Dodger Stadium World Series MVP Contenders: Karaage, Dumplings, Fried Nutella Sandwich

LOS ANGELES, CA — As the Boys in Blue take the field against the Yankees in the World Series at Dodger Stadium Friday, it's the fans who will have the real home-field advantage with a special lineup of dishes inspired by Los Angeles' diverse culinary landscape.

Indeed, the menu items are far from the peanuts-and-Cracker Jacks that comes to mind with ballpark menus. Levy, the company that runs Dodger Stadium's concessions, said its chefs wanted to debut unique dishes for the occasion: the first World Series meeting between the LA and New York teams in over four decades.

“The World Series is the biggest stage in baseball and the biggest platform to showcase how unique and delicious ballpark food can be. We’ve dialed in a menu lineup showcasing the diverse global flavors of LA in creative, approachable ways that all fans enjoy at the ballpark," Levy's Christine Gerriets, the executive chef at Dodger Stadium, told Patch in a statement.

Here's a look at the three special World Series menu items announced Thursday:

Chicken Karaage Bowl

Karaage, the Japanese deep-frying technique well-loved for producing delightfully crispy and juicy pieces of bite-sized chicken, meets Korean flavors in this dish, which is served over seamed rice alongside shredded cabbage, cucumber, edamame, Kewpie mayo and miso dressing.

Deep Fried Peanut Butter and Nutella Sandwich

This indulgent sandwich could have come straight from the Los Angeles County Fair. The creation includes peanut butter, Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread, bananas and strawberries layered between thick slices of Texas toast, before it's dipped in funnel cake batter and deep fried.

Chili Oil Dumplings

These dumplings represent another mashup of the kind of Asian cuisines beloved by Angelenos. Pork dumplings are served with a generous variety of seasonings: narutomaki (Japanese fish cakes), shiitake mushrooms, chili oil, crispy garlic, scallions and cilantro.

If you're thinking about heading to Dodger Stadium for dinner this weekend, get ready to pay up — and I'm not talking about inflated stadium food prices. Tickets for this year's World Series are set to be the most expensive ever, CNN reported. As of Thursday night, the cheapest ticket for Friday's opening game was over $900 on ticket reseller StubHub.

The first pitch of Game 1 is set for 5:08 p.m. Friday.

Drive-Thru Diary is a journey of all that's delicious, noteworthy and downright weird in the world of fast food, quick bites and the culinary field at large. Got an idea? I'd love to hear from you: chris.lindahl@patch.com.