Avoid The Lines: Build A Concession Stand In Your Home

Thursday is opening day for the Washington Nationals, as well as just about every other team in Major League Baseball.

Because of this, I have some investment advice for you.

Let’s face it, going to a major league game and truly enjoying the experience involves a couple of factors. One is obviously good baseball.

But another is the food, as I cannot go to a baseball game without getting a hot dog at the stadium. A hot dog, a cold beverage and a bag of salted in the shell peanuts constitute the holy trinity in the cathedral of baseball, and it is a mandatory purchase, where you can expect to pay at least $20 for those materials at a concession stand at Nats Park.

The hot dog, to truly be a baseball hot dog, has to be cooked a certain way to create its unique taste. At home, you’re probably going to fry it in a pan, boil it if you’re not all that serious about hot dog taste, or microwave it if you’ve given up on life in general. But a true baseball hot dog is cooked on steel rollers, constantly cooking it to maximize the melting of all that fat and other ingredients in there that will probably shorten your life.

You probably see these machines on the counter behind the staff taking your order without ever giving thought to “hey, I should get one of those.”

The other part of the ballpark experience is a steamed bun. Properly stationed in a contraption allowing a low level of steam to soften the bun into a heavenly pillow sliced in the middle to allow this juicy all-beef concoction to rest comfortably, and you have the food of kings.

I invested in these two devices years ago, and it may have been a better investment than Microsoft, Apple or Amazon when it comes to living life to its fullest. When the Nats or Hokies play, I put a few Nathan’s natural casing Coney Island style hot dogs on the rollers, some buns in the steamer, a little chili and sauerkraut in two small crock pots I set on low, then chop up some onions and leave out some condiments. It’s an all-day concession stand in my kitchen without having to pay $8 a hot dog.

Think for a second, if you were one of the lucky ones who get to go to Opening Day. You’d easily spend $200 for the experience of tickets, parking and food, wouldn’t you? If you purchased tickets on the resell market, probably $500. So here’s my investment idea.

For under $200, you too can make your kitchen a concession stand. There is a roller right now on Amazon that is pictured in this story that only costs $106. The bun steamer which is also pictured costs $35. You probably already have crock pots, although I spent $49.99 on a 3-pack of the very little ones. You set them on low and they keep things warm all day.

That all comes to only around $200. A word of caution if you’re a married man, however; you may discover your wife does not WANT you to turn the kitchen into a concession stand. My advice in that situation is to use everything as soon as possible, because once it becomes obvious that when this stuff is being used, no one has to actually cook, it becomes a much more palatable situation. It’s almost as easy as a Ron Popeil-type set it and forget it deal.

So on Opening Day, don’t be sad because you weren’t one of the baseball elite offered tickets. Take that money and buy a concession stand. After all, one purchase gives you only one afternoon of happiness.

This purchase allows you to eat like a king...for the rest of your life. 😊