“THAT’S PRICE-GOUGING, or whatever you call it,” I exclaim.
My husband has just revealed that he shelled out $18 for two brats and two soft drinks for himself and our teenaged son at a Minnesota Twins game.
“That’s ridiculous,” I continue to rant. “Who pays that much for a brat and pop?”
Apparently, if you’re a Twins fan (and dare I say here that I really don’t care about sports in general), that’s the price you’ll pay for simple fare to fill your belly.
Let me restate that. A brat and a pop do not fill the stomachs of two hungry guys, especially one who is 16.
Nor do a brat and a soda satisfy a man who would prefer a brat and a beer. But, with beer priced at $7, even my husband could manage to eat a brat sans beer. I didn’t even ask him the price of Tony O’s Cuban sandwich, the food he once told me he would try if he attended a Twins game.
But he did share, seeming a bit miffed, that Leinenkugel beer, brewed across the border in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, is grouped at Target Field with beers labeled as “Minnesota-made.” That appeared to bother him more than the beer price.
So, wanting to direct him off the topic of beer, I inquire about our oldest daughter’s meal. (She has given her dad and brother the $18 tickets as a Father’s Day gift and is attending the game with them.) “Carrots,” he tells me. “She brought a bag of carrots.”
“I thought you couldn’t bring food into the game,” I say, at the same time inwardly applauding my daughter for her healthy food choice.
“She had that big green purse,” he explains.
Ah.
Later, after I check out the Twins Web site, I read that you can take food into Target Field, but only if you eat it in the general seating area. Ditto for a few beverages, that, for obvious reasons, do not include beer—Wisconsin or Minnesota-made.
© Copyright 2010 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Well, it doesn’t surprise me that 2 brats and 2 pops cost that much. They always gouge up the prices at those kinds of places. Maybe Amber could sneak some brats and pop in her purse? haha
Some people, not naming any names here, could likely stow away several meals in their gargantuan purses.
Or, they could opt for a soft-sided cooler, which is apparently allowed in Target Field, with certain restrictions, of course. But, hey, that offers attendees an affordable meal option.
But at that price they are sooo.. delicious.
Guys and their brats!
Once my friend David came up to our seats and said, “You know that one time you girls brought in food…well tonight I brought a couple cans of pop and they took it, well I chugged one and left the other one.”
The food is outrageously expensive but it is part of the experience. Carrots weren’t enough so I had to get a pretzel and water for $8.
Yeah, you’re probably right, Amber. The food is part of the experience and we pay crazy prices for food at fairs and other venues too.
It sounds like a great day, if crazy expensive. I’ll never understand ballpark prices.