Posted April 1 2008
Kosher Hotdogs Now Available at Fenway Park in Boston
WBZTV.com CBS Boston reported today that an automated hot dog vending machine will be up and running to satisfy all those wanting certified kosher food when they go see the Red Sox play. Until now, if you went to Fenway, you able to get Hebrew National hot dogs, which are not under proper kosher certification. The ball park received many requests for kosher (certified) food and so was able to bring in the “Hot Nosh” vending machine. Fenway has said that they may add more vending machines to the park depending on demand.
While other sporting venues have certified kosher concession stands around the country (Shea and Yankee in NY and Nationals in DC), there are no kosher vending machines set up yet (to my knowledge). My hope is that a kosher vending machine, as opposed to a staffed concession stand, will be a cheaper alternative to the often exorbitant costs of eating kosher at the game. It is not price gouging, however, since the rent for these location is so high that the the price for food has to be high. They also have to reflect the fact that the kosher stands attract far fewer customers that a McDonald’s or beer stand does.
If you know of other kosher vending options at other sports and entertainment venues anywhere, please list them (with any links, or relevant info) in the comments section as this would be an incredible useful range of information for our readers around the globe.
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9 Comments currently posted. 
Marc Lerman says:
Seth Jacobson says:
Not in Detroit, my friend. I keep on saying someone should open up shop in downtown D right near the stadium or Joe Louis, but everyone laughs at me and says “how could a Kosher place survive in a non-Kosher environment?” Yeah, and they’ve been just THRIVING in the Kosher neighborhoods (*ahem*)!!!!
Dave Weinberg says:
Received this today on the Silver Spring Jewish list-serve:
There are two kosher stands at Nats Park* ran by Kosher Sports with Star K Hashgachah. They offer:
Kosher All Beef Hot Dog with Kraut $5.00
Kosher Spicy Sausage with Peppers and Onions $7.00
Garlic Potato Knish $4.75
Pretzel
Peanuts
Sunflower Seeds
Soda
Water
Beer
Sales and Ballpark Tax Included
*New Washington DC Nationals Baseball Park (opened Sunday, March 30, 2008)
Dudie Silberman says:
See my post “More Kosher Food!” from September regarding a kosher concession at the US Open tennis tournament.
Moshe Glasser says:
I remember seeing this product at Kosherfest two years ago, and was very excited to get two of these machines in my school soon after. We have the hot dog one as well as the one pictured (fries, onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and knishes).
The food is not bad - it is a brilliant system that refrigerates the product, then microwaves and delivers it to you in about 90 seconds. The really cool part is that it takes credit cards - the first vending machine I’ve seen to do so (and making it more likely that adults will buy from it, as the money doesn’t feel real).
Dave Weinberg says:
That’s amazing! It’s in your school? When I moved down to Silver Spring, MD I was amazed the the day schools here have cafeterias, and the food is decent too. But full fledged vending machines like this…brilliant! I wish there was one in my office building, because there is nothing kosher with a 20 minute drive of Bethesda.
Seth Jacobson says:
Dave, it is unfortunate that we don’t have anything immediately available in Bethesda, but it’s not true that there is nothing within a 20 minute drive (if you’re talking 20 minutes round-trip, like fast food, you are correct). In fact there are a number of places within about a 10 to 15 minute drive, including Sienna’s, Royal Dragon, Goldberg’s Bagel’s, and Motti’s Grill (inside Kosher Mart), all in Rockville, and yes there is a shortcut. There’s also the newly opened Pomegranate Bistro in Potomac, although I truthfully do not know where it is, but I assume the same shortcut would apply. And if you’re craving a burger there’s Max’s (yes, this is closer to the 20 minute mark, but during the day traffic is light so it’s not actually over 20 minutes, and since it’s fast food the round-trip time is relatively short), and you can always hop onto the Metro and go down to Eli’s (only 6 stops and 13 minutes on the Red Line). There’s also the DC JCC, which is the same stop as Eli’s on the Metro, but a bit more of a walk. Also, there are some decent (not great) Kosher options at Safeway if you’re just hungry and didn’t have time to pack a lunch. Give me a call sometime around lunch time and I’ll show you some of my tricks that I’ve learned over the past 13 months.
It would be nice to have a place we could walk to (or two or three or four), but that’s not an option in most cities outside of New York and Israel (even Toronto, which has dozens of restaurants, really doesn’t have anything in walking distance to most places of business; it’s pretty much all in residential areas).
Seth Jacobson says:
I can’t believe I spelled Bagels with an apostrophe. Can I claim “new-father brain” on that? Women get to claim “nursing-mother brain”…
Dave Weinberg says:
I guess I was exaggerating. Really, there is nowhere I can run to for lunch or go to with my colleagues in close proximity.
On the post note… I remember their being a kosher hot dog stand at Skydome, now the Rogers Centre in Toronto as well as a vendor at Paramount Canada’s Wonderland.
I know Camden Yards in Baltimore, one of the nicest ballparks in baseball and a place I have yet to visit, has some kosher food. I’m not sure what or how much, but I know something is there.