For generations, St. Paul has been known for its great restaurants. The chefs that put together the menus for the masses who come to visit Grand Casino Arena strive to have one of the city’s finest places to eat, with a hockey game for entertainment to boot.
In the run-up to the Minnesota Wild’s 2025-26 home opener on Saturday, members of the media were invited to sample some of the new offerings at various stands throughout the arena. Here are a quartet of bites that visitors would be wise to try this winter.
St. Paul Pierogi – Club level near section 36
Grand Casino Arena is offering three takes on the classic Eastern European pierogis during Wild games this season. The protein-loaded Kielbasa Novi includes grilled kielbasa, caramelized onions, sour cream, spicy mustard and sauerkraut for $16 (Courtesy of Grand Casino Arena)
This classic Eastern European dish is a Minnesota staple for many, and they’re offering three varieties of potato-and-cheese pierogies at the rink this season. The Ohgee ($12) features caramelized onions and sour cream. The Minnesoti ($13) goes for the local flair, with cheddar cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, green onions. The protein-loaded Kielbasa Novi ($16) version includes grilled kielbasa, caramelized onions, sour cream, spicy mustard and sauerkraut. They were the brainchild of Chef Kyle Bowles.
“We always try to lean in to Minnesota. Anything we can do to be local and be authentic,” said Chef Matt Rosson. “Chef Kyle had been pushing the pierogi idea for a while. We have these brainstorm meetings, and it came to life this year. We’re super thrilled with how it came out and the way it’s being received.”
Crunchy Commuter – Main Concourse near Section 122
Rosson lived in San Francisco for a time, where a neighborhood restaurant featured many takes on the walking taco, including the classic with taco chips, taco meat, cheese, lettuce, etc. This season they are offering five different varieties of Old Dutch chips in a bag, filled with other fixings. Options include the classic taco, a barbeque flavor with pulled pork and crispy onions, a chicken Caesar version, a dill pickle version and a jerk chicken option, each of them for $10.
“We think it’s an ode to our non-seriousness. We are professionally trained chefs, but we want to have fun and make food that people love to eat,” Rosson said. “Anytime we try and go too fancy, people don’t go there as much as we think they will. So something like a walking taco is fun, cool to show off and easy to walk as you go.”
State Fare – Main Concourse near Section 117
These pronto pups on hockey sticks will be served at Minnesota Wild home games during the 2025-26 season (Courtesy of Grand Casino Arena)
You never need to miss the culinary delights of Falcon Heights in late summer with this sampling of the Great Minnesota Get-Together. The stand features Pronto Pups ($11), Deep Fried Ranch served with hot honey ($13), O’Gara’s Shepard’s Hand Pie ($8) served with brown gravy and Dill Pickle Tater Tots ($8.29) which are a vegan offering.
“We have a full commitment to State Fair-focused items,” Rosson said. “Every summer we get together as a team to go to the State Fair and come up with ideas based on things that we love. We were able to work with the vendors to give people the authentic State Fair experience.”
J&R’s Cookie Dough – Main Concourse near Section 109
When it’s time for dessert, there are few things more classically Minnesotan among sweets as the classic Scotcheroo bars, which are a mix of chocolate and peanut butter. The Grand Casino Arena chefs have developed a Scotcheroo cookie dough, available for $6.99.
“New cookie dough concepts, specifically the Scotcheroo cookie dough, is an exciting addition,” Rosson said. “We’ve been changing it up and doing different cookie dough concepts for 10 years. Scotcheroo bars are something you get at a church potluck, and that’s an ode to our history and the people here. We’re excited about that.”
The Wild are host to Columbus on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. Gates open to the public 90 minutes before the first faceoff.
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