Every Stadium in MLB, Ranked by Its Best Food

The next time you take yourself out to the ball game, consider why you still opt for peanuts and Cracker Jacks. For one, why would you buy peanuts and Cracker Jacks when Cracker Jacks already have peanuts in them? Second, you don’t need to live your life in accordance with that song (most of the time, you will care if you ever go back). And third, food at baseball parks has gotten much, much better since the Sultan of Swat served up dingers with a side of stale popcorn and unlit cigars butts.

But, naturally, some teams simply slug harder than the rest. Here, we took on the challenge of ranking every current MLB stadium by their food. But first, let’s clear a few things up. We aren’t including beer. So, apologies to everyone who sticks to a liquid diet during the ballgame. And while we are certainly taking the overall spread of stadium selections into account, we are heavily weighting our rankings with regards to each stadium’s best overall dish. A rotation is only as good as its ace, after all—and, when you do make it to any of these parks, you'll probably only have the stomach (and budget) to eat one meal, anyway. You deserve a winner!

And while—as in life and baseball—there are winners and losers on this ranking, all of these national-pastime meals add character and culinary ambience to their respective parks, and in their own little way, can make even the most boring of games (Orioles vs. Pirates in mid-August, anyone?) somewhat bearable. Now, ladies and gentlemen, please rise, remove your caps, and get ready to message me on Twitter re: the foods I missed.

And yes, I've tried the chicken fingers.

Best item: Championship Plaza Food Trucks (Section 114)
As the city just across the Bay Bridge has the shiny new(er) park and myriad above average food options (more on them, later), the old, “also-was-a-football-stadium” in Oakland is a little rough around the edges...and scarce in concessions. Things are scrappy. And not in a shrewd, Moneyball way. Alas, the food trucks at Championship Plaza are here to save the day. Feast on everything from tacos and gyros to Southern staples and Hawaiian BBQ. The A's may have traded away all their best players, but at least.... well no, they are actually the worst at food, too. Sorry. John J. Fisher doesn't care.

Best item: TB Cuban at Cubanos (Sections 146/148) and Ybor Station (GTE Deck)

Here’s the thing: Tropicana Field is probably the worst stadium in baseball, by conventional standards. Sometimes, balls actually hit the ceiling and stay there. And despite regularly fielding playoff caliber teams, the Rays also have one of the lowest attendance rates in all of baseball. Despite all this apparent bleakness, the home of the Rays has some legitimate foodstuff (that doesn't involve orange juice) for fans to enjoy while dodging balls falling from the roof. 

The real heavy hitter here is the St. Petersburg-style Cuban sandwich that’s available all over the stadium. You’ve got your ham, your pork, Swiss cheese, salami, the optional mustard/pickles, on toasted Cuban bread. You’re not in Havana... or even Miami... but hey, as far as your tongue is concerned, you might as well be. Despite this stellar sandwich, and a new lineup of local favorites, there’s still not enough here to place the Trop higher on this ranking. If only they would have split time in Montreal, as their owner suggested: a little ballpark poutine could have earned a save, here. 

Best item: Belfonte ice cream (All over the stadium)

It is incredibly frustrating that a town so steeped in BBQ legend does not have a better selection of BBQ inside the park. There is no stand-out BBQ joint that can live up to what the town (and probably the tailgaters) can offer. Even bringing back Zack Greinke can't atone for this Mike Moustakas-sized error (I know he's not on the team any more...)

Shockingly, the best thing you can get at a Royals game is a few scoops from Belfonte—a KC ice cream staple that's been around since ’69, the same year the Royals themselves were founded. Coincidence? Yeah, probably. Nice? You bet. Still, this local ice cream legend is the ideal antidote to those hot Midwestern day games on the boiling metal of Kauffman’s bleachers. It’s also a cure for empty stomachs and, if used correctly, malaise. It’s even better than a loaded bullpen. Then after the game is over, you can go out and get some ribs. Things aren’t so bad after all. Unless you are rooting for the Royals to win in 2022. Then yeah, things are kind of bad.
 

