The Week in Sports

Why Dodgers Outfielder Andre Ethier Had To Give Up Food Blogging

Andre Ethier, Mozza-bound
Andre Ethier, Mozza-bound Photo: LWY/Flickr

Dodger Andre Ethier sits down with GQ this week and right off the bat, tells us what we most want to know: Why hasn’t the star outfielder been keeping up with Dining With ‘Dre, the local food blog he began in 2008? Ethier explains, “I found myself writing many nights late at night, re-erasing and rewriting on my iPhone. My ‘Notes’ section had all these little things. I think that’s what kind of led to me not doing more. It just became a little too taxing to do it.” The player says he started the blog when the team’s PR asked about his interests and he answered, “Often on the road, especially at home, I search for small, off-brand type restaurants that are usually little pop-ups and strip malls.” Thus, the blog was born, though Ethier had to quit when the pressure of deadlines made it difficult to keep his eye on the ball.

But the Dodger is still eating out with style, telling the magazine he frequents Momofuku and Locanda Verde in New York, Avec and Cafe Bionda in Chicago, and takes pride in the fact that he can get take-out from Mozza, a restaurant he loves so much, he insisted on moving to a house close by.

“I like to believe I am the only one who gets takeout from the restaurant,” Ethier says. “The restaurant doesn’t do takeout. It’s a nice little text to [the chef or owner]: ‘Hey, I’m on the way, can I get some stuff?’…and they’ll let me slip in the back alleyway and have some [food] for me.”

“I Don’t Work on Deadlines Here”: The GQ+A With Andre Ethier [GQ]

Why Dodgers Outfielder Andre Ethier Had To Give Up Food Blogging