Rainiers dining: 10 things worth eating at Cheney Stadium and 5 you can skip

Baseball stadiums have grown up — way up — from hot dogs, peanuts and Cracker Jack.

Case in point: The Cheney Stadium menu for the Tacoma Rainiers season.

Fancy gourmet hot dogs come topped with peanut butter, cream cheese and bacon; nachos are piled with pulled pork; cotija cheese and black beans enliven street tacos; spicy burgers come on grilled jalapeno cheddar bagels.

Did I mention the craft beer? It’s available, too.

But eating at a stadium comes with two caveats.

The first is that bulk food preparation does not always lend itself to successful execution. In that regard, I found a few dishes that didn’t make my cut because they had been held in a warmer for too long, resulting in lukewarm, squishy or disappointingly soggy food. Had they been hot or fresh, my favorites might have lined up differently.

Second, eating at a baseball stadium, like at a festival or fair, is never a particularly good value. Go in knowing that you’ll spend more than you want.

Keeping all that in mind, I visited Cheney Stadium twice in May to rate the stadium’s fare at seven restaurant stands.

THE HITS: THE TOP 10

Here are the best things I ate at Cheney, in the order in which you should try them.

THE WÜRST SAUSAGE IN BASEBALL, $8.25

Find it at: The Red Hot.

The lowdown: This might be cheekily called the “wurst sausage,” but it really was the best tasting of those I tried. At the base was a German-style bratwurst, a beef-and-pork sausage seasoned with marjoram. Grilled onions and a squiggle of housemade beer mustard made up the second layer of flavor. A thick tangle of sauerkraut and light sprinkle of dill gave a final push of pucker to the dog built on a squishy bun.

PORK GRANDE NACHOS, $9

Find it at: Flying Taco.

The topping-to-chips ratio of nachos should always favor toppings. And nachos should always be made to order. The Flying Taco stand got both right. I watched as a counter worker layered meaty hunks of well-seasoned pork shoulder (and a lot of it) with crunchy, salty corn chips. Diced tomatoes, onions and jalapenos (optional) added cool crunch. It’s served with a heavy drizzle of sour cream and a side of nacho sauce. Veg tip: Black beans can be substituted for pork.

THE CRACKER JACK HOT DOG, $7.75

Find it at: The Red Hot.

Peanut butter sounds like a sketchy pairing for a hot dog — until you taste it. A swipe of creamy peanut butter was just beginning to melt, coating the all-beef dog tucked into a cottony bun. A slice of crispy bacon yielded crunch along with — wait for it — Cracker Jack caramel popcorn. The flavor was unexpectedly well rounded: lightly sweet, very rich, and a whole mess of saltiness. Do not tell your mother (or your cardiologist) you ate this one.

GROUNDERS GARLIC FRIES, $7

Find it at: Fowl Territory, Kidd Valley.

Yes, I reeked of garlic for at least a day after digging into the garlic-laden Grounders fries. No, I did not care. Both times I ordered these, the skins-on fries were hot and generously tossed in the Grounders garlic-herb coating. It’s the same recipe served at Safeco Field.

PORK TACO PLATE WITH BLACK BEANS, $9

Find it at: Flying Taco.

A trio of street tacos came with the same silky-textured pork shoulder as the nachos on a previous visit (no soupy/stringy texture sullied the pork on either visit). This dish also was made to order. Its success was in its simplicity: warm corn tortillas topped with pork, a light dash of cotija cheese and fresh cilantro leaves. On the side were lightly seasoned whole black beans. Tip: Chips can be substituted for the black beans.

CLAMS AND CHIPS, $10

Find it at: Ivar’s.

Although these didn’t taste freshly fried, Ivar’s classic crunchy clams seemed well equipped to withstand time in a warmer. The lukewarm fries on the side, however, were not. Served with one each of tartar and cocktail sauce. Malt vinegar is on the nearby condiment table if that’s your preferred seafood flavor vehicle.

SPICY CHICKEN SANDWICH, $8

Find it at: Fowl Territory.

Spice and crunch were the two best attributes for the fried chicken sandwich built on a toasted jalapeno-cheddar bagel — the same bagels served at Safeco Field. The chicken patty would’ve been better if a meaty breast had been swapped for the thin patty that looked like something you’d get in a school cafeteria. Chipotle mayo and jalapenos in the bagel brought the heat; shredded iceberg kicked back cool crunch.

R BURGER, $11

Find it at: R Yard.

Climb up a few flights of stairs and down another to find the R Yard, an al fresco bar with seating that has stunning views from behind the left field fence. Served here is the R Burger, essentially the same sandwich as the spicy chicken sandwich at Fowl Territory, just swap the chicken for beef and add a tomato slice. I watched as the cook flame-grilled the burger and bagel to order. I appreciated the light char on the patty, but didn’t like that he forgot to season it. Unseasoned patties are a crime against burgers.

RAINIER DOG, $6

Find it at: Fowl Territory, Ivar’s, Kidd Valley, Invincibles Pizza.

A quarter-pound hot dog on a sturdy bun is the simplest of all baseball finds, and this was pretty simple, although the $6 price tag for an unadorned dog gave me pause. It’s the easiest meal to find, served at multiple stands.

2-FOR-1 CORNDOGS, $6

Find it at: Kidd Valley.

These are the same Foster Farms Honey Crunchy chicken dogs found at countless stadiums, fairs and probably school cafeterias. If you have had them before, you know exactly what to expect — a straightforward chicken link dipped in a lightly sweetened cornmeal batter. What I liked best is that they were a decent deal (relative to stadium pricing).

THE ERRORS: 5 THINGS TO SKIP

BIG KIDD CHEESEBURGER, $8.25

Find it at: Kidd Valley.

The burger looked to have all the right hallmarks: Built on a sesame seed bun with cheese and a thick one-third-pound patty, plus a slice of tomato, pickle chips and shredded iceberg. One bite in and I tasted heat-lamp trouble. It was barely warm. The cheese was unmelted. Worse, the patty tasted spongy, watery and — again — unseasoned.

PEPPERONI PIZZA SLICE, $7

Find it at: Invincibles Pizza.

Good pizza comes with even distribution of sauce, cheese and toppings. This slice was sloppily constructed, leaving me chasing flavor in every bite. One side carried too much sauce, the other not enough. Cheese and pepperoni had the same problem.

3-PIECE COD AND CHIPS, $10

Find it at: Ivar’s.

A trip to an Ivar’s seafood bar typically yields delicious, flaky cod in a crispy jacket. I’m sure that’s because most Ivar’s locations fry their fish to order. On two visits to Cheney stadium, I didn’t like what I saw: fish sitting in a warmer. It tasted as I expected, cod with a flabby coating and equally lukewarm fries. Worse: I asked the counter worker if the fish had been sitting under the lamp for long. The answer was no. The answer should’ve been yes.

BONELESS WINGS AND FRIES, $10

Find it at: Fowl Territory.

The Szechuan sauce coated all the boneless wings. And because the sauce was so oddly flavored — like a too-sour soy sauce mixed with steak sauce — it rendered the dish inedible. Lesson: Order sauce on the side. Fries were lukewarm.

3-PIECE CHICKEN STRIPS AND GARLIC FRIES, $10

Find it at: Fowl Territory.

The chicken strips were fine in the way that food aimed at kindergartners usually is, but a dipping sauce would’ve been nice for the too-dry boneless strips. Garlic fries were great, though.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Rainiers dining: 10 things worth eating at Cheney Stadium and 5 you can skip."