Foraging for Vegetables at the Oakland Coliseum
- Michelle Milliken
- Feb 24, 2019
- 3 min read
There are few things I enjoy more than an Oakland A's game. In fact, there may be no things I enjoy more than one. If I had the choice between walking hand-in-hand with Hugh Jackman during a beautiful beach sunset or watching the A's get blown out 11-0, I'd probably still choose the baseball. Sorry, Hugh. You can sit next to me at the game if you want. I wouldn't mind or anything...
Obviously this is a better view than some silly, multi-colored sunset...
Normally when I head to an A's game, I pack some snacks, but at the last game I attended at the Oakland Coliseum in August, I decided to see what they had for vegetarians. There was a lot. It was hard rolling myself up the stairs to my second-deck seat. When it came time for the seventh inning stretch, I mostly wanted to stretch my gut.
My first stop was pre-game at Championship Plaza, where they have lots of food trucks. I stopped at the nearest Mexican one because all I ever really want in life is to eat beans and cheese. I mean, I guess you need to explore other food groups, too, but my food pyramid is a giant base of pinto and black beans and a large assortment of cheeses. That's variety! Tacos de Los Altos had a vegetarian burrito with rice, beans, cheese, guac, sour cream, lettuce and salsa for 9 dollars. It was pretty delicious, nearly as enjoyable as watching a sexy, expletive-packed argument between an umpire and A's manager Bob Melvin. The food truck also had enchilada and taco options.
Eating a giant burrito there wasn't enough. I needed more! I just hoped it wasn't a pitcher's duel so the quiet spectators wouldn't hear my stomach noises later. I split an order of Impossible Sliders with a friend. It was the first time I'd tried this meat-free burger that supposedly tastes like meat. It has been nearly a decade since I last ate any beef, so my opinion on whether it tasted like meat is extremely questionable. What was not questionable were the rude table manners I used while I devoured every last tasty morsel. The 12-dollar price tag also included tater tots. I'm from Idaho. You can catch us by putting potato products in a box. We have no means of escaping. That addition made the dish even better.
The only thing I had to complain about here was that we didn't get a cup full of tater tots.
When a white flag is ready to burst from your stomach "Alien"-style, you can't just stop there! You have to add on some dessert. I went with their very large lemonade for seven dollars. It was a night game, but the delicious lemonade is an essential way to get through a boiling hot day game at the Coliseum. They could probably make more money off of selling that than the actual ticket prices at 2 p.m. in the sweltering stadium. On this particular night, drinking that much lemonade at least ensured that I slowly walked with my stomach girth to the restroom once in a while, to try to burn off my Impossible burrito combination.
After reading all of the food options, I'm sure Hugh Jackman wouldn't mind a moonlit walk at the Coliseum with me. For more on the veggie fare at the Coliseum, check out my This Vegetarian Be Tripping Coliseum YouTube video!
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