A buddy of mine, Jay, called last Thursday offering Lightning tickets for that night’s game against the Minnesota Wild. I readily, and gratefully, accepted. 

Then it occurred to me that I could tie in FFF field research by trying some dishes at the concession stands.

It had been raining all day and into the evening. Our plan was to get to Benchmark International Arena early and grab some grub, so we left a little before 5:30.

We did not get there early. We crawled through traffic, parked in a garage, trudged through the rain, and settled into our (excellent) seats just minutes prior to the puck drop — but not before I stopped at the Bud Light Lounge and bought a giant can of my go-to brew.

We’d have to get our food on the fly.

With a couple minutes left in the first period — and the Lightning up 2-zip — we scouted some concessionaires and discussed options. We chose three dishes from three different vendors. In keeping with FFF convention, I’ll rank them at the end.

A CHICKEN PARM SANDWICH AT MOSCHELLA’S

We split the sandwich ($18.50) standing up in the hallway rather than take it back to our seats. It looked kind of small, especially when compared to chicken-parm subs I’d had in restaurants. But it turned out to be plenty. Besides it was only our first course.

The chicken, piled thick, was tender, moist and well breaded. The roll was a tad too soft. The cheese wasn’t melted. The standard-issue sauce did the trick.

A KOREAN CORN DOG AT BULL MARKET

What, no deep-fired cornmeal? This choice was the result of Bonnie saying we should include something novel. The rather small hot impaled on a stick ($14) was coated in a colorful sugared cereal (not corn flakes). From the first glance, I knew we were on thin ice — or I was. I’ve never been much for corn dogs, let alone candied-cereal dogs.

The sticky-sweet flakes did not pair well with the potent sausage, and I knew that mustard — my standard go-to with weiners — was unlikely to help. I took a couple of bites. Bonnie expressed a level of appreciation. (“So colorful. And crunchy.”)

A MAC-N-CHEESE BRISKET SANDWICH AT THE MELTDOWN

This one was my idea. Full-on decadence. The brisket was shredded, toothsome and coated in a sweet(ish) barbecue sauce, but not so slathered that it was messy. The beef blended nicely with the mac-and-cheese on toasted bread, making for some hearty bites.

The chips that accompanied were kettle-style. Kudos to that.

With my mondo-can of Bud Light finally empty, I thought it only appropriate to include a craft beer, preferably local, in this edition. I mosied up to the Cigar City bar and ordered a lager. It was half-poured when I looked up at the menu and saw that it cost $24 for a 16-ounce draft. Um, that’s a lot, even for a hockey game. The beer was drinkable enough. I’ll leave it at that.

On To The Rankings …

1 — Chicken Parm Sandwich

2 — Mac-and-Cheese Brisket Sandwich (a close second)

3 — Cigar City Lager

4 — Korean Cereal-Coated Dog

We had a terrific time, despite the weather and the walking. And the Bolts held on to win 3-2.

Of course, the dishes we ate mark just a small number of the concession offerings at Benchmark during Lightning games. I look forward to trying more.

Jay? You know how to reach me. Kidding … Sort of.