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Two Ziploc bags full of spaghetti got past the security guards at Camden Yards with nary a second glance. That wasn’t the case once we sat down in section 360, far above left field, stuck forks in our saucy mounds of noodles and took a picture “for the ‘gram” before digging in.
We held our bags of spaghetti aloft as the Orioles played the Tampa Bay Rays. Someone a few rows behind us snapped a shot. They posted it on the Internet and the photo almost immediately went im-pasta-bly viral.
If you want to get technical, it wasn’t spaghetti noodles in the bag. My boyfriend, Giacomo “Jack” Bologna, made cascatelli in a basil-tomato marinara sauce. Cascatelli is a new pasta shape created by The Sporkful food podcast’s Dan Pashman, designed for maximized “sauceability, forkability, toothsinkability.” Named such because it’s supposed to look like a waterfall. Jack and I think they look like ears. They’re great, and easy to eat out of a Ziploc bag — “bagability?”
Credit for the idea — called “brilliant” and “frugal” by some on the internet, “disgusting” by others — also goes to Jack. Since he discovered that Camden Yards has a delightfully lenient outside food and drink policy months ago, he’s been talking about bringing in a bag of “Spaghetti O’s” to an Orioles game. We never even had to ask, “What is your spaghetti policy here?”
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Guests can bring in food and sealed nonalcoholic beverages, as long as they fit in a clear, gallon-sized plastic bag, according to the Orioles’ website. One plastic bag is allowed per person. No frozen water bottles are allowed for safety reasons.
As long as you operate within these constraints, you can let your imagination run wild. Here are my recommendations.
Don’t forget napkins and eating utensils!
Spaghetti, obviously
Or any type of noodles will do. I recommend sticking to noodles with a thicker sauce to make the bag-to-mouth transfer less likely to involve spills. I love the idea of slurping some pad see ew or jjajangmyeon while watching sports. I would stay away from noodle soups, for obvious leak-related reasons.
Sandwiches
In a move that would’ve made his Sicilian forefathers proud, Giacomo also assembled massive Italian sandwiches that we brought to a different Orioles game earlier this year. Juiciness of the sandwich and the bread’s susceptibility to sogginess should be key considerations when assembling your O’s sammies. Is a hotdog a sandwich? I say yes, and bringing your own is going to be a lot cheaper than buying one at the concession stand.
Dumplings
Any food that comes in its own pocket is designed to be eaten on the go (or at the ballgame). To me, dumplings, first and foremost, mean Chinese jiaozi. But for the purposes of this list, I also conceptualize dumplings as a category of dough-covered goodies which includes pierogis, empanadas, samosas, calzones, et cetera.
Steak
For maximum “wow” factor, bring in a whole steak. How are you going to cut it? What are you going to cut it on? I don’t know. I don’t think this would be practical, but it would be absurdist performance art.
Mashed potatoes
Tear off a corner of the Ziploc and funnel mashed potatoes into your mouth like a baker piping buttercream on a three-layer birthday cake.
alissa.zhu@thebaltimorebanner.com
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