Oishii-sou! At this year’s T-Moblie Park Menu Preview Day, it was hard to escape the celebration of Ichiro Suzuki.
The most delicious day of the year for all local media, Menu Preview Day is where the Mariners and T-Mobile crew invite local press to try out all of the new menu offerings that will be available throughout the 2025 baseball season.
For the two lucky intrepid reporters who made the drive to Seattle (sportswriter Ben Ray and yours truly), that Wednesday afternoon was one of promise and suspense as we learned the names of some of the menu items, anticipating their flavors. The What Up Corndog, the Holy Smokes Brisket, the Ice Cream Nachos! O, the dishes we would taste.
As local TV reporters recorded their b-roll of the brightly lit meals for the evening news, we grabbed as many items as we could — including a sample of the deliciously teal Slushietown Mariners Lemonade — and got to work.
A major surprise, the What Up Corn Dog, brought spice and blue crunch to the menu. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing
As far as the best main course, it was decided that The Godzilla Sumo Dog was the top kaiju, combining a classic ballpark hot dog and beef chili with togarashi cheese sauce, wasabi relish, pickled peppers, spicy mayo, teriyaki sauce, furikake, minced onion, jalapeño and nori. Fit to burst out of the bun and a perfect ratio of classic Japanese flavors, the Godzilla, like the King of the Monsters himself, was the absolute favorite of the day.
When it came to desserts, the two standouts were the Salt & Straw Birthday Cake & Blackberries (yes, both together) ice cream, which kept its siren song going, even as this reporter was getting increasingly more and more full. When it came to ice cream with a fine twist, the Ice Cream Nachos deconstructs a waffle cone by making the cone a sugary waffle chip and the ice cream some yummy cheese, topped with a cherry, which in this case could be the life-changing slice of jalapeño that sometimes comes with convenience store nachos.
The big standouts of the menu were the dishes dedicated to key Mariners, including the two meals celebrating Ichiro’s recent National Baseball Hall of Fame election — the Ichi Wings and the IchiRoll.
Ice Cream Nachos were the most intriguing dessert at Menu Preview Day. Photo by Ben Ray/Sound Publishing
With a special recipe made for Ichiro in the clubhouse kitchen, the Ichi Wings are made with an amazing teriyaki and sesame glaze while the Nakagawa salmon sushi Ichiroll is rolled up in rice and nori with crab salad, avocado, cucumber, green onion, fried onion and sriracha.
Not to be outdone, the menu also has steamed pork soup dumplings called the Lil’ Dumpers, dedicated to Cal Raleigh, aka, the Big Dumper. Perfectly bite-sized, the pork in the dumplings are an excellent choice for a meal. Just be careful of biting down too hard — nobody wants the dumpling juices to escape.
Available at the King’s Court stand, the Félix Hernández King’s Court Turkey Leg is exactly what any King Félix fan would want, as it delivers a unparalled flavor and satisfying texture. One last majorly delicious addition to the menu is the What Up Corn Dog. Honey-battered, dipped in nacho cheese and sprinkled with Mariners blue Taki crumbles, this peculiar looking baseball meal is a real treat, which says a lot coming from this reporter, who never chooses a corn dog when it is on the menu. Thanks to the honey, the cheese and those spicy crunches, I am definitely ordering up this dog when I attend a game this season.
Opening Day is Thursday, March 27, where the Mariners will play the Athletics — an opportune time to try each and every one of these scrumptious meals.
A major surprise, the What Up Corn Dog, brought spice and blue crunch to the menu. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing
The Lil’ Dumpers dumplings were a standout of the menu. Photo by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing
From Nakagawa Sushi, enjoy the IchiRoll and others. Photo by Ben Ray/Sound Publishing
