of course vegan portabella hot dogs (which sadly I haven’t tried due to my personal aversion to mushrooms). Not only that, but the Papa Gino’s cheese pizza found elsewhere at McCoy is surprisingly fresh, hot, and tasty, the classic shoestring fries are crispy and plentiful, and the ice cream in a small PawSox helmet is the good stuff– real Hershey’s ice cream available in at least five flavors (my favorite is Moosetracks).
Bottom line — McCoy is close, convenient with plentiful parking, provides the prospect of seeing a rehabbing Papi or slumping Buchholz, and gets high marks for being a truly safe haven for us veggies and vegans alike — all for less than 10 bucks!
August 7th, 2008 at 8:39AM
Vegan Says:
I love it — of course, the place for vegans at McCoy is the Hess Express. Ha!
[Reply]
August 8th, 2008 at 11:46AM
JS Says:
The veggie dogs are delicious and reasonably priced.
The concession kids will put jalapenos on your french fries at no additional cost if you ask them.
In a related story, you can get fruit in your beer as well.
[Reply]
August 25th, 2008 at 8:22PM
VV: Frankly Fenway, You’re No Green Monster. | Providence Daily Dose Says:
[...] with summer fun than going to baseball games. As we know, the Paw Sox are easily accessible and have incredible vegetarian offerings (at the Hess Express, no [...]