The All You Can Eat Aftermath
Seven hot dogs, three cokes, a bottle of water and a half a bag of peanuts – that was the price for my dignity today as I stuffed my face at the All You Can Eat event at the Rogers Centre. I was proud and ashamed of myself all at the same time.
If you were one of the lucky ones to have enjoyed seats in the All You Can Eat section earlier today, you not only got the opportunity to chow down nonstop until the end of the seventh inning, but you also were treated to one hell of a ball game.
The food setup was very streamlined for this special affair. The sections were quarantined off, meaning you had to have a special bracelet to get in. From there, you could walk up to any food stand in the designated area and just serve yourself. People definitely took advantage of this and would literally stuff their shirts full of chips and peanuts, then grab four hot hogs and head for their seats.
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At no point was there ever really a shortage of food. I was surprised that the stands could actually keep up to the demands, but Aramark proved they were ready for the hoards of hungry Blue Jays fans.
The strangest part of the afternoon was when our sections started chanting “pizza, pizza, pizza” in hopes that the Blue Jays would get their seventh strikeout to win them a slice of pizza. What, did they not get enough fill of hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, pop and chips that they needed a piece of pizza too? Glad to see they had their priorities straight.
One small complaint I have is that they didn’t serve the typical Lester’s ballpark hot dog. It didn’t appear regulation size and resembled that of a regular hot dog. After a few innings, I checked a different stand and they were actually serving the ball park hot dogs. I guess it all depended on where you went.
I tried to follow my Guide to Gluttony and ate as quickly as I could. I started off with four hot dogs and two pops, but as the innings progressed I found myself unable to keep up the pace established earlier in the game. In fact, it almost took me a whole inning to finish my last hot dog – which was seven in total. By the way, Tao and Archi – you both owe me five bucks!
And just for those who are calorie counters, I added it all up and it turns out I consumed approximately 2845 total calories at the All You Can Eat game.
After all that I could probably use a coronary, so if anybody knows a good cardiologist, please … hook a brother up!
Cool – I wanted to go to one of these some time, but I wasn't sure how it worked. I wouldn't have wanted to leave my seat to go get food, and have to wait for an inning and a half just to get some grub. I think if I could grab my stuff before game time, I'd be a happy camper.
You are a king amongst other gluttonous kings. Cardiologist? Please. Just walk it off and you're good to go. Prbably by next week, maybe more, but semantics, right?
LJ, it's all self serve for the most part. No lines to wait in, just grab & go. Most people just stocked up before game time and munched away throughout the game. It's cool to try once, but I don't think I'd necessarily do it again.
BK, thanks for the kind words. But I don't know if I'll be able to eat a hot dog ever again!
Almost 3000 calories in under three hours? Well done!!! That truly is a feat unto itself. Nice to see so many Jays fans at the final home game. Next year will be better.
Nicely done. I did an all-you-can-eat hot dog night and cashed out at six, so I salute your gastric excellence.
Next time I see you, I owe you a fiver.
Not too shabby, Ian. I look forward to going to one of these all you can eat weekends one day. How were the self-serve lines? Did you have to line up a whole half inning to get food?
Sounds like you had a blast and got to see a great ball game to boot. I'm a bit sad that the season is ending but at the same time a bit relieved. 2009 has been such a rollercoaster season.
I love it. I just started packing up my Jays stuff and realized I have almost 20 ice cream helmets and momentarily felt bad about myself, so I know the feeling. Calories aside, I spent $120 on soft serve ice cream this year…
Mattt, I was actually surprised there was such a big turn out. I guess the fans really wanted to check out the final home game of the season.
Tao, maybe next year we'll make it double or nothing. I'll keep you posted.
HLF, the self-serve lines were very quick – actually there weren't really any lines at all. Occasionally you might have to wait a minute while they pour you a pop, but that's about it. I'd definitely recommend you check it out at least once.
GGG, I've always been tempted to eat those mini-helmets of ice cream but have never indulged. I don't even want to know how much total I have spent on tall cans at the Rogers Centre this year.
I have always wanted to try that! Good stuff man…
What do people think of re-signing Scutaro? A must? Risky?
http://jayszone93.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/scutaro-worth-the-risk/
Check it out…
Hey Ian,
I'd say, based on that count, you clearly managed to ignore the calorie conundrum (if there ever was one). Nice work. So just to be clear, there were different quality all-you-can-eat hotdogs depending on the area? That's messed up, though I guess I assumed the quality would be dropped across the board.
If I ever manage to eat 7 hotdogs in 3 hours I'll report back, but it's probably safe to say you're the king.
QJays, when I added it all up I was actually very disappointed in myself.
Yes, they had different hot dogs at some places. The one stand I went to had just regular hot dogs, but the last hot dog I ate was actually the larger ball park dog. Maybe it was because they ran out of the smaller sized ones?
Whatever you do, don't attempt to eat 7 hotdogs in 3 hours. My stomach was hot happy with me afterwards. I have no clue how competitive eaters do it!
I went in 2007 when they first started this and it was awesome! Being a girl it’s even better b/c I brought a big purse. More food came home with me than what I ate there! By 2008 they had signs saying don't take anything home but that didn't stop me 😉 In Aug 2009 we got married so it was not wise to go to AYCE right before the wedding lol! Seriously, I took a photo on FB of 4 boxes of popcorn, 10 bags of peanuts and 4 boxes of nachos that I gave away to my family. And FTR no, I am by far a fatty, just really really frugal and tired of Toronto sports teams ripping everyone off in ticket prices and food for bad teams. All the hot dogs I ate just filled up my long hollow legs, ha ha (5'8). Looking forward to Aug 28 2010, I'll be back with discounted tickets from work. Woo! If you see a tall girl with a big purse, SHHHHHHHHHH!! 😉
Anon, thanks for the comment. I just went to another All You Can Eat game with a couple of female companions, and their purses definitely came in handy. We packed them full of peanuts. But I never actually noticed any signs saying you couldn't take stuff home. Weird.
Most of the times I find it's the people you least expect that eat the most at these games (stick thin guys, short girls, etc). I don't blame you for taking advantage, because those prices are even a little high.
Have fun at the game later this month, and don't worry – your secret's safe with me!