This Ain't Wrigley

Taking a lap around U.S. Cellular Field, I quickly found my favorite feature. A wide, open-air concourse runs along the length of the outfield, creating a perfect spot for fans to grab some food, and, on cool nights like this, to stop and catch a half inning or so of the game. So as I proceeded to do just that, one Cubs fan -- apparently a leftover from this afternoon's game at Wrigley -- began arguing with a Sox supporter in his section.

"Kick him out!" a fellow Sox fan chimed in from the concourse. "This ain't Wrigley."

Indeed it wasn't. In fact, U.S. Cellular has almost nothing in common with Wrigley -- and that includes the food. While hot dogs and pretzels are the norm up north, the South Side boasts an entirely different set of options. This park doesn't just have an ice cream stand -- it has one that sells frozen bananas root beer floats. It doesn't just have a beer stand, but one that sells more than 10 different beers from various parts of the world.

There are stands that sell steak sandwiches, some that sell corned beef sandwiches and others that peddle BBQ brisket. There are stands that sell funnel cakes and corn dogs, and a few more that sell mixed drinks and margaritas. Options are everywhere.

After much debate and an entire lap around the stadium, I finally settled on a grilled chicken sandwich, curly fries and -- to keep my figure nice and trim -- a Mexican-style churro for dessert. The prices here, like at Wrigley, weren't too unreasonable, either.

What caught my eye even more than the food, however, was the sheer number of Yankees fans in attendance. Don't get me wrong -- the Mets were well-represented at Wrigley, too. But Yankee fans seem to travel as well as any in baseball, and tonight was no exception -- despite the game taking place nearly 800 miles west of the Bronx.

Then again, as one Yankee fan noted, "We don't need to travel. Enough of us live here."