10 Best NBA And NHL Arena Eats Slideshow
Home to the Sacramento Kings, Arco Arena (renamed the "Power Balance Pavilion" last March) boasts one of the best buffets around. Located behind section 204, Skyline has an exquisite buffet. A sample menu of the buffet includes a salad bar, antipasti platter, fresh fruit display, assorted rolls and butter, assorted cheeses served with crackers, walnut and pear salad, wild mushroom ragout, asparagus polonaise, roasted potatoes, a sauté station with Caribbean pasta and rock shrimp, a carving station with olive oil and rosemary beef sirloin with an apple brandy sauce, and a dessert station. Get there an hour before the game and prepare for a food coma that lasts into the second half!
9. Jambalaya at Centerplate — New Orleans Arena (New Orleans)
Lucky enough to have a suite for a Hornets game at the New Orleans Arena? Make sure to grab the jambalaya, the New Orleans staple consisting of andouille sausage, chicken, and rice in a Creole sauce. Because meals are meant to be split 12 ways, consider adding New Orleans gumbo, crawfish étoufée, or blackened catfish to your tab.
7. Prime Rib Sandwich at The Prime Rib — Madison Square Garden (New York City)
Scoreboard Gourmet calls this sandwich the best food in the "World's Most Famous Arena," home to the Knicks and Rangers. Meanwhile, offering some consolation to worried Knicks fans in his 2008 season preview, SI's Paul Forrester wrote, "The Garden still has perhaps the best prime rib sandwich of any arena in the country."
5. Poutine Hot Dog at Burkie’s Dog House — The Air Canada Centre (Toronto)
Home to the Maple Leafs and Raptors, The Air Canada Centre features a hot dog topped with poutine, the Canadian delicacy consisting of french fries, gravy, and cheese curds (basically, all the good stuff). If feeling particularly gluttonous, pick up another dog at Burkie's Dog House, like the Southern BBQ topped with smoky barbecue pulled pork and creamy coleslaw, or the Reuben Hot Dog that comes with sauerkraut, Swiss, and Thousand Island dressing.
3. Barbecue Brisket Nachos at Chef’s Corners — American Airlines Center (Dallas)
Home to the NHL Stars and the NBA champion Mavericks, the American Airlines Center features Platinum Level bars and restaurants such as Beers of the World, Margarita Bar, and The Lounge. The commoners, meanwhile, have a pretty good selection to choose from, including the el Jimador Tequila Bar and Chef's Corners. Other choices at Chef's Corners include the smoked prime rib sandwich and nacho chicken quesadilla.
2. Wild Copper River Sockeye Salmon Fish Tacos — Pyramid Tap Room, The Rose Garden (Portland, Ore.)
Pyramid, which operates breweries in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Berkeley, Calif., opened its alehouse in The Rose Garden before the Trailblazers' 2007-2008 season. Try the salmon tacos, which are marinated in salsa verde and served in warm corn tortillas (that's right, the right way to make tacos) with chipotle-lime sour cream, cabbage, pico de gallo, and Southwestern style black beans, with a Pyramid Haywire Hefeweizen, the 2009 gold medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival.
6. Dessert Cart — Staples Center (Los Angeles)
If you're lucky enough to be in a suite for a Lakers, Clippers, or Kings game at the Staples Center, you will not be able to stop talking about the famous dessert cart when you leave. With choices including candied apples, carrot cake, Snickers pie, apple and banana tart, and rockslide brownie bars, your sweet tooth will be satiated. Its no wonder that on The Daily Meals list of the Best Stadium Luxury Box Food Spreads, one commenter wrote, The Dessert Cart at Staples is to die for!!!! Best thing going.
8. Beef Medallions at Blue Sky Grill — Pepsi Center (Denver)
Headed by executive chef Weston Schroeder, Blue Sky Grillin the Pepsi Center seeks to capture the ambiance of a mountain lounge. Before a Nuggets or Avalanche game, head to Blue Sky for the beef medallions beef shoulder tender cut, saffron risotto, roasted asparagus, and cabernet sauce with a balsamic reduction. If you arent in the mood for red meat, you could pick up pan-seared sea bass, herb-crusted salmon, wild mushroom crpes, or sea scallops.
4. Crab Fries at Chickie and Pete’s — Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia)
Chickie and Petes, which recently came in at number three on a list of The Daily Meal's Best Sports Bars in America Slideshow, has a shop set up in the Wells Fargo Center, home of the Flyers and 76ers. The crab fries are outstanding perfect, perhaps as a complement to Campos Authentic Philly Cheesesteak.
1. Maine Lobster Mac and Cheese at Ketel One Club — United Center (Chicago)
Operated by Levy Restaurants, the members only Ketel One Club is located across from section 119 in the home of the Bulls and Blackhawks. This dish consists of cavatappi pasta tossed in a rich cheese sauce with Maine lobster, and is topped with toasted breadcrumbs. Ketel Ones menu also features grilled skirt steak, deep seared calamari, and pappardelle with barolo-braised short ribs.