Jake and I have been to a few Padres games at Petco Park this year… more than any other year (so far: four games)! Half of those games have been due to the new $10 Toyota Tuesdays where you can get Toyota Terrace seat tickets for – you guessed it – $10 (did I give that one away?). Toyota Terrance is on the second level at Petco Park so it’s pretty close to the field. Good seats!
Since we have a few games under our belt now, I can tell you what some of the good foods are and what some of the bad foods are.
For instance! These are the $1 tacos featured on Taco Tuesday. There are only a couple of places to get these at Petco Park and they are NOT worth it.
They are chicken tacos with a tiny bit of onion and cilantro on barely warm tortillas. The chicken was dry and unseasoned and there’s a table filled with mostly empty hot sauces so you can try and liven these up but ultimately you will be sad that A) you stood in line forever for these and B) that they just have no flavor what so ever. Do not be tempted by the allure of $1 tacos! It is crap!
On one of our adventures to the park, we were walking around and Jake spotted a foodie booth that said “Tri Tip”. Being naturally drawn to things that say “tri tip” on them, he wandered closer and discovered they had something called “Tri Tip Nachos” so we decided to try it out. It costs like $9 but it is WORTH IT.
You get a bed of nachos topped with a cheese sauce (NOT nacho cheese but like a cheese sauce made with real cheese not that proceeded crapola they try to tell you is cheese), lots of tri tip goodness, BBQ sauce, sour cream and green onion. They also do pico de gallo on it but Jake and I prefer it without that. The flavors of the BBQ sauce, cheese, and sour cream and divine together – it creates this hot, gooey, delicious mess and the sour cream cools it down just a touch. The green onion gives it that snap of freshness. This is my new favorite ballpark food item!
My other discovery was their Kielbasa dog! I walked all over the park looking for Kielbasa, too. I saw hot dogs (no, thanks), Super Dogs (nope), bratwurst (noooo) until I finally found the Kielbasa on the field level near the Padres store (up one level from the Store) around the 3rd base line. You can’t really tell from this photo but this sucker is about the length of my forearm! You can get onions and peppers but I don’t care for peppers – only onion love, please! And mustard of course. Don’t talk to me about ketchup. This also sets you back about $9 but it’s huge, filling, and delicious so also worth it if you ask me.
If you’re feeling a little hungry and a little crazy, check out this Kielbasa with Pulled Pork dog. It is a 1/2 lb. kielbasa (!!) topped with pulled pork… I discovered this at last night’s game in the Padres Hall of Fame bar in the Western Metal Building. You’re not allowed to go out onto the deck anymore at the Western Metal Building – special tickets only – but you can peruse the foods in here! They have kettle chips, loaded kettle chips, sushi (yes, $16 sushi at the ballpark), cubanos, Sonora dogs and these babies!
I had mustard and onions added as well and it comes with a side of kettle chips for a whopping $12.50. Luckily this thing is huge and feeds more than one person though. I personally ate like maybe a 1/4 of it… it was just so darn BIG. The cotija cheese on top was maybe a little too much and it’s slightly hard to eat, but if you’re got the appetite and the stomach for it, check this one out! I’d probably just get the regular plain old normal kielbasa for next time but it was fun to try this out.
Pro-tip: if you don’t plan on knocking back the beers, you can sign a little form and get a voucher for a free non-alcoholic beverage good at any Petco Park concession stand. Save yourself a few bucks with this one! All you have to do is fill out a little form that states you pledge to not drink before, during or after the game and put in your name, address, email and phone number. Tear off the coupon at the bottom and hand the person your filled in form – viola, all done! You do have to be over 21 for this. You can sign up for the Designated Driver Program at any Guest Services Center, the Designated Driver kiosk near Gaslamp Gate, or the Toyota Terrace Concierge Desk. Sign ups conclude at the end of the 5th inning.
One of our recent games was when we attended the first home page after Tony Gwynn’s passing (in addition to last night’s game). We sat on the third base side both times. The Padres won that day AND they won last night so now apparently we have to always sit on the 3rd base side when we go…
Jake is pretending to be Popeye here, if you can’t tell.
Before the game, they showed Tony Gwynn’s induction speech when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on the scoreboard.
In right field, the position that Tony Gwynn played, had the number #19 etched into the field.
