Dodgers Opening Day Food
10 tasty, affordable places to eat nearby The author suggests that while Dodger Dogs are the main draw for opening day games, there are excellent alternatives. Restaurants within a mile or two of the stadium can be found such as a pork bulgogi roll featuring a house-made marinade, a tasty under-the-radar bahn-mi served from a tiny storefront, or a cult-like smashburger. The author suggests ordering ahead and having a passenger jump out to pick up the food while the driver circles the block, allowing for a tailgate in the Dodgers parking lot. Other notable restaurants include Simón, a food truck parked in Sunset Triangle Plaza, a casual restaurant with a mention in the Michelin Guide.
Published : a month ago by in Sports Lifestyle
Chef owner Francisco Aguilar of Simón puts the finishing touches on a fish al pastor taco: Look for the cobalt blue food truck on Sunset Boulevard.
Why now: Because while we'd never talk smack about Dodger Dogs, if you're gonna head to a game at some point this season, we do think there are excellent alternatives just down the street.
Why it matters: Do you really want to eat average food when you could be eating gems like a pork bulgogi roll featuring a house-made marinade, a tasty under-the-radar bahn-mi served from a tiny storefront, or a smashburger which has reached cult-like status?
There is nothing quite like opening day at Dodger Stadium. Seats packed with people who called in sick, the palm trees, the sunshine.
If you're lucky enough to have game tickets this season, I suggest you make a day of it: Get there early and go to one of the great restaurants within a mile or two of the stadium. Consider it the fuel you'll need to get through the traffic into the stadium, and the trek to your seats (which is when you'll start wondering why you didn't take the Dodger Stadium Express.)
I put this list together with a special eye for those driving to the game, and meals that travel well, since time, traffic and parking are always issues in L.A.
So consider ordering ahead, and have a passenger jump out to pick up the food while the driver circles the block — and no one has to pay for parking. And then you can have your own private tailgate in the Dodgers parking lot and still make the starting pitch.
Here's 10 of my favorite places to eat that aren't far from the ballpark. If I missed one of yours, please let me know and I might add it to this list. Email me at [email protected] or reach out via Instagram.
is located about a mile from the ballpark, and is an excellent casual "order-at-the-window" establishment: It recently earned a mention in the Michelin Guide. The small cafe space started as a pop-up specializing in seafood, with its most popular item being its fried fish sandwich.
The beer-battered striped bass sandwich ($17) is topped with a slice of American cheese, Kewpie mayonnaise, and sliced pickles on a potato bun.
The superb-tasting fried piece of fish, whose breading resembles a delicate crackly Japanese tempura, interplays with the creaminess of the umami-inflected mayo, the fresh crunch of the pickles, and the softness of the bun. They also offer a tofu version ($14) for non-meat eaters.
Pair it with some crispy nori potatoes, seasoned with seaweed and salt, and served with hearty garlic aioli, making for a supreme dipping experience.
Pro tip: Both items travel exceptionally well, making it a tremendous to-go option if you need to eat on the run.
is literally just a counter in a doorway. And it's filled with L.A. and Dodgers references because, if you haven’t yet determined, the name of the pizza place is a reference to the famed : Don't miss the cutouts of Orel Hershiser, which sit next to a framed autographed photo of singer Randy Newman.
There's always a selection of slices, and it’s hard pulling the trigger, which is why I opt to grab one of everything and assemble a sort of "greatest hits" equivalent to an entire pizza.
The naturally leavened sourdough crust creations have a crispy outside with just a few hints of char that dot the top of the crust. They're all good, but my favorites include the Adriana, which uses house pesto and bits of sliced garlic that drip with absolute flavor.
The cobalt blue truck known as Simón can be found parked in Sunset Triangle Plaza. The text that surrounds its logo reads “Mariscos Chingones, Seafood Bomb AF.”
Simón manages to deliver on its promise thanks to chef Francisco Aguilar, who came to L.A. after stints in Oaxaca and Chiapas in southern Mexico, working, studying, and developing his culinary language.
Armed with only a fryer, a plancha, and staple ingredients like beans, cheese and bacon, he seeks to hypercharge the flavors of each dish. The fish al pastor is one of my favorites, rubbed with spices, grilled and garnished with a sizable slice of lightly caramelized pineapple and a helping of guacamole, then topped with crispy onions.
Check out the soft shell crab, which comes whole, garnished with chipotle mayo and their pico piña, their version of pico de gallo with pineapple and pickled onion. Finally, there's the pescadilla taco, which at first glance gives the impression of an empanada rather than a quesadilla or taco, but at this point, who cares? It’s made with a fried corn tortilla containing a mixture of fish and shrimp, habanero cream and proper hints of lime, cheese and avocado.
Burgers Never Say Die in Silver Lake
Burgers Never Say Die is often cited by many as being the gold standard of smash burgers in Los Angeles. Owner Shawn Nee was working as a cameraman when he started a side hustle slinging burgers in the courtyard of his East Hollywood apartment complex.
