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MLB MLB Opening Day These days, the ballpark food experience is more than just hot dogs. Andy Lyons / Getty Images Now, more than ever, Major League Baseball’s stadiums are saying so long to hot dogs and Cracker Jack and hello to smashed tacos, cans of nachos and two-foot long quesadillas. No longer are these “Wow” food items, as they’re often called by chefs and fan experience coordinators, limited to marquee events like All-Star week or the postseason, but they’ve instead become regular fixtures at the league’s 30 ballparks. Advertisement Don’t get it twisted: you can still stick with a regular hot dog, but when there are options like “Chicken & Churros” or a “PB&J Smash Burger, ” do you still want to stay with the traditional or try something new? That’s the question that ballpark chefs are hoping to answer. “That’s our goal — is to try to get those types of items that are really cool, unique, a fun play on what people love to eat, served in a cool vessel, ” said Lou Bastian, Levy Restaurants senior vice president of culinary, “And that sort of drives the creativity. ” Here are 11 of the best items you can find at MLB parks this season. Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago The “Chicken & Churros” is a baseball twist on a comfort food classic, using two items that are ubiquitous at MLB parks: chicken tenders and churros. “I’m not really a stat analyst or anything like that, but if you look at what people really want to eat and what sells: fried chicken, ” Bastian said. “So you can get creative with a fried chicken item and put something cool on it. I don’t think that’s too wacky, but it is a really cool play on chicken and waffles. ” Location: Chase Field, Phoenix Right off the bat, Stephen Tilder, Chase Field’s senior executive chef, was quick to set the record straight: The 128-ounce variety of these nachos is not actually eight pounds of nachos, as the most gullible on the internet might believe. It’s 128 fluid ounces, or a gallon. “Sometimes I mill around and I go through storage and I kind of see what we have, and sometimes I see something that I haven’t seen before, and it inspires me, ” Tilder said. “So I saw a couple boxes of these buckets, I believe we used them, probably for a souvenir popcorn at one time. And I just said, ‘Hey, you know what that would be really cool with a nacho in it. ’” It’s available in four varieties: beef barbacoa, pork carnitas, chili and vegetarian. “You don’t want to leave anyone out, ” Tilder said. Advertisement Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore Crab cakes sandwiched between corn tortillas — and then served with a dipping sauce that is a play on the popular consommé included in the Mexican stew called birria — is all about celebrating Baltimore, Bastian said. Part of the calculus in developing ballpark eats is paying homage to a team’s city or region, and few things are as synonymous with Baltimore as crabs. The cakes themselves are a long-standing Levy recipe that’s been around for over 30 years. “I think that’s one of the best items we came up with this year, to be honest with you, ” Bastian said. “It’s very, very fun. It’s delicious. It really hits home with the locals, which is what we’re trying to do. ” Location: T-Mobile Park, Seattle Created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Washington State Ferries, as well as the 50th anniversary of the Seattle Mariners, the Ferry Boat is as much about the food inside and the sauces it comes with as it is about the souvenir fans can take home. Depending on the section of T-Mobile Park, there will be different offerings inside, ranging from chicken tenders and fries to fish and chips. “When coming up with our fun ideas for 2026, we wanted to provide something that the fans would love, could hold a boatload of fish-n-chips in and could provide space, enough for some dipping sauce cargo, so the Ferry Boat was the perfect ‘vessel, ’” said Malcolm Rogel, the Mariners’ vice president of fan experience. Location: Chase Field, Phoenix The Chase Field “head turner, ” as Tilder called it, is returning for another season. Only this time, the meatballs are out, having been replaced with 12 ounces of pastrami, along with chicken parmesan, all on a local baguette and housed inside a carrying case. “It’s meant as a shared item, ” Tilder stressed. “It’ll feed four people easily. ” Advertisement Location: T-Mobile Park, Seattle It’s not all savory items at ballparks this season, though that does take up a bulk of the offerings. The Mariners are making their mascot, Mortimer “Mariner” Moose, edible in the form of a chocolate cookie on top of chocolate mousse. The twist on the classic ice cream in a helmet, Rogel said, was all about creating something photogenic. Location: Rate Field, Chicago The “Southside Supreme”Beggars Home Plate shaped pizza w/sausage, Buona Italian Beef, peppers, onions & giardiniera. 300 Club Level@whitesox pic. twitter. com/1T2u Ms QWDc — Fitz? (@Cheap Seats411) March 18, 2026 You can sneeze and find great pizza in Chicago, but this offering at White Sox games gets bonus points for A) being baseball shaped and B) combining two of the best local delicacies (pizza and Italian beef) in one. Short of offering a shot of Malört on the side, this is as Chicago as it gets. Location: loan Depot Park, Miami It turns out the World Baseball Classic was simply a precursor to the type of food the Marlins will offer this season. The appropriately named Machete is a two-foot quesadilla that also comes in a carrying case. It’s held together by melted mozzarella and Oaxaca cheese and has carne asada and guajillo pepper sauce inside. Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles New year, new food at Dodger Stadium. ? pic. twitter. com/z7BV1o Rw1S — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) March 20, 2026 The defending World Series champions, under Christine Gerriets, the first female executive chef in Dodger Stadium history, have pulled out all the stops for their fans. One of the biggest is a chimichanga filled with chicken chow mein, a creation by executive sous chef Morgan Duran, who is paying homage to his grandmother. Advertisement Location: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles Sneak preview of some new dishes at Dodger Stadium for the upcoming season from @Levy Restaurants: – Fried Chicken Bucket– Loco Moco Bowl– Chow Mein Burrito (it’s fried! ? ‍? )– Lunch Box Burger (pb&j, candied sriracha bacon, pepper jack cheese) pic. twitter. com/p LAv66HDZa — foodbeast (@foodbeast) March 20, 2026 In keeping with the theme of collectible souvenirs, the Dodgers’ Lunch Box Burger is effectively a Happy Meal for adults, complete with an actual lunchbox. There’s grape jelly, peanut butter, Sriracha bacon, crispy onions and fried jalapeños. Gerriets called it the “perfect balance of sweet, salty and spicy. ” “I try and push innovation with my culinary team constantly, ” she said. “And this brain child is proof of that. ” This list would be incomplete if it didn’t at least mention the Red Sox going full Boston with lobster poutine. Boston, you're going to love this one ? The Red Sox will be serving "Lobstah Poutine" at Fenway Park this year! This ballpark food features crispy fries, lobster meat, clam chowder and crispy bacon all served in a custom lobster boat ? (Via: @Aramark) pic. twitter. com/za NMMPHAlf — MLB (@MLB) March 24, 2026 Unfortunately, the ferry boat is just paper. Also, this one isn’t entirely “new, ” as a variation of lobster poutine was part of the menu in 2017, albeit with fewer toppings and no cool boat. That’s why it’s stuck in the honorable mention section. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Johnny Flores Jr. is a Senior Editor for The Athletic covering MLB. Johnny has covered baseball since 2018. Before joining The Athletic, Johnny was an Associate Editor at CBS Sports and Bleacher Report, as well as an Editorial Producer and Reporter at Major League Baseball’s MLB dot com. Johnny attended the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and originates from Coachella, CA.