Every NFL Stadium, Ranked By Its Food

Football food might be synonymous with tailgating for many NFL fans, but stadium refreshments have come a long way since the days of dirty water hot dogs and dry pretzels. No longer do you have to grill in the parking lot to eat delicious food on game day. Modern NFL stadiums serve food that can compete with fine dining restaurants, and teams are always looking out for the next big food innovation.

Not every franchise has kept up with the times. Some teams still try to foist overpriced, mediocre carnival food on their long-suffering fans. Others chase trends too much, nervously fiddling with their food menus every year. Going to an NFL game in person is an expensive prospect, and you want to know the experience will be worth it before you leave the comfort of your living room. This guide ranks every NFL stadium by the deliciousness and value of its culinary offerings.

The Rams famously fled the city of St. Louis in 2016 to return to their former home of Los Angeles. Rams owner Stan Kroenke paid over half a billion dollars to move back to sunny Southern California, hoping to take advantage of a nicer stadium and a bigger media market (via Sport Illustrated). SoFi is also home to the former San Diego Chargers, who recently ditched their hometown for the bright lights of LA as well.

As the residence for both NFL teams representing one of America's greatest food cities, you would expect the concessions at SoFi to be amazing. Hype for the brand-new stadium was strong going into this season, with the Chargers selling more season tickets than they had for over 20 years. The food program was being overseen by Food Network-famous local chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, who talked a big game about drawing culinary inspiration from the city (via The Daily Breeze). Early reports about the concessions have been disappointing, to say the least.

As Golf Digest reports, fans complained about overpriced $15 slices of pepperoni pizza. Arash Markazi tweeted pictures of sad-looking, expensive junk food including a mummified hot dog and a disturbing "cheeseburger sub." Glorified fair food might have been fine at a stadium 10 or 20 years ago, but these days there's too much great stadium food out there to tolerate this kind of overpriced mediocrity.

As of now, the Washington Football team still doesn't have a real name. Perhaps that's why the food at FedEx Field is having an identity crisis. Eater DC wrote that after years of complaints about the food, the stadium tried to introduce better options in 2016. Results have been mixed. The organization wanted to celebrate local icons like beloved hot dog restaurant Ben's Chili Bowl, but then it sold its own competing "Signature 'Skins Dog" in the same stadium. It invited Guy Fieri to bring his celebrity status to a chicken stand, but paired it with suburban strip mall favorites like Papa John's, Hooters, and Johnny Rockets.

No matter what FedEx tries to do to improve the food, it never seems to work out. Yelp reviews for the concessions are absolutely scathing. One fan wrote "The food options are a joke & prepared with the skill of a kindergartener." A more optimistic reviewer chimed in that the "food was terrible but the staff was excellent!" The consensus was best summed by Charles D, who said "The food is very bad! Everything is expensive and awful."

The home of the Patriots, possibly the greatest dynasty in NFL history, Gillette Stadium has been the setting of many unforgettable football moments. That's why it's perplexing that its food options are so anonymous. A peek at the concession list reveals timeless Boston classics like Food Court, Beverage Express, and Stadium Pizza. In an era when so many NFL teams are collaborating with fine dining chefs and inviting local landmarks to open locations inside stadiums, the blandness of Gillette's concessions is hard to forgive.

It's not all bad news for Patriots fans who go to Foxborough to see a game in person. The stadium does have one beloved New England institution scattered throughout the stadium: Dunkin'. The Patriots know that depriving thousands of New Englanders of Dunkin' iced coffee for more than two hours would be a recipe for disaster. That said, if the only "local" option at your stadium is a national fast food chain, you know it's slim pickings.

Highmark Stadium is an old workhorse, hosting Bills games since 1973. It's a little creaky with age, but a recent renovation brightened the place up a little bit and added a few more food options. Perhaps an even bigger draw than the action on the field is what happens at the tailgates and in the stands. The legendarily rowdy Bills Mafia knows how to party, and they fill the stadium with energy on game days.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the food at Highmark, but it doesn't have much to offer other than typical stadium fare like pizza, wings, and barbecue. Of course, Buffalo invented hot wings, but it doesn't feel that special to eat wings at a stadium in Buffalo when you can get them at any other NFL arena too. The best dining experiences happen in the parking lot before games, where you can cook your own food and maybe watch a guy get slammed through a table.

