File under “oy vey”: Kosher stand leaving Camden Yards

Since coming to work with the news junkies here at j., there have been a few "breaking news" moments so shocking that there's simply no way to react other than to exclaim, "WHAT?!?" I call them "WHAT?!? moments."

For example: "Hey, Rachel, Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers." "WHAT?!?"

I had one of these moments yesterday. "They're not serving kosher hot dogs at Orioles games anymore," Andy said, as I was putting on my coat at the end of the day.

"WHAT?!?!?"

During my childhood in suburban Maryland, there were only few places where one could get truly kosher hot dogs (besides making them at home). Today there are a good number of Washington-area kosher joints, but back then, the only ones I can recall were the kosher Chinese restaurant (yes, they served hot dogs), Max's Deli and the glatt kosher stand you could sometimes find downtown around the Mall.

And then there was Camden Yards. (Not technically a Washington-area institution, but before the return of the Nationals, the only major-league ballgame within 100 miles.) Since it opened in 1993, when I was 9 years old, the home of the Baltimore Orioles has always had a kosher food stand, run by Kosher Sports Inc. (There's also a minyan by the stand during the seventh-inning stretch.)

The kosher stand didn't mean much to me personally, since I haven't eaten meat since I was 10 or 11. But for my omnivorous father and brother, the stand meant that for once, keeping kosher didn't prevent them from enjoying an all-American pastime - hot dogs and baseball. I still remember the look on my brother's face as he would bite into a frank slathered in ketchup while watching his idol, Cal Ripken Jr., play short.

(Unfortunately, the advent of the kosher stand meant the end of our other favorite thing to do at Camden Yards, which was to eat frozen yogurt out of those miniature plastic batting helmets. But we could get fro-yo anywhere - hot dogs were a treat.)

So what's going on, Kosher Sports? According to JTA, the tsuris has something to do with the company wanting to restructure its contract with Aramark, the Orioles' concessionaire, to be able to make a profit. Aramark didn't bite, so Kosher Sports is leaving the Yards.

This is a sad day for Orioles baseball, and an ominous one for kosher baseball fans - especially since Aramark provides concession services to half of all major-league stadiums. Luckily, Kosher Sports is still operating a stand 35 miles south at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and at several other sports venues around the country. There are also kosher food stands at Jacobs Progressive Field in Cleveland, Shea Stadium Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, and probably a few others. Last year Fenway Park unveiled its first kosher vending machine, which serves hot food that is heated up in the machine after purchase. Nifty.

Let's hope Aramark comes to its senses and renegotiates with Kosher Sports - or another kosher vendor, like Hebrew National, takes over.

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