This season’s highlights include chicken adobo tacos, soul food bowls with Cajun corn, and hot toffee nuts
After a delayed home opener, baseball season is back in full swing at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. Friday, April 8, the Twins lost their opening game to the Seattle Mariners in a 2-1 defeat — but beyond the drama on the pitch, Minnesota baseball fans have a whole season of exciting new dining options from local restaurants and food vendors to enjoy in 2022.
Target Field has long made it a point to partner with local Twin Cities chefs and restaurants — from classic establishments to evolving pop-ups — and the 2022 roster is no exception. This season, look forward to chicken adobo tacos from La Tapatia, a family-run Mexican restaurant, hefty Italian grinders from Upcycle Foods, new menus from Hot Indian and Soul Bowl, old favorites like Mac’s walleye baskets, and more.
New this season, Target Field has built a new venue inside Gate Six. Simply called “The Market,” this self-serve area is outfitted with a gigantic, walk-in cooler, where spectators can saunter in (after having their IDs checked at the door), grab a canned beer or beverage, and zip through the self-checkout line. (A bold plan for a rowdy seventh-inning crowd? TBD.) The Market also offers hot food and grab-and-go items. Here’s a complete guide to other exciting food developments at Target Field this year.
These hand pies are dense and flavorful — but perhaps most importantly, in a bustling baseball stadium, they are eminently portable. Chef Jason Drysdale tucks chicken wild rice stew and sloppy Joe mix into neat crusts that fit in the palm of your hand. The fillings are an excellent savory complement to the heavy dough. Grab some near Section 126.
Mac’s — a Twin Cities establishment since 1991, and a longtime presence at Target Field — will continue serving its hand-battered walleye baskets with French fries and jalapeno-lime tartar sauce at Townball Tavern. Mac’s is known around the Cities as an understated spot for quality fried seafood: its walleye filets are sweet and flakey, and the tartar sauce provides a piquant bite.
Roots for the Home Team founder Sue Moore is back for a tenth year as Target Field’s resident salad slinger: when you’ve had enough of the fried food and the beer, head to Section 101 for a bowl (think toasted chickpeas on rice with lima beans, chopped cilantro, carrots, and vinaigrette.) Roots uses ingredients grown and harvested by local farmers and hires youth workers, who benefit from a robust mentorship program.
The team behind this family-run Mexican street food restaurant is serving adobo chicken tacos wrapped in two pillowy corn tortillas this season near section 109. Choose street-style, garnished with lime and pico, or Cali-style, with sauce, shredded lettuce, and tomatoes. Both are expertly seasoned — the chicken is tender from its juices and served piping hot.
A newcomer to Target Field, this family-run business is offering a selection of small-batch roasted nuts and other treats to The Market near Section 126. The toffee peanuts are a fitting ballpark accompaniment — for a more savory bite, try the hot nuts or a snack mix.
These Italian grinders by former Target Field chef Scott Vanden Broecke are generously stacked with capocollo, mortadella, ham, salami, and provolone, finished with a layer of tomato and greens. Notably, Upcycle uses spent grains — a by-product of beer-making, and a large portion of breweries’ total food waste — from local breweries to make its pretzel buns. The result is a balanced, airy, lightly yeasty bun. Find these sandwiches at Truly on Deck.
Blue Door — a big player in the Cities’ burger arena — will be serving its Pat McDonough’s Cease and Desist burger at Target Field this season. Adjacent to the Big Mac, this burger is topped with white and yellow American cheese, lettuce, onions, and tangy ‘Merican sauce. Blue Door’s burgers are famously thick, and the Cease and Desist is no exception. Grab one near Gate 34.
A longtime resident at Target Field, chef Gerard Klass of Soul Bowl is back for the season with a new food lineup: try the Henry sandwich, made on a potato roll with barbecue-braised beef, or the summer bowl: Cajun corn, mac and cheese, and barbecue-braised beef. (The bowl is a standout: the mac and cheese is exceptionally creamy and well-seasoned, and the Cajun corn adds a bit of sweetness to each bite.) Stop by Section 112.
This grilled cheese sandwich — the official grilled cheese of Target Field, in fact— is made in-house at the Food Building, which is home to Baker’s Field Flour & Bread, Alemar Cheese Company, and Red Table Meat Co. If you’re in search of a gooey cheese pull, grab one near Section 126.
Turkey to Go is back for the season, offering succulent turkey sandwiches at the concession stand next to Hrbek’s near Section 114. Turkey To Go made its name as a state fair stand, serving turkey legs and sandwiches that defy all expectations with their juiciness — they’ve long been a Target Field mainstay.
This Twins season, Chef Janene Holig and owner Amol Dixit of Hot Indian are serving a new menu at their stand near Section 122. The chicken tikka — a chicken breast marinated in yogurt, simmered in tomato curry, served on a bed of nutty brown rice and garnished with pappadum, cilantro, and slaw — is an excellent choice to fill up on mid-game. Vegans can try the chana masala, a fragrant chickpea curry, with the same sides.