A food you eat at baseball games

Ballpark pizza. If you find the right ballpark, it still can be. Otherwise, I feel like I'm eating crappy elementary school pizza again. The only reason I included this is to point out that Fenway Park has three different locations listed for fried dough. Who buys fried dough at a baseball game? Hot Dog. The hot dog is a timeless hallmark of ballpark concessions. It's part of the aesthetic. You go to the game, you get a frank, you sit down, you enjoy the game.

It's great. You know what's even greater? Doing the same thing with food that tastes better. Please send all angry hot dog-related emails to kmaher masslive. Fries are great because they're shareable and snackable. They lose major points because there's no good way to dip them. That usually means having to pour ketchup over top, leaving with a goopy potato mess within an inning.

Sausage and peppers. Oh yeah, now we're getting to the real good foods. I remember one time being outside Fenway Park for one of those surprisingly cold April night games that sometimes happen.

I wandered over to one of the sausage guys and served me a bun filled with meaty wonder that restored my warmth and faith in humanity. Giant soft pretzel. The giant pretzel is often overlooked.

It shouldn't be. Those giant rock salt crystals poking out of the dough are pure magic. Steak and cheese sub. There's never a bad time to get a steak and cheese sub. That's because it's really hard to screw up a steak and cheese sub. This is more of a niche find. If you're going to a game that has burritos available at concession stands, then they're probably got a good overall food situation. Burritos get bonus points because a baseball game is one of the few places where you can eat a burrito in public with reckless abandon.

Who's going to judge you for being messy in a place that already comes equipped with a blanket of peanut shells on the ground? Specialty Sandwich Cuban, pulled pork.

Oh yeah. This is the good stuff. These are usually served at the small, out-of-the-way concession stands where they hide the good stuff. Lobster roll. A cool, mayo-laden lobster roll is arguably a perfect sandwich for a hot day.

Also, a baseball game is one of those scenarios where you can talk yourself into splurging on a lobster roll. Everything's already expensive, so you might as well go wild. Iced coffee. Baseball games are long and hot during the day. You need something to prevent you from dragging through the second pitching change in the bottom of the seventh inning.

People don't order enough lemonades and iced teas. There just aren't enough occasions for it. A hot day game where you stuck in the sun is pretty much the perfect occasion. Bonus points if there's an Arnold Palmer option available. Ultimately it's your pick, but few things can beat a perfectly timed cold dessert drink that will last your about half an inning. It's a gamechanger, especially when it's hot. Cotton Candy. If it was up to me, I'd order cotton candy big enough to blot out the sun -- or at least as big as the cotton candy from "Super Troopers.

Chicken Tenders. Chicken tenders are one of the few things that are as universally available as hot dogs. Unlike hot dogs, they rarely disappoint. And these days, they come in all forms. It'd be a shame to catch a game in San Francisco without ordering garlic fries, there's the oft-debated crinkle cut at the Mets and Nats Shake Shack locations, and waffle fries crop up in different forms around the country — at Citi Field, they're topped with Pat LaFrieda filet mignon, caramelized onions, and cheese sauce, while Atlanta's Chick-fil-A serves them as a side to the famous, if controversial, chicken sandwich.

Up in Toronto , there's the Liberty Village sausage poutine, crisp fries loaded with gravy, cheese curds, caramelized onions, sauteed peppers, smoked farmer's sausage, and peameal bacon sausage. Don't miss the steak fries at Yankees Stadium , either — from the city's classic steakhouse Lobel's, a mound of crisp potatoes is topped with steak, onions, and sauce. Need more starch? At games this season, snack on these versions.

Expect beef, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream as toppings on this dish at Bayview Grill in sections and Rumor has it you can get the toppings on top of hot dogs, too. Chesapeake Fries Baltimore Orioles, Camden Yards The stadium's crab dip-topped waffle fries, mourned by fans at the end of the season , are a must-try for Camden Yards newcomers.

Find them at Flying Dog Grill in section 27 as well as elsewhere throughout the stadium. Glad you asked: They're tater tot nachos, and here, they're named for Rangers pitcher Derek Holland. A bag of these, found in section and at Brush Fire Grill, comes with a side of queso for dipping. Hash Browns Atlanta Braves, Turner Field There's a Waffle House in the Ted, and although it isn't serving up smothereds and covereds 24 hours a day, they are available during games.

