× Expand Photographs by Caitlin Abrams Allianz Field

Two stadium tours in one season?! We are happy to tackle the hard work of eating stadium food so that you know where to allocate those precious monies.

Allianz Field, the shiny new home of our new-ish Major League Soccer team, Minnesota United, is a looker. In fact, it just might be one of the most gorgeous stadiums we've seen. And that's great because, even though they're only a few games into their third MLS season, early results indicate this just might be a squad ready to contend. Which is why we feel fine about delivering a Get-It/Skip-It/Your-Call guide from the media day. But just this once.

What's really cool about this stadium, and their approach to food, is that it's kind of a blank slate. We know what baseball food is supposed to be (hot dogs and pretzels) and what football food is supposed to be (nachos and wings), but what is soccer food supposed to be? That edge makes all the difference as this organization moves to feed their hungry hordes. How great that they landed in this neighborhood that is so diverse and multicultural, because so is the world's sport. They've worked hard to bring in food from local vendors that mirrors their new home, and that benefits the eater. Sambusas and esquites at a stadium? It's about blessed time.

So let's get at it, here are the things we ate at the preview, there's not a nutmeg amongst them.

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Brew Hall

The Brew Hall is the full service pub on the north end of the stadium. It has a whopping 96 taps serving lots of local beer both inside and (when the garage doors are open to the field) outside. There are plenty of screens to broadcast your favorite premier league games, and we plan to wear down this bar during the Women's World Cup this summer, because this pub will be open on non-game days. And there's foosball. You don't need a ticket to come to the Brew Hall on game days either, but you can't go in the stadium or up on the roof-deck without one. In addition to the three things we tried below, there are also warm pretzel bites, chicken tenders, and a Kramarczuk brat on the brew hall's menu.

× Expand Allianz Field Brew Hall MyBurger

MyBurger Double Burger

Steph March: Get it. This was a good burger. Not something you can only get here, but if you're sitting here watching some footie with a cold draft next to you, this is a good burger to have in your hands.

Drew Wood: Get it. As fast burger concepts go I've always thought that MyBurger is one of the best (and, they're local), so I was predisposed to like this burger. And I did. But what I like most about it is, these guys know how to crank out good burgers quickly—it's literally the whole point of MyBurger—so I'm confident they're going to be able to keep up with the demand at what I'm sure is going to be a very busy spot on game days.

× Expand Allianz Field Brew Hall Pub Nachos

Brisket Pub Nachos

SM: Get it. I'm really never mad at nachos with smoked beef brisket, pub cheese, and crispy jalapeños and bacon.

DW: Get it. What's not to like about nachos covered in well-prepared brisket and PUB CHEESE, again? Nothing whatsoever.

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Wild Rice Salad

SM: Your call. You know, it was fine. It's a salad. It's like a free throw from the midline. I did like the goat cheese.

DW: Your call. Only because salad.

Concession Stands

Hungry Loon

× Expand Allianz Field Handsome Hog BBQ Sandwich

Handsome Hog Carolina BBQ Pork Sandwich

SM: Get it. Chef Justin Sutherland brought his pulled pork game. That sandwich is both easy to make and efficient for crowds, and it's damn delicious. Please take a moment, when you're about to bite, to appreciate the quality of that bun. It has the perfect squish.

DW: Get it. It's almost cheating that Sutherland's contribution to this taste test is one of his personal specialities. But, then, almost cheating isn't actually cheating, so I'll allow it. Plus, there's brilliance in delivering a sandwich that merely has to be assembled by the concessions staff and not actually cooked by them. Way less room for error.

× Expand Allianz Field Hungry Loon Pretzel

Pretzel & Cheese

SM: Your Call. I love me some salty dough, but I feel like I want to protect my gut space for other things here that aren't just a lot of dough. If you neeeeeeeeed a pretz, by all means, get this pretz.

DW: Your call. Not because this was a bad pretzel and cheese—it most assuredly was not—or because I am personally adverse to pretzels and cheese—I am most assuredly not—but simply because everything else is so good here that do you really want to waste space that could be taken up by something from Brasa or Hot Indian Foods or Cecil's?

Brasa

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Signature/Vegetarian Burrito

SM: Get it. You may be asking yourself: Wait, does Brasa do burritos? Well yes and no. They DO do burritos for themselves in the kitchen, with all those deliciously well-raised ingredients laying around. Alex Roberts has decided to share, by bringing their kitchen crew's best eats to the stadium. Honor that.

DW: Get it. When one of the great chefs in the upper Midwest declares that his resto makes burritos all the time, but they just never share them with customers, and then he decides, at last, to finally sell those exact burritos, YOU BUY THOSE BURRITOS ... And eat them all.

Nice Slice

× Expand Allianz Field MN Slice

Freschetta Pepperoni Pizza

SM: Skip it. You have one of these in your freezer, eat it later when you get home. Unless your kid is about to throw a conniption.

DW: Skip It. I agree with Steph. With so much awesome food here, unless your kid is having a pizza or die moment, you've gotta skip the frozen pizza. (NOTE: If said frozen pizza ever becomes Heggie's, it is quite possible my tune would change.)

