PENGUINS COCKTAILS | PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

At 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9, the puck drops on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2024-2025 season — and so do eight new food concepts at PPG Paints Arena.

Fans can enjoy smashburgers, tacos, pierogies and Mike Lange-inspired sandwiches then wash it all down with a 24-ounce beer served in a plastic hockey stick.

After poring over post-game surveys and conducting off-season research — including taste-testing 20 kinds of tortilla chips — chef Terry Davidson and his crew have cooked up some menus that would make Elvis stay in the building.

THE “LORD STANLEY” — GRILLED SHAVED STEAK, PROVOLONE CHEESE, SEASONED WAFFLE FRIES AND COLESLAW ON AN ITALIAN HOAGIE ROLL. | PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Steel City Smash serves smashburgers and loaded fries. At Tacos on 5th you can get chicken, ground beef or chorizo tacos or make it a hat trick and eat all three. North Shore Nacho specializes in loaded nacho platters. Pierogies and sausages are available at Polish Hill Grill. If you want more cluck for your buck, go with my favorite offering, Fuku’s crispy, habanero-brined chicken breast with mayo and pickle on a potato roll. I also loved the street corn quinoa salad from Suite Table, a concept that also sells charcuterie boards, Reubens, cinnamon rolls and slow-cooked BBQ spareribs. Through a new partnership with Coca-Cola, there’s a Smokehouse BBQ pork sandwich braised and glazed in Cherry Coke.

THE LOADED NACHO PLATTER | PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Last Spring, hungry baseball fans were buzzing about PNC Park’s Renegade Dog, a frankfurter topped with pierogies, pot roast, pickles and caramelized onions.

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

With Mic Drop!, PPG Paints Arena pays tribute to Mike Lange, who served as the Penguins play-by-play announcer for 46 years until 2021. During his four decades in the booth, he came up with some quirky catchphrases that are now edible.

Lord Stanley is grilled shaved steak, provolone cheese, seasoned waffle fries and coleslaw on an Italian hoagie roll while the Sausalito Seal is roasted Buffalo chicken, cheddar jack cheese, gorgonzola crema, fries and onions on ciabatta bread.

In addition to new food offerings, the Penguins are launching public tours that, for the first time in the facility’s 14-year history, include access to the locker room and press box. Weekly tours start Oct. 22 and are $25.

After oohing and ahhing over the players’ gear, you can buy your own in the team store, which has doubled in size since last season. Personally, I think the best souvenir is that hockey stick beer receptacle.

Buy Sam a drink and get his dog one, too. Just don’t drink your face-off.