Last Friday the media was given the chance to try all the new foods that the fans can start to get a hold of beginning on Thursday night when the Minnesota Golden Gophers open the 2025 season against the Buffalo Bulls. Hot honey was the new ingredient that is trendy this season and will feature in several new menu items. We have new sandwiches, a new desert treat, and for those in the able to enjoy Club Cambria and the Suites, another few special options. I’ll rank my favorites in order below, first
for the new foods that are available stadium wide, and then for those of you in the club and suite seats.
New Foods in General Stadium Concourses:
Pizza Mac N Cheese— Section 109 Cheese & Thank You
Mac and Cheese with Ribbon Pepperoni, hot honey infused italian sausage, and marinara sauce.
Grade: 10/10
This was the ultimate winner in my opinion. The Mac and cheese was great, and the italian meats and dash of marinara really complemented it perfectly. I would order this for sure.
Short Rib Roll—Section 135 Sizzle
Toasted milk bread, braised beef shortrib, housemade slaw, golden BBQ sauce, crispy Onion tanglers. Grade:9/10
This was a winner as well. The meat had tons of flavor, the slaw was great and the golden BBQ sauce was a perfect complement to it all.
Bee’s Knees—Section 131 Goldy’s Grill
Hot honey infused italian sausage, onion, peppers, spicy beer cheese, baguette.
Grade 8/10
This worked well. The sausage had a slight kick from the hot honey, but was not too overpowering. The beer cheese had good flavor, and the peppers and onions work with the Italian sausage well. Could see how it could be poorly constructed if the crew is in a rush.
Jalapeño Popper Brisket Grilled Cheese Sect 135—Sizzle
Toasted milk bread, brisket, bacon, cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, cream cheese.
Grade 8/10
This one has good flavor as well. The brisket was nicely tender and the cheeses worked well. It was NOT spicy at all. Guessing all the jalapeño is in the pepper jack. so don’t expect a big kick, but the flavor is good.
Pastrami Dog— Section 109 & 140 Links
Hormel all beef hot dog, pastrami, spicy mustard, crispy sauerkraut
Grade 7.5/10
In this case, the toppings make all the difference. The hot dog is a normal hot dog, nothing special at all. But the diced pastrami had great flavor, the spicy mustard was not spicy per see, but again had nice flavor, but the secret weapon is totally the crispy sauerkraut. It really makes the dog. If for some reason it isn’t there, subtract at least a point.
MN Hot Pastrami—Section 140 Portable Cart
Sliced pastrami, marbled rye, havarti dill cheese, deli mustard, dill pickles
Grade 7/10
There really isn’t anything special about this. It’s a pastrami sandwich. But when we had it at least it was a good pastrami sandwich. Sometimes you don’t need fancy, you just need good. This was it. It’s not jewish deli good, but it’s just as good as any of the fast casual sandwich spots around town.
The Gopher Tail —Section 117 Scoop’d
Waffled chocolate croissant, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, chopped peanuts
Grade 6/10
The flavor was fantastic on this. The croissant tasted great, as did the ice cream. But this gets docked for edibility. Once waffled the croissant is a lot denser and tough to cut with a plastic spoon. Add in the ice cream on top of it, and its a giant mess waiting to happen. Do kids like croissants? But if you can find a way to eat it without dumping it on yourself or the row in front of you, its worth a shot.
Cheeseburger Poutine Section 143—Uffda
Tater tots, cheddar cheese sauce, meatballs, cheese curds, green onion, tomato, housemade tangy burger sauce
Grade 5/10
This is one that in theory should have been better than it was, but it will all depend on it’s construction at the stand. If everything is hot and mixed together, then it works, but we got dry tater tots with cold unmelty cheese curds and large dry meatballs. Execution will be huge for this one, but it could definitely go either way depending on how its made. Your decision if you want to chance it or not.
Pork Cubano —Section 135 Sizzle
Pulled pork, sweet honey ham, swiss cheese, deli mustard, dill pickles, grilled hoagie bun
Grade 4/10
This one did not work for me. First the bun was not grilled, just a normal hoagie bun. The pork was bland, the cheese not melted, and the stadium dill pickles were not the right flavor mix for this. We have seen this done well at other stadiums in the Twin Cities—-this one was not it.
Other Grab and Go Options:
The Gophers will continue their Hall of Favs quick grab and go stands once again as well as the Walk Thru Brews to get fans beer quickly. Minnesota will expend its batch cocktails this fall with ones featuring Grey Duck Vodka Lemonade, Milagro Margarita, Fireball Mules and more—with new souvenir cup options as well.
The west plaza remains the same with the Gopher Hour again taking place up to a half hour before kickoff with food and drink specials.
T Rex Cookies will be available in locations around the stadium with special new Goldy Gopher branding as well.
Club Cambria and Suite New Food Options
Italian Tortellini—Club Cambria
Crispy Tortellini, marinara, pesto, crispy pepperoni, sweep peppers
Grade 10/10
Buffalo Tortellini— Club Cambria
Crispy Tortellini, buffalo sauce, ranch, blue cheese, celery
Grade 6/10
The now tortellini dishes are interesting, but the italian one is far superior. The flavors melded much better then the buffalo one did. The tortellini was crispy to perfection and the mix of marinara and pesto along with the crispy pepperoni worked so well. The sauces on the buffalo one did not mix as well unfornately.
Giant Touchdown Taco— Club Cambria
16 inch fried tortilla, crispy chicken, french fries, lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, spicy ranch, served with tortilla chips and salsa.
Grade 5/10
Hey, there has to be a new gimmick foot every year right? This is definitely it. Impossible to eat without making a huge mess, and frankly its just ok. The fillings are non-descript, but it looks fun at your table.
MN Snicker Salad— Suites
Granny Smith apples, vanilla whipped cream, snickers chunks
Grade 8/10
It’s a Minnesota church classic, and this version is well done. Very very sweet, but the flavors come together well.
Carved Turkey Drumsticks—Suites
No real description necessary
Grade 9/10
These massive turkey legs are carved at a carving station so you don’t need to deal with the mess of tendons that have you had one before you knew exactly what I’m talking about. The flavor was great, and why not support the Minnesota Turkey industry.
New Alcohol Options in Club Cambria and Suites:
Full liquor bars will not be available in all the club spaces as well as on the suite level. In suites you will not be able to have full bottle service, a food and beverage lounge, and new wine and canned cocktail options.
Suites also will have access to Fifth Lounge, an exclusive lounge with an ever evolving lineup of offerings only available to Suite Guests. Items can expect a rotating list of single-serve treats like cake slices, cheesecake, cookies, cotton-candy, and hot beverages as well as alcoholic beverages.
A full map of all Huntington Bank Stadium’s food options is below.
Which of the new menu items are you most looking forward to trying this fall?? Let us know in the comments.
