The seven-game losing streak that ended the Indianapolis Colts’ once-promising 2025 season certainly left a bad taste in fans’ mouths, but a few palate cleansers could be on their way for the Indy faithful.
The Colts held their annual Culinary Showcase on Aug. 11, offering a glimpse at the new general admission, club and suite items that will be sold throughout the 2026-27 home slate. Here are some of the concessions and a pair of suite exclusives, curated by Sodexo Live! executive chef David Dyrek and his team, that will hit Lucas Oil starting Aug. 22 for the Colts’ preseason matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
Loaded tater tots
Available in Sections 105, 347 and 543
A testament to the theory that a food tastes better if it has a fun shape, this pile of potato fritters formed into starchy footballs receives your choice of shredded Buffalo chicken, blue cheese and ranch dressing or vegan chorizo, black bean and corn salsa and vegan cilantro lime crema. The Buffalo version is pure, distilled gameday grub, with a nice hot-sauce zip and some funk from the cheese. Its vegan counterpart is similarly strong, with crumbles of faux-rizo that admirably mimic the genuine article by sheer force of cumin and garlic.
Hibachi
Available in Section 109
The flat-top grill takes center stage with this comforting jumble of fried rice, carrots, peas, scrambled egg and your choice of beef and broccoli or teriyaki chicken. I’m not sure either version distances itself enough from what you’d find at your go-to carry-out Asian American spot to justify the inevitable stadium price markup, but I commend anyone who looks at the near-endless lineup of nachos and sandwiches and decides, “no, it’s gotta be the hibachi.”
Stadium box nachos
Available in Sections 144, 329, 510 and 538
You never quite realize just how much Lucas Oil Stadium resembles a gigantic takeout container until you see a miniature cardboard recreation of it stuffed with tortilla chips and assorted toppings. This season’s signature nachos include a classic chorizo with salsa, queso blanco and raw veggies as well as a Philly cheesesteak-inspired version with ground beef, queso, fajita veggies, bacon bits, fried onions and chipotle mayo. The Philly version skews a bit more cheeseburger than cheesesteak, though that’s perfectly fine by me.
Premium Cooler Cocktails
Available at Touchdown Tavern locations throughout the stadium
Following the blueprint of previous’ years rotating burger and loaded fry offerings, Lucas Oil this season will feature signature opponent-themed cocktails for each home game. The drink list begins with a blackberry Crown Royal whiskey sour dubbed the Midnight Flock when the Colts host the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 13 and concludes in Week 18 (date unannounced) with the Duuuval Punch, a mix of Desnuda blanco tequila and pineapple juice named for the home county of the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars. While home games versus the division-rival Jags haven’t been quite the same well of bottomless horror for the Colts as the matchups in Jacksonville over the last decade, it’s still good to know Indy fans will have a stiff drink on hand if things go south again this year.
Also available in the concourses: Loaded footlong corn dog (Sections 105, 347 and 543) and dirty sodas (Section 529)
Loaded beef short rib mac and cheese
Suite-holder exclusive
Smoked short rib from Chicago-based Purely Meat Co., caramelized onions, shards of barbecue potato chips and a crust of fried onions top chewy squiggles of macaroni cloaked in what the Colts’ website mystifyingly describes as “locally sourced fondue.” The result is remarkably satisfying and almost excessively decadent thanks to the nigh-disintegrating beef and cheese of unknown origin, with the chips and fried onions delivering some lovely textural contrast. I’d put the odds of something called “loaded beef short rib mac and cheese” tasting bad at roughly zero; indeed, this suite-exclusive offering was everything I hoped.
Ultimate pork sliders
Suite-holder exclusive
This distinctly Hoosier offering dares to ask a question for which I’m not sure I want the answer: Is there such thing as too much pork? Each slider goes three hogs deep with a hammered-thin fried pork puck courtesy of Swayzee Tenderloins, a few slabs of pepper bacon and two bisected bratwurst links, all stacked in a towering ode to one of Indiana’s chief agricultural exports. A smear of whole-grain mustard and a bitey thicket of apple and Fresno chile slaw balance out the sandwich with a little zing, but you’re still signing up for more mammal than any slider could possibly need. That said, if you’re part of an organization shelling out $10,000-plus for a suite, I suppose the choice between “go big” or “go home” has already been made for you.
You can find a full list of this year’s general admission, club and sweet concessions on the Colts’ website.
Contact dining reporter Bradley Hohulin at bhohulin@indystar.com. You can follow him on Instagram @BradleyHohulin and stay up to date with Indy dining news by signing up for the Indylicious newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts, Lucas Oil unveil new stadium concessions for 2026-27 season
Reporting by Bradley Hohulin, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bradley Hohulin, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
