Attendees of Seattle Mariners baseball games ate a whopping 18,000 toasted grasshoppers in just the first three nights of their home opening games last week.
Safeco Field, the retractable roof baseball stadium of the Mariners, sold out of the baked insects each night, according to its official Twitter account.
We have sold out of @vivapoquitos chapulines all three nights at @SafecoField. By the numbers:
901 orders
30.8 lbs
18,000+ grasshoppers pic.twitter.com/LpUUOZTHWA— Safeco Foodie (@SafecoFieldEats) April 14, 2017
Known as chapulines, the species of grasshoppers indigenous to Mexico, the bugs are wildly popular in Latin America, specifically regions of Mexico like Oaxaca as well as much of Central America. But the bugs have found their way up to the Northwest of the U.S. as insectivorous baseball fans ordered more than 900 cups of the chapulines (31 lbs.) — every single one the stadium had to offer.
“That’s more than the restaurant [that runs the stand], Poquitos, sells in a year,” a Mariners spokesperson told ESPN.
The team never anticipated the dish would be so desired.
“We don’t expect to sell a lot of them, but it’s a fun thing to offer and it’s an authentic,” Rebecca Hale, a Mariners representative, said prior to opening day, according to ESPN.
The Mariners called in an emergency order of grasshoppers for the weekend so they could help fulfill the apparent high demand. (RELATED: Pollster Eats Bugs On Live TV After Being Wrong About Trump Victory)
In the future, the stadium is placing a limit on how many orders it can sell per game.
.@vivapoquitos @SafecoField Moving forward, to manage inventory, we will sell 312 orders per game. Why 312? This guy’s career batting average. #EdgarHOF pic.twitter.com/nU1WuC5dy8
— Safeco Foodie (@SafecoFieldEats) April 14, 2017
With the unforeseen success of the grasshoppers, the Mariners have reportedly received calls from suppliers asking if they want to sell crickets or other edible insects.
“We don’t have plans to expand that portion of the menu,” said Hale, according to ESPN.
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