And here I thought that I wouldn’t have anything to write about today. A few weeks ago, I volunteered to write a review for a Sports Illustrated article about ballpark foods, with my task being a brief blurb of Turner Field’s Hammerin’ Hank sandwich.
Being the wordy, long-winded writer I tend to be, my original submission ended up being four paragraphs, explaining the rationale behind chicken and waffles, the greatness of Hank Aaron, and the slightly egregious price of the sandwich itself. I was politely asked to reduce my blurb, and I ended up narrowing it down to a single paragraph. But apparently that was still a little much too in the end, and it was apparently reduced to the above-seen cherry-picked sentence in the end.
No worries though, because I’m just glad to have my name appear in Sports Illustrated. Not that I expect it to actually make it into any print edition or anything, but it’s still a small pleasing achievement for a sports geek like myself, and I’m also pleasantly glad to see a lot of familiar colleague names from other teams’ blogs doing similarly for their home parks.
Since there is a part of me that’s a little dissatisfied with the shortness of my published work, I feel it is an obligation to myself to share the real words behind the review.
The following is my original blurb, in it’s four-paragraph glory:
The Hammerin’ Hank Sandwich
Turner Field
Atlanta, GeorgiaIn 2010, the Atlanta Braves and Turner Field paid yet another tribute to the legend that is Hank Aaron. But instead of another statue, plaque, memorial, or wing of the ballpark, it was simply, a sandwich. The Hammerin’ Hank combines two legendary concepts into one tasty item, with Hank Aaron’s namesake, combined with the phenomenon that is chicken and waffles; a combination so popular in the South, to where the Empress of Soul herself, Gladys Knight, has a chain of restaurants in Atlanta, specializing in the eccentric combo.
Packed between two waffles is a southern-fried, boneless, chicken cutlet, covered in fried onion straws, two strips of bacon, pepper jack cheese, and a lightly sweet, maple mayonnaise. It is served with Parmesan garlic french fries.
The waffles are obviously of the frozen variety to expedite time at the expense of some flavor, but the contents of the Hammerin’ Hank are still quality; the fried chicken, onion straws, and bacon combining together for tasty, satisfying, crunchy bites. Overall, the meal isn’t at all bad, but at $15 (plus tax) for the sandwich and fries, it is a little steep, even for ballpark fares. It is exclusively available at the Chophouse restaurant in the center field pavilion.
Turner Field’s food selection is otherwise mundane and nothing out of the ordinary, but if there was to be one standout star, to represent an iconic, Southern flavor, then look no further than the greatest Brave of them all, Hammerin’ Hank.
After I was asked to reduce the word count, and more or less take out the fluff, I submitted this revised paragraph:
The Hammerin’ Hank Sandwich
Turner Field
Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Hammerin’ Hank is a specialty sandwich that combines the namesake of the greatest Brave of them all, Hank Aaron, with an iconic, albeit eccentric, flavor of the South: chicken and waffles (R&B icon, Gladys Knight, has a chain of chicken and waffle restaurants, originating in Atlanta). Packed between two lightly toasted waffles is a southern-fried, boneless, chicken cutlet, covered in fried onion straws, two strips of bacon, pepper jack cheese, and a lightly sweet, maple mayonnaise, combining together to create a sandwich with a myriad of flavors and a satisfying crunch, in every bite. Served with Parmesan garlic fries, The Hammerin’ Hank is only available at the Chophouse restaurant in the center field pavilion, and costs $15.00.
And so goes the story of how I got myself into Sports Illustrated. Kind of. And yes, the kind of racist, stereotypical undertones of combining chicken, waffles, and the African-American Hank Aaron into one cohesive ballpark food item, in the state of Georgia is not lost on me.
