Here’s What’s New and Where to Eat at Minute Maid Park, Home of the Astros

The stadium is in full swing, with a new bar serving Brugal 1888 rum, giant crawfish pretzels, frozen espresso martinis, and a tech-savvy grab-and-go market for Astro fans

The 2024 baseball season is here, and no one’s more excited than fans of the Houston Astros. As Alex Bregman, José Altuve, and the rest of the team attempt to maintain their home win streak, fans will continue flocking to the stadium with hopes that the Astros will make it to yet another World Series. And since baseball works up an appetite, stadiumgoers will undoubtedly be looking for some peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and more delicious game-day eats to fuel their cheers for the home team.

Thankfully, Minute Maid Park is always unleashing new dishes to celebrate every Astros milestone and continues to make changes each year to ensure that the stadium is a bounty of excellent and convenient dining options. With 54 permanent food and beverage locations and 69 portable concession and bars, deciding what to eat (and where to find it) is no simple feat.

Here’s a guide on what’s new and what to look out for at Minute Maid Park this baseball season:

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What’s new

• New Brugal 1888 bar: A new partnership with this Dominican Republic rum brand brings a new bar to the Club level, with several cocktails and beverages made with this storied signature Caribbean rum. Go with the top-selling Old Fashioned, Brugal’s rendition of a carajillo, a classic rum and coke, or one of its more inventive cocktails.
• The Reggie Bar Brownie: J-Bar-M Barbecue, Maven Coffee & Cocktails, and Astros executive and Hall of Famer outfielder Reggie Jackson teamed up to reintroduce this storied dessert. Named after Jackson, the Reggie Bar, a homemade baked brownie made with chocolate, caramel, and peanut, was created by the Curtiss Candy Co. in 1978 in honor of Jackson but was discontinued in 1981. Following its return in March 2023, the bar is once again available, now at Minute Maid Park’s Maven concession stand behind Section 104. Half of the proceeds benefit Jackson’s Mr. October Foundation, which provides STEM education and career opportunities to underserved youth.
• Chef Danny Trace’s DAT Creole returns: The stadium brings back the chef’s New Orleans-style cuisine at this Centerfield stall, with dishes like crawfish fried rice, Creole smoked turkey leg, Firecracker pork skins, and a giant crawfish pretzel. Even the drinks get a Trace spin: The Cajun root beer float is not to be missed. Other new stadium vendors include Tenders, Love, and Chicken (Section 116) and The Butcher Express (Section 152), which will serve house-smoked barbecue.
• More Maven creations: Following an extended partnership with Maven Coffee, Minute Maid Park will sell frozen espresso martinis, carajillos, and Old Fashioneds at its Houston Cocktail Express Portables stalls. Stadiumgoers can also dabble in more than 50 different types of red, white, sparkling, and rose wines, which can be poured straight into their Astros Souvenir Carafes or purchased by the bottle.
• Walk Thru Bru Express beer markets: The stadium has done away with its traditional packaged beer portables and, instead, will encourage its 21-and-up fans to use its Amazon-powered grab-and-go markets, where they can buy drinks on their own and quickly check out through a cashless process. A government ID is required to verify age and enter the store. The new feature is a continuation of Minute Maid’s technology improvements, which include multiple self-order kiosks and the option to order food and drinks through the Uber Eats app for pickup.

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New dishes

• Cajun etouffee nachos: Texas Legends Club reimagines Tex-Mex nachos with this Cajun spin, topping Kettle chips with shrimp, sausage etouffee, shredded cheese, and green onions with Cajun seasoning. (Section 231)
• Fowl Pole Jerk Chicken Sandwich: Channel Jamaica vibes with this new handheld, which features shredded smoked jerk chicken, roasted pineapple, scotch bonnet pepper slaw, green onions, and cilantro jerk aioli sandwiched between homemade coco bread. (Section 231)
• Toss Up Chicken Sandwich: Served on a Martin’s potato roll, this new sandwich is stuffed with fried chicken tenders, candied jalapenos, cheddar cheese, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, serrano pepper crema, and Yellowbird Blue Agave sauce. (H-Town Grill Stands and Sections 109, 126, 231, and 409)
• Curveball Corn Dogs: Baseball lovers can indulge in a spin on this stadium classic. These mini corn dogs are loaded with chili, cheese, and diced onions. (H-Town Grill, Sections 109 and 409; Club Grill, Section 213)
• Sopapilla: Fans can now find this deep-fried dough dessert, that’s topped with powdered sugar and honey, at HTX Mex (Section 115)

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Where else to eat inside Minute Maid Park

El Tiempo will continue to serve up frozen margaritas alongside classic fajita beef, chicken, and carnitas this season on the Mezzanine Level. It is also the place to find the ballpark’s only on-site homemade tortillas.

Barbecue abounds at the Butcher (Section 116 and 124), which cooks up carved barbecue sandwiches, 18-hour smoked brisket, loaded baked potatoes, and other carved meats with classic cold sides. Battered Up (Section 116) puts forth classic fried foods like chicken tenders and corn dogs, while Killen’s Barbecue, a Houston barbecue staple, will offer its Southern-style ‘cue (Section 433).

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Take advantage of Shake Shack’s in-stadium location and order a signature burger, a hot dog, or custard (Section 157). Vegetarian? H-Town Grill offers a slammin’ Beyond Meat burger (Sections 109, 125, and 308).

If you’re going for more traditional game-day eats — think foot-long and regular-sized hot dogs, personal pizzas, and smoked sausage — visit the Club Grill (Section 213), which has all of that.

