Sports

A Guide To Kosher Food (And Vegan Options) At Every Major League Baseball Stadium

By Rob Charry

(JTA) — Jews love baseball — there’s no denying it. But when the baseball season opened in April, most major league stadiums were operating at restricted capacities and offered a limited number of concessions stands.

Not anymore. As the U.S. COVID19 vaccination rate has soared, many of the ballpark restrictions have been lifted, and remain so even in the face of the Delta variant case surge.

For those returning to the stands across the country (and Canada) who keep kosher, we have prepared this guide to eating in every stadium, from Seattle to Miami. There’s no favoritism — it’s aligned in alphabetical order.

Note that it also includes vegan options, which are plant-based and therefore considered by some to be acceptable in their kosher diets. (Another thing to keep in mind: It appears to be policy now at most ballparks, if not all, that credit cards are required to buy food — though there are special ATM machines at parks that can convert your cash into prepaid debit cards.)

Atlanta Braves, Truist Park

There are no kosher items here, but vegan food available includes a Beyond Burger and a smoked tofu sandwich. Like some other teams that have held a Jewish Heritage Night, the Braves have featured a special “kosher night” in past seasons. Unfortunately that does not appear to be on the docket this year with COVID wreaking havoc on scheduling.

Arizona Diamondbacks, Chase Field

No kosher items are available. There are vegan hot dogs, vegan chicken wraps and vegan burgers.

Baltimore Orioles, Camden Yards

Though Camden Yards is nearly 30 years old, it’s still a tourist attraction and a great place to watch a game. Like many of the remaining older parks, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. From day one in 1992, the stadium has had a kosher food stand, apparently the first certified kosher stand in any of the major league stadiums. Now called Kosher Grille, fans can find it beyond the left field seats.

Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park

The oldest ballpark in the American League has the most unique kosher serving device: a vending machine with kosher hot dogs since 2008.

But it didn’t stop there — Fenway now also has two other similar “food diners,” as the Hot Nosh vendor’s owner Wayne Feder called them, serving up kosher pizza, mozzarella sticks, potato knishes, onion rings, veggie burgers and more.

Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field

In the National League’s oldest ballpark, the Cubs have a kosher cart behind Section 227. They also sell veggie burgers in several locations and veggie dogs behind Section 117.

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Chicago White Sox, Guaranteed Rate Field

No kosher items are listed, but vegan and vegetarian items include sandwiches, veggie burgers and an Asian appetizer duo from Impossible Foods, the brand behind the Impossible Burger.

Cincinnati Reds, Great American Ballpark

No kosher items are listed, but they do sell veggie dogs (and regular Nathan’s hot dogs, which sadly are no longer kosher).

Cleveland Indians (soon to be Guardians), Progressive Field

The park’s kosher hot dog stand is a thing of the past and there are no kosher items listed in the stadium’s offerings. However, vegan options include tacos, burritos, dogs and a garden salad.

Colorado Rockies, Coors Field

No kosher foods are listed, though the Sandlot Brewery inside the ballpark says its beer is kosher certified. The vegan foods available include a veggie dog and salads. The park also offers vegetarian quesadillas.

Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park

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KOSHER FOOD

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No kosher items here, but fans can pay homage to former Tiger slugger and Jewish sports legend Hank Greenberg — his statue is one of six on the concourse in left center field. Greenberg’s 58 homers and 146 RBIs in 1938 is tops for a season among Jewish ballplayers. Vegan choices such as Beyond Burgers can be found in the Big Cat food court.

Houston Astros, Minute Maid Park

The park doesn’t have any specifically kosher foods, but the Astros offer several vegan food options, such as the Beyond Burger, at stands behind Sections 109, 125 and 208. It also has salads, fruit, hummus and other items at the 19th Hole concessions stand in center field.

Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium

The Royals boast a stadium cart by Kohn’s Kosher, a Jewish deli from nearby St. Louis (the deli menu is similar to the Kohn’s Kosher cart at the St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium). Vegan options include burgers, Beyond Burgers and Beyond Brats.

Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger Stadium

The Jewish sausage factory Jeff’s Gourmet had provided the park with kosher food, but not this season. “Due to health and safety restrictions, we are unable to offer Jeff’s Gourmet until further notice,” the vendor said. Note that health and safety restrictions could be removed or eased at some point this summer, so check before your visit on the team’s website: mlb.com/dodgers/ ballpark/information/guide. Dodger Stadium does have a variety of vegan options as well, including Beyond Burgers, Beyond Sausages, tempeh tacos and tempeh nachos with vegan cheese.

Miami Marlins, LoanDepot Park

Kosher hot dogs and hamburgers can be found behind Section 3 — except on Shabbat, of course, as the team website makes clear.

Milwaukee Brewers, American Family Field

The kingdom of the ballpark sausage does not offer a kosher option of the famed Milwaukee bratwurst or other proteins. Non-meat options include soft pretzels, popcorn and fries, but otherwise it’s slim pickings.

Minnesota Twins, Target Field

While there are no kosher items offered, the stadium does offer a vegan burger and veggie burritos and tacos.

New York Mets, Citi Field

The Mets offer several kosher products, including hot dogs, knishes and pretzels, which can be purchased near Sections 115 and 130 on the Field Level, as well as Section 408 on the Promenade Level. There are also vegan options at the many restaurants and concession stands scattered throughout the park.

New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium

Strictly Kosher, which features items such as hot dogs and knishes, is in four locations — behind Sections 110, 214A , 229 and 321. The Yanks also offer plenty of vegan items, such as field roast hot dogs and burgers, black bean burgers, Beyond Sausages and vegan sushi. There is more than enough kosher and vegan food to satisfy “long suffering” Yankee fans, who haven’t won a World Series since 2009.

