Food’s on first?
Isotopes turn into the Green Chile Cheeseburgers, who take on the (Fresno) Tacos
On a hot June night in New Mexico, things got plenty cheesy as the Albuquerque Isotopes broke in a new tradition that seemed to be a hit for fans.
In the inaugural game for the Albuquerque Green Chile Cheeseburgers, the Isotopes special one-night identity, the puns were flowing, the postgame fireworks were well done and the cuisine of the New Mexico culinary staple was a hit.
It all made the 15-14 win served up by the visiting Fresno Tacos, normally the Grizzlies, much more palatable for the announced crowd of 11,641 at Isotopes Park, dubbed for the night “The Grill.”
“It’s the type of crowd you see when you open a brand new stadium,” said Isotopes Vice President and General Manager John Traub. “Really, that’s neat to see because we’re halfway through our 15th season.”
The Isotopes, the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, announced in April the
promotional idea that was the offseason brainchild of Kara Hayes, the Director of Retail Operations. Since the announcement, merchandise — primarily but not exclusively hats, jerseys and shirts — has been f lying off the shelves and shipped worldwide.
“Within a week,” Traub said, “we were already placing reorders for hats and jerseys.”
The Isotopes have had more than a total of 1,000 online orders in the past two months from the 50 states and a handful of foreign countries. And fans were buying even more of the hot merchandise Friday, as the pro shop was so crowded with customers others had to form a line outside and wait until others left.
The star of the night — green chile cheeseburgers — were being served all around the stadium and seemed to be a hit with fans, even on what was already a warm night.
“I’m from New Mexico so I live off these,” said Michael Montoya of Bernalillo, sporting a Green Chile Cheeseburgers jersey he bought a month ago.
He was scarfing down a burger sitting on the outfield berm in the first inning: “I can put down four or five tonight if the game goes long enough.”
His daughter, 9-year-old Sabrina, wasn’t as big a fan of the green chile (she was eating a cheeseburger with only ketchup on it), but had no doubt about her dad’s bold claim.
“I’m not really into the green chile as much, but he’s probably right,” she said. “I bet he eats about five. I’ve seen him do it.”
Many fans seemed eager to get to the game for dinner Friday.
“People came in early tonight and that was neat to see,” Traub said. “The gates opened at 6 and we probably had 5,000 already in here by 6:30 (the game started at 7:05 p.m.). It’s unusual to see that may come so early, on a fireworks night game, when there was no giveaway.”
Rex’s Hamburgers, not a usual vendor at Isotopes games, was on site selling food in the outfield and, as one of Albuquerque’s most famous producers of green chile cheeseburgers, seemed to love the idea of what the Isotopes were doing.
“They did everything really well,” said Rex Thompson, who said he’s been grilling green chile cheeseburgers for 48 years. His secret? “Cook it low and slow with minimal seasoning,” Thompson said. “And do it on a flat top-griller. The other stuff — the cheese and the green chile — that’s up to people’s preference. As long as you use green chile from New Mexico, you’ll probably get that right. But as far as getting it right, I’ll stand next to anyone at a grill and put my burger up against theirs.”
He may just get another crack at doing so at Isotopes Park next year.
“We haven’t had a meeting about it yet or anything,” Traub said, “but it’s safe to assume this promotion will have a return engagement.”
The organization certainly had fun with the promotion.
A Green Chile mascot threw out the first pitch. The team wore uniforms with green chile cheeseburger logos that included patches of chile roasters and a New Mexico flag with a toothpick in place of a flagpole. And the Green Chile mascot easily beat the Taco mascot in the fifth-inning chile race competition, much to the delight of what is normally a pro-taco crowd.
“Look, we’re not too big to realize that what we’re doing is just fun,” Traub said.