Nashville may be known as Music City, but it's a tasty culinary destination too. From new-school chefs like Sean Brock reimagining the definitions of Southern food to time-tested comfort classics like meat-and-threes, Nashville is a gourmand's paradise. The Tennessee Titans' Nissan Stadium makes some nods to the city's food culture, particularly to the famous local invention Nashville hot chicken, but many of the concession stands fall victim to inconsistency and poor technique.

The Tennessean reviewed a wide swathe of the dining options at Nissan Stadium, and while some items impressed, others were borderline inedible. A hot chicken sandwich marred well-cooked chicken with overly sweet waffle buns. BBQ brisket nachos were drastically oversalted, and a burger inspired by quarterback Marcus Mariota paired a chalky, well-done beef patty with an awkwardly large piece of pineapple. The critics enjoyed the stadium's new bratwurst, but it's pretty hard to screw up sausage on a roll.

Tampa Bay flies under the radar compared to its flashier south Florida neighbor Miami. It doesn't have the celebrities or the nightclub scene Miami does, but it does have a vibrant history of Cuban culture, including lots of amazing Cuban food. Cuban workers came to Tampa during the early 20th century to work in the cigar business and started bakeries, coffee shops, and restaurants that survive to the present day.

Raymond James Stadium, where the Buccaneers play, doesn't do a great job of celebrating its city's food scene. While Tampa has supported some restaurants for close to a century, the stadium seems to revamp its food service every couple of years. The Tampa Bay Times records that the stadium added more local flavor to its lineup in 2019, serving Cuban favorites like ropa vieja. Ironically, they partnered with a New York-based foodservice company to create the recipes instead of finding a local partner. The menu refresh didn't work out that well, because in 2021 the team unveiled yet another new menu, this time collaborating with national chains like Little Caesar's and Winghouse (via News Channel 8). Yes, they seriously considered Little Caesar's and upgrade. 

The most distinctive vendor at Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium is Gold Star Chili, which has branches in several areas of the arena. With its characteristic Macedonian flavor profile that includes cinnamon and nutmeg, Cincinnati chili isn't for everyone (some people claim it's not even chili). Nevertheless, by serving up Cincinnati's famous and divisive local specialty, Gold Star gives you an authentic taste of the town. 

If the idea of a heaping pile of spaghetti topped with chili, kidney beans, and shredded cheddar sounds nasty to you, the other options are mostly classic stadium food. We all love Buffalo wings, chicken tenders, and fries, but they're the most basic foods we have come to expect at sports games. If you feel like overdosing on dairy, the Who Dey melt, a grilled cheese with mac and cheese inside, will do the trick. The beer selection at Paul Brown is more exciting than the food, with the stadium's Queen City Taproom pouring pints from several local breweries.

Completed in 1924, Soldier Field is steeped in history. The stadium's food options reflect Chicago's tastes, with hometown favorites like Buona's Italian beef sandwiches, Kronos Gyros, and Robinson's Ribs. The concessions make some nods to contemporary tastes as well, with signature craft cocktails, microbrews, and plant-based burgers (via Chicago Eater). Although some options are prepared with more care than others, there are definitely a few solid snacks for Bears fans to enjoy.

The thing that drops Soldier Field down to this spot on the list is food safety. ESPN (via The Chicago Tribune) investigated the health inspection records of all the stadiums used by major American sports teams, and Soldier Field was one of the worst offenders. Almost 60 percent of the food vendors at the stadium earned a high-level food safety violation. A violation is considered high-level if it could make a diner sick. No stadium bratwurst is worth spending a day on the toilet, so if you're eating at a Bears home game, proceed with caution.

The home of the Indianapolis Colts offers a fair amount of variety for the hungry fan. As the Indy Star notes, Lucas Oil stadium took the pandemic year with no fans as a chance to retool the food menu, and the 2021 season features many new dishes. The food is pretty reasonably priced by NFL standards, with crispy Buffalo cauliflower wings at $4 and a classic burger or chicken tender basket selling for around $10. The Colts are also inviting Indianapolis restaurateurs to showcase their food for the club-level seat holders as part of the Taste of Indy Sampling experience.

The new menu sounds appealing, but early reviews indicate that the stadium's staff is struggling to implement the changes. Yelper Aaron D. reported seeing lines of irate fans complaining about hour-long wait times at the food stands. Hopefully, the issues are just minor growing pains and the foodservice employees will figure out how to keep up with demand.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and their fans both eat food made by the same company, Delaware North. They must put more effort into what the players eat than the food they serve in the stands because TIAA Bank Field's concessions are pretty lackluster. Jerry Watterson from Jacksonville Restaurant Reviews thought that the food had improved since the last time he ate it, but still noted that all the fries in the stadium were served unsalted, the pretzels were flabby, and the ketchup dispensers were empty. These sins were offset slightly by tasty offerings like jambalaya and loaded mac and cheese bowls.