Slowly developing a cult-like status in the burger-verse, he opened his Silver Lake location all the while meticulously refining his burger concept into what it is today. Saddle up the window and order the regular, which comes with American cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and tiny bits of white onion.
What Nee and his crew have been able to achieve with his smash burger is nothing short of alchemy. They’ve somehow channeled what a McDonald’s hamburger tasted like when we were younger. The mixture of ketchup and mustard with pickles and onions, the perfectly cooked burger patty with its smooth and lacey edges stirs up a certain amount of nostalgic taste, and yet almost supersedes it by making it taste better than our childhood memories. The burger has no business being this good, but it is, and we are all better for it.
It's an all-day breakfast menu at Bodega Park, which specializes in breakfast sandwiches seen through the lens of a Korean American chef who grew up in Los Angeles and trained on the East Coast.
This is a great choice for ordering sandwiches to go, and is located about 2 miles from the ball park. My go-to is the pork bulgogi roll, featuring a house-made marinade and a few slices of raw white onion and mayo on a modern rustic style bun, somewhere between a ciabatta or a French roll, with its crusty outside and moist fluffy inside.
Add a couple of splatters of the accompanying smokey-sweet hot sauce, and the results are nothing short of fantastic. But you also can't go wrong with the bacon, egg and cheese, executed perfectly with a superbly cooked piece of thick-cut bacon and a simple slice of American cheese, along with an over-medium fried egg.
A banh mi sandwich is one of life’s many pleasures, with its crusty bread, fresh garnishes made of sweet-tasting carrots and daikon radish, and a protein combo of your liking. A good banh mi can be found in areas such as the San Gabriel Valley or Westminster in Orange County, known as Little Saigon.
However, finding them in other parts of Los Angeles can sometimes be more challenging. One under-the-radar gem is the tiny storefront of the Bánh Mì Mỹ Dung Sandwich Shop, located on Ord Street between Broadway and Spring Street, about 1.5 miles from the stadium. It doesn’t exactly scream neighborhood sandwich destination upon the first arrival. You’re greeted by fresh produce stacked outside the entrance, including bunches of bananas hanging from the outside awning. The same goes when entering what appears to be a corner store, but take a quick stroll to the back, and you’ll find a menu board with about eight different sandwiches for around $5 to $8. The ultra-fresh ingredients, paired with the salty-savory cuts of meat creates a highly satisfying experience.
When discussing the best tacos in Los Angeles, there’s a good chance the food trucks will come up. The MJ menu is straightforward, consisting of tacos and ceviche. But for all the simplicity in its menu, it’s the care of each menu item that shines through, especially in dishes such as the tacos de camarón.
This is not an Ensenada-style shrimp taco; it is something completely different. Founder Raul Ortega fills a corn tortilla with a minced shrimp-and-vegetables mixture and a few other secret ingredients. The tacos are then deep-fried and topped with a light red salsa de mariscos and a sliver of avocado. The end result is nothing short of taco magic.
A piece of Los Angeles history stands on the corner of Soto Street and Whittier Boulevard, about 5 miles from the stadium via surface streets. It’s one of the last two locations in L.A. belonging to the fried chicken fast-food chain . (The other location can be found in the city of Bell Gardens.)
At one point, Pioneer Chicken boasted 270 locations and was known for . It's fried chicken nostalgia for Angelenos looking to relive the heyday of the '70s and '80s. It's hard to beat the two-piece dinner with two sides (choices include mashed potatoes and gravy, spicy rice or crunchy coleslaw) and a fluffy biscuit.
Located inside Grand Central Market, about two miles from the stadium, look for the luminous blue neon in the shape of the country of El Salvador, and you’ll know that you are in the right place: Sarita's Pupuseria.
While it’s hard to go wrong with anything on the menu, the nopal (cactus) pupusa is an excellent choice. There’s something tantalizing about the textures of the cool slivers of cactus layered immaculately with the melted cheese. There’s also a more traditional favorite, queso con loroco, an edible flower that grows in Central and South America. It is known for its vegetal flavor on a par with artichoke or chard. There’s nothing quite like it, and it's an excellent form of sustenance to send you on your way to a game.
Bonus: Grand Central Market has plenty of dining options — check our our LAist guide here — which makes it a great destination if you are traveling with a crowd (everyone gets exactly what they want).
Sonoratown is a little slice of flour tortilla heaven located about three miles from the stadium, serving some of the best tacos in Los Angeles. The tortilla in all its glory is only part of it. Another distinguishing factor is the presence of the smoke flavor, which is absorbed from the mesquite they use when grilling their meats.
When you take a bite, with a touch of their fiery chiltepin salsa, it makes for a unique taste you won’t find anywhere else. All their menu items fit under $10 and will fill you up.
Some of our favorites include the costilla taco made with grilled beef rib meat and chicken chivichanga, the Sonoran equivalent to chimichanga and a gourmet dish served throughout Mexico. The mini burrito served with the taco makes for the perfect amount of food. You honestly can’t go wrong when you take a trip to Sonoratown.
Topics: Food & Drink, Baseball, MLB, Los Angeles Dodgers