Baseball season is in full swing and the Marlins are sitting pretty in first place in the NL East. (Enjoy it now — that is sure to not last long.) We've become a big fan of a newcomer to the smallish world of Marlins blogging called Bright Orange Seats. It's written by Adam, who grew up a block from the stadium but is only now fully embracing the Fish. We asked him a few questions about his food preferences before, during and after ballgames.

Name: Adam Smoot
Age: 26
Occupation: Art Director/Graphic Artist
City: North Miami (but my heart is still in Miami Gardens)

MP: You grew up a block from JRS/Pro Player/Dolphin Stadium. Where do you recommend eating before/after Marlins games?
Adam: With Denny's being the only restaurant close to the stadium (and even that place is fairly new), my suggestion instead would be to make an entire day/night of the game, if you can. If you're going to grab something to eat beforehand, my suggestion is any outdoor restaurant at Bayside Marketplace. It may be a good distance from Dolphin Stadium, but there's something about spending an entire day outdoors (eating, shopping and then a ballgame) that really seems to make for the perfect baseball experience.

If you're looking for a place to go after the game to grab something to eat, my suggestion is South Beach. Sure, many of the restaurants are over priced, but after a game the last thing you want to do is go home and sleep. Might as well go out and enjoy the Miami nightlife. And at the very least, you might run into some of the players from the visiting team. (I once bumped into a drunk Martin Brodeur while on my way to a Sugar Ray concert at Cameo. And I can't believe I just admitted to attending a Sugar Ray concert...)

MP: Have a favorite sports bar?
Adam: Smokey Bones in Plantation

MP: What kind of food would you like to see served at the new ballpark, assuming it actually gets built?
Adam: Even though I'm not all that into that particular kind of food, I'd love to see the organization embrace the Spanish community and go with a little more of a Latin flavor. It'll give the park an identity, similar to the way they serve sushi in L.A.

MP: Favorite hot dog in the area?
Adam: Whatever kind they're serving at the stadium is great. It's the size of my arm and has a pretty good flavor to it. I've always been partial to ballpark food anyway. I think it's the atmosphere of the game that makes it taste so good... I'd imagine the quality of the food isn't all that amazing, but it still tends to win me over every time I'm there.

MP: When choosing food that can double as both sustenance and ammunition against Mets fans at the ballpark, what do you pick? We're thinking cheap and messy, enough to annoy but not injure.
Adam: Believe it or not, I'm a good old fashioned sunflower seed kinda guy. You get about a half million per pack, it only costs you a couple bucks and you can annoy someone for the entire length of the game. Some people would say that this isn't an annoying enough option, but those people need to work on their accuracy. There isn't a more rewarding moment in life than landing a sunflower seed in the small opening between the collar of someone's shirt and the back of their neck, from three rows away. The best part is, they're easy to conceal, so the person you are bothering keeps turning around to see who it is, but has no chance of ever finding out that it's you.