Order them any way you like 'em. Concession nachos have come a long way since the days when over-salted tortilla chips were served with a side of congealed neon liquid cheese sauce. The dish was brought to stadiums in by Frank Liberto , who put them on the menu at the Texas Rangers' park in Arlington, Texas. Nowadays, the humble nacho has paved the way for all kinds of new variations like the "brisket-achos," with brisket, cheesy corn, baked beans, cole slaw, and barbecue sauce that Kauffman Stadium introduced to Royals fans in That doesn't even consider the introduction of burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and nacho-inspired french fry and tater tot dishes throughout the league.

Here are some of the unique offerings available this year. Inside the Park nachos and the taco dog. Lucha Libre Taco Shop in section Nachos on a stick. These feature beef and refried beans rolled in crushed Doritos and deep fried.

Coney Quesadilla Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park A Coney quesadilla is exactly what it sounds like: Everything you'd expect on a Coney dog, except grilled inside a tortilla. Taco Dog Texas Rangers, Globe Life Park Try this all-beef hot dog, which is served inside a hard taco shell and topped with taco meat, lettuce, pico de gallo, and cheese. And then the whole thing is stuffed inside a hoagie roll. It's at Casa de Fuego, section , where one could also get nachos topped with brisket and Doritos.

Baseball games are long, y'all — nine innings is more than enough time for a meal, a couple beers, and something sweet right around the seventh-inning stretch if you plan your day right. Looking beyond pre-packaged cotton candy, frozen lemonade, and ice cream bars, stadiums these days serve items running from three-pound banana split sundaes to an entire menu full of gluten-free desserts.

And now they're starting to veer into absurdist territory — could you turn down something called a churro dog? Churro Dog Arizona Diamondbacks, Chase Field Okay, stay with me here: This is a hot cinnamon churro housed inside a Long John chocolate-glazed doughnut and topped with frozen yogurt to save a few calories! In layman's terms, that means marshmallows with a graham cracker crust, deep-fried, skewered alongside two deep-fried Oreos, and drizzled with chocolate sauce and Cool Whip.

They're available at State Fare, section Bonus: Funnel cake fries are also on offer here. It's the ultimate game day souvenir: food served inside a take-home plastic helmet. The tradition's rooted in ice cream sundaes, and it's believed that helmets created specifically for ice cream first started appearing during the early s. Baseball fans quickly turned them — first with sticker logos, then screen-printed — into collectors items, hoping to amass a full set. Now, these have become a vehicle for advertising and major brands are getting behind them, creating versions specific to their products like this full set from Baskin Robbins in And the food-in-helmet practice has extended far beyond just ice cream in recent years: Here's what's on offer in parks across the country this season.

Cellular Field Thought stadiums couldn't find another use for souvenir plastic baseball helmets? Think again. The rib bucket — inside a full-sized batting helmet — offers a full meal of ribs with fries, slaw, and cornbread in the Club Level. Do so at Wholly Guacamole, section A. The Baconater Baltimore Orioles, Camden Yards At the Chipper, nacho-style kettle chips are available in dishes like the "crab chipper" with lump crabmeat, white cheddar cheese sauce, chopped scallions, and Old Bay and a dessert chipper made with sweet potato chips, chocolate and caramel sauces, whipped cream, and cinnamon sugar.

Minute Maid Park puts a new spin on chicken and waffles. Instead of eating the famous duo with a knife and fork, you can down this with one hand while keeping your eye on Carlos Beltran. It's a waffle cone stuffed with a tsunami of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and honey mustard sauce—no utensils or manners required. Here are 7 better ways to get your cookie dough fix.

Since mindless eating and MLB-watching go hand-in-hand, don't be surprised if the chicken sammies are gobbled up by the seventh inning stretch—and your stomach is over-stretched. Are you ready for the ultimate concession remix? To add insult to injury, a skyscraper stack of deep-fried onion rings tops it.

You might need panoramic mode. As if fried chicken tenders and funnel cake fries on their own weren't enough, this sweet-fatty fusion from Delaware North combines the two and tops them with a hefty dusting of powdered sugar and cherry drizzle.

The result: Dinner plus dessert in a basket. In other words, you'll be in a food coma before the ninth. Not for the faint of heart, this piled-high plate created by Aramark unites apple pie with America's favorite pastime.

Here's the play-by-play: Cinnamon sugar tortilla chips are topped with apple pie filling and cheddar cheese, then finished with whipped cream and caramel topping.

The decadently crunchy combo will satisfy the sweetest of sweet tooths. This is why you crave sugar , from Prevention Premium. Why build a sandwich for one when you can make it for four… or more!

This bad boy requires two hands and plenty of jaw strength whether you split it or dare to go solo.