In the 2018 playoffs, the fans at TIAA had the option to buy hot dogs and hamburgers in buns that had been dyed Jaguars teal. They looked rather alarming, and they don't appear to be available anymore. At least you can bring your own food (but not beverages) if the in-stadium options don't appeal to you.

Both New York NFL teams play at MetLife Stadium, which isn't actually in New York. MetLife is located across the river from the Big Apple in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Perhaps that's why little trace of New York's incredible food scene has shown up in the stadium's concession stands. 

Jeremy Schneider at NJ.com reviewed every vendor in MetLife, and he was disappointed by most of what he ate. Tragically for a venue in the heart of the pizza belt, the pizza in the Meadowlands is school lunchroom-quality. For some perverse reason, there is a stand called The Original New York Cheesesteak Company that serves a subpar version of the signature food of the Giants' mortal enemies, the Philadelphia Eagles. At New York Delicatessen, New York's famous Jewish deli sandwiches make an appearance in sad, mutated hoagie form. While some items like empanadas from Global Pies and burritos from Tacos Raqueros are flavorful and fairly priced, it's hard not to feel disappointed about MetLife's menu given the stadium's proximity to so many of the world's greatest chefs.

The food selection at Minnesota Vikings home games has some real highlights. Most of the best food comes from Twin Cities native and "Bizarre Foods" host Andrew Zimmern. He doesn't try to serve anything as strange as fire-roasted porcupine at the stadium, but his AZ Canteen does test the limits of typical stadium food by serving roasted lamb platters. The Twin Cities Pioneer Press said that the lamb was so surprisingly popular at first that the AZ Canteen had trouble keeping it in stock. Outside of the Andrew Zimmern culinary empire, the roast beef sandwich at Ike's is also a must-have.

As many hits as there are on the menu at U.S. Bank, there are some big misses too. The worst affront to good taste is the Stone Arch Pizza Co. According to the Star Tribune, this pizza stand named after a beloved Minneapolis institution shares nothing with its namesake, instead serving frozen Freschetta. At $8.50 a slice, that's pretty hard to swallow.

Aspiring Gentleman writes that Hard Rock Stadium overhauled its food menu for 2021 with the assistance of Centerplate, a foodservice company that helps venues make their concessions more upscale. Before Centerplate, the Miami Dolphins' stadium was known for an underwhelming selection of typical burgers and hot dogs. Now the arena is filled with exciting-looking options, including two outposts of David Chang's chicken sandwich concept Fuku. Miami's stalwart Southern restaurant Jackson Soul Food also serves up delicious recipes at the stadium. Beer aficionados will love the 50 brews on tap at Hard Rock, nearly 20 of which come from Miami-area breweries.

Despite the appealing list of restaurants, not everyone is happy with the food experience at Hard Rock Stadium. Several reviews on Yelp complain about excessively long wait times and surly employees. Most of the recent negative reviews came from people who attended concerts, so it's possible that the service during football games doesn't suffer from the same issues.

Bank of America Stadium is over 20 years old, but it's been getting facelifts over the past few years to bring it up to date and improve the game experience for Carolina Panthers fans. The food has been updated to match the structural improvements. Clture reports that the Panthers and Levy Restaurants reimagined the stadium's concessions in 2020 and are debuting a new slate of foods for the 2021 season.

The most exciting new food in 2021 is from Sabor Latin Street Grill and the La Caseta Pupusa stand. These branches of beloved Charlotte restaurants are bringing authentic Latin American flavor to a stadium that previously only served typical arena fare. Things start to get truly wild in the club levels, where fans can order wacky concoctions like Flamin' Hot Cheeto sushi rolls. Folks in the regular seating sections can always rely on chicken from Bojangles', which dominates the stadium with over half a dozen locations.

The Cardinals are a long-suffering franchise with a history that stretches back to the end of the 19th century and zero Super Bowl wins to show for it. State Farm Stadium has been the team's home since 2006, and it offers up a pretty good selection of eats for the Cardinals faithful. Stadium Journey says that most of the vendors in the stadium sell a similar menu of stadium classics like wings and hot dogs. In recent years, the menu has expanded to include healthier options like salads and protein boxes. If you feel like spending $24 on a hot dog you can get a 22-inch monster from Vienna Beef called the 4th and Long (via AZ Central).

