Tony Brings A Tear

How appropriate that on the night Tony Bourdain tackled my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, on his Travel Channel show No Reservations, my beloved--and first place (yes, you read that right!)--Cleveland Indians turned a triple play while soundly defeating the Minnesota Twins, 8-3.

Overall, I thought the show was excellent, though the first part was heavy on eccentric Cleveland, and we really didn't didn't get into the food until the second part. I loved the tour of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (did you know you can rent that for a party or dinner?) and of the ethnic restaurants.



What did bring a tear to my eye was the mention of "stadium mustard." Here's the scoop: Cleveland's old Municipal Stadium used to be the home for the Browns and the Indians. It was a huge (70,000-seat), old, drafty place yet filled with memories. Some of my strongest childhood memories are of going, either alone with my dad or with my dad and friends, to Indians games, one of the highlights which would be having several (hey, I was a growing boy!) foot-long hot dogs slavered in Municipal Stadium's brown mustard. This was a delicious concoction, heartier than that French's yellow stuff yet without the strong bite of a good Dijon. When Municipal Stadium was torn down, lost too, was the stadium mustard....


...until recently. I had heard rumors and quickly confirmed them last night during a late-night Google fest: stadium mustard lives! The stadium mustard Web site looks as funky as old Municipal Stadium used to, and to me, that's part of the charm. My check is going in the mail this week for a case of this all-natural, delicious, and memory-inducing condiment.


So thank you, Tony, for showing us new places to see and try...and for taking us back to old places and old times and old foods that shouldn't be forgotten.