Best item: Gyro (Big Cat Court)

If we were ranking craft beer selections, Comerica would probably edge its way to the top, as they were one of the first parks in the majors to dive hops first into the craft beer movement and offer a balanced lineup of quality, local brews. But in true, bad luck Tigers tradition, we aren’t doing that. Womp womp. As you patiently wait for the rebuild to bare fruit (and soak up one more season of Miggy, bless him), there are some solid, quirky desserts to indulge in, like the apple pie egg roll and Nutella egg roll at Big Cat Court, and an uber-trendy Buffalo cauliflower dish at the Corner Tap Room (in section 115). But the true standout is the gyro, available at the highly populated, aforementioned, and not-at-all scary Big Cat Court just by the entrance. While Comerica is finally catching up with Detroit’s excellent restaurant culture... it still isn’t fully there. The rebuild is all-encompassing, it seems.

Best item: Elote/corn off the cob (Sections 104, 127, 142, and 529)
The Second City’s second-favorite baseball team (but Obama's No. 1!) might have the dumbest park name in baseball. But they do have one of the best snacks in the Big Leagues: a surprisingly fresh-tasting elote, available either on the cob or in a bowl, loaded with toppings like chili, salt, butter, and mayo. And while this elote is particularly delicious—and the rest of the concessions are stacked with some local favorites like Beggar's deep dish and ice cream bars from Prairie Farms—there’s just not enough substance here to compete with the rest of the league. Fortunately, the White Sox are way better than the Cubs this year, so who cares about corn? (For the record, I really care about corn.)

Best item: Funnel cake poutine (Section 134)
Canada’s only ball club (RIP Expos) obviously needed to throw its maple leaf-adorned caps into the fray by going all out on poutine. And while there is a decent sausage poutine served throughout the stadium, the real standout here is a recently debuted dessert poutine that ditches gravy and cheese curds for fried dough and powdered sugar, and swaps out savory for nuclear-levels of sweet. But again, like so many of these low-ranked stadiums, it’s just a little disappointing that there’s not a more substantial “best dish” to push the stadium formally known as the Skydome over the top. At any rate, now Jays fans can indulge in this hedonistic dessert as they watch their team screw up in the playoffs. O Canada!

Best item: Bacon-wrapped hot dog (Section 168)

This wiener is pretty much the only thing at Busch Stadium that will beat can after can after can of fresh light beer (or as I call it, St. Louis Sauce). Let’s go over the toppings: a jumbo hot dog wrapped in applewood-smoked bacon and topped with baked beans, pico de gallo, spicy aioli, and crispy fried onions. Wash it down with some St. Louis Sauce, and you have a perfect encapsulation of baseball, summer, and good old American excess. But in an era when ballpark food has become, as they say, elevated, you’d like to see Busch offering up a better option than a simple wiener to make fans remember the good ol’ days when the Cubs sucked, Pujols raked in Cardinal red, and the Cubs sucked. Oh wait, that's now (again!)

Best item: Chronic Tacos (Section 223)
Is there anything pitching ace/HR king/MVP/good looking guy Shohei Ohtani can't do? Well, unless I'm mistaken, he can't make very commendable tacos. Which is Ok in this case, as Angel Stadium features the most exciting young tacos in the league in Chronic's carnitas tacos. This local SoCal joint that has become the one of the most popular food stops in the whole park. Despite the name, and Cali's legal cannabis status, these tacos are totally SFW and... well, they're carnitas tacos, right? They shouldn't need much selling from me. Get one. Watch Mike Trout. It will be a good day. 

Best item: Dodger Dog (All over)
Classic Dodger Dogs—the long, sort of mushy, very skinny, beef/pork-blended hot dog that's one of the most famous foods in baseball—is sort of terrible, especially if you get the steamed version (available through most of the park) rather than the much more flavorful grilled version (available only at select vendors). But it’s that processed, salty flavor that also sparks nostalgia for childhood summers and the smell of tee-ball tees and not-quite-broken-in mitts that makes going to Dodgers games, especially for Angelenos, a summer prerequisite. Now, there's even a plant-based version available, smoked with maple hardwood chips in order to recreate that charred flavor. And while the classic Dodger Dog has its (obvious) admirers, there are some substantial also-rans like the cannolis from Tommy Lasorda’s Trattoria or the elote from Think Blue BBQ. 