The main thing this stadium is missing is more Southwest flavor. In a city with so much good Mexican food, it's strange that the concessions don't reflect the local tastes. The Phoenix restaurants that do have branches in the stadium are a Lebanese place and a gelato shop, neither of which represent the native cuisine of Arizona.

Ford Field has a couple of fan-friendly features in its food service program that make it stand out from the pack. There is a Kroger-branded convenience store called The Cooler inside the stadium that allows fans to buy reasonably-priced refreshments quickly. The stadium opens two hours before every home game, and for the first hour after the doors open fans can score killer deals on food. During this Power Hour, you can buy $2 hot dogs, $2 sodas, and $3 beer and cocktails. Even after the Power Hour is over, you can buy $5 beers and cheap combo meals as part of the team's Silver Savings initiative.

Ford Field also has futuristic ordering and payment technology (via Fox 2 Detroit). You can order food using an app on your phone and pick it up when it's ready so you don't have to miss any on-field action. There's a grab-and-go beer stand where you can just pick up a drink and automatically pay with your phone. These convenient touches are spreading throughout the NFL, which is a good thing as they improve the fan experience and streamline service.

According to Britannica, Lambeau is the oldest continuously used stadium in the NFL, and stepping inside feels like entering hallowed ground. The Packers are the only team in the league that is collectively owned by its fans, and the Wisconsin cheesehead pride runs thick at Lambeau. As you would expect, dairy is a big part of the concessions experience at the stadium, with fried cheese curds, poutine, nachos, and cheese pizza all featuring prominently (via On Milwaukee). Wisconsin is big into bratwurst too, and Lambeau offers a classic brat as well as a brat shoved inside an enormous soft pretzel.

The food in Green Bay is tasty and well-prepared, but the stadium lacks upscale options compared to many other NFL fields. The only place in the arena serving fancier fare is the 1919 Grill, which makes refined pub food. Some people might mourn the lack of fine dining at Lambeau, but we can't complain too much because the unpretentious concessions fit well with the team's working-class image.

The Steelers are one of the most successful franchises in the NFL, and their fans are incredibly passionate. Steelers fans love Heinz Stadium, and Trib Live says that Heinz is among the top-rated NFL stadiums for fan satisfaction and food quality. My 7th Inning Stretch writes that the food at Heinz doesn't compare to the best food at baseball stadiums but surpasses the fare available at most NFL games. The food at Heinz reflects the history and diversity of the Steel City, with Eastern European, Italian, and German specialties, as well as a Primanti's serving up Pittsburgh's famous french fry-topped sandwiches. Every time the Steelers score, two giant neon Heinz ketchup bottles rotate and pour red light over the stadium.

Pricing is high at Heinz compared to some other arenas. The Post-Gazette reports that the team's new signature cocktail costs almost $20, and basic items like chicken sandwiches and cauliflower tacos approach the $15 mark. Perhaps that's just the price you pay for success.

Ever since the original Browns abandoned Cleveland in 1995 to move to Baltimore and become the Ravens, the city's football fortunes have been cursed (via Stadium Journey). While the Ravens won two Super Bowls and consistently posted winning records, the replacement Browns that arrived in Cleveland in 1999 floundered, not winning a single playoff game until the 2020 season. Things are looking up under the direction of quarterback Baker Mayfield, and Browns fans have a reason to be excited to go to the stadium again.

During the years of disappointing on-field performance, FirstEnergy Stadium's food had a much better winning percentage than the football team did. Two food critics from Cleveland.com rated over 20 concession stand items at FirstEnergy and they were impressed by what they ate. A few items like the frozen pizza and stadium nachos were tasty, if a little underwhelming, but they were balanced out by awesome deals like a massive cheesesteak for $11.

Every Seahawks home game, Lumen Field hosts the 12s, Seattle slang for the crowd at the stadium. The 12s got their name because they're so loud that they act like a 12th player on the field, with their noisy cheers confusing opposing offenses so much that they commit false starts and other penalties. The 12s are so important to the Seahawks' success that the team officially retired the number 12 jersey in 1984.

Fans need fuel to give them the energy to make all that raucous noise, and on that front Lumen Field delivers. The offerings are a nice balance of stadium favorites and local icons like the fried seafood shack Ivar's. There's a notable selection of Asian food, with stands selling pork bao buns, wontons, boba tea, Panang curry, and other exotic treats you're not going to find at most American sports venues. And of course, it wouldn't be Seattle if you couldn't get Starbucks at the stadium.

