Angel Stadium Adds Gluten-Free Veg Options
Friday, June 17, 2011 at 11:06AM 
If you know me personally, then you're well aware I'm a pretty big Anaheim Angels fan. Being born and raised in Orange County and having played baseball my entire childhood, I grew up visiting the Big A with my Dad and friends, watching classics like Chuck Finley, Mark Langston and Jim Abbott, seeing my Halos make their way through the Disney days, and paying exorbitant amounts of money to eBay sellers to watch them take the World Series in 2002.
I don't make it to as many games these days as I used to when I was younger, but I still love getting into that stadium on a warm summer afternoon and enjoying some cold ones with friends while watching my hometown team. The unfortunate part about this is that due to the lack of decent vegan food at the stadium, I usually resort to a liquid diet during the games, leaving my stomach sloshing around with boozie beverages and not a whole lot more. Being so, you can imagine how excited I was to read that Angel Stadium would begin offering veggie dogs, veggie burgers, salads and more starting this season. At the first game I went to this season, we showed up late and the veggie stands were already closed. I was determined to not let this happen again.
So when my friend offered me tickets to last Sunday's game, the first stop was the Melissa's Produce stand, which sells the veggie foods. To my surprise, the veggie foods were also gluten-free, and I quickly ordered a veggie dog, sweet potato fries, and an extra tall Sierra Nevada. Sure, my total was $21, but that's ballpark prices for you. It's like that Seinfeld bit where he talks about the price of airport food.
The veggie dog itself was actually far better than I expected, probably one of the best veggie dogs I've ever had. The sad part is that it was stuffed inside a tough, cakey gluten-free bun. The bun kind of ruined the dog, but it was still a better base for the beer that would enter my stomach than had been at the stadium in any of the previous seasons.
The sweet potato fries were a total letdown. I would not waste money on these again. While the actual taste was decent, the texture was horrible. I like my fries crispy, and these were the exact opposite: limper than a gay guy in the Spearmint Rhino. (Yeah, I went there. I had to prove a point.) For $6 I got a heaping of sweet potato strands, at best. Terrible investment.
Overall, the new veggie food at Angel Stadium is not a total strike out, but far from the home run I had hoped for. I will try the GF black bean burger next time, but I hope the bun is softer than the one that came on the veggie dog. Until next time, ALL RED EVERYTHING.
Reader Comments (2)
Wow, wish I'd known this before I went to the Angels game the other week. The hummus is extremely scary. I ended up wishing I'd smuggled in some food. On the bright side, the margaritas (er, Angelritas? what were they called again?) did not disappoint.
My better half and I have been to Melissa Harvest 2x now. I had the veggie dog on a regular bun (didn't want to risk the gluten free dry bun and glad I didn't based on the above description). Took it upstairs and put on mustard, ketchup and relish and it was outstanding both times! Opening day, the better half had the veggie wrap and wasn't impressed. Okay, but not great. This last Sunday (4/23) Better half had the Heavenly Nachos which was a large order of nachos with pinto beans, cheese, pico de gallo and she was very pleased... probably best if shared unless you have a big appetite. So pleased to see the stadium offer something for us veggies!