What to be on the lookout for this year as you all make your tips to CBP this summer
As stated in many articles and on the podcast, I love baseball and food. So, ballpark food is some of my favorite. We as Philadelphians are blessed to have a ballpark like Citizens Bank Park, which is not only a gorgeous venue but delivers some of the best food in the sport. The park serves a menagerie of foods from local favorites like Chickie and Pete’s, Tony Lukes, and Manco and Manco, as well as ballpark unique brands like Bull’s BBQ, and the restaurant Pass and Stow. At the beginning of the year, it is one of my favorite hobbies to try all the new foods mixed in between some classics. Some basics are always great, like the hot dogs and chicken tenders, and we all know the best ice cream comes in a helmet. So here are some general opinions from a big league eater.
Bull’s BBQ
We will get started with my favorite spot in the building. Bull’s has always been a great space since the park opened. Who doesn’t like freshly smoked BBQ? This spot has been here since day one, and its namesake, Greg Luzinski, is normally there.
- The Bull Chips – This is new this year. These chips are fried fresh and tossed in BBQ seasoning and served with a Grillo Pickle, Ranch, and Bacon dipping sauce. At $9.99, it may feel like a bit of a steep price for chips, but this is a more than serviceable snack to split with someone else. The chips are addictive, and the sauce complements them super well. This is a restaurant-quality item and is probably about the price you’d pay for a similar item at your local Gastropub. This might be the best new item in the stadium.
- Burnt Ends Cheesesteak – This item is not new, but it is still incredible. The combination of burnt ends and cheese on a good roll combines for an elite flavor combination. But, and it is a huge but, this sandwich is comically overpriced for its size. It is just under $20 and might be a little bigger than a hot dog bun. It is a great sandwich, but the portion size is not worth the price, especially at a ballpark.
- Bull Dog – This seemingly inflation-proof, footlong, smoked kielbasa sandwich is always a solid choice as it comes in just under $12. It should be noted, though, that this used to be better when Bull’s had a condiment bar that you could load the dog with peppers, onions, and multiple types of BBQ sauces and mustards. Now you are just left with mustard if nothing else, which leaves it a pretty basic option.
- Hush Puppies – These fried dough balls were reasonably priced and were solid if it’s your cup of tea. You get three for under $7, and they come with a nice aioli. I have had these twice, once the puppies were definitely sitting in lower temperature oil for too long, and it showed as they were super greasy. The second time, they were fine, great flavor, but again, they are just fried dough.
- Kimchi Pork Sandwich – A rotating option, but holy smokes, what a great sandwich. Thinly sliced, smoked pork is laid into a roll and covered with kimchi (fermented cabbage). It was great. The heavy, warm, and salty pork combines perfectly with the sweet and sour kimchi. It is a basic, ballpark Bahn Mi sandwich.
Boardwalk Eats
Located right next door to Bull’s, this spot is a great combination of expected ballpark eats with special options sprinkled throughout of both sweet and savory varieties.
- Kyle’s Cutlet – This is a chicken cutlet sandwich, of which some of the proceeds go to Kyle Schwarber’s charity. The cutlets are topped with burrata, fried pepperonis, arugula, and a hot honey drizzle. It is a very solid sandwich. It is really good for a ballpark, but might be a miss in a restaurant.
- Jumbo Mozzarella Sticks – These are not exactly something you’d think would be good at a ballpark, but these were great. The great side marinara and the cheese pull were good, even on the ones that had clearly been sitting for a while.
- S’mores Quesadilla – A great concept that fails a bit on execution. Nutella, marshmallows, and graham cracker crust are toasted inside a tortilla and served with a chocolate syrup dip. This is good, but our’s sat for a long time as it was a bit stale. If made to order, this would probably be a great snack, but I have not seen these guys ever really being put fresh into the window and seem to instead be a snack that is made in advance and left to cook in the window.. Side note, if you want an elite version of this, I recommend going to a Pizzeria Vetri and getting their Nutella Pizza; a true gamechanger.
The Yard
This spot is located out in right centerfield and is where the kids’ game and play section is. It is kind of hidden and, from my experience, is never really that crowded. This is a great spot to get your helmet ice cream.
- Red Velvet Cookie Affogato – As an avid lover of affogatos, I was incredibly excited to see this option appear at CBP. Tiramisu and affogatos are my standard at any Italian restaurant I step foot in. However, this snack is an abomination. For starters, it is not an affogato! They are not pouring freshly brewed, hot espresso over ice cream. It is a pre-made, cold brew made from a concentrate. It throws everything off. It doesn’t melt down into the ice cream. It somehow makes the ice cream and the coffee taste watered down. We did get cookie dough ice cream instead of standard vanilla, but that should not impact the experience all that much. This ice cream on its own is good, and the cookie is weirdly given to you in a plastic package on the side. This was the only food I had in this genuinely bad ballpark.
Pass and Stow
In what used to be McFadden’s, this spot is a great respite from the stadium environment. Everything here is solid, but the Italian Roast Pork Egg Rolls were incredible. If left to my own devices, I could eat fifteen of them in one sitting. The perfect snack that I now yearn for on the regular. We also had their Waldorf Chicken Salad wrap, which was a perfectly serviceable wrap. It is a light alternative to ballpark food, but it was super basic.
Manco & Manco
So they will always be Mack & Mancos to me, but regardless, I was always skeptical of pizza at the ballpark. Especially a pizza, I can’t imagine being anywhere close to as good as what I can get on the Ocean City Boardwalk. However, we found ourselves in the ballpark on Good Friday and, as the good little Catholics that we are, needed something without meat. So we finally tried it. Guys…it is shockingly good. It was under $16 for a full pizza that was probably the equivalent of 3.5 boardwalk slices. I am not sure if we just got it on a good night, but the pizza was great. Is this one of the better values and options in the ballpark? It might be, and I am stunned to say that.
Many Hands Coffee
The Phillies clearly listened to my pleas, and the ballpark has a coffee stand this year down the third baseline. Everything is very solid and reasonably priced. It is cheaper than Starbucks, but in a ballpark. The menu is much more streamlined than a standard coffee shop, which is to be expected, but there is enough flexibility that you should be able to get the exact drink you want. The hot coffee drinks were a lifesaver during the cold April nights, and the iced drinks will be a welcome treat as the temperature begins to spike.
There are plenty of great options scattered throughout Citizens Bank Park. This was just a general list of things I have eaten so far this year. There are even some on this list that are not even on here, including Federal Donuts (sneaky good chicken tenders) and Colbies (Ryan Howard’s chicken place), to get some great food. Colbies might even have the best dessert item in the building with a Peach Cobbler Cup. For the most part, you cannot make a mistake outside of that affogato. Get to the games early and get your food before the lines build up. The food is overpriced, but for the most part always delivers.