"stadium food" news and stories

Earlier this week, Slashfood got a sneak peek at the new Mets fare at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y. The Yankees rolled out their food offerings for Workout Day today and like everything the Bronx Bombers do, they did it big, expensive and fancy.

The new Yankee Stadium has steakhouse, a Hard Rock Cafe, the Legends Club, a Mohegan Sun Sports Bar and a slew of other high- and lowbrow dining experiences. There's even branded ketchup for the plebs who might revolt when they learn beer here is now $9 a bottle. (Let them drink $8-a-plastic-glass Yellowtail, Steinbrenner might say).

Slashfood literally bumped into Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon on the ascent to NYY Steak, the year-round steakhouse run by the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (which explained the heavy presence of Seminole VIPs trying out the menu).

Find out about the food (and see pictures!) after the jump.

This week, the Times is a little less pretentious and a little more...well, all-American.

Check out the interactive map of baseball stadiums across the country, and click on those featured for what to order and what to avoid at each.

The map is fun, as are the color photos of dishes at each stadium. But the quality of stadium food is highly debatable, especially if the food carries with it an air of nostalgia and tradition (ie: cheesesteaks in Philly or pizza in Chicago) or, y'know, if you've imbibed a bit too much (because let's be honest: after four beers, you won't care if the nachos are a little stale).

Although, I'll give it to the Times: the Philly cheesesteak shown in the photo was not a home run. Although I'll bet that somewhere out there, there's a diehard Phillies cheesesteak fan.

When I was a kid, my dad and a couple of his friends had season tickets to see the Portland State Vikings. I would frequently go along even though I had very little interest in football. I was there pure and simply for the food. For the nachos and the popcorn, the hot chocolate and the ice cream. We didn't get much in the way of junk food in my house, but my dad was always willing to shell out for a few treats at the game.

The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia is offering a deal that would have mightily appealed to my young self. They are selling "all you can eat" packages for Flyers and 76ers games that includes hot dogs, soft drinks, popcorn, nacho chips and salsa. Not particularly good for the waistline but very nice for the fans of the junk food.