DETROIT -- Before the gates even opened for Game 5 of the ALCS on Thursday night, a rumor floated around Comerica Park about a new food item on the concession-stand menu -- the meatloaf cupcake.
Obviously, this was must-try, must-review fare.
The first problem was trying to find it, though. The meatloaf cupcake was elusive, and at one point, I felt like the captain of a sailing ship on a mermaid hunt.
It wasn't behind home plate, and a trip to right field didn't reveal anything other than Leo's and the usual concession stands. It wasn't on the Pepsi Porch, either, and there was no sign of it near the statues in left-center.
Finally, just when I started to think it was a myth, I found the stand. It's right across from the Brushfire Grill, between home plate and third base.
There wasn't much of a line, so I handed over $7.50 and ordered one meatloaf cupcake with everything.
They start with the same souvenir Tigers helmet you get with an ice-cream sundae and then add a piece of, as you probably expected, meatloaf.
Instead of the chocolate sauce that you get on a cupcake, there's a drizzle of barbeque sauce. The frosting is, of course, mashed potatoes, and the whole thing is topped off with shredded cheddar cheese and onions.
The surprising part? It's really good.
I was expecting mass-produced meatloaf and mashed potatoes -- the kind you'd get in your local all-you-can eat cafeteria -- but this was much better than that.
It's not as good as anything my wife would make (hello, dear!), but it was certainly a nice change from the box lunches we've been eating in the press room during the playoffs.
So a definite thumbs-up to the meatloaf cupcake.
Next time, we'll try another of Comerica Park's new menu items -- the half-beef, half-bacon hamburger.
Stay tuned.
