As lifelong Yankees fans, we both enjoy getting out to games at least once every season, and in fact we’ve written before about some of the great stadium food you can get at a game. Due to the pandemic, we hadn’t been to the stadium in a few years, but now that we live pretty close to the Bronx we decided it was a perfect time to visit again. We went recently on a very warm evening, sweated it out through the first seven innings, got rained on briefly, but stayed to see the Yankees beat the Royals 11 to 5. And of course we snacked our way through the game – each year some of the food stands at the stadium change and new things are introduced, so we’re always on the lookout for interesting food, and especially vegetarian options. Here’s our recommendations for what you can get to eat at a Yankees game, but just be warned that there are some meat items here.
First let’s start with some traditional stadium food – burgers and fries. This year we got seats right near Bobby’s Burgers, which is Bobby Flay’s chain of fast casual restaurants. All of their other locations are in Las Vegas, but we were glad they had an outpost at Yankee Stadium (near section 132) because they have a really good veggie burger: it’s this crisp-fried patty topped with cheese and special sauce.
Cyril went with a more traditional burger – this Crunchburger, with potato chips and lots of cheese.
And we also got a side of sweet potato fries.
Hot dogs are also what people love to chow down on during baseball games, and while you can get a basic dog almost anywhere in the stadium, we decided to head to Sumo Dog, which originally started as a Japanese-inspired hot dog spot in Los Angeles but has now migrated across the country to a stand in Yankee Stadium (next to section 201). Here’s what we had there: on the left is their classic sumo dog, topped with chopped onions, pickled jalapeños, a wasabi relish, spicy mayo, and nori flakes. On the right are the sumo tots, which usually come with chili but we asked them to leave it off to make for some vegetarian tots – they’re smothered with cheese sauce, pickled jalapeños and peppers, chopped onions, a spicy mayo and teriyaki sauce, and some wasabi seasoning.
We also had to stop by Grand Slam Shakes in section 125 – we actually went there when it opened back in 2018, but they’ve since introduced a few new flavors of crazy shakes so we thought we’d sample one. This is the Little Italy, made with vanilla ice cream (you can also opt for chocolate) and chocolate sauce, stuffed with cannoli, and topped with sprinkles.
And finally, for something that’s at least nominally healthy, we went to the Toyota Terrace for some Bronx street corn – it’s a take on elote that features corn topped with a cilantro mayo, cotija cheese, and crumbled Takis.
Our favorite of all these foods was the veggie burger – it was a good, simple meatless option that had all of the trimmings you need for a good burger. But we also enjoyed getting some loaded tater tots, a creative take on elote, and a fun milkshake as a dessert. It was great to have some interesting things to nosh on during the game, and we’re glad Yankee Stadium is being thoughtful to offer plentiful vegetarian options. So if you’re thinking of heading down to the stadium this year, give some of these stands a look and know that there’s plenty to get beyond the usual hot dogs, peanuts, and Cracker Jack.
Where We Ate: Some Vegetarian Food at Yankee Stadium
Here’s an update on where we’re been eating lately and our recommendations for places to get some great, unusual, and delicious food around New York, for vegetarians and omnivores alike (be warned, there are some meat-based foods featured here).
Since baseball season just began, we decided to try some of the new foods that Yankee Stadium is rolling out this season. We went for a Yankees-Orioles game that ended up going into 14(!) innings, until the Orioles hit a grand slam. Oh well.
But anyway – we took a look at the list of new foods being featured this year and sussed out what sounded good that also had vegetarian options. The first thing we saw was that in the bleacher section, at the Toyota Terrace, you could get some baos, which are Chinese steamed and filled buns that we’ve actually had before, in a slightly different form. At Yankee Stadium, they had a buffalo cauliflower version with blue cheese sauce for Miriam; meanwhile, Cyril went with pork belly topped with cucumber, carrots, and a creamy lime cilantro sauce.
We also discovered taquitos in the Pepsi Food Court near section 125. They come in both a vegetarian black bean and chicken varieties and are dunked in a queso and pico de gallo sauce for dipping.
In the same food court, we also came across the new Grand Slam Shakes, which you can see below are kind of crazy. Cyril got the Pinstripe Shake, made with vanilla ice cream and caramel and stuffed with a churro and cotton candy. Miriam’s was the All-Star Shake, crafted from chocolate ice cream and topped with a chocolate chip cookie, a brownie, Oreos, and M&Ms.
All of the foods we got to try at the stadium were really great and really creative! We had some hearty snack foods and some dessert, and both the vegetarian and meat options were tasty. Plus, you know, it was good to see a game. Check back to see some other places in New York and in nearby areas where we’ve gotten to eat!
