The Biloxi Shuckers have some wild new food items on the menu. We gave them a try

Some days at the office are tough and boy was Thursday one of those days.

You will never believe what the boss had me do. He wanted me to go to a Biloxi Shuckers game (wow), try out their new concession stand food (unbelievable) and write a review about it (where’s the 32-hour work week?).

A lot, I know. But I’m a pull-myself-up-by-the-bootstraps kind of guy, so I looked The Man in the eye and said “ugh, OK, fine.”

So there I was, toes in the sand of the recently-renovated right field berm at Keesler Federal Park with a whiskey-infused lemonade I got from the new tiki bar behind the foul pole watching the Shuckers battle the Birmingham Barons.

But I wasn’t here for leisurely purposes. No, I take my job very seriously. If I ever want to bring home a Pulitzer for my reviews of Mississippi Coast cuisine, I have to stay locked in.

Those who have made their way to a Shuckers game this season have probably noticed the new amenities. The aforementioned tiki bar and beach seating with a flanking splash pad was a major part of the renovation.

Also new, though, are the concession stands. There are four new options that offer fans more variety and more specialty items than before.

These specialty items also include temporary specials throughout the season and we gave one of those a try from the Catch of the Game stand. The pig out dog homestand special was a bacon-wrapped hot dog piled high with pulled pork and barbecue sauce.

It was fantastic. There was just enough sauce to prevent it from being dry and the traditional ball park hot dog taste still fought through the fancy fixings to make it one of the better hot dogs I’ve ever had from a baseball game.

If you missed out on this, don’t fret. The mound hot dog is a season-long offering that is also bacon-wrapped. The difference? It’s a foot long and topped with grilled onion and dijon mustard.

We gave the huli huli wings a try here, too. They are wings doused in a sweet and mildly spicy Hawaiian-inspired sauce. If you’re not into spicy, that’s fine. Because “mildly spicy” is generous. It’s more of a tangy barbecue taste.

Also here are chili cheese fries served in a souvenir bowl and the strike out smash burger on a pretzel bun that has drawn rave reviews.

Our next stop was the Taco Shack. From here we grabbed the pulled chicken street tacos trio, street corn in a souvenir bowl and the crawfish queso.

This was actually my second time digging into the queso. Anything crawfish and you’ve sold me. The street tacos were good, but a but skimpy compared to a full-scale restaurant. But have no fear, the Sun Herald staff is nothing if not creative in times of stress. When piled with street corn and crawfish queso, the tacos transform into something new and wonderful.

Next door is the Lighthouse Pier. From here we had the red beans and rice, which were surprisingly good. They’d make an excellent side for the seafood po’boy and the fried seafood basket that’s also sold here.

The final stand is the Shipwreck Grill, which largely serves traditional ballpark food.

All-in-all, the experience at Shuckers’ games has improved significantly. If you haven’t made it out for the baseball, the $9 standing room ticket is well worth it to give the new food and tiki bar and go.

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