I Crossed The Concrete Moat at Yankee Stadium

First off, we had a separate entrance to get to our seats.  We were both given yellow wristbands and were led down a series of stairs to what can only be described as a dining hall.  There were tables adorned with fancy looking tablecloths and a woman gave us the rundown on how things worked -- everything but alcohol was free.  Free!  There was catered food everywhere and Vinny said he smelled lamb.  I said no -- it couldn't be lamb -- but sure enough, it was.

Anyway, we walked to our seats and picked up some snacks along the way -- M&Ms (peanut and plain), Twizzlers and I grabbed a lemonade (again, they were free!).  Then we sat down in our cushioned seats with the wooden arm rests and picked up the menu.  The specials for the day were:

Potato & Zucchini Chips
Fresh Idaho potato and zucchini chips baked with melted crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.

Shrimp Salad
on mesclun greens with a side of mustard vinaigrette

Penne with Veal & Chicken Bolognese
Made fresh to order

Braised Short Ribs
on Taleggio cheese baguette with fresh watercress

I kid you not.

Vinny and I eschewed the specials (although we regretted not trying the short ribs) and went with the Carl's Philly Cheesesteak and the truffle fries.  What exactly made them truffle fries?  I don't know, but I killed the whole cup.  I then decided to make it my mission to eat something in every inning.  I made it to the fourth before my body put up the stop sign (the mind was willing, but the flesh was weak!).  I had a hot dog and a Premio Italian Sausage Hoagie during the second/third innings and a Petite Juicy Juicy Cheeseburger in the fourth.  I could have ordered those delicious foods (although I was disappointed with the hot dog -- the bun was stale) from my seat, but I decided to get it myself.  Yes, the food was stacked in a case right next to the bar below us.  It took me about two minutes to get from my seat to the food and then back to my seat.  But it's not like I would have missed any action anyway, the bar had at least four televisions tuned to the game.

And let me tell you about the bathrooms!  They were located near the bar and it had an HD television in the giant mirror above the sinks.  I was standing in line waiting to take a leak and was able to watch the game.  Talk about class!  The only thing that would have been better was if the TV was above the urinal or on the crapper door.

Waitresses came around and offered us ice cream, water and soft drinks during the game.  I felt like a superstar. 

It was one of the best experiences I've ever had at a ballgame.  Oh, and the game was pretty good, too.  There's been a backlash against the Yanks because of the exclusivity of these seats (we were warned that if we somehow wandered out of our section that we would have to walk all the way around to get back in) and the team's chief operating officer Lonn Trost has taken the most heat.  You remember Lonn, right?  The man who said the Yanks will not reconsider their policy on barring the normal folk from entering the Legends Suite section during batting practice.

"Well, if you purchase a suite, do you want somebody in your suite?'' Trost said. "You purchase a home, do you want somebody in your home?''

Ouch.  Trost may never live down that comment.

Anyway, I was able to sneak a peek at the good life for one night and I don't know if that's good or bad.

I mean, how can I go back to the "regular" seats now?  I've tasted from the tree of knowledge and am forever changed.

Still, I guess it's better to have crossed the moat and lost than never to have crossed the moat at all.

*I misspoke when I said we had $2,625 seats.  Reader Cory put me in my place and wrote that those plum seats are located in the first two rows behind home plate (See: comments below).  I guess I'm not as cool as I think I am.