John McGraw’s Derby Grill

NOT my favorite place to get garlic fries at the ballpark. The prices are up again, $ 8.25 for oily, greasy, soggy fries. I like crispy fries, but these were dangling disappointments. Ample flavorless garlic with clearly visible chopped parsley adorned the fries. I couldn’t eat much of it because it was so saturated with oil that hubby ate most of it. They didn’t give it enough time to drain out of the fryer. The best ones I’ve had were at the Club Level.

Other than eating the Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Polish Dogs, Half pound kielbasa, Sheboygan Bratwurst, Carved Beef Brisket Sandwich, CheeseSteak Sandwich, Garlic fries, Fish & Chips, Churros, And no I didnt try eating all of them food items all in one day!!! I ate most of them food items on different times when… I am at a San Francisco Giants game!!! But what, I really like the most… Is going to John McGraw’s Derby Grill and to have myself some Chicken Tenders w/​Garlic fries or Chicken Tenders w/​regular fries so far… I have eaten the both of them on different times when going to a San Francisco Giants game!!! Not only do I like watching a San Francisco Giants… I love AT&T PARK because they have a lot of food selections for you to choose from!!! Most of the food maybe pricey but who really cares!!! I just like to sit back and enjoy what… I am eating while watching my favorite Baseball team play!!! And that would be no other than the San Francisco Giants!!!

You know what guys? Grabbing garlic fries at the ballpark is supposed to be a total institution, but it is probably one of the biggest, most consistent rip-​offs here that make me feel cheated & disappointed.
It’s what you crave, but never what you deserve… garlic fries are NOT expensive to make, so why aren’t they BETTER?!
7 Washingtons! Think of each warm, soggy, semi-​seasoned (with pre-​minced garlic!) fry as costing you a quarter each. That’s what it roughly averages to! GAH!
(Yes, I am bitter and totally hatin’.)

I’m sorry, but for overpriced ballpark food served en mass, I expect at least fresh, consistent servings. On a recent visit with coworkers, I was served cold, withered fries at only half the volume of my coworkers serving. This is a sign of inadequate staff training, and staff that could care less about the customer’s experience. Welp, guess you don’t want my $ 19 bucks for fries, burger, and a beer.
Next time, I’ll spend my money outside the park or look for a different vendor.

John McGraw’s Derby Grill is one of the AT&T Park concession stands that sells the famous Gordon Biersch garlic fries. These are easily the best fries I have ever had, bar none. The fries are thicker than the shoestring variety common at fast food establishments, but thinner than steak fries or potato wedges. They are mixed with a generous helping of minced garlic and some chopped garnish (cilantro?). The fries would be better if they were more crisp, but they are still outstanding. These leave your breath kicking, but thankfully they are served with starlight mints. $ 6.75 for a moderate-​size serving. (Yes that’s expensive, but it is ballpark food. As my dad would say, they have a captive audience.)
I also had a Louisiana hot link ($ 5.50). It is an Italian sausage, and it comes topped with grilled bell pepper and white onion (unless requested plain). Pretty good, but your taste buds and stomach would be better served by a bratwurst. (Sadly this would require waiting in another line at a different concession stand.)
On the food alone, even factoring in the steep ballpark prices, this would normally warrant a 4-​star review. However, service was pretty terrible. I understand that the concession staff changes frequently, so this is to be taken with a grain of salt, but service on this occasion (7÷4÷08) was painfully slow and not especially courteous.
On this particular day, the credit card system was not working properly, so it was cash-​only. Several customers were turned away because they only had plastic, forced to head over to the ATMs.
In addition, the sausages were not being cooked quickly enough to keep up with the orders. Each cashier had two or three customers who had already ordered and paid but were waiting for their food. These customers were repeatedly told that the food was on its way out «right now» (though it became clear that that was not the case). After a while one customer tired of waiting and asked for a refund. When the food finally arrived, the cashiers only vaguely remembered what each customer was owed (an issue exacerbated by the lack of sales receipts). We needed to remind the cashiers what we had ordered.