THG Loves the Gateway Grizzlies

When it comes to baseball I've always had one allegiance – The Philadelphia Phillies. Which means that I've come to accept a season filled with agonizingly slow starts, tantalizing streaks, and finishes that generally come up just a bit short. In my lifetime the Phightin' Phils have won a World Series (1980) and lost two (1983 and 1993), while at the same time setting the standard for futility among professional sports franchises.

With that in mind I have decided that I need to adopt an additional baseball team to follow in order to lessen the blow of a franchise set to lose its 10,000th game later this season. And what better way to select a tean to follow than to find the one with the best ballpark food?

I don't mean "best" as in the stadiums on the West Coast that serve sushi or even here in Baltimore where the restaurants at Camden Yards offer up some mean BBQ. No, I'm talking the king of grub somebody called The Hungover Gourmet would clearly embrace.

I'm talking about the Gateway Grizzlies of the Independent League. Last year, the team's stadium in Sauget, Illinois offered a burger topped with cheese and two slices of bacon, nestled between a Krispy Kreme doughnut sliced in half. They didn't call it Baseball's Best Burger for nothing.

Now, the team has raised the bar to new and exciting levels. For $4, lucky patrons can try Baseball's Best Sliders... two deep-fried White Castle hamburgers. Yep, you read that right: Deep fried. White Castle. Hamburgers.

I'm literally drooling into my coffee cup as I type this. The Grizzlies start their season on May 23rd when they kick off a four game homestand against the Southern Illinois Miners.

UPDATE! While surfing around during the NCAA tourney I stumbled upon this article featuring George Durant from the Food Network. I think it goes without saying that I'll be trying his batter and White Castle recipe.