Girls Night Out with the Tampa Bay Rays

Grab your best girlfriends and head out to Tropicana Field. The Tampa Bay Rays are hosting a Girls Night Out on Thursday August 15th. $25 dollars will get you a lower level reserved seat, a Rays wine tumbler, and a voucher for a Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon. (Psst- Did you know the Rays started serving wine this season? Pretty cool.) Head to this link to buy your ticket and use promo code GIRL3 to get in on this deal. Hurry, because you must buy your tickets by August 14th!

This Rays wine tumbler can be all yours!

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Homeruns on the field and in the kitchen

Dads love baseball. Dads love grilling. Sounds like spending time at a Rays game for Father's Day weekend is a great idea! The Tampa Bay Rays have a great promo going on this weekend as they take on the Kansas City Royals. With the Rays Ticket Tandem you'll be able to get a Rays apron at any game this weekend (June 14th-16th)!

The aprons are designed to look like the jerseys that the players wear. The apron is a perfect gift for dads this Father's Day weekend, or the perfect addition to any cooks apron collection. It's also a different take on the traditional baseball shirt or jersey gift. I received a copy of the apron to try out - and I'm sure you'll love it too! Support your home team while cooking up some good food. Perfect!

Click here to purchase your tickets!

While you're at Tropicana Field, be sure to check out Everglades BBQ! I'm sure dad would love a Pulled Pork Sandwich while he watches the game.

Also happening at the Trop this weekend -

Saturday June 15th - Vow renewal on the field after the game. Deadline to register is Thursday 6/13
Sunday June 16th - Kids 14 and under get a pair of Jeremy Hellickson headphones (while supplies last) & post-game concert with the Imagination Movers. Also - Bark in the Park is back!

Go Rays!

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Everglades BBQ at Tropicana Field {Go Rays!}

Why I've never been to Everglades BBQ before, I am really not sure. When I visit the Tampa Bay Rays at the Trop, I usually stick with a classic hamburger from the concession stand. This is now going to change!

Recently I was invited to have dinner at Everglades BBQ. Everglades is the perfect compromise between rushing through dinner before a game and missing plays waiting in line for food during the game. You don't have to rush through anything at Everglades, because you can watch all of the action while you eat! We decided to eat at Everglades before a recent home game. We arrived around 6pm, and we enjoyed watching the pre-game warm ups from our dinner table. Imagine how great this view would be during the game!

Once we got settled in, it was time to decide what to eat! The menu at Everglades features all of your favorite BBQ staples, and some twists. All of the BBQ served at Everglades is smoked onsite daily. I knew it was going to be good!

The appetizers by themselves are a tough choice to choose from! The appetizer menu includes Pulled Pork Nachos, Beef Brisket Quesadillas, Pork Rinds, and Crispy Chicken Wings. Are you hungry yet?

Everglades has a full salad bar as well. The salad bar includes Parker House Rolls and Brunswick Stew. You can have the salad bar as a meal, or add it on as an appetizer or side when you order a sandwich or entree.

The sandwiches at Everglades would make my friend SandBookWich very proud! How does a Fried Georgia Trout BLT with Bacon Mayonnaise sound? Pretty awesome, right? We decided to try the classic Pulled Pork sandwich. All of the sandwiches at Everglades come with Ranch Potato Wedges, Vinegar Slaw, and Red Jalapeños.

The smoked pulled pork was perfect. The fries weren't bad either. Perfectly crispy with the right amount of salt. Then came the Smoked Beef Brisket. With 2 sides. The brisket was extremely flavorful and tender. You can taste the freshness in the meat. I chose baked beans and mac and cheese for my side items. The baked beans were tangy and the mac and cheese was extra cheesy. 

Of course any great BBQ joint has their signature sauces. Everglades has 3 available - Smoky Original, Carolina Gold, and Citrus Chipotle. While the meat was so good I didn't even need BBQ sauce, I tried all 3. (For the sake of science. Right.) The original was my favorite - a good ol' mild BBQ sauce. The others were good and I recommend trying all 3 when you visit. Find the sauce that's perfect for your taste, and your entree. 

The portions at Everglades were very generous and well worth the price! The pulled pork sandwich is $12 and the brisket dinner is $14. I know that everyone thinks ballpark prices are outrageous, but we found Everglades to be very reasonable. For a few dollars more than a ballpark hamburger or hotdog, you can get a full plate of really good quality food at Everglades.

I barely had room left for dessert, but again decided I better give it a try for the sake of science. (I love food "science"!) The choice was hard - should I go for the Classic Sundae, a Pecan Pie Sundae, Key Lime Pie, Peanut Butter Pie, or an old fashioned Root Beer Float? After serious deliberation and input from my server, I chose the peanut butter pie. It lived up to it's menu name of Extreme Peanut Butter Pie. 

The pie was just the right size for an after dinner treat. I loved the chocolate cookie crust and the smooth peanut butter filling. I loved the chocolate and caramel drizzle on top. It was perfect. Extremely perfect. Now I see where the name comes from!

I highly recommend visiting Everglades BBQ the next time you attend a Rays Home Game. There are several options for trying out Everglades food - the sit down restaurant (which I visited) at the Gate 1 Rotunda on the 2nd level, the 100 level seating bowl in the concession stand area, and inside Gate 1 at Right Field Street.

Dining spot at the Captain Morgan Deck

If you have a large group attending a Rays game, you can rent out the Captain Morgan Deck which is attached to Everglades. The best part is you can have Everglades cater the event. Your colleagues, business partners, vendors, friends, and family are sure to be impressed. I checked out the Captain Morgan deck for myself to experience the view and atmosphere. It's a great place to watch the game, and have access to some great food.

{Disclosure: Thank you to the Tampa Bay Rays for providing me with a complimentary visit to dine at this restaurant. All opinions expressed are my own.}

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Welcome Home Tampa Bay Rays!

Today I had the pleasure of joining the Tampa Bay Rays for opening day 2013! I also had the pleasure of meeting several Tampa Bay bloggers, including Caroline of Morningside Mom, Scotty from Diaper Dads, Carter of DadScribe, and Christie of Average Moms Wear Capes. The Rays were kind enough to host us in a special blogger suite!

Sold out opening day

Here are some of the ballpark treats we enjoyed today:

Salad, similar to 1905 salad

Burger sliders and all the fixin's

Chicken nuggets

Potato chips and dip

Brownies 

I had many firsts at this game. This was my first Rays game in a suite, my first opening day game, and my first sold out game. It was also my first time wearing my brand new Rays shirt, but who's counting? The only downside to the game was that the Rays ended up losing to the Baltimore Orioles 7-4. Boo! Hopefully the rest of the season has lots of wins in store for the Rays.

I am looking forward to treating you all to some special Rays ballpark posts this season. I will be eating my way around the stadium to try the culinary lineup at the Trop. I am putting together a bucket list of sorts for must do's at the Trop this season. What should I add to my list? Here's is what I have so far:

• Visit the Touch Tank 
• Get a picture with Raymond and/or DJ Kitty
• Try the new Rays wine
• Attend a post-game concert

The Rays are doing something really cool for this Saturday's game. The first 20,000 fans will receive a David Price Cy Young figurine, presented by the Tampa Bay Times. The Rays will play the Cleveland Indians at 7:10pm. You don't want to miss this giveaway. Here is a preview of the figurine, and the moment that inspired it! 

{Disclosure Statement - I was provided tickets to the Rays baseball game and refreshments, with no obligation to blog about this event. All opinions expressed about this event in my blog and through Twitter are my own.}

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