• La Stella Trattoria, an Italian vendor, will dish out belly-busting handhelds like the made-from-scratch meatball sub, an Italian sausage sub, and a hearty chicken parm sub. (Section 420)
• Peaux Boys will sling breaded catfish and shrimp po-boys, along with Cajun fries — French Fries tossed in Breggy Bomb Cajun Seasoning and served with Cajun aioli. (Section 410)
• Elote and Pupusas offers its namesake dish, elote with Yellowbird blue agave sriracha, Texas beef empanadas, and Yellowbird-sauced wings. Living up to its moniker, the stand offers elote and cheese, pork, and cheese pupusas with your choice of compliments, including red salsa, a curtido relish, and chicharrones. While you’re there, be sure to cool down with a frozen paleta or indulge in its chocolate sea salt cookies (Section 124).

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Dishes to try

• The Butcher: Nachos, sandwich, loaded potato, or a platter served with sides? Take your pick. The Butcher Stand is offering your choice of its smoked brisket, beer-brined half chicken, pork loin, turkey, or Crawford Bock and cheese sausage in various forms. (Section 116 – Butcher Portable; Section 224 – Butcher Stand)
• Crawford Dog: Not your average stadium hot dog, this Crawford creation is composed of two split, griddled all-beef hot dogs topped with Crawford Bock bacon onion jam and a mustard drizzle, on a toasted potato roll. (Portable Locations: Sections 111 and 420)
• Curveball Corn Dogs: Change your perspective on what a corn dog should be with these mini corn dogs that are loaded with chili, cheese, and diced onions ($16). (Section 126 and 409 – H-Town Grill; Section 213 – Club Grill)
• AstroNautchos: Try these stadium-special nachos, made up of freshly fried Rach-dusted kettle chips topped with queso, and diner’s choice of chopped brisket, pork burnt ends, or smoked chicken, served with slaw, pico, fresh jalapenos and a drizzle of Brebby Bomb BBQ aioli, a creation made in part by Astros’ own Alex Bregman ($20). (Portable Locations: Sections 116 and 224 – The Butcher, Section 408 — Sunrise BBQ)
• Slova-Chos: These nachos, served on tortilla chips, come with a healthy heap of homemade Crawford Bock beer cheese and sauteed peppers and onions with a choice of sausage, which comes in different styles, including garlic pepper jack, Crawford Bock, or Crawford Bock & Cheese ($16). (Portable Location: Section 154)
• Texas Nachos: This Lone Star State version is piled high with queso, brisket, pickled red onions, jalapeño ranch, and green onions. (Portable Location: Atrium near Section 106)

Where to find margaritas, beer, wine, coffee, and more booze

Astros’ own Lance McCullers Jr. opened the first brick-and-mortar coffee and cocktails bar Maven Coffee & Cocktails inside the stadium earlier this year. There, you’ll find coffee drinks and made-to-order alcoholic beverages, like the LMJ Ranch Water, a mixture of Lalo Blanco tequila, lime, orange, and mineral water with a Tajin rim.

Micheladas galore: Catch the stadium’s new portable michelada carts, which serve this Mexican beer-based drink in flavors including traditional, watermelon, mango, or spicy in a tajin-rimmed glass. Upgrade it by asking the person making it to “hook it up,” for an addition of shrimp, octopus, celery stock, and a strip of million-dollar bacon for $40. (Section 129 and 426)

Crush City Vodka: Indulge in this celebratory concoction of Whipped vodka, Fanta orange soda, and grenadine, served in a blue sugar-rimmed cup souvenir cup, for $20. Make it a double for $36. (Section 119 – Love Street Bar; Section 128 – NUTRL Bar; Section 228 and 423 – Houston Cocktail Company; Section 434 – Ultra Bar)

One of Houston’s favorite breweries, St. Arnolds Bar, brings its seasonal favorites to Minute Maid in a beer garden-like setting (Section 104). Karbach Brewing is also in the building, with several of its beers on draft at its “destination bar” with views of downtown (Section 405), and its Love Street Bar, which offers cocktails, sodas, bottled wine, snacks, and signature beers (Section 119).

At the 19th Hole, (Sections 156), find a large selection of seltzers, craft beers, game-day snacks, candy, and the largest wine selection in Major League Baseball, with special offerings like Veuve Cliquot, Decoy Cabernet, and Aperture Variolites.

Also on the club level, find the Wine Bar (Section 224) serving up frosé, bubbly wines, and other offerings. If whiskey is your preference, visit the full-service Jim Beam Bar for top-shelf brands and craft beers (Section 205). Tequila lovers will enjoy Hornitos Tequila Bar on the Mezzanine, which features beer, cocktails, and unique tequila, including El Tiempo’s popular margarita on the rocks.

• El Tiempo Margarita Express brings the popular beverage to the left-center field with its new location. Here, visitors will find El Tiempos batch margaritas made with Hornitos tequila. (Section 109)
• Gentle Ben Bar puts the spotlight on its enhanced craft vodka with frozen cocktail offerings like the Blue Hawaiian and peach-mango. (Section 106)

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Where to satisfy your sweet tooth

If you’re craving a cold and sweet concoction to cool down, Cookies and Creamery promises ice cream sundaes, sweet pretzels, ice cream sandwiches, fresh-baked cookies, and hand-dipped waffle cones. (Section 219 & 226). You can also find ice cream offerings in Sections 106, 128, 153, 251, 411, and 429.

Is deep-fried your jam? Battered-Up serves up fried foods, including funnel cakes, deep-fried Reese’s, and deep-fried bread pudding. (Section 116)

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