Sports concessionaires go out of their way to serve weird offerings to local fans. They create hybrid foodstuffs that don’t exist in nature. Case in point: pulled-pork donut sandwiches.
Some stadiums around the world serve local favorites, albeit acquired tastes like alligator, chicken feet and toasted grasshoppers.
Then there’s presentation. Nearly every American sports palace serves nachos. But at Seattle Seahawks football games, they come in a KFC-like bucket. At Anaheim Angels baseball games, the chips and cheese come in a life-size plastic batting helmet. And yes, people finish their nachos and wear the hat for the last two innings of the game.
While basic nachos are far too mainstream to be included in a list of weird concession foods, here are 15 appetizers, main courses and desserts that belong on this offbeat menu.
Toasted Grasshoppers
Next time you’re in Seattle, take in a Mariners game at Safeco Park, and get some red-hot “chapulines.” safecofieldfoodie / Instagram
The catching, preparing and eating of grasshoppers dates back to the Aztec empire. Following some path of logic, “chaupulines,” as they’re called in Oaxaca, Mexico, have found their way to Safeco Field and into the bellies of fans at MLB’s Seattle Mariners games.
More than 18,000 orders were sold in 2018, the inaugural run for this acquired taste. A four-ounce bowl of Jiminy Crickets is cooked and then dusted with chili lime sauce for a crunchy snack that’s high in protein, and granted, better for you than a four-ounce bowl of, say, fried bacon and cheese.