Best item: Skyline Chili (all over the park)
Skyline Chili—much like Reds legend Pete Rose—is beloved by fans, but dramatically divisive, and mostly controversial, pretty much everywhere else. While Cincinnatians (Cincinnatites? Cinncers?) consider their messy pseudo-chili a city landmark in itself, out-of-towners might not be able to grasp or stomach what makes the famous Skyline puddle so damn endearing to Queen City taste buds. So, while some might consider the Great American Ballpark a chili mecca, others might want to dry heave at the thought. Basically, this park lives and dies on the strength of Skyline, which certainly handcuffs its standing on this list. 

Best Item: Helton Burger (Section 153)
Coors Field, keeping true to its beer-centric name, has a bonafide brewery right on the premises (where Blue Moon itself was first crafted). Also, for a dash of local flavor, you can sample Rocky Mountain Oysters (read: deep-fried bull testicles), in section 144. But if you’re looking for more classic baseball game fare than crunchy balls (baseball is full of purists!) check out the #17 Helton Burger Shack, a nostalgic diner-esque joint named for legendary Rockies first baseman Todd Helton. Get hand-whipped milkshakes, crispy onion rings, and the Helton burger—a juicy mix of brisket and sirloin with diced onions, sliced pickle chips, and special sauce. And if that doesn't work, the balls do tend to fly out of this field. You know?

Best item: Fenway Frank (All around Fenway, including the Right Field Roof Deck)
The core pillar supporting the longstanding charm of baseball is warm, fuzzy nostalgia (also, the coaches have to wear full uniforms, which is hilarious). The game is essentially played the same way it was hundreds of years ago. It’s like a historical reenactment every summer, with limited commercial breaks and zero boring butter-churning. Back when the Great Bambino was slinging fastballs in Fenway, they ate hot dogs. And the Nation still does. This is certainly the most charming wiener in the majors (this side of Josh Donaldson), and the rest of the roster is bolstered by quirky new additions like lobster poutine from Yankee (!) Lobster, and the surprisingly healthy inclusion of hearty salads from Fenway Farms. But just as the Sox lineup is lacking personality since Big Papi hung up his cleats and his profanity-laden speeches, we’re not seeing a lot of compelling dishes in Beantown’s old ballpark. Still, Fenway managed to escape the lower third of the ranking based on the strength of the Fenway Frank. They’re wicked ubiquitous.

Best item: Boomstick (Section 143)
Everything, apparently, is bigger in Texas. And while that’s certainly a cliche no writer should ever lead a paragraph about Texas with (meh), it definitely applies to this terrifying, two-foot-long hot dog: Globe Park’s notorious Boomstick—soaked with chili and cheese. Yes, it’s incredibly aggressive. The Rangers have made a name for themselves in the concessions-world by going all out (or maybe in?) with stunt foods that make cardiologists cringe and cowfolks say “yee-haw!” And while all this is definitely notable, it’s not going to be the perfect fit for every prospective MLB diner, for some very obvious reasons.

Best item: Bratchos (Sections 123, 216, 221, 417, 433)
There are some things in life you shouldn't try to explain or make sense of. They are things that just need to be accepted as what they are, nothing more, nothing less. Such is the case with American Family Field’s Bratchos (get it?): a fried wad of cheese, seasoned ground beef, crushed Doritos, and sour cream on a six-inch toothpick. It’s like a deep-fried plastic bag, dancing in the wind of our culinary nightmares. Aside from that, there’s sausages from Klements, and a very Wisconsin-esque array of cheese curds all over the stadium. But if you prefer your arteries unclogged, you might feel a little stifled. Though if that’s the case, what are you doing in Wisconsin, anyway?

