So Friday April 6, 2012 I am on my way to Miller Park for a lovely afternoon of baseball. I shared my secret parking spot with Lacey on this day. Saved us $15, a possible parking ticket, or a smelly shuttle ride from the State Fair Grounds anyway. We got to the park right before the gates were to open, so we decided to head straight in and start eating.

Last year, Miller Park added the Canadian dish “poutine” to its menu. This is probably the best thing Canada has ever come up with, by Wisconsin standards. It’s a bed of french fries, dotted with fresh cheese curds and topped with a thick brown gravy that will make you want to write home to mother. I’ve been in love with poutine from the day I discovered my favorite Milwaukee restaurant The Red Dot [2498 North Bartlett Avenue  Milwaukee, WI 53211 (414) 964-5720] served it (with fries or tots, no less!) so obviously I HAD TO TRY THIS IN MY FAVORITE BALLPARK. Making a beeline around the entire park, we stop in front of the stand called Pommes Frites [located behind section 129] so I can order some of this gravy goodness (seriously. the gravy is the best part). I place my order and wait patiently for the man to bring it my way… and when I get it, I am half-tempted to point out his error. There appears to be no gravy! I bite my tongue and scuttle away with Lacey so I can devour my snack. Upon further inspection, there actually was gravy. Oh, there was gravy…but it was watery as hell. I’ve never felt so let down by Miller Park’s concessions. I couldn’t even taste the gravy in the fries that were at the bottom marinading in what scant traces of gravy I could find. Enough of that, though.

Within 10 minutes of ordering that poutine, I was headed to the 2nd floor for old reliable…a pulled pork & beef brisket parfait. This is something that I got Lacey hooked on last year, so this was a highly anticipated treat. These gifts from the gods are located at the Triple Play Sliders stands on each level [Behind 127, behind 214, on the Club Level outside Suite 64, and behind section 417] and it is worth the $7 by far. If you’re feeling adventurous, ask for a layer of pork AND a layer of beef as opposed to just one! Now, with the purchase of a soda to complement the meat parfait, we were prepared to settle in for 9 innings (save a couple restroom breaks).

Rather than go through the entire game summary and re-hash the wounds from Gallardo’s poor outing, I’ll spare you all the agony and throw out some highlights!

• The lady behind me remarked that Lance Berkman “looks like a husky” (yes…like the dog breed)
• The entire crowd, at one point, began booing Gallardo… seemingly having forgotten all the hot cheese he threw during the playoffs. YOU ALL MAKE ME SICK
• The Crew lost 5-11 to the Cardinals
• The National Anthem was sung by Mark Attanasio’s dad (so cute)
• God Bless America was sung by Miss Wisconsin/America (not that cute, actually)
• The Polish won the Sausage Race
• Kottaras pinch hit a 3-run homer
• Rickie Weeks hit a solo homer
• I got my damn magnetic calendar that I was angry about not getting at the end of last season

So, aside from the Cardinals walking all over Gallardo, I would say it was a GOOD Friday indeed (see what I did there?)

**The photo I used here is of some awesome Chocolate cream-filled cupcakes courtesy of Compassionate Cupcakes’ owner Jess Kelter-Weisnicht, which were made specially for the Brewers’ Season Opener 2012! [Compassionate Cakes is located within Brewing Grounds at 2008 N Farwell Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53202]

Until next time, boys and girls!
GO CREW!