The 2023 home schedule begins Friday at Angel Stadium and with it comes a new assortment of food to try as the Angels aim to build on their 4-2 start to the season.
Along with the typical ballpark foods, three new veggie-minded options have been added to the list of offerings, though they are not easily accessible at the concessions stands.
Kung pao cauliflower (available at Brewery X), a curry roasted cauliflower (available in the stadium’s Diamond Club) and a Mediterranean tomato salad (available in the suites) were items showcased at a food and merchandise preview at Angel Stadium before the start of the season last month.
Also on display at that showcase was a vegan buffalo cauliflower mac and cheese bowl, a returning item at the Crafty Mac concessions stand this year.
In particular, the kung pao cauliflower, which has a mild spice, but a satisfying crispiness to it, was a flavor that Dennis Radcliffe — who’s worked with the Angels since 2013, but this year is his first as executive chef — said he had used before.
That was in 2019, during MLB’s FoodFest in Los Angeles, in which Radcliffe submitted kung pao chicken drumsticks (not listed as a food option in 2023) on behalf of the Angels. Los Angeles Times’ food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson and retired former Times’ columnist Chris Erskine voted the dish the best among all 30 teams’ food items.
“So what we did was just turn that into a vegetarian option,” Radcliffe said. “It’s the same recipe. The first ones I did actually were super spicy and I was like, ‘OK, time to start scaling that back.’”
Though the actual plant-based options are limited, it’s important to note that the options are at least creative and carefully thought out. And matching flavors — like getting the kung pao cauliflower to match a kung pao flavor profile from a former chicken dish — is what Radcliffe and his team have aimed to do while hoping those who do not have plant-based dietary restrictions can also enjoy those foods.
“It’s kind of staying a little ahead of the trends,” Radcliffe said. “Maybe we create a trend that’s here? It’s taking something simple and making it extraordinary.
“We know our vegetarian options aren’t going to sell out, but we want it to at least be available. Cater to everybody’s needs.”
All of the additions this year, not just the new veggie options, Radcliffe and Eric Ursua, the Angels director of fan hospitality, said were based on feedback they’ve received.
“We’d like the fans to know that they’ve been heard,” Ursua said.
As for the future of plant-based options at the ballpark, Radcliffe said that they’ll continue to create as they continue to get feedback, like in their specialty seating/dining areas or even from the players.
“When the plate comes back, if the plate is empty we’re like ‘OK, we found a winner here,’” Radcliffe said. “If it comes back and there’s a lot of food still on it, it’s ‘OK, we need to work on that. Let me go taste it again.’
“We do feed the players, we have food for the vegetarians and vegans, and if it’s something they really like, we’re like ‘OK, how can we make this everybody?’”
Here’s a list of all the new and returning fan favorites food and desserts available at Angel Stadium in 2023:
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