Ravens Insider: 5 & Dine: What to eat at Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium

[ExtremeRavens]

The start of football season means the return of well-loved concession stand bites — and the debut of new dining options — at the Baltimore Ravens’ home M&T Bank Stadium.

As the stadium reaches the finish line of an infrastructure renovation totaling about $489 million, the stadium has rolled out its official lineup of concessions. Menu items include preexisting fan favorites such as The Ravenous Chicken fried chicken boxes, upgrades to game staples like hot dogs and entirely new concession additions. Prices of new offerings range considerably, from an expanded $5-and-under Flock Friendly Fare menu to exclusive options available at the stadium’s new members-only clubs.

“We want to make sure that our fans can come and enjoy themselves but also feel like they’re able to get a good price,” said Jessica Gomes, vice president of hospitality strategy at M&T Bank Stadium, at a Tuesday media tour.

Whether you’re looking for a budget meal or a highbrow dining experience, here are five concession stand items at M&T Bank Stadium that you might flock to when catching a Ravens game.

Popcorn dusted with the Blackbird seasoning is one of the food items available this year at M&T Bank Stadium. (Lloyd Fox/Staff)

Flavor-dusted popcorn

This season, M&T Bank Stadium’s popcorn has gotten dressed up, with a slight dusting of the stadium’s proprietary Blackbird seasoning. The seasoning doesn’t obstruct the nostalgic flavor of classic stadium popcorn but rather accentuates it with a smoky, peppery bite; citrus notes; and the occasional whole fennel seed. This year, you’ll find Blackbird seasoning on almost everything at the stadium — including on chicken items, house-made kettle chips and various condiments. A box sells for $1.99, earning it a spot on the 11-item Flock Friendly Fare menu.

Vegan hot dogs at M&T Bank Stadium are one of the food items available this year. (Lloyd Fox/Staff)

Upgraded hot dogs

Hot dogs are nothing new at M&T Bank Stadium (or any stadium, for that matter), but this season, they’ve gotten an upgrade with all-beef franks made by national brand Bovine & Swine. Make no mistake — these are hefty dogs, encased in natural beef and with less of the sponginess and artificial meatiness you might find in an inferior product. The original hot dog goes for $3.49, making it another addition to the Flock Friendly Fare menu.

The size serves the hot dogs well, especially when they’re topped with a variety of ingredients for the stadium’s rotating “Hot Dog of the Game.” On Tuesday, M&T Bank Stadium Executive Chef Adam Lizak presented the Baltimore Dog, topped with crispy sticks of fried bologna, lightly caramelized onions and mustard spiked with more Blackbird seasoning.

Eating plant-based? The stadium also sells vegan dogs, which taste like well-spiced Italian sausages with a bit of the starchy aftertaste you might expect from a meat substitute, topped with pickled onions for, as Lizak said, “a little pop.”

Sticky Blackbird wings at M&T Bank Stadium are one of the food items available this year. (Lloyd Fox/Staff)

Member-exclusive wings

As a part of its renovation project, the stadium has also debuted three new members’ clubs — and at The Raven, located near the 50-yard line and designed in honor of Edgar Allan Poe, guests will find premium chicken wings, coated in a sticky, sweet sauce infused with, you guessed it, more Blackbird seasoning. The wings themselves are mild, with a delicate sweetness and a light hand on the seasoning mix. On-the-side ranch dressing is on the thinner side but unnecessary for wings without any heat. (It’s a more natural fit for the rainbow carrot crudité served with them.)

The wings’ standout quality, as with the new hot dogs, is their plumpness. If you’re like me, you’ll need to take several bites on one side of the drumette before you hit bone — a virtual anomaly in the world of wings.

French fries at M&T Bank Stadium are one of the food items available this year. (Lloyd Fox/Staff)

Seasoned potato wedges

Another vessel for Blackbird seasoning is the stadium’s western-style potato wedges, which are fluffy and meaty on the inside with a percussive crunch, thanks to a light coating on the fries. An order of wedges goes for $3.49, putting it on the Flock Friendly Fare menu and making it a complement for a new Flock Friendly $4.99 BBQ Chicken Sando, a massive square of pizza from the Ravens’ new brand Charm Crust, or an unctuous corned beef stack on marble rye from the stadium’s new O Line Provisions deli concept. Compared to the stadium’s Blackbird kettle chips, the French fries boast more heartiness, sustenance and textural variety for game-day munching.

Western Maryland Lemonade at M&T Bank Stadium is one of the drink items available this year. (Lloyd Fox/Staff)

Local lemonade

To wash down all of the new concessions at the stadium, the Ravens have partnered with Western Maryland Lemonade — proclaimed the “official lemonade of the Baltimore Ravens.” It’s a mild, hydrating beverage that might benefit from a bit more tartness but would hit the spot on a hot Sunday afternoon. For sweet bites to pair with the sweet sip, the stadium carries ornately decorated cupcakes, banana pudding and melt-in-your-mouth rock candy sticks from local Baltimore sugar shop Sistahs’ Sweets.

Have a news tip? Contact Jane Godiner at jgodiner@baltsun.com or on Instagram as @Jane.Craves.

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