Best item: Churro Dog (Sections 114, 123, 315)
The Churro Dog has more clout than anyone on the current D-Backs roster (sorry Khris!) This dessert dog, to paraphrase The Big Lebowski, is a churro-based snack for its time and place... it fits right in. It even won “best donut-based food” by MLB.com, which is pretty much the Nobel Prize for donut-based ballpark foods. The Churro Dog 2.0 amps things up by throwing an Oreo churro inside the traditional donut bun (with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce, and extra Oreos). It’s one of the preeminent stadium foods and a benchmark for all baseball desserts. Because as ballpark food logic dictates, your dish is only as good as the sorrow that should inevitably follow. But, it is a novelty. And when your number one food is a calorie-laden, saccharine dessert that would even make an 8-year-old at a birthday party a little hesitant, it’s a little hard to crack the top half of this list.

Best item: Chili half-smoke hot dog (Ben’s Chili Bowl, Sections 109, 141, 318)
Does it get any more patriotic than eating a hot dog while attending America's Pastime in our nation’s capital, in Nationals Park, watching the Nationals? On top of that, the park has DC’s legendary half-smoke soaked and smothered in the District’s famous chili. The only thing better than eating at Ben's inside the stadium, is then also visiting Ben's actual location for another half smoke: it's one of our favorite places in District, for its good and its history. For once, Congress is doing something right. And by Congress, I mean the guys who make food at the baseball stadium down the street from Congress. I’m sure Congress wasn’t really involved at all, actually. 

Best item: A cheesesteak (Tony Luke’s, Ashburn Alley)
In the (very unfortunate) absence of the legendary “Schmitter,” which was pretty much the only reason to go to a Phillies game since 2009, a cheesesteak should rightfully take its place on the Iron Throne of Philly’s ball club. Citizens Bank has a few cheesesteak options—including Campo’s—but the honor here goes to Tony Luke’s, the sandwich that’s always in the “Best of Philly” conversation. If there was a better selection of cheesesteaks to indulge in at Citizens Bank, Philly would have ranked much higher. But, also, if Ryan Howard didn't fall off a cliff the Phillies might have another championship. Hmm.

Best item: Texas Smoke (Section 306)
Texas Smoke and its legendary brisket get bonus points since celebrity chef and Texas Smoke owner Bryan Caswell is a legit Astros fanboy. It embodies local flavor (massive plus) just as much as any stadium offering, and is substantial enough to beat diminutive slugger Jose Altuve in a fist fight. The Astros have an overall solid selection of concessions, including barbecue-stuffed baked potatoes from the Butcher, and a Shake Shack in centerfield. But the crown jewel is Texas Smoke. Of course, the Astros are massive cheaters who don't deserve anything delicious or good or fun ever.... but, I'm trying to stay impartial here. 

Best item: Italian Beef Sandwich (Buona Beef, Bleacher Platform 14)
Yes, you can get the classic Chicago dog with a poppyseed bun, the Windy City fixins, and neon green relish (which is of course part of said fixins). And, if you’re feeling pizza, there is the adorable, six-inch deep dish from Giordano’s at Wrigley, too. But members of the Cubbies faithful know that the city’s real signature dish is the Italian beef sandwich. While we prefer our version from Al’s, Buona Beef does a nice job with its overloaded sandwich, topped with hot giardiniera and dripping with au jus. Even another century long title drought brought on by a vengeful bovid owner would be bearable with these hot beef sandwiches. 

Best item: Salchipapas (Bites de la Calle, Section 8)

Despite being the other MLB park with "loan" in its name, the food at LoanDepot is actually.... pretty good. We highly suggest any of the menu items at Bites de la Calle behind section 8, including the ballpark standard nachos and smothered hot dogs. But the middle-of-order...um, order...are salchipapas, which are essentially sliced sausages atop french fries, drizzled with ketchup, mustard, mayo, and aji chili sauce (a condiment explosion!) Plus, you can still snag fresh ceviche at Suviche, pulled pork nachos from Magic City BBQ, Cubans from La Cocina de Goya, and empanadas from Novecento. Basically, you don't even need to pay attention to the field when you hit up LoanDepot park this summer. And you probably won’t want to, anyway.

