Let’s face it, a lot of the allure of going to the ball field is the great (or not so great) food that you can nosh on while watching your favorite player hit a home run or field a double play, sack the quarterback, score a goal, or make a free throw.  Whatever your favorite sport, I would still bet that hitting up the concession stand is a part of your agenda.  The arena owners and managers want it that way; food is a great source of revenue for them.  But as the price of tickets go up, and as the public becomes more culinary-savvy, the cardboard-like chips dripping with fake yellow cheese is not cutting the mustard for the typical fan.  Gone are the days of boiled hot dogs on a stale bun slathered with ketchup.  Food at sports venues is undergoing a reawakening as fans are demanding better food and better hospitality.  Now gourmet chefs are at the ready to rid the concession area of tired menu items, opting rather for upgraded versions of favorite refreshments: locally sourced vegetables atop your now deluxe nachos, grass-fed beef burgers, smoked brisket and pulled pork sandwiches with all your favorite fixings.  Vegetarian hot dogs and black bean burgers are available for the non-meat eaters.  You can even find fresh sushi or sashimi at some arenas.

But why stop there?  Meet Michael Mina, a self-proclaimed San Francisco 49ers fan, a lover of tailgating.  Mina is a renowned chef, having acquired fame from his restaurant, Aqua in the late 90s.  Enterprising owner of Mina Group (with tennis star Andre Agassi) with restaurants in destination cities from Seattle to Washington, D.C., Mina has recently opened a fine dining venue inside Levi Stadium, home of the 49ers, in Santa Clara.  For the first time in the history of professional stadiums a restaurant within a professional arena is open to the public even on non-game days.  Bourbon Street Steak & Pub is a high-end restaurant on every day of the week, but game days find the pub transformed into an upscale tailgate party for members (premium season ticket holders) only, first serving traditional sit-down meals with about ten available items—such fare as wood-fired rotisserie ox or cow and boiled lobster.  After the meal is finished, fans can walk around to different bars and stations within the restaurant, enjoying pastries, charcuterie, and cheese until game time.  Mina’s vision isn’t complete, though, without the help of guest chefs who are brought in from the city of the team the 49ers are hosting at home, allowing his customers to experience the local favorites of different areas of the country at each home game.  Chef Mina’s trailblazing sports-venue-dining muse seems to have ignited new trends, as sports settings across the nation are aspiring to emulate his 5-star dining experience—NYY Steaks at Yankee Stadium, Curly’s at Lambeau Field, or Dempsey’s at Camden Yard to name but a few.

So the next time you find yourself craving a gourmet plate of nachos or hot dog, or even a 5-star meal, you really need to look no farther than your local sports arena.  And maybe you can even catch a ballgame while you are at it.

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The holiday generally lasts about seven days, with travel and cleaning leading up to the New Year. Multi-generational families gather for the reunion dinner, considered the most important meal of the year, and share food, stories, conversation, and time together. 2015 commemorates the Year of the Goat, the eighth symbol of the Zodiac, and all family members born in goat years are celebrated.

While 2015 may be the Year of the Goat, every year is the year of the dumpling.  Ground or chopped meats or fish with ginger, sesame, and chilies are rolled in won ton, or dumpling, wrappers, and then boiled in hot salty water.  Serving them is considered to bring good luck and prosperity in the New Year.   Though they are served year-round, they are a traditional accompaniment to the reunion dinner.

The varieties of Chinese Dumplings are too numerous to count, but here is just one recipe to try out if you feel inclined to celebrate the Chinese New Year, or if you just want to try the traditional fare:

Dumplings                                                                                 Dipping sauce

½ pound roughly chopped scallops                                                ½ cup rice vinegar

½ pound roughly chopped peeled shrimp                                        1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon salt                                                                            ½ teaspoon chili garlic sauce

½-1 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely ground                                  2 green onions, sliced

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

½ cup chopped green onion

1 teaspoon sesame oil

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves and stems

1 finely chopped serrano chile

40 dumpling wrappers, 3 ½”

Place scallops and shrimp in a bowl with salt, pepper, ginger, green onions, sesame oil, cilantro, and serrano chili.  Mix well then refrigerate at least an hour.

Make the dipping sauce by whisking together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, and green onion.

Place two teaspoons of filling into the center of each dumpling wrapper, moisten the edges, and pinch together into half-moons.  Pleating the edges seals the dumpling (and also makes them look pretty!)

Boil the dumplings about ten at a time in well-salted water until they rise to the surface, then an additional four minutes.

Garnish with cilantro and/or green onion slivers and serve with the dipping sauce.

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