The Best The Southwest Has To Offer: Reviewing Innings Festival Tempe’s Culinary Offerings

Music and baseball have much in common. It takes a particular set of skills to excel and remain in either. Both are putting on a show for others, as well as allowing expression in a unique creative way.

Also, both go really well with food and drinks.

While music and the joys of baseball are at the center of the Innings Festival stage, a wide variety of food and drink are not far behind. Both inside of the festival grounds but also outside in the streets and heart of Tempe itself.

Between the sets of music and frivolity, I decided to take a peek (and a taste) of what the festival vendors had to offer.

Along the midway point of the park and festival itself stood a vast row of stalls, all sporting food from a variety of local vendors. Offerings are both familiar and of a more unique persuasion. Closer to the Right Field staging area at the back of the park, there were numerous more street food cart style setups. These offered staples such as pizza, burgers, and hot dogs with a variety of topping choices (including other meats).

On the first day, my partner and I settled on trying a Bulgogi Cheesesteak sandwich from Let’s Toast, a husband and wife owned food truck business. This sandwich combined delicious marinated ribeye meat, mozzarella cheese, a fried egg, sweet mayo, and teriyaki sauce between two slices of buttered, toasted Japanese milk bread. It was well worth every cent and truly filling, even with us splitting the sandwich in half.

Deciding to keep trying things we don’t normally have, the second day brought us to the stall for Tot Box, another food truck festival staple. Tater tots come in a deliciously fried square shape smothered with slow-cooked beef barbacoa, cheese, and cilantro. The dish had a truly sublime taste, and again, even split between two self-proclaimed gourmands, it was quite filling.

Near the end of Saturday’s show, as vendors were starting to close up shop, many were offering deals in order to clear out food. We were able to get some slices of pizza from a vendor called The Spot, along with chicken tender and fries. It hit that sweet pizza spot that comes after a day of great music and drinks.

Speaking of drinks, most of the food vendors and stages were flanked by stalls that had that different focus. Holding a handful of adult beverage choices, alongside a handful of non-alcoholic choices including quite a few seltzers. Many of these choices came from sponsors, including Ghost energy drinks, Mikes, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and White Claw, among others.

Everything was pretty decently priced when compared to usual costs for festivals or major events as well as local options outside. Well worth carving out a good-sized budget to eat and drink without having to ever leave the venue.