Top 10 best food deals at the Rogers Centre

As a Toronto Blue Jays fan, the second best thing to do at a stadium after watching the ballgame is to complain about the outrageous prices for food and drinks while stuffing my face with such food and drinks. But, say you’re a budget-conscious individual who gets peckish at baseball games: what is the most economical way to soothe your hunger at the Rogers Centre in 2023? I guess technically it would be eating the various free condiments available for the taking, but let's not be weird.

0. Bring Your Own Food

Rogers Centre still has a very generous policy that allows fans to bring in their own food. Bags can be up to 16 in. × 16 in. × 8 in. (40 cm × 40 cm × 20 cm) and you can bring in pretty much any food from outside the stadium. Back in 2019, a friend and I put together a smoke-themed charcuterie platter for Justin Smoak’s final game as a Blue Jay.

To determine the best food deal at Rogers Centre, I needed to define what “best deal” means. Food is as much about taste, texture, and enjoyment as it is about Calories and nutrients but for the sake of this listicle, I will be using a crude “cents per Calorie” metric to rank the stadium’s offerings. The reasons are simple: 1) this allows for a completely objective measurement and 2) both the pre-tax price and the number of calories for each food item is displayed on every menu around the stadium.

So all I had to do is walk around the 100-, 200-, and 500-levels and visit every concession stand to catalogue the prices and caloric content of the 99 different food options that are available, then do some division. Let’s jump to the list of the best food deals at Rogers Centre:

1. Peanuts ($6.15 ÷ 1,200 kcal = 0.51¢ per kcal)

Bagged peanuts are the best food deal at Rogers Centre, coming in at around half a penny per Calorie. I guess that’s why people say “that’s peanuts” when they talk about small amounts of stuff. (Quick methodology note: different concession stands show slightly different caloric contents for the same $6.15 bag of peanuts, so the mean Calorie count was used here. The same averaging was used for several other items on this list.)

2. Jamaican Beef Patties ($5.69 ÷ 970 kcal = 0.59¢ per kcal)

A new item added in 2023, Jamaican beef patties can be found at “The Stop”, the TTC subway station-themed area in the 100-level outfield. It’s more than the $2.50 (tax included!) you would pay for a patty at Warden station, but at 0.59 cents per Calorie, this is a pretty good deal at the ‘Dome.

3? Pizza Nova Dips ($1.95 ÷ 320 kcal = 0.61¢ per kcal)

I’m tagging this with a heavy question mark. Although you can technically order tubs of Pizza Nova’s pizza dips as a separate item, you really shouldn’t just eat several of these with a spoon—that will worry your loved ones.

3. Regular Popcorn Bag ($7.95 ÷ 1,245 kcal = 0.64¢ per kcal)

A favourite of David Price, a regular-sized popcorn bag is a pretty good bang for your buck.

4? Caramelized Onions ($0.75 ÷ 110 kcal = 0.68¢ per kcal)

The Kosher hotdog stand offers caramelized onions as an extra item, but it’s unclear whether you can just walk up and order it without first buying a hotdog, so I’m putting a question mark on this item. Avoid this item if you plan to smooch with someone at the game.

4. Chips & Guac ($5.99 ÷ 780 kcal = 0.77¢ per kcal)

Down the concourse from The Stop is Oppo Taco, a new Mexican-themed concession stand in the 100-level outfield. Next time a boomer chides you for having avocado chips at the Blue Jays game instead of buying a house in Toronto, scoff, send them this list, then tell them to mind their own business.

5. Cracker Jacks ($6.89 ÷ 860 kcal = 0.80¢ per kcal)

It’s “Cracker Jack” in the song and the package but “Cracker Jacks” on the Rogers Centre menu; I will leave it to the reader to decide which is the correct term to use for this caramel-coated mix of popcorn and peanuts. It makes sense that this classic blend of the #1 and #3 items on the list would also find itself as one of most frugal thing to eat.

5. Large Candy ($5.75 ÷ 700 kcal = 0.82¢ per kcal)

These are large bags of candy like Twizzlers and Maynards that can be found at various places around the stadium, but if you go by the Tap and Go store, again in the newly-renovated 100-level outfield, you can get a decent variety to choose from.

6. Chips & Salsa ($5.99 ÷ 690 kcal = 0.87¢ per kcal)

Found at Oppo Taco like its sibling at #4 above, but with slightly fewer Calories.

7. Value Popcorn ($3.29 ÷ 370 kcal = 0.89¢ per kcal)

If you just want a small snack, the value popcorn found at the Dugout Deals stands near sections 239 and 536 are perfect. However, if you are getting more than two bags of these, you should go for #3 above.

8? Side Gravy ($2.00 ÷ 220 kcal = 0.91¢ per kcal)

Various places around the park sell fries and there you can find tubs of side gravy. Fine to order as a caloric booster for your fries, sad to consume on its own through a straw.

8. Assorted Chips ($3.65 ÷ 385 kcal = 0.95¢ per kcal)

Found at The Stop and at several other places, these are your run-of-the-mill packaged chips like Doritos and Lays. Not my cup of tea.

9. Specialty Popcorn [a.k.a. Gourmet Popcorn] ($15.39 ÷ 1,553 kcal = 0.99¢ per kcal)

$15 is an eye-watering amount to pay for a bag of popcorn, but they pack in a lot of Calories. You can find bags of white cheddar, classic caramel, and jalapeno cheese popcorn from the Toronto Popcorn Company at Tap & Go. You can also find some specialty popcorn up on Park Social, the kid-friendly area of the 500-level outfield.

10. Value Chips ($2.29 ÷ 230 kcal = 1.00¢ per kcal)

The last item of our list clocks in at just over a penny per Calorie. This is just a small bag of standard chips and these can be found at the Dugout Deals stands.

Next, I look at the foods that cost the most per Calorie and the best and worst from different food categories.