NEWSLETTER
Ballpark food has come a long way. The era of a dog-and-a-beer and maybe some popcorn or Cracker Jack is long gone. While you can never go wrong with the classics, stadiums have gotten innovative with their ballpark offerings in recent years.
As a connoisseur of weird foods I am willing to try anything once. I scoured through the internet and Twitter to see what teams have come up for the 2023 season. Here???s a ranking of the top 5 new ballpark foods to try this year. These are all inside the stadium. There are some good places to try outside the stadium, too.
5. Elote Corndog – Guaranteed Rate Field, Chicago
Elote, or Mexican street corn, has become an en vogue food item. It???s popping up on more menus and restaurants and a handful of ballparks have elote offerings this year. You can get a corndog smothered in elote on the South Side this season. This might be higher, but the photo doesn???t make it look like the most appetizing dish. That said, corndogs are great. Elote is great. So why not mix them together?
4. Philadelphia Crab Fries – Oracle Park, San Francisco
French fries with crab seasoning, topped with fresh Dungeness crab and garlic-lemon aioli. Every single one of those things sounds awesome.
3. Donut Milkshake – Citi Field, New York
A giant milkshake with a donut on it on a hot day sounds like a terrible combo, but I still want to try this monstrosity. Citi Field also has a fried chicken sandwich on a donut this year from Jacob???s Pickles. I???ve been to the brick-and-mortar restaurant and it???s one of the best brunch places in the city. Last year Citi Field sold the regular fried chicken biscuit from Jacob???s and if that???s gone in lieu of the donut sandwich that???s a downgrade.
2. The Cleanup Burger – Truist Park Atlanta
Just look at it.
I can just picture my younger self waking up with a massive hangover on a Sunday and going to the Braves game to house that thing, but now I think about having a cardiologist on speed dial. That said, I would crush it.
1. Anything from Chef J???s BBQ – Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City
Getting a whole dang barbecue platter at a baseball game sounds a bit excessive, but at the same time, it looks like really good barbecue. It???s hard for mass-produced ballpark food to be as good as food served in restaurants, but this seems like a worthwhile shot. You???ll probably need a nap after eating it, but the Royals win total is set at 69.5 so you probably won???t be missing much.
