Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Even the most dedicated UC Irvine fans don’t mind missing half an inning for the ballpark meals that Sean Tedder and Kelly Kuehnert in UCI Dining Services provide.

The concession trailer at Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark features one of the most extensive and inventive menus in baseball. There are 22 specialty items available, all of them worthy of scrutiny. Where else can you watch Division I baseball with a grilled cheese sandwich and Gouda-cheese pepper soup? Or enjoy tri-tip fries?

Tedder and Kuehnert haven’t missed a game in non-COVID times since 2008. They start working four and a half hours before the first pitch.

And there’s a story in almost every sandwich. Associate athletics director Melissa Ramos inspired the Ramos dog (chili, cheese, grilled onions and peppers). The Acuna chicken sandwich (bacon, chipotle mayo, Swiss cheese, guacamole) is named for former UC Irvine Police Sgt. Eladio Acuna, who used to work security during the games before retiring in 2021. Jorge Lozano was a cook in the trailer for many years and came up with the Lozano burger (fried egg, pastrami, sriracha mayo). Sarai Ramirez, who worked in food services, got her own burger too (an Angus patty with chili, cheese, jalapeno pepper and an onion ring).

There’s something for everyone. Want a vegetarian option? There’s the grilled portobello mushroom burger. Have a sweet tooth? Try the funnel cakes with strawberry sauce.

Sometimes the appetite for romance comes into play. In 2024, UCI Dining was put in charge of a first-pitch ceremony. Lozano and Ramirez did the honors, and Lozano proposed to Ramirez on the pitcher’s mound. As Tedder says: “It’s truly a labor of love.”