An article in Sports Business Journal listed the prices of hot dogs at every Major League Baseball venue. The least expensive was Rogers Centre in Toronto at $2.55 (I'm not sure if that’s US or Canadian dollars); the most expensive was Oakland Coliseum at $8.39. The average for all 30 is $5.99. I was thinking how expensive that is for skinny cylindrical meat of questionable origins sandwiched between a dried-out wedge of bread, covered with condiments to mask the weird taste.

But I also considered this: Is ballpark food worth the elevated prices teams charge? This goes beyond mere hot dogs. Most MLB parks offer more gourmet-oriented and globally inspired items to meet the demand of fans with a more sophisticated palate. I can support this direction, as I’ve never been a fan of traditional baseball fare. More importantly, I can justify paying a little extra for this better-quality food.

I’ve been to seven major league ballparks and have tried to have something unique at each one. Sometimes, that means choosing their signature hot dogs, especially if they are unique to the place. That aside, each venue has a 1-5 rating on whether it’s worth spending money there. 

(I’m not writing about the seventh, Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, just yet. We went there in 2015, and I can’t honestly remember the food I had. But JRS and I are returning there next month, and I’ll write a separate post about it here. We’re also going to the Oakland Coliseum in September, so you’ll hear about that, too)

Some of the most diverse food is at San Francisco's Oracle Park, like this Filipino dish, lumpia

Oracle Park

I’m not trying to be biased here, but the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark has some of the best culinary offerings in MLB. Maybe that’s because SF locals are a demanding foodie bunch. But you can find everything from pizza (from Tony’s, some of the best in the country) to crab sandwiches, lumpia and chimichangas. Of course, if you dare, you’ll have to get the signature garlic fries – which thoughtfully comes with a breath mint.

Rating: 4.8

A soju bar at Dodger Stadium, with which most baseball fans are unfamiliar

Dodger Stadium

Yikes – it’s painful to mention the ballpark of the team I dislike the most. Still, the Dodgers now serve over a half dozen Japanese-inspired dishes, including Takoyaki and chicken katsu sandwiches. There are also new food stands offering different foods for heritage nights, those from the opposing team’s city, and a soju (Korean rice beverage) bar. Other appealing options include elote, street tacos, barbecue, and the grilled Dodger Dog.

Rating 4.5

Chase Field offers chicken bao and Sonora dogs, shown here

Chase Field

The Diamondbacks’ home ballpark in Phoenix offers Sonoran hot dogs, which is one of the only ones I will have. It’s a Mexican/Southwestern take on the American classic and way tastier. But other foods here are worth trying: a chimichurri tri-tip sandwich, bao, chicken tinga and barbacoa street tacos, enchiladas, Korean pork belly nachos and Dominican empanadas. There is also a surprising selection of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan choices.

Rating 4.2

You can find hot chicken sandwiches and kombucha at Petco Park in San Diego (ID 25021205 © Trevg| Dreamstime.com)

Petco Park

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Padres home field, around June 2017. At that time, they served Baja fish tacos, the first available in the area. There are other foods to try, like a Nashville hot chicken sandwich, gyros, elote, sushi, smoothie bowls and several items with birria. One thing that’s offered here, not found anywhere else in MLB, is a kombucha stand. Maybe that’s a popular San Diego thing?

Rating: 4.0

The draw of coming to Wrigley Field in Chicago is the tradition....not so much the food

Wrigley Field

Because my daughter attends college in Chicago, I’ve gone to this hallowed ballpark, the second oldest in MLB. But I have to say the culinary choices here are limited. I had a Home Run Inn pizza, a thin-crust pie called tavern-style and the opposite of deep-dish. The Cubbies’ home field has a few unique offerings, such as chimichurri steak sandwiches, loaded Greek fries and customized nachos. Yet, it seems to lack a wider variety of creative fare.

Rating: 3.7

Arguably the most interesting food at Coors Field, Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs

Coors Field

I wrote about the Colorado Rockies ballpark a few months ago, where I chose some interesting options to try. It turns out that some of those things aren’t available now, and there isn’t much to replace them. Other than the not-for-the-faint-of-heart Rocky Mountain oysters, a decent barbecue place, street tacos, and Biker Jim’s sausages, culinary creativity is lacking here. I would much rather go somewhere outside the park for food.

Rating: 3.2