ARLINGTON -- Another baseball season is nearly upon us, and as is becoming the tradition around the big leagues, the Texas Rangers have unveiled another round of inventive and entertaining food options for fans.
Garnering the most buzz during a presentation Thursday at Globe Life Park was the "MVT" or "Most Valuable Tamale." The daring folks at Delaware North Sportservice took the existing two-foot long "Boomstick" hot dog and wrapped it in a tamale, topped it with Texas Chili, nacho cheese and sour cream. It will be available at the "Texas 24" stand at Section 29, and will cost $27.
Other items at the ballpark this afternoon included a Crunchy BBQ Burger (a hamburger with barbeque sauce and corn chips included in the toppings), Mediterranean Nachos (pita chips, hummus and a country olive salad) and a return of the Chicken and Donut Sliders, which were introduced last season.
But perhaps the most innovative new item of the season was a sweet and savory combo: The Texas Snowballs. According to a team release, the Texas Snowballs are "Classic ballpark shredded brisket rolled into balls and dipped in funnel cake batter, deep fried to golden perfection and covered in powdered sugar (giving it that 'snowball' look)." After the powdered sugar, a barbeque sauce glaze is also applied.
In addition to the new foods, the Rangers also announced that the bar beyond the center-field wall, formerly known as the Captain Morgan Club, has been renamed the Rebecca Creek Saloon. The partnership with the San Antonio-based distillery means that a broad array of Rebecca Creek spirits will now be available at the ballpark.
But that's not all: what good would a new saloon be without even more novelty food items?
May I present to you … The Farm. That's right -- a burger that celebrates all the meats. It's a beef patty, a breaded chicken breast, bacon, cheese and Sriracha aioli.
Also available in the Rebecca Creek Saloon: The "N.E.Q" (Never Ever Quit) Burger. This consists of shaved ribeye steak, mozzarella sticks, fried jalapeños, waffle fries, onion rings and white queso. As one of the chefs put it: "We call it the Never Ever Quit burger to remind you, because if you try to eat it on your own, you're gonna want to give up halfway through."
All of these foods and more will be on display Friday and Saturday when the Rangers take on the Royals for the final two exhibition games. Tickets are still available at texasrangers.com.
Worth noting
The Rangers also announced Thursday that fans driving to the ballpark would be able to pay for parking using credit cards and Apple Pay. The upgrade is part of the team's new relationship with ParkHub in hopes of making parking even more convenient over the next few seasons as construction on the new ballpark begins. Additionally, the team has added two new parking lots, which will provide almost exactly the same number of new parking spots as have been eliminated with the construction.