World's Fare

× Expand Allianz Field Kramarczuk's Lamb Sausage

Kramarczuk's Lamb Sausage

SM: Get it. What an upgrade! A lamb merguez sausage at a sporting event is a beautiful new day.

DW: Get it. This is not the Kramarczuk's stadium sausage you are used to and that fact only makes it better.

× Expand Allianz Field Afro Deli Sambusa

Afro Deli Veggie Sambusa

SM: Get it. Sambusas? YES. How do you not plow down a few boats full of these spicy lentil jammed pockets? That green sauce on the side will light you up.

DW: Get it. I'm pretty sure quality sambusas could bring about total world peace if we let them. And, yeah, that green sauce is flame.

Hot Indian

× Expand Allianz Field Hot Indian Channa Bowl

Chicken Tikka Masala/Vegan Channa Rice Bowl

SM: Get it. Done and done. See our rave on this from the Twins stadium, every year since they've been there.

DW: Get it. The complex flavors and biting spice are interesting and dynamic and lively in all the ways that soccer isn't. KIDDING. KIDDING. Seriously, just kidding. (It's late, OK?!)

Global Street Grill

× Expand Allianz Field El Burrito Mercado Tacos al Pastor

El Burrito Mercado Tacos Al Pastor

SM: Get it. El Burrito knows tacos. These are solidly delicious and simply constructed to give max flavor without all the silly bells and whistles.

DW: Get it. Did we really think that El Burrito was going to mess up the street taco? NO WE DID NOT. (And, for the record, no they did not.) So, so good. And how perfect for palming while you walk through a busy stadium concourse.

× Expand Allianz Field El Burrito Mercado Esquites

El Burrito Mercado Esquites

SM: Get it. This is eloté in a cup. Sweet kernals of corn dolloped with mayo and then showered with cotija cheese and tajin spicy salt. So much easier than a cob. Likely it will be gone before you get back to your seat.

DW: Get it. Did you know that eloté could get better? I for one, did not. But it turns out the simple act of shaving the corn off the cob and then heaping the mayo-ey goodness that's typically slathered around it, atop it, does, in fact, make it better...Especially when you take a spoonful and spread it onto your taco. (<<< PRO-TIP)

Los Ocampo

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Gourmet Nachos

SM: Get it. They gave us the full serving size and I have to say that's a lotta nacho. That's a heavy boat full of chips, real guac, refried beans, jalapeños, sour cream, and either chicken or beef. Now if we can somehow wrangle the Los Ocampos guys to bring one of their machete tacos to the stands: GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLLLL!

DW: Get it. I mean, it's no machete taco, but it's not nothing.

West Indies Soul Food

× Expand Allianz Field West Indies Jerk Chicken Wings

Jerk Chicken Wings

SM: Get it. It's damn refreshing not to have a battered wing, sometimes you want that meat and sauce to hit the high notes without all that soaked in fry-oil taste. Also: the jerk sauce was outstanding and perfectly rounded in its mouth kick.

DW: Get it. What she said (sorry, too busy eating tasty wings).

× Expand Allianz Field West Indies Jamaican MNi Me's

Jamaican MNi Me's

SM: Get it. Again, portable pockets of food seem to make me happy, so I feel like I'm winning all day long here. These spicy beef babies have a softer, breadier dough than the sambusas and it ends up being like a beautiful meat muffin. I got the jerk sauce on it and loved it, but try the BBQ sauce too.

DW: Get it. How do I describe these lil' fellas. I mean, from a little ways away I thought they were like a cornbread muffin or something, but, oh man, they were so much more than that. Can't go wrong with either sauce.

Cafe Beignet

× Expand Cafe Beignet Buttered Tin

Buttered Tin Twinkie & Soccer Ball Cookie

SM: Get it. Buttered Tin makes things that are both cute and delicious. That custom Twinkie makes you believe that there actually can be a Twinkie that doesn't taste like wax. It's almost light and airy enough to make you think it's healthy in some sort of universe.

DW: Get it. You haven't lived until you've eaten a Twinkie made by a place that uses real ingredients to make real food.

Fry Club

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Cheese Curds and Irish Stout Fish & Chips

SM: Your call. The bigs giving us the tour mentioned that they were looking for a local vendor to work with them on the fish. For a standard piece of fried fish, this was pretty good. There was real Guinness flavor in the batter and it came out crisp, but I am hoping for something better down the road (like Anchor!). Curds? You know.

DW: Your call. They make a quality curd, I would just rather have a greater ratio of fried surface area to cheese, than the enormous size of these provides.

North Star Deli

× Expand Allianz Field Cecil's Hot Pastrami Sandwich

Cecil's Hot Pastrami Sandwich

SM: Get it. Granted, we were freezing our boots off as it started snowing so a hot pastrami on rye was like a gift from the smoked meat cherubs. But I would house this sandwich from Cecil's on a sunny day too.

DW: Get it. And then, once you realize how good their stadium food cart hot pastrami is, go to the brick and mortar Cecil's to discover actual hot pastrami Valhalla.

So there it is, team! Get excited for some action on the pitch and plan to catch a game soon! This Saturday's home opener is sold out, but there are still tix left for the 4/24 game against the LA Galaxy!