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6 new foods you should try at Texas Rangers games, starting with a $27 hot dog

Lovers of the Boomstick, the Texas Rangers' famous 2-foot-long hot dog, you're in for a new challenge.

The concessions group at Globe Life Park in Arlington unveiled six 2017 food items that will be available during Texas Rangers baseball games.

Four of the six new concessions items follow a theme: They're big, or beefy, or both. The remaining two new concessions items are neither big nor beefy: They're vegan, in fact. 

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The new Mediterranean nachos and black bean tamales, both meatless, dairy-less dishes, will likely appeal to anyone trying to go low on calories at the ballpark. They're a happy departure from some of the fake-meat food offered recently, like the vegan beef jerky we tasted in 2016.

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Allow Rangers writer Evan Grant and I to taste you through each of the six new concessions items from Delaware North Sportservice, the concessions company at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Your one takeaway should be: Buy the Texas snowballs.

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[Update on March 30: This story was updated after we taste-tested each item.]

The M.V.T.: a really long tamale that costs $27

The M.V.T. or Most Valuable Tamale
The M.V.T. or Most Valuable Tamale(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer)
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The M.V.T., also known as the Most Valuable Tamale, is a 2-foot-long meal for several people. Inside the tamale is the Boomstick, the headline-making 2-foot-long hot dog the Texas Rangers have sold at home games since 2012. This hot dog dressed like a tamale comes with a carrying case and a handle. Because how else do you cart this giant thing back to your seat?

The M.V.T. is inspired by the TamArlington dog, a smaller a hot dog/tamale combo Grant and I rather enjoyed in 2016. The M.V.T. costs $27 and comes topped with chili, nacho cheese and sour cream. So, you know, healthy.

  • Available in sections 29 -- with all the other 24-inchers -- at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Our opinion: A Boomstick does not really need to be encased in masa (tamale dough), then covered with nacho fixins. But if you're going to the ballpark, it won't kill you -- err, maybe it will; ask your cardiologist --  to order the M.V.T. in the name of ridiculous food, baseball and Texas. Out-of-towners might be especially interested in, or appalled by, this mess of Tex-Mex stadium food that actually tastes pretty good.

Texas Snowballs, $9.50, which we hope you'll start calling 'brisket balls'

Texas Snowballs
Texas Snowballs(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer)

Move over, State Fair of Texas: The concessions group at Globe Life Park is selling Texas Snowballs this year, which are brisket balls dipped into funnel cake batter and deep fried. They're topped with powdered sugar, because this is America.

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Texas Snowballs, two to an order, cost $9.50.

  • Available in section 141 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. 

Our opinion: Damn, you guys: These are delicious. As barbecue purists, we were skeptical about putting sauce on brisket, then frying it, then covering it with powdered sugar. Just let the beef be! But get over that. Anyone who loves a Monte Cristo will love its ballpark equivalent, the Texas Snowballs. Grab extra napkins and eat carefully, or else your shirt will brag about how much fun you had eating these powdered-sugar-covered delights.

Burger topped with pulled pork and chips for $13

Crunchy BBQ Burger
Crunchy BBQ Burger(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer)
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For a new concession item that isn't so crazy, Delaware North Sportservice added the Crunchy BBQ Burger: a beef patty topped with pulled pork, Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, pickled red onions, cilantro and Nacho Cheese Doritos for $13.

  • Available in section 48 at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Our opinion: This burger is tasty and big. Despite all that stuff on top -- the pork, the chips, the sauce, the red onions -- it doesn't taste like a burger with way too much decoration. Baseball fans looking for filling burger might like this new spin.

Chili dog with Fritos and kimchi for $10.50

Fritos kimchi chili dog
Fritos kimchi chili dog (Rose Baca / Staff Photographer)
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Quick food lesson: Kimchi is fermented vegetables, often cabbage; it's an important part of Korean cuisine. This new Asian-inspired Rangers food item is an all-beef hot dog topped with chili, sweet-n-spicy kimchi, cilantro, teriyaki sauce and Fritos. It costs $10.50.

  • Available in sections 22 and 48 at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Our opinion: You like kimchi? You're going to enjoy this hot dog, which is so far from the typical ballpark hot dog. (Even a former new concession item, a hot dog topped with puffs of cotton candy, was less of a risk.) The teryaki, kimchi and cilantro really work together, though you (rightly) wouldn't expect to find them on top of an all-beef hot dog. Adventurous eaters, this one's for you.

Mediterranean nachos, which you know as hummus, $10

Mediterranean nachos
Mediterranean nachos (Rose Baca / Staff Photographer)
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Served cold, this new "nacho" dish is really just hummus topped with tomatoes and olives, served with Stacy's Pita Chips.

  • Available in section 16 -- the vegan stand -- at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Our opinion: We shouldn't have said "just" hummus: This new dish is simple and protein rich, and previously, it didn't seem like ballpark food. So whether you're vegan or just trying to eat something not fried, the Mediterranean nachos are cool and satisfying. Grant, who tried to refuse to try anything from the vegan stand, said it was one of his favorite bites of the day. He recommends it for those hotter'n'hell day games in July.

Vegan black bean tamales for $10

Black bean tamales
Black bean tamales(Rose Baca / Staff Photographer)
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The Rangers ballpark will have yet another new item to add to the vegan stand in section 16 with its vegan black bean tamales. They're made with black beans and spices, rolled in masa and steamed. $10 each.

  • Available in section 16 -- the vegan stand -- at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Our opinion: Sure. These are perfect for vegetarians and vegans and they taste fine. Everybody else: Let's destroy our diets with other offerings at the ballpark, shall we?

If this story makes you hungry, check out guidelive.com/food-and-drink for more delicious news.