Grabbing a bite at the ballpark used to mean peanuts and Cracker Jacks — immortalized in song since 1908. But modern ballparks have raised the culinary stakes, expanding menus to include extravagant, oversized and hyper-local food each season.
This year, the Pirates home opener at PNC Park debuted chipped ham fries — piled with cheddar sauce, garlic butter and a spin on the Isaly’s classic — a sofrito beef-topped, Puerto Rico-inspired hot dog, and a cold pierogi salad (no greens to be found).
So what’s a baseball fan to do when choosing a meal? Should the health-minded lean in or shy away from loaded, high-calorie food? TribLive asked Pirates fans about their go-to snacks, and spoke with registered dietitian nutritionist Dr. Caroline Passerrello, who works in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition.
At PNC Park’s first Dollar Dog game on April 16, hot dogs were the baseline food.
Gabbi Balog and friends from Natrona Heights stacked them up, saying the discounted dogs were just as satisfying as the ballpark’s regular hot dogs, which many fans believe are larger.
“It’s a dollar dog, what more can you ask for?” Balog said.
Sara Sellers and Ian Dingwall, who’d recently moved to Pittsburgh from Maryland, came for their second Pirates game with ideas about repeating concessions.
“We got the pierogies, but not the pulled pork ones, and we both got a sandwich,” Dingwall said.
Tom Oglesby of Peters Township passed on the hot dogs completely, grabbing a nacho supreme for his daughter’s 21st birthday.
While PNC Park and its food vendor Aramark Sports Entertainment told TribLive they do not keep a record of calorie counts (federal nutritional labeling rules exempt stadiums), a regular-size hot dog in a plain bun contains about 250-300 calories, per estimates on Healthline, with 20-50 calories added for condiments.
Chain restaurants like Primanti Bros. do publish nutritional information. For example, a capicola-and-cheese sandwich will run you 489 calories for the classic size (with no add-ons like a fried egg), and 559 for the “Big Bro,” while the Pittsburgher, Primanti’s No. 2 bestseller, clocks in at 524 and 733 calories for each size. Add a 24-ounce can of Coors Light at 204 calories (a conservative pick), and your caloric total between beer, a hot dog, and Big Bro Primanti’s sandwich can reach nearly 1,300 — and that’s before nachos.
While many people think of meals in terms of calories, Passerrello, also a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, advises thinking about the meals in your day holistically.
“Dollar dogs, nachos, beer — those are very carb-heavy,” she said. “So just know that the rest of your food that day should lean more into fruits, vegetables and lean proteins. Realize ballpark food is fun, and you’re going to eat it, but (consider), how does it fit into my day?”
For the baseball fan who catches a couple of games a year, Passerrello also recommended planning a menu around what you enjoy eating at the ballpark.
“Whether it’s based in childhood memories or experiences, what food do you think of when you go to the ballpark? Is that ice cream in a helmet? Is that a local food?” she asked. “Try things that you’re maybe not going to get somewhere else, enjoying what is unique to that stadium, and then adjusting your day around that.
“It is definitely not one meal or one food makes or breaks your health,” she added. “It’s what you do consistently, meal to meal, day to day, over time.”
Howard Millick of Washington, Pa., is a 20-game Pirates season ticket holder and sticks to a few staple snacks.
“Normally, I’m nachos, peanuts, Coors Light,” he said. He shies away from the Pittsburgh-themed foods and will sometimes order chicken tenders, “a good deal,” and kid’s meals and soda for his grandchildren.
Classic peanuts (567 calories per 3.5 ounces), are calorie-rich but also high in protein and fiber, making them one of the more balanced choices on the whole. Popcorn, another staple, is generally thought of as a low-calorie, whole-grain food, but its buttered ballpark version can run up to 573 calories for a small cup.
Adding it all up? The full complement of a hot dog, large Primanti’s sandwich, ballpark peanuts and popcorn, nachos (estimated at 700-1,000 calories, per UPMC) and a light beer could bring your grand total up to 3,427 calories.
Overall, Passerrello said, thinking about a single game at the ballpark is less about calorie-counting and more about “must-haves.”
“Food has calories, but it has a lot more, too. What do you feel like you need to get out of the experience?” she asked. “Focus on that. It’s an experience, and the food is part of the experience.”