As baseball fans get ready to return to their favorite ballparks on opening day, culinary teams have been cooking up delicious new recipes during the offseason to bring to the plate for the 2024 MLB season.
Sure, fans will always sing about peanuts and Cracker Jacks during the seventh inning stretch, but the culinary heavy hitters behind stadium foods have elevated the food and drink options to further entice food-motivated fans.
"Good Morning America" spoke to food experts from around the league who have developed new, regional-inspired dishes as well as riffs on beloved classics, sharing highlights from the new ballpark bites and giving fans an early taste of what's available to order on opening day this Thursday.
Citi Field
The home of the Amazin' Mets, a top culinary destination for baseball fans that's ranked number one Best Ballpark Food in 2024, recently garnered massive attention online for its interesting deep-fried twist on a classic Italian-American pastry. Introducing, the rainbow cookie egg roll.
Sure, you've heard of deep fried Oreos, but this takes the three multicolored layered almond-flavored cookie, combined with a layer of raspberry jam and chocolate syrup, rolled into an egg roll wrapper and fried to golden, crispy perfection.
The confection is available at the Metropolitan Fry Factory located in Taste of the City on the Field Level.
Citi Field's Burger Bash award winning chef, Jason Eksterowicz, also rolled out a new take on surf and turf between two gourmet buns this season.
The Mets Championship Burger is made with Pat LaFrieda prime dry aged beef, Maine lobster salad and a lobster fondue sauce inside a charred lemon and fennel brioche.
The flavorful new burger is available in in the Clover Home Plate Club and at Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors located on the Field Level.
Dodger Stadium
Although the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers retired its iconic, namesake hotdog from the menu, the stadium is bringing in a pinch hitter this season with a new Carne Asada Torta. The Mexican-style sandwich is full of seasoned carne asada on fluffy bread, topped with pinto beans, grilled onions, grilled jalapeños, tomatoes, shredded lettuce and avocado puree.
Chase Field
When baseball fans filter into the stadium under the retractable roof to cheer on the Arizona Diamondbacks this season, they can also expect new items like the Millionaire Steak Sandwich, a brioche hoagie filled with beef tenderloin medallions, black truffle cheese sauce, cremini mushrooms and garlic aioli, and later opt for something sweet with the Apple Pie Chimichanga topped with vanilla frozen yogurt, caramel sauce, whipped cream, Cracker Jacks and strawberries.
Nationals Park
In addition to a brand new centerpiece scoreboard, the 16-year-old ballpark, home of the Washington Nationals, underwent significant structural upgrades recently from seating to several new food items, which the team shared on X. Among the items are Screech Burger Sliders -- named after the team's beloved eagle mascot -- and a number of new tacos, helmet nachos and more.
The park has also welcomed several new vendors this season, including Ssongs Korean Hot Dogs, Los Cinco Tacos and Eli’s Crepes.
BALLPARK FOOD ALERT
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) March 25, 2024
coming this season at @nationalspark 🤩 pic.twitter.com/g3fmibZWdn
T-Mobile Park
The Seattle Mariners' longtime hospitality partner Sodexo Live! has developed new offerings throughout the ballpark with local partners and in-house executive chef Javier Rosa, who together created a true taste of the Pacific Northwest.
Here are a few of the standout new items: katsu curry rice that can be washed down with yuzu ginger ale from Tamari Bar; fresh Dungeness crab pizza topped with warm butter, dill, thyme, parmesan and lemon from the popular MOTO Pizza, in its second season at T-Mobile Park; a birria torta at Edgar's Cantina packed with flavors of Puerto Rico; and two stadium-exclusive ice cream flavors from Salt & Straw, Wild-forged Berry Slab Pie ice cream and Vegan Strawberry Coconut Water sherbet.
"Whether you're a season ticket holder or an out-of-town fan, we have something for everyone with a big focus on local flavors," Rosa told "GMA."
Rosa developed "The Double MitchWich" with Mariners outfielder Mitch Haniger and catcher Mitch Garver, which he said is "one sandwich made up of two unique halves" using "flavors inspired by their hometowns."
The Mitch Garver side has marinated pulled pork, sliced Black Forest ham, Swiss cheese, Dijonnaise and sliced pickles on Cuban bread, while the Mitch Haniger side includes grilled chicken breast, marinated tomatoes, crispy bacon, a fried avocado wedge, and Havarti cheese served on a flatbread. Plus, a portion of the proceeds will benefit Seattle Children's Hospital.
Guaranteed Rate Field
Levy Restaurants oversees the food and beverage experience at eight MLB ballparks, including the home of the Chicago White Sox. The company's senior executive chef and head of culinary, Ron Krivosik, told "GMA" that "concessions are meant to be handheld -- that's why you see so many sandwiches."
And there's plenty of new sandwiches to choose from: the Southside smashed steakburger; the Fowl Ball, a take on a turkey bacon club; the "Settling a Beef," their play on a Reuben; the Homerun, which adds roast beef to the equation; and the Michigan Avenue, which has roast beef, turkey, Muenster cheese, Vidalia onions and house dressing sandwiched between two slices of rye.
A new sweet treat comes in the form of the Campfire Chocolate Milkshake, which is topped with graham crackers and toasted marshmallow and served in a souvenir sundae cup.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Baltimore Orioles fans can try the new spin on a baseball classic with the Warehouse Dog, a footlong all-beef hot dog topped with horseradish-infused brick sauce, crispy onions, and pit beef queso fundido, served on a footlong pretzel bun.
Tropicana Field
Tampa Bay Rays fans will see new options this season like Braised Short Rib Nachos and the Pretzel Slugger Dog -- a footlong hot dog wrapped in a soft pretzel and topped with sea salt.
Wrigley Field
Levy, which has served fans at Wrigley Field since 1985, is teleporting Chicago Cubs fans' tastebuds south of the border with Citrus-Ancho Chicken Quesadillas and Argentinian-inspired Ancho Marinated Tri-tip Sandwiches with Chimichurri.
"Chimichurri is a very popular ingredient. The data tells us a dish like our Chimichurri Tri-tip Sandwich will work, and then as chefs, we test as many recipes as possible to create the one that can be reproduced at an excellent quality," Krivosik said.
Minute Maid Park
Houston Astros fans have a bevy of new items, of which the team's on-field reporter Julia Morales recently shared four snaps, including the highly buzzed-about Pennant Pickle Dog.
Ballpark food!! Highlighted by the Pennant Pickle Dog and Crawfish Fried Rice. pic.twitter.com/NziXYz7HM8
— Julia Morales (@JuliaMorales) February 8, 2024
An earlier version of this story was originally published on March 26, 2024.
