That's where the love comes from

I will never stop holding stadium chefs accountable for deliciousness. I'm a simple man, but that's my pledge to you. More organizations are realizing the benefit of getting their new dishes in front of the "millions" of regular blog readers, so coming up on the next season of #ScaiPod, we'll talk to some newcomers.

But we'll also talk to some of the old favorites. FC Dallas introduced their new dishes at Toyota Stadium this week ahead of their season opener against Toronto this weekend.

Executive Chef Erika Dabney walked us through each of the new items ranging from kale at the far end of that table to a giant cookie next to the foam finger.

Legends Global provides concessions and sent these descriptions:

Kale, Sweet Potato & Pepita Salad  

Kale, roasted sweet potato, dried cranberry, toasted pepitas, cherry tomato, sliced red onion, roasted cauliflower, lemon vinaigrette.     

Location:  Home Grown

I only just now learned what a pepita is, but I more on the side of Woody and respectfully disagree with Dr. Crane. But Legends made the kale work by covering it in sweet potatoes and cranberries. If you're a chef looking for a way to make kale more appetizing, maybe try topping it with enough foods so you can cover up the taste of kale. Consider a ladle of chili.

Among returning options is the Vegan Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich. Dabney says they know a lot of people want hot dogs and pretzels when they go to a sporting event, but teams are increasingly learning the food can be part of the experience, so "we want to make sure no matter what your lifestyle is, you can find something delicious and nutritious."

Brisket Cotija Tacos   

BBQ brisket, pickled onion, cotija cheese, cilantro, salsa verde.    

Location:    Stand 9

We've discussed how concessions stands are never done. They're always developing new things (in some cases, trying items that require them to special order giant tortillas), and Dabney says the Brisket Cotija Taco replaces another taco they had on the menu.

In this case, the tortilla is normal-sized, but Dabney explains the taco upgrade stems from them "basically just wanting to elevate it and recreate it and thought this would be great for the fans."

Pernil Nachos   

Slow-roasted pork pernil, tortilla chips, black beans, queso, pico de gallo, chili dust, cilantro.    

Location:   Winners Club

Dabney says the Pernil Nachos comes with a cheese sauce you can't buy anywhere. If you still just want that hot dog and pretzel, that's cool, but she points out the pork has been slow roasted for hours. And with love.

Cross Bar Chicken Tinga Quesadillas

Flour tortillas filled with delicious chicken tinga and cheese and grilled, with a side of salsa and sour cream.

Location:  Winners Club

These are actually returning from last year. Dabney says they sold thousands of them, so their contract was renewed. When something new sells well, she says she'll look at where she might use the ingredients in another dish.

They hope that'll work with the Brisket Cojita Tacos and also the TexMex Striker Burrito. Of course, we all remember when the Striker Burrito first appeared last year. The updated version replaces refried beans with stewed pinto beans. Tragically, the tater tots have fallen in favor of corn salsa.

But do not despair! Maybe we miss the tater tots, but this giant cookie should cheer us all up.

Match Day Cookie Melt 

A scrumptious chocolate chip cookie bake.   

Location:   Winners Club

Dabney says the Cookie Melt is exactly what it sounds like. It'll be served hot and topped with whipped cream.

One of the reasons not all the new dishes were shown at the event (like The FC Dallas BBQ Bacon Jam & Cheddar Burger, for instance) was because the reveal was held at the Homegrown stand which first opened last year. That's where they stash "a lot of healthy options. We just offer lighter items." She makes a strong point that maybe you'll look for something lighter than a BBQ bacon burger when you're watching a match in the middle of summer.

Then the staff fanned out and started serving the assembled media mini versions of each dish. I just stayed in place with a couple TV photographers while servers kept sidling up to us with tray after tray of food.

Then I thought, "What if, Scaia, and this may sound crazy, but what if you went over to a table where you could set these down?"

But no, work comes first. The press conference where team leadership, the coaches and players would talk about the actual sport we were tasting snacks for was starting in another room. This was getting serious. I hadn't yet tried the cookie.

I sidled up to one of my new associates with the tray and asked about the cookie situation. He had just handed out his last one. I suggested he should not go all the way back to the kitchen if I was the only one left, but he said they had a whole kitchen full of tastin' cookies, so they wanted to get rid of them.

During the press conference, reporters who actually cover the sport peppered them with questions about their expectations for the season. I, meanwhile, stood in the back and felt strangely satisfied with myself that I saved the cookie for last.

Here's the complete list of new and returning items.

Meantime, my annual physical is next week, so I'm sure that'll go great.