Oakland Athletics, RingCentral Coliseum

No kosher foods are listed. Nor are there any vegan items listed among the foods available for mobile orders. But Aramark, which is in charge of the stadium’s food operations, does offer veggie dogs and veggie burgers at the other ballparks they cater. So there’s always next year.

Philadelphia Phillies, Citizens Bank Park

Concessions manager Bruce Leith told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency: “Unfortunately, we have not offered kosher items except on Jewish Heritage Night due to several reasons, including preparation concerns and other factors.” But he added that permanent kosher food offerings have been under discussion and will be something the Phillies hope to offer in the future.

Jewish Heritage Night has not been scheduled yet this summer — like most teams, the immediate concern was being up and operational by Opening Day.

Citizens Bank Park also offers a variety of vegan options, including dogs and burgers. Before the pandemic, the Phils also had a stand that sold famed musician and Philadelphia native Questlove’s vegan Beyond Meat cheesesteak. It won’t be back this season — they’ve had to pause agreements with several vendors because of COVID-19 restrictions — but it could return in 2022.

Pittsburgh Pirates, PNC Park

The Pirates do not offer kosher food, but like their counterparts at

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KOSHER FOOD

Continued from Page 18 the other end of the state (the Phillies), they have had Jewish Heritage Nights in the past, where they bring in kosher food, and may well have one at some point this summer (even though nothing is currently scheduled). Vegan items include a burger and a greens and grain salad.

San Diego Padres, Petco Park

While they have no kosher items, no less than a dozen of their concession stands are listed as vegetarian friendly.

San Francisco Giants, Oracle Park

Although there are no official kosher selections, they do sell Hebrew National hot dogs — which many Jews consider kosher, despite a longstanding dispute over its certification. And there are plenty of vegan food options, including at the Garden (in an actual garden) behind center field and the John J. McGraw Derby Grill, which sells Impossible Burgers. A veggie cheesesteak can be found at Outta Here Cheesesteaks.

Seattle Mariners, T Mobile Park

No kosher food listed here. There is a concession stand, The Natural, with vegan and organic foods including Beyond Burgers, vegan sausages and other plant-based food.

St Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium

The aforementioned Kohn’s Kosher has a presence here as well, behind Section 147. Among their items: pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, knockwurst and hot dogs. Kohn’s has operated inside the new Busch Stadium since it was built in 2013, which happened to be the last time the Cardinals were in the World Series (they lost to the Red Sox, but the Cards do hold the National League record for most world titles at 11).

Tampa Bay Rays, Tropicana Field

The Rays do not list any kosher food but they do have several vegan food items, including Beyond Burgers, and vegetarian rice bowls with vegan sauces.

Texas Rangers, Globe Life Field

The good news is they sell Hebrew National hot dogs. The bad news is the kosher Centerfield Market stand from the Rangers’ last stadium didn’t make it into the new ballpark — the team technically moved into its new home last year, but this is the park’s first year with fans. It does have a vegan cart with plenty of options, though.

Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Centre

The Jays returned to their home base on July 30, after playing their games for more than a year in Buffalo due to the COVID-induced Canadian border closure. The Rogers Centre offers kosher hot dogs, sausages and french fries at the Olde Spadina in section 131.

Washington Nationals, Nationals Park

Kosher Nats fans can rejoice: Max’s Kosher Grille features falafel, homemade sausages and hot dogs from the deli in Wheaton, Maryland. Vegan food choices are available as well at other concession stands.

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DAY SCHOOLS

Continued from Page 13 medical exemption. SAR Academy, which is Modern Orthodox, will also be mandating vaccines for teachers and students, and will make a final decision about masking soon.

Schools in Florida and Texas are taking a slightly different approach.

The Torah Day School of Dallas, an Orthodox institution, is encouraging but not requiring students or teachers to vaccinate, though its head of school, Rabbi Avi Pekier, said all but two teachers are vaccinated.

Unlike many other Jewish schools, Pekier said his is still deciding whether to require its students to wear masks when school begins in two weeks. Last year it required students in grades 4 and above to wear masks. This year, he said, other local Orthodox schools and synagogues have not required masks, and given how much students interact with the broader community, he believes masking only at his one school will have a limited effect.

“As of right now, shuls are not mandating masks, and as far as I know it’s not even being talked about,” Pekier said Wednesday, as the status of mask mandates in and around Dallas appeared fluid. “It seems like a bit of a joke that our day school masks when everyone else in town is not.”

At the Scheck Hillel Community School in North Miami Beach, Florida, students from kindergarten through high school will eat lunch in an outdoor dining area, just as they did last year, and the school will still stress hygiene and sanitization. Masks will continue to be mandated, as the governor’s stance does not apply to private schools. But the school will not be mandating that teachers or students vaccinate at this time.

“It’s the best protection we have other than the vaccination, and I would think it’s even more so than the vaccinations because masking is that physical barrier,” said Craig Carpentieri, Scheck Hillel’s interim head of school. He said most parents support the mask requirement, adding, “I don’t think any school is ever going to make everybody happy, but our primary focus is to keep everyone safe.”

While the school encourages vaccination, Carpentieri said that given differences of opinion within the school community about vaccines, and recent changes in public health recommendations, the school administration is stopping short of a mandate.

“I think where the challenge has come for the entire U.S. is that we’re doing great with vaccination rates and everybody said you can remove your mask, and then the Delta variant came, so there’s this yo-yo effect,” he said. “We’ve had some questions from parents but not many. It is private medical information, a person’s vaccination status. So it’s not as simple a question as where are you going for dinner tonight?”

With contributed reporting by Shira Hanau.

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