Once again, thanks to the hospitality of Media Relations Manager Stephen Grande and the Houston Astros, Matt Parker and I were able to talk travel with members of the Astros organization as well as the visiting Chicago Cubs. These are all people who have traveled to many cities and eaten at many restaurants over the years. They always offer unique insight.
We could not have done much better with our first interview as Matt landed Craig Biggio, long-time Astros player and future Hall-of-Famer. Biggio named Chicago as his favorite baseball city to visit and Gibsons as his favorite restaurant.
Cubs outfielder David DeJesus joined the Chicago bandwagon and also picked Gibsons. Houston Astros coach Dave Clark (who spent two seasons playing in Chicago) also picked Chicago, but he chose Nick’s Fishmarket as his restaurant.
Last year, Cubs broadcaster and former catcher Bob Brenly told us about his little black book of pizza places. This year, we strong-armed him into revealing Giovanni’s in Pittsburgh as his favorite spot.
Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija, Cubs outfielder Joe Mather and Astros coach Dave McKay all selected San Diego, mostly because of the downtown waterfront area. Cubs broadcaster Len Kasper picked San Francisco, citing the Haight-Ashbury area as well as Fisherman’s Wharf.
Cubs coach Jamie Quirk named New York as his favorite city to visit because of its rich history. Quirk couldn’t name a specific eatery, but he mentioned Yankee Stadium, the Empire State Building, Central Park and several other New York attractions.
Cubs manager Dale Sveum also cited history as his deciding factor, but his city of choice was Boston. Sveum enjoys the historical district.
Astros coach Joe Pettini came up with some original answers. He named St. Louis and Houston as his favorite spots to visit. He threw us a bit of a curveball when he selected T.G.I. Friday’s in St. Louis as his favorite restaurant.
I have been to every city and most of the restaurants listed, and I cannot argue with any of their choices. As for me, I pick Houston and New York as my favorite cities to visit. Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments section.
— John Wroblewski, online contributor
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