Eater reports that the concessions program at the Denver Broncos' home turf went through a total makeover when the team switched from Centerplate to Aramark in 2019. Aramark introduced more partnerships with local chefs and created more vegetarian and multicultural food options for Denver fans to enjoy. James Beard Award runner-up and Denver food celebrity Frank Bonnano's FB concepts crafts many of the standout dishes, with a globe-hopping menu that includes bao buns, French dip sandwiches, and fried chicken. Westworld reports that other stadium options include Denver barbecue chain GQue Championship BBQ, which smokes succulent ribs and pulled pork, and Biker Jim's Gourmet Dogs, which serves exotic sausages.

Aramark also opened a self-serve drink bodega called Drink MKT where you can choose your own soda, beer, and wine from a fridge and check out at a counter 7-Eleven-style. You can buy whole bottles of wine from Drink MKT, a rarity at NFL stadiums.

Baltimore is a city with a vibrant food culture, and M&T Bank Stadium does a good job of representing its hometown with food. The Pratt Street Hoagie combines two Baltimore favorites in one bun, layering slices of smoked pit beef with crab dip. You can also get crab dip on a hot dog, or load up on four kinds of seafood with the Eastern Shore Seafood Salad Sandwich (via The Baltimore Sun). Stadium Journey notes that M&T took a page from Mercedes-Benz Stadium's book and cut prices on many of their basic food and drink offerings. Ravens representative Deandra Duggins told Penn Live that "A family of four would have to pay around $66 to eat in the stadium before, and now it will only cost $44."

The combination of taste and value at M&T Bank Stadium has won over Ravens fans, as reviews on TripAdvisor show. The reviews that mention the food are almost uniformly positive, even from people who came to the stadium to root for Ravens rivals.

Much like MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, this field is located far away from its team's purported hometown. Levi's Stadium is in Santa Clara County about 40 miles away from San Francisco. Despite the distance, the food menu at Levi's plays the greatest hits of San Francisco's food scene skillfully. The stadium offers 49ers fans an almost dizzying variety of options. The Bay Area is renowned for Asian cuisine, and Levi's delivers those flavors with stands like The Chairman, which steams up meat and tofu-filled bao buns, and the Korean-inspired Bulgogi Cheesesteak. Many global cuisines show up at Levi's, from Hawaiian poke bowls to pit-smoked barbecue to New York-style deli meats.

Even the familiar stadium staples like chicken fingers are prepared thoughtfully at Levi's, made with fresh chicken and breaded by hand. The attention to detail sets Levi's apart from the average NFL stadium, and makes it worth braving the vicious traffic in Silicon Valley to pay it a visit.

The Sporting News reports that the promise of a shiny new stadium was one of the things that brought the Raiders to Las Vegas for the 2020 season. Allegiant stadium is definitely a step up from the crumbling Oakland Coliseum, and its food offerings are fitting for a famously over-the-top food city like Las Vegas. Even the in-house vendors like Silver & Black Hospitality cook deluxe dishes like deep-fried lobster tempura (via Las Vegas Review-Journal). The stadium's collaborations with chefs and mixologists push the luxury level even higher with signature cocktails and dishes from casino resort kitchens. The Stadium Reviews writes that Allegiant also has a double dose of Food Network star power, with concepts from Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken of "Too Hot Tamales" fame and, of course, Guy Fieri.

While the more elaborate dishes grab most of the attention, Allegiant also has a solid menu of bargain-friendly foods for budget-conscious fans. Snacks like hot dogs, popcorn, pretzels, and nachos all cost only $3, which is shockingly affordable by NFL standards.

By 2017, American sports fans had grown accustomed to getting ripped off when they went to see their favorite teams play in person. Concession prices kept going up and up, and going to a game was becoming financially inaccessible to some families. The Falcons changed everything when they made a selection of the food and beverages at their new Mercedes-Benz stadium dramatically cheaper (via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Atlanta said goodbye to the days of double-digit beer prices and six-dollar hot dogs and hello to shockingly fair prices on stadium basics. The Falcons' bold move made other NFL franchises look greedy in comparison and sent several teams scrambling to unveil competing value menus at their stadiums.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes that the Mercedes-Benz stadium kitchens are no slouch when it comes to premium chef-driven stadium food either, but the affordable snack and beverage program is the clear star of the stadium's concessions. By starting the value menu trend in NFL stadiums, the Falcons helped football fans in cities across the country.

