Gridiron Grub: a DailyER food review

This season, Memorial Stadium has rolled out some exciting new food and beverage options to enhance the Husker gameday experience. Here at The DailyER, we put each and every touchdown treat to the test and rated them all on a five-star scale.

Valentino’s buffet vendors

Valentino’s pizza has been a Husker football staple for decades, but now, fans can finally enjoy the complete Valentino’s restaurant experience without leaving their seats. Memorial Stadium’s sturdiest vendors are roaming the aisles with a full spread of pizza, pasta, chicken and more, as well as stacks of fresh plates. And if you’re craving a healthier option, just flag down a salad bar vendor. We were impressed with the lineup, but we’re deducting one star for the numerous times fans were knocked out of their aisle seats by these sweeping metal smorgasboards. ★★★★

Ice-cold Dorothy Lynch bottles

Dorothy Lynch, a legendary salad dressing from right here in Nebraska, is now available as a chilled beverage to help Husker fans beat the heat on these sweltering football Saturdays. Nutrition experts have warned that an entire 16-ounce bottle of Dorothy Lynch contains 800 calories and nearly a day’s worth of fat, but that didn’t stop fans from chugging the ice-cold vessels of thick, creamy dressing as they cheered on the Big Red. We found the dressing to be overwhelmingly sweet and much more viscous than the average soda, but you can’t go wrong with a Nebraska original. ★★★★★

Adidas Climalite moisture-wicking hot dogs

If you’re a true football fan, you know the feeling of trying to enjoy a fourth-quarter hot dog, only to have it slip away under pressure due to your excessively sweaty hands. Fortunately, Adidas has devised a solution, infusing the same Climalite technology the Huskers use to stay cool on the field into every Memorial Stadium hot dog bun. Emblazoned with the iconic “three stripes,” you can grip these buns with confidence, knowing the only place they’re going is into your mouth. We did detect a slightly chewy texture and odd rubber aftertaste, but just pile on the ketchup, mustard and relish and you’ll hardly notice it. ★★★★½

Beer

Pretty sure this was just bitter Pepsi with a “beer” sticker on it. ½

Unlimited breadsticks

This may have been the biggest hit of them all. Several times each quarter, a well-dressed waiter passed a fresh basket of breadsticks down each row, causing each fan to erupt in cheers as they carefully procured a buttery loaf from under the elegantly folded cloth napkin. Free with any food purchase, the gleaming dough rods were rumored to have been sourced directly from the finest Italian kitchen in the area: the Olive Garden at Gateway Mall. The combination of exquisite cuisine and heartfelt service elevated the gameday atmosphere to a level of class and sophistication previously unheard of at Memorial Stadium. We felt like family. ★★★★★★