BMO Reviews: Carne Asada Fries & Hot Cheeto Fried Pickles
Jonathan Black & Gold Review originally posted on February 26, 2024.
This is part of a series of Reddit posts reviewing the Bleacher Cuisine of BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California. They are written under the moniker, Jonathan Black & Gold1, an homage to the great LA Times food critic. These are direct reposts, however, I have added footnotes to contextualize some of the jargon that is specific to Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) fans.
Chiellini retires. Atuesta returns home. Vela???2
A lot can happen in an offseason. But nothing impacts STH’s3 match day quality of life more than the food at our beloved stadium (other than maybe beer prices).
My system is simple:
I’ll give a star ⭐️ rating (out of 5) for a general review of the item.
I’ll give a value 🌭 rating (out of 5) to snapshot its cost given the quality. Anything less than 🌭🌭🌭, I’d recommend just eating a street dog before/after instead.
Will this year’s food be another let down? Probably!
Let’s get started:
Carne Asada Fries
Location: SE Gate
Price: $18
Value: 🌭🌭
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Overall Review: I got these at halftime. Pretty long line, I was hoping to try the spicy wings but they were out. I settled for these. The guac was sour and the carne asada itself was near flavorless, just chopped up beef with meager seasoning. The fries, as most Black & Gold faithful are probably familiar with, are the poster child for mediocre. However, I will report that the overall meal did its job in properly fueling my drunk ass. The topping-to-fry ratio was very surprisingly adequate; I actually had carne asada and slop down to my last fry. The sour cream was the star of the show.
Hot Cheeto Fried Pickles (with cheese sauce)
Location: The Kings Hawaiian Stand
Price: $12
Value: 🌭
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Overall review: Well fried, had a crisp tender bite. Cheese sauce was not unwelcome. Hot Cheeto flavor absolutely nowhere to be found, and certainly lacking any semblance of spice. Most likely just a normal batter with red food coloring. I appreciate the gall to try something fun, but $2/a pickle slice for an underwhelming appetizer is a miss.
TLDR: I’m going to review the food at BMO so folks can make a more informed decision about their match day experience.
Black & Gold are the colors of LAFC.
Chiellini, Atuesta, and Vela are all soccer players who formerly played or currently play for LAFC. Vela, the most decorated player in LAFC’s history, was not signed to the team at the time of the original posting - a very big story at the start of the season.
STH - Season Ticket Holder