Minute Maid Park food lovers come out as winners — no matter the score Minute Maid Park food lovers come out as winners — no matter the score

Last Oct. 3, while the Houston Astros were cleaning out their lockers and promising “wait’ll next year,” the Aramark team of hot dog vendors, beer pullers and burger flippers was meeting in Minute Maid Park, preparing its menu for the 2011 baseball season.

“We start getting ready for next year right after the last pitch to the last batter,” said Mat Drain, the Potentate of Pulled Pork for Aramark caterers in Minute Maid Park.

“We have our department heads from concessions, culinary, restaurants and suites sit around a table, and we start throwing out ideas and plotting things. It’s pretty loose. We’re always looking out for the next big thing that will appeal to fans,” Drain said.

Concession stands will be staffed and stocked Friday night when the Astros play their home opener against the Florida Marlins.

Of course, there are absolute must-eats, such as hot dogs and nachos.

The Astros sell about 10,000 franks, and 3,000 orders of nachos per games. But fans are fussier these days. They are more demanding. They want restaurant-quality food and a greater selection of treats. Gone are the days and nights when fans ate at home or a restaurant before the game and maybe grabbed a dog to tide them over till the ninth inning. Now the ballpark is the restaurant, and it takes more than just peanuts and popcorn to keep the customer satisfied. And full.

Two events changed the food scene at Major League Baseball games — the construction of Camden Yards in Baltimore in 1992 and the introduction of the Food Network in 1993.

Camden Yards was the first new retro-style stadium — it looked old but had every modern convenience and the best food in the Majors. Camden Yards made a point of elevating baseball food to gourmet status. They had hot dogs, sure, but they also had excellent local cuisine such as crab cakes and beer-battered soft-shell crab sandwiches. Former Oriole slugger Boog Powell had a barbecue booth that drew raves from finicky food critics.

Then the Food Network boosted chefs to celebrity-status, and they all showed that hot dogs and hamburgers could be “kicked up notches unknown to mankind,” as Emeril Lagasse demonstrated.

Fans don’t want popcorn that was popped last week. They want it fresh. They don’t want warm dogs. They’re called hot dogs for a reason. Minute Maid Park has four huge kitchen areas: on the main concourse, the FiveSeven Grille, the Diamond Club and suite level. Every concession stand has a smaller food-prep area, too.

Drain and Aramark contacted Houston celebrity chef Bryan Caswell, owner of Reef and Little Bigs restaurants. Caswell is known for wearing a retro orange Astros cap, so the partnership was natural.

Caswell will have two food stations on the main concourse, a Little Bigs sliders booth and El Real fajitas. Caswell will be walking around the stadium during most games. He’s easy to spot. He’s wearing a chef’s jacket and a ball cap.

Caswell also will prepare special menus for suites and private parties. Drain and his counterparts from 12 other Aramark big league stadiums have a conference call each month to talk about new items, what’s working and what’s not selling as expected.

A big seller in Houston, but not in other ballparks, is the stuffed baked potato: a big baker with butter, sour cream, grated cheese and chopped brisket in barbecue sauce. They’re messy and fattening. They’re so popular at Minute Maid Park that Aramark will have an extra cart selling just stuffed baked potatoes this season.

Another big seller unique to Houston: “I’ve never seen people love hot dogs with chili and cheese like they do here,” Drain said.

“Baseball is different from other sports in that it’s slower, so fans don’t mind waiting an extra minute or two for freshly prepared food at the concession stand. We have to give them food that is restaurant-quality and still a reasonable value.

We continually compare our menu and prices with other stadiums and entertainment venues to stay competitive,” Drain said.

So stand to the side and wait for your Chicken Enchilada Mac ’n’ Cheese at the Big League Macaroni Company booth behind Section 106. They’ll also have Taco Mac ’n’ Cheese and Rustic Tomato Mac ’n’ Cheese. There will be plain old Mac ’n’ Cheese for kids, too.

Minute Maid Park’s full-time executive chef Jason Kohler has created two new sandwiches for the carvery behind Section 156. They are the Texas Tom Turkey Sandwich and Hill Country Pork Hoagie. Both will be sliced from whole roasts and put together after you order it. They’re $11, including chips and a pickle.

Not cheap. Quality costs.

You want Prince’s hamburgers, Papa John’s pizza and Blue Bell ice cream? Sure you do. Surveys and research show that Houston fans are loyal to name products.

Loyalty doesn’t come cheap, either.

Even plain old hot dogs have been gussied up. The Extreme Hot Dogs booth will be behind Section 154, featuring upscale Diablo Dogs, Chicago Dogs, Coney Island Dogs and the Ken Hoffman New York Hot Dog with mustard and sauerkraut.

(Warning: I will demand that my name be taken off the menu if Minute Maid Park doesn’t pull whatever mustard is currently on the Ken Hoffman New York Dog and replace it with spicy brown mustard. I suffer for my mustard.)