Eating my way through Spring Training, III

Today was a little better as far as food goes. Heck it was a pretty darn good day in general.

The day started with Kashi bars and bananas on our way to Camelback Mountain. We decided that since we ate so poorly the day before we needed some exercise, so we went for a hike. I found out about Camelback on Yelp.com. Many people had written they had enjoyed the hike and that it had some great views once you reached the top. The description on the Phoenix parks site said that it was a trail recommended for experienced hikers only -- that is correct. I hike to the highest point in San Diego probably one to three times a month. It's a good hike that gets the heart pumping, but nothing compared to this hike. There were parts of the hike where you had to hold on to railings bolted into the ground going up and down because it was so steep.

Are we hiking halfdome?!

But in the end, the panoramic views of both Scottsdale and Phoenix were incredible. In all we hiked for just over two hours. I estimated that we probably burned off a hot dog or two.

At the game I wasn't in the mood for another hot dog. Instead, I headed to the third base side of the stadium to get some noodles I had seen the previous day. For $6 you could get a Chinese food-sized takeout box filled with noodles and various vegis. For $8 you could get ginger chicken on top. I love ginger so opted for the chicken. Not worth the extra $2. Sure, they gave you lots of chicken, but it was way too salty for my taste.

Left-field award winning noodles. Eh. At least it wasn't a hot dog.

After the game (which in case you were wondering was the Giants vs. Rockies - Giants won 7-4) we took a pedi-cab to Scottsdale Road and went to happy hour at Salty Senoriata. We drove past this restaurant around noon when returning from our hike and the patio was packed. It wasn't much different when we arrived. We opted to get our drinks from the inside bar. Happy Hour margs were $4. There were various other happy hour specials from 3-7pm, but we stuck with the basics.

Pedi-cab ride from the stadium to Salty Senoritas.

For dinner we ventured back to downtown Scottsdale on a recommendation from a friend of mine. The night's cuisine was Italian food at Pasta Brioni. The restaurant was in a strip mall off Miller Road, just east of Scottsdale Road. It was a decent size, nicely set up with a good dinner atmosphere for family or date night. I got the spaghetti and meatball which I give two thumbs up. The meatballs were perfectly seasoned, no overkill on parsley or any other crazy seasoning. The pasta sauce was light and also not overly seasoned. My dad had the veal piccata. The sauce was very light and the meat was so tender that it melted in your mouth. Both meals were satisfying and delicious. I would check it out again if I were back in town. 

Eating my way through Spring Training

Day One
At 6a.m. the sun rose above the mountains of the Cleveland National Forest and I was behind the wheel of my car headed east to Phoenix. Thus begins the trip to Spring Training 2010. The lineup: Day one, Giants at Mariners; Day two, Giants vs. Brewers; Day three, Giants vs. Rockies; Day four, Giants vs. Diamondbacks.

I went on a solo trip to Spring Training two years ago for a quick weekend where I saw two Padres games. For this year's trip my dad joined me. He has never been to Spring Training and is a huge Giants fan, so watching him get ready for this trip has been like watching a kid in a candy store.

A bit of planning went into the trip including, of course, where to eat while in Arizona. I checked out Yelp, got some word-of-mouth recommendations and found a few ideas on springtrainingconnection.com.

On the Spring Training Connection web site they ranked which stadiums had the best food. Peoria Sports Complex, where the Mariners play, was ranked number one. Giants' stadium in Scottsdale was ranked number seven out of eleven locations.

For Day One I decided to try Randy Jones' BBQ in Power Alley behind third base. I got their bbq pulled pork sandwich and it was not a disappointment. For $6 I got the sandwich, piled high with pulled pork, potato salad and corn on the cob. My beer on the other hand, a measly Bud Light, was $7.25. Guess you can't win all your battles.

We also went to a small beer garden near center field where there were some better beer choices. A big cup of Fat Tire and Blue Moon was only $7.25 each. A great value in my book --only in terms of ballpark prices, of course.

For dinner after the game we crossed the street into a shopping center that had a bunch of different restaurants. We checked out a word-of-mouth recommendation by going to Abuelos. The food was really great and reasonably priced. The best part was the happy hour drink specials. Most drinks were $3-4 each. I got a two enchilada plate with chicken in a green sauce and avocado in a cream sauce. My dad got a Matamoros plate with chili relleno that was excellent - nice and crispy with great flavor. I would go back here indeed.