SEATTLE — As far as fan-favorite foods go at Seattle’s Safeco Field, two stand out to those who run the operation: garlic fries, which have long been a staple, and grasshoppers, which are new … and wildly popular.
Yes, literal grasshoppers. Insects. Toasted, and coated in a chili-lime salt. It’s $4 for a four-ounce container of about 20 bugs — one of the cheapest ballpark items you’ll find — and a supply that was supposed to last through the All-Star break sold out in three days.
It just so happens that the Marlins’ first trip to face the Mariners at Safeco since 2011 coincided with this grasshopper boom. I’m generally a food neophobe — find me a Chipotle in any National League city and I’m happy — but I’m also a man of the people. And the people (or the Twitter people, at least) said to try some.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Seattle, eat as the hipsters eat? Sure. I did this for you guys. You’re welcome.
Monday afternoon before the series opener, I headed out to left field, where the grasshoppers are sold, for a taste test. And they were … not terrible, actually. They were very, very salty and definitely crunchy, peanut-sized but lighter.
Visually, they were small, red and delicate, with legs falling off easily. But I didn’t get any tiny grasshopper limbs stuck in my teeth, which was great. Nor did I get sick or completely grossed out.
My biggest issue was not with the fact that they were insects, but with the taste. Apparently I’m not much of a chili or lime guy. Chocolate-covered grasshoppers would be better.
Watching me trying not to gag were Steve Dominguez, the Safeco Field general manager for Centerplate, the hospitality outfit that runs the concessions, and Manny Arce, the executive chef at Poquitos, a local Mexican eatery. They’re as surprised as anybody at the grasshoppers’ popularity.
Centerplate teamed with Poquitos to add bugs to Safeco’s 2017 menu. They sold 901 orders in the first three games — about 18,000 grasshoppers. Emergency shipments from Texas (as opposed to Oaxaca, Mexico, where the originals originated) and a per-game limit of 312 orders got them through the weekend.
That cap of 312, which has run out as early as the first three innings, is a nod to the lifetime batting average of Mariners great Edgar Martinez. The grasshoppers are sold at “Edgar’s Cantina” in left field, as well as the nearby Poquitos concession stand.
Reasons for the immense interest in the grasshoppers is anybody’s guess. A large part of it is the curiosity and novelty, the ability to say for the rest of your life “Yeah, I hate grasshoppers. No big.” (That was much of my motivation, anyway.) Some fans get dared by friends. And others genuinely enjoy eating them.
“The chili and lime is really all you taste,” Arce said. “Flavor-wise, it’s not this strange flavor you’ve never tasted before. Texturally it’s a little bit different, but they’re not off-putting.”
In Mexico, Arce said, grasshoppers are a regular snack. People eat them on tacos or in guacamole, with cheese or straight-up. They’re a good source of protein. Amazon will ship you grasshoppers from Oaxaca for about $8 per ounce, noting that they have been “a vital part of local diets for centuries.”
“The curiosity guys are waiting [off to the side],” Dominguez said. “It’s like getting off that roller coaster. You see the guys that come off, or you see [eaters’] reactions as they’re popping them. It’s positive. ‘OK, they survived, so I’ll try it.’”