Best item: Anything at Waffle House (Section 311)
Since fans of the reigning champion Braves obviously need something in their hands to hopefully limit the ongoing use of the Tomahawk Chop (please, stop), they can and should turn to the South's greatest export (aside from Juvenile, obviously), Waffle House. Yes, Truist Park has a Waffle House, in-house. And while you won’t find the full menu here,  the scaled-down effort is more than sufficient: waffles, hash browns of all styles, and... the Texas Philly sandwich (?) It's enough caloric, down-home cooking glory to help fans forget they had Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, and Tom Glavine on the same team, in their primes, and only captured one championship. Oh, and they have a Chick-Fil-A. Just don't expect to hit it up before a Sunday matinee. 

Best item: Crab cake sandwich (Harris Creek Oyster Bar, Section 73)
The picturesque, downtown stadium that Cal Ripken Jr. built (but, like... not really, they used city-paid construction workers, obviously) actually has some of the best food options of any ballpark in the junior circuit, in a town brimming with reliably great restaurants and just a little bit of Old Bay. Respect must be paid to Boog’s BBQ (Boog Powell was a former All-Star for the O’s) and the crab and mac and cheese hot dog, which is exactly what it sounds like. But in the end, the classic crab cake sandwich from Harris Creek Oyster Bar wins due to its raging regional representation, but mostly, because it’s just really damn good. 

Best item: Grilled cheese (Melt, Section 111)
Fans of the newly renamed Guardians can look forward to eating what is consistently considered one of the best grilled cheeses in the entire nation in section 111. Just one sandwich from Melt—try the Parmageddon loaded with pierogies—is enough to shed the actual team of blown playoffs chances and pervasive mediocrity. You also have a build-your-own-taco situation by the Land’s food truck darling Barrio, and a slew of idiosyncratic burger options from Zack Bruell’s Cleveland burger concept, Dynomite Burger. It’s almost enough Cleveland-based pride to make you forget the Browns exist, too. Almost. 

Best item: Steak sandwich (Lobel’s, Sections 133)
For better or worse, the Yankees are the quintessential New Yorker sports team. And, for better or worse, the quintessential New Yorker thing is to charge a metric shit-ton of cash for the simplest pleasures—something the Yankees and their stadium fully embrace. The stadium is flush with hard-hitting sluggers this year, and as always, there’s a ton of hyper-expensive, and high quality food to dig into in the land of dingers. NYY Steak is a literal steakhouse sandwiched inside the stadium. Jersey Mike’s brings its legendary cheesesteak to the Pinstriped Palace. And Mighty Quinn’s makes sure every entitled Yanks fan has a quality BBQ option while sitting amongst the ghosts of Ruth and Mantle. The cleanup hitter in the concessions lineup is the thick-cut steak sandwich from iconic Upper East Side butcher Lobel’s. It’s classy. It’s egregious. It’s wildly expensive. And at the end of it all, it's a winner. So it's basically the Bronx Bombers in sandwich form.

Best item: Pierogi Hoagie (Manny’s BBQ, Centerfield)
Pittsburgh might not know much about quality baseball, but they certainly knows a thing or two about piling a bunch of stuff onto sandwiches, and you'll (duh) find an outpost of famed Yinzer legend Primanti Brothers hiding in the concourses. Also, similar to Boog in Baltimore, former Pirates star catcher Manny Sanguillen operates a BBQ stand behind centerfield, where he sits, signs autographs, and patiently explains that yes, he is a former baseball player. Manny’s BBQ offers various platters, including pulled pork sliders with slaw and baked beans. But the real star of the show is the Pierogi Hoagie with pulled pork, potato and cheese-stuffed pierogies (a Pittsburgh staple), and crispy onions on a pretzel bun. And there’s no better place to bite into the quintessential yinzer classic than dahntahn at PNC Park with a beautiful view of the City of Champions over the outfield wall, n’at. 

Best item: Quesobirria tacos (Puesto, Sections 119 and 120)
Good news for Dads fans: your team is shockingly good and there are also birria tacos at Puesto (in Petco!), featuring crispy melted cheese, braised short rib, fresh guacamole, chile de arbol salsa, and pickled radish. Petco has some of the best Mexican food in professional sports—you’re in San Diego, after all. And this ballpark ready outpost of Puesto, a local, family-owned Mexican restaurant, sells fresh guacamole and fresher margaritas, too. While I do look forward to about 20 years from now, when Manny Machado inevitably opens up a BBQ restaurant in left field, Puesto is simply one of the best places to get food in the Majors Leagues right now. As if San Diego needed more nice things...

