Mariners fans can’t get enough toasted grasshoppers during Monday’s home opener at Safeco Field

Seattle Mariners fans celebrated their team’s home opener on Monday by eating bugs. And lots of them.

Safeco Field is serving toasted grasshoppers tossed in key lime salt at one of its concession stands this season. The Mariners broadcast during Seattle’s 6-0 win over Houston reported that the stadium had sold out of the kind of gross-sounding snack, according to ESPN’s David Schoenfield.

Toasted grasshoppers are said be popular in Mexico, where they are called chapulines. Mariners concessionaire Centerplate offers them in a $4 cup at a stand run by local Mexican restaurant Poquitos in the area behind the outfield wall known as The Pen.

"They are a one-of-a-kind snack that the fans will really love -- either on a taco or on their own," said Steve Dominguez, general manager for Centerplate at the stadium. "It's a testament to our relationship with the Mariners to be bold and creative with bringing in new local partners that really embody the Seattle culinary scene."

Maybe the stand didn’t stock much of the item in the first place. Maybe it was the novelty. Or maybe the crunchy critters actually taste good. But for at least the first home game of the season, fans apparently just couldn’t get enough.

charles.schilken@latimes.com

Twitter: @chewkiii