Arrowhead Stadium has been hosting Chiefs games since the early '70s, and it's really become part of the fabric of Kansas City. KC is one of the world's greatest barbecue meccas, and Arrowhead honors that tradition by incorporating barbecue into a wide swathe of its dishes. Barbecue traditionalists will want to visit Kansas City standby Gates BBQ, which has been smoking meat in the city since the mid-40s. If you want a more adventurous barbecue presentation, head to the Mac Shack to gorge on burnt end mac and cheese (via Couple in the Kitchen). True meat fiends can try to finish the State Line BBQ Stack, a quivering pile of pork belly, smoked turkey, brisket, sausage, and more on buns made out of corn pudding.

You may not emerge from Arrowhead with your gastrointestinal health intact, but you'll enjoy every smoky, fatty bite you eat there. It gives you the true flavors of its hometown, which many stadiums fail to accomplish.

Matt Haines at Nola.com says that many Saints fans dismiss the food at the Superdome, saying they never eat there. If that's true, it must be because New Orleans residents are spoiled for good food, because the selections at the Superdome would be the envy of most other NFL franchises. The most-recommended dish at the stadium is the jambalaya, a Creole specialty that combines rice, tomatoes, chicken, and sausage into the ultimate stadium food. Po' boys, the Louisiana version of hoagies, are always a dependable choice, no matter if you choose the classic shrimp or the adventurous alligator (via My 7th Inning Stretch). If you want something a little wilder, the indulgent Louisiana Cajun pasta will do a great job at absorbing the booze from the "ripped" (with alcohol) lemonade.

The Superdome delivers everything you could want from America's foremost party city. It has strong drinks, rich food, and a raucous atmosphere. You might not remember your evening at the Superdome, but you'll have a grand old time while you're there.

As CowboysWire writes, this stadium, colloquially named "Jerry World" after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, is like a theme park dedicated to NFL football. It's enormous, with a standing-room capacity of over 100,000 people, and its massive LCD screen was at one point the largest in the world (via ZDNet). The stadium is as ambitious with its food offerings as it is with its size and technology. Everything about the food screams Texas, with dishes like chicken-fried steak, Fritos burgers, and chicken-and-waffles sandwiches hammering home the flavors of the Lone Star State. Asian-influenced dishes and street tacos acknowledge the diversity of Texas' food landscape.

Fans with access to the club levels get treated to a whole different level of luxury, with local meat and produce purveyors supplying a farm-to-table gastropub menu. If you want to eat at Jerry World, be prepared to shell out some cash. Stadium Journey warns that everything at the stadium is relatively expensive.

Not to be outdone by its flashy Texas neighbor, Houston's NRG stadium channels the essence of the city's exciting food culture into one of the most impressive menus in any NFL stadium. Houston's complex history of settlement and immigration has produced a uniquely diverse restaurant scene, with influences from Cajuns, Vietnamese immigrants, Mexican-Americans, and African-American soul food (via Thrillist).

TripAdvisor reviewers report that the food at NRG is hard to beat, although it does come at a high price. The menu runs the full spectrum of Houston's food traditions, incorporating Cajun-Creole Louisiana classics, barbecue, Tex-Mex, and Asian-American food (via Chron.com). If you've never had barbecue in Texas before, it really is better than in most parts of the country. Visiting fans should definitely check out NRG's barbecue Frito pie and the HTX Brisket Melt to get a taste of real Texas barbecue. Tex-Mex aficionados will find a lot to like at NRG as well, with well-executed street tacos, empanadas, and taquitos.

No NFL stadium does a better job at representing its city's food than Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field. It embraces Philly stereotypes by serving cheesesteaks and soft pretzels, and it does the city proud by preparing excellent versions of these street cart classics. Philly sports bar Chickies and Petes' earns rave reviews for its stand at the stadium that serves fries tossed in Old Bay seasoning and drizzled with homemade cheese sauce. The crabby fries are so successful that Chickies and Petes have expanded from Lincoln Financial Field to other pro sports stadiums. The Eagles have also partnered with several small businesses from the Philadelphia area, including the city's first black-owned brewery. The organization's dedication to its home city has rewarded fans with the most authentic local food experience of any NFL arena.

The Linc's concessions even impressed Rachael Ray, who featured sandwiches from the stadium on an episode of her talk show. The episode was almost derailed because her guest, David Boreanaz (a Philly native), was rendered speechless by a delicious meatball hoagie. The Philadelphia stadium experience has come a long way since the days of throwing snowballs at Santa Claus (via The Daily Pennsylvanian).