Best item: Carne asada burrito bowl (Mission St. Nachos, Sections 130 and 233)
The Giants aren't winning the World Series every even-numbered year anymore, but their fans have the satisfaction of having one of the most eclectic and bountiful concession-stand lineups in the Majors, and it’s consistently mentioned as one of the industry’s standards when it comes to ballpark dining. It’s almost as if each food stand was injected with some sort of performance enhancer, much like that one dude who hit a bunch of dingers in McCovey Cove a little while back (you know who I’m talking about). And much like Tim Lincecum, the concessions have incredible balance. There’s freshly baked cookies and ice cream sandwiches from Cream. For the health conscious, there is literally a fresh produce garden behind centerfield used for smoothies and juices. There's a high possibility of every stand selling Impossible burgers. There is an SF-classic Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae. But we kept coming back to the Mission-style burrito bowls: Spanish rice, pinto beans, nacho cheese, fire-roasted salsa, crema, and jalapeños. It’s almost as good as Barry Bond's Baseball Reference page. Almost. 

Best item: Fuku chicken sandwich (Fuku, Section 102)
As the old joke goes, “Mets” means “More-Excuses-This-Season.” (Though with new manager Buck Showalter on board, the tides might be turning for the club.) This, however, does not apply to the food at Citi.You have your Shake Shack. You have risotto balls from Arancini Bros. You have your legendary steak sandwich from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors. Any of these could easily be the best food option at the majority of Major League Parks. There is now an Ebbs Brewing taproom. But the deep-fried crown goes to David Chang and his transcendent spicy chicken sandwich from Fuku. It’s the best thing to happen to the Mets since Keith Hernandez and his mustache came to town. 

Best item: Chana Masala (Hot Indian Foods, Truly on Deck)
The safe (and obviously still delicious) choice would be ordering a sausage from one of Kramarczuk’s outposts around the park. Instead, try the Chana Masala from Hot Indian Foods, one of the Twin Cities’ premier food trucks and purveyor of Indian dishes. Plus, in Minnesota it’s basically only summer for most of July and half of August. So you could use a little spice out in those bleachers when it’s snowing in April, June, and September. Overall, the Twinkies are so highly regarded on this list because they not only excel at traditional baseball fare—and pack a roster full of local favorites like the Cease and Desist Burger from Blue Door Pub—they also aren't afraid to push the boundaries of what excellent ballpark food can be. Consider the chilled sesame peanut noodles or Korean fried chicken from Andrew Zimmern. And of course, the aforementioned Chana Masala. You’d be hard pressed to find options as varied, diverse—and most importantly good—anywhere in Minnesota, let alone at a sports stadium.

Best item: Almost everything
What can possibly be said about the food available at T-Mobile Park that hasn't already been said? Should we wax poetic at the wontons and pork bao buns—courtesy of Din Tai Fung—at a freakin’ baseball stadium (section 133)? Can we go into detail about the perfection of the lobster rolls, sitting atop a King’s Hawaiian roll, at Sound Seafood (section 249)? Would you like to know about the infinitely customizable ice cream sandwiches from Frozen Rope, with gourmet cookies or brownies as buns and ice cream sourced from local favorites Lopez Island Creamery and Snoqualmie Ice Cream (section 132)? Shall we compare the effortlessly cool swing of a young Ken Griffey Jr. to the refreshing ahi tuna and salmon bowl from Just Poké (section 132)? No.

Because all you need to know is that the Mariners decided to serve Oaxacan chapulines—toasted grasshoppers in a zesty citrus seasoning—from Edgar’s Cantina and fans literally ate it up, turning it into a best-seller at the ballpark (section 212). Let that sink in: T-Mobile does food so well, they were actually able to sell American sports fans toasted bugs, and it was still a major success. While the traditional Seattle snack may be tossed salads and scrambled eggs, the Mariners’ cathedral has now set the benchmark that every other organization strives to meet by getting wildly creative, doubling-down on locally sourced strengths, and never being afraid to give the fans what they want—even if they didn't know they wanted it.

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