Right before the game started, the Padres came out onto the field to pay special tribute to Mr. Padre.
After the game we headed over to check out his statue and see the tributes people had left in his memory.
The thing I always liked the best about Tony Gwynn was how he stayed with one team for his entire career. He could have left and made millions more money somewhere else, but he decided to stay in San Diego. He had great integrity and worked hard to accomplish the things he did in his life. He’ll be missed by all San Diegans!
He was and still is my favorite Padres player! I will never forget the 1984 season! Although I’ve never met him, you hear stories of how generous, humble, and kind he was. What a great role model; I wish there were more athletes like that. He embodied a classiness and San Diego was lucky to have had him.
Hi CC – Yes, I’ve heard lots of great stories about Gwynn. Everyone always said how kind he was, how he always had time for people… seemed like a truly great man who worked hard for all of his accomplishments and I admire that! I did not have the chance to meet him either. I also wish more athletes were like that, someone people could really look up to. Someone who was genuine like he was!
We usually end up eating before we get to the Park, but I’m glad I know about the kielbasa and tri tip nachos if I’m looking for food during a game!
I usually like a sweet treat halfway through the game. The last time we were there I got a Baked Bear ice cream cookie sandwich – it made me less sad that the Padres didn’t get any runs at all the whole game.
Hi Leanne – Oh, that sounds like a good idea! For some reason I also like getting those sundaes in a helmet cup… makes me feel like a little kid again! I didn’t see the Baked Bear stand last night. Maybe next time we go I’ll brave the line for Hodad’s and see if it’s as good as actually going to Hodad’s. That is sad the Padres scored no runs for you! The game last night was actually exciting for once (and they won)!
I still haven’t been to a Padres game even though I’ve been here for 2 years – but definitely looking to do so this season! That kielbasa hot dog sounds sooo good, especially with the pulled pork =P
Hi Jinxi! If you plan on going, try checking out a Tuesday (if possible). There are a few “$10 Tuesday” days where you can get pretty good seats for $10 in their Toyota Terrace section (normally those seats are $25-ish): http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/sd/ticketing/tuesdays.jsp – it’s a good day to check it out on the cheap! 🙂
Dude what the heck. I must be bad luck because the ‘dres usually lose at every game I physically attend (you like how I just nicknamed em the ‘dres…that one came outta no where..i think I listened to Dr Dre in the car earlier?).
That’s awesome you’ve gone to so many games this year. I usually only go because I think it’s such a beautiful park and venue. It’s sad that the Chargers can’t have this type of stadium. Thanks for your tip on the food and $10 Toyota Tuesdays. I always strike out with the food there (and then kick myself for spending an entire paycheck to try out over priced stuff). The tri tip nachos look amazing – I wonder if one can ask for the chips to be put on side (to avoid sogginess?).
The pulled pork dog is calling my name. But $12.50 – jeez man 🙁 I went to a game last Aug/Sept and don’t recall seeing this hot dog.
I’m glad the night was able to pay tribute to Tony Gwynn.
Hi Faye –
We went to many games before the Padres ever won! Jake felt like he was a bad luck charm, haha. The ‘dres… hahah, you must have been listening to Dr. Dre or you really only wanted to say one syllable!
I’m not sure if they could do the stuff on the side for the nachos, I don’t know if they have containers for the cheese and whatnot but I’m sure you could ask if you ever decide to try them. Jake eats all the soggy chips so I don’t have to worry about that! I know, a few of the things are pretty pricey, but if you share with someone then it’s not so bad, right? The pulled pork dog is only in the bar at the Western Metal Building – at least, that’s the only place I have seen it. They kind of have fancier stuff in there.
Ooh good tips. I usually get Hodad’s or Phil’s ever since they started having Phil’s there. That pulled pork hot dog though! I never really knew the different between the regular hot dog, bratwurst and kielbasa but I need to try the kielbasa, if you say its best 😉
Hi J.S. – The hot dog is just a hot dog – it’s a bit thinner and smaller and usually made with beef. A brat or kielbasa are both sausages – usually pork or a mixture. The differences are just in the flavors/spices used. I like both but slightly prefer kielbasa. I haven’t had a brat at the stadium in awhile though, I’ll have to try a brat the next time I’m at Petco for research purposes. I don’t like Phil’s all that much so we tend to skip that but I was thinking of trying Hodad’s, too!