The Houston Astros have made significant improvements to the concessions at Minute Maid Park in recent years. Fans now have quite a few options at the ballpark. Minute Maid Park has lots of unique offerings for fans to try, and there are plenty of stands that serve up Texas classics from BBQ to tacos. We’ll walk you through some of the concessions highlights at Minute Maid Park so you can find the food you are looking for. And in case you are thirsty, we’ll show you where some of the most popular bars in Minute Maid Park are as well.
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Food Concessions at Minute Maid Park
The renovation of the Centerfield area ahead of the 2017 season created space for new concessions at Minute Maid Park. In Centerfield, you’ll find Shake Shack and Pluckers. At Shake Shack, you’ll find a menu highlighted by the standard classics like the Shack Burger and Chick’n Shack. It also serves the Astros Blast concrete. The Astros Blast features vanilla frozen custard blended with chocolate truffle cookie dough, “shattered” sugar cone and chocolate sprinkles.
In 2019, Texas-based Pluckers Wing Bar opened up a stand across the concourse from Shake Shack. Pluckers serves up their most popular wing flavors as well as their popular waffle fries. It has quickly become a fan favorite.
BBQ Highlights
However, a trip to a Texas ballpark would not be complete without BBQ. And Minute Maid has one of the BBQ options that can be found in any MLB ballpark.
Local barbecue legend Ronnie Killen opened up a stand in Minute Maid Park ahead of the 2021. It is located right behind the new Michelob Ultra Bar Patio on the 300 level.
Armed with a custom-built smoker, the stand offers a full-array of barbecue, including sliced beef, chopped beef, sliced turkey and sausage. A highlight on the menu is definitely the Home Run sandwich. The Home Run sandwich is built with brisket, pulled pork, sausage, and a slice of turkey breast. That all adds up to a sandwich with over 1lb of meat!
You can find more information on the new Killen’s stand here.
Pro Tip: If you want concessions from one of the popular stands, either get to the ballpark a bit early or wait until the middle innings. Otherwise, the lines can get a bit long and you’ll risk missing some of the action on the field.
Other Concession Stand Highlights
While Minute Maid Park has added plenty of great brand-name concessions in recent years, no trip to a ballpark would be complete without a hot dog or two. Downtown Dogs, located behind sections 111 and 431, is the place to go if you like your hot dogs with a little extra flourish. The highlights here are the Frito Pie Chili Dog, the Bayou City Hot Dog (topped with smoked pork burnt ends), and the H-Town Dog, which is topped with BBQ chopped brisket.
But if you prefer your hot dogs prepared the classic way, don’t miss out on $1 Hot Dog Night. The Astros have $1 Hot Dog Night every Tuesday Night. The regular-sized hot dogs are just $1. You can find the dogs at many concession stands. The Astros also open up satellite stands across the ballpark to make it easy for you to fill up.
The Astros have also introduced several new concessions at Minute Maid Park ahead of the 2022 season. The highlight is the introduction of El Tiempo on the Minute Maid Park Mezzanine. This new stand will feature El Tiempo’s classics like fajita beef, chicken, and carnitas tacos made on site. You will also be able to snag frozen margaritas.
A full list of the concession stands at Minute Maid Park is available here.
Beverage Options
The Astros have dramatically expanded beverage availability across the Ballpark in recent years.
One of the first craft beer additions to the ballpark was the St. Arnold Bar. It is located behind the Crawford Boxes in left field. When you survey the taps, you’ll find an extensive selection of beers from Houston’s oldest craft brewery.
The Centerfield Market is actually a hidden gem for beer and wine. It has a huge variety of packaged beer and also sells bottles of wine. Because the lines are shorter here, this is an ideal spot to do a quick beer run.
As you venture to the upper levels, the new Hornito’s Tequila Bar on the Mezzanine features beer, cocktails, and teuqila, including El Tiempo’s signature margarita on the rocks.
Once you get to the top level, you’ll find the Karbach Bar behind section 406 and the new Michelob Ultra Bar. The Ultra Bar is a full 360 degree service bar with an amazing view of the downtown Houston skyline.
Lastly, if you’re looking for liquor, the 100-level concourse also has several portable locations with premixed cocktails sold in souvenir mugs.
Can You Bring Food to Minute Maid Park?
If you don’t feel like getting food at the ballpark, the Astros do allow fans to bring outside food into Minute Maid Park. However, it must be inside a single clear, plastic 1-gallon sized bag. You can also bring in one clear, factory-sealed, plastic water bottle that is 1-liter or less.
Pro Tip: If you’re going with friends and everyone wants something like pulled pork sandwiches, one friend could fill their bag with buns and another could fill theirs with the pull pork. Just sayin’…
Making the Return Trip to Minute Maid Park
Hopefully this guide helps you have a fun time eating and drinking at Minute Maid Park. And when you want to make a return trip, remember that SimpleSeats is the place for Houston sports fans to buy tickets at the lowest prices. SimpleSeats does not charge any fees, ever. If you are looking for discounted tickets to your favorite Houston sports teams like the Astros, SimpleSeats has you covered. Our low prices will save you 20% or more compared to other ticketing sites.