Washington hosts No. 20 Iowa at Husky Stadium tonight, Friday, October 9, with kickoff at 6:00 PM PT on FOX or FS1. The Huskies come in at 3-2 (0-2 in the Big Ten) after a loss at USC; the Hawkeyes are 4-1 and flew two time zones west on a short week. Both teams are hungry. You should not be.
A Friday night kickoff changes the usual game-day math. There's no lazy Saturday tailgate morning. Most people are coming straight from class, work, or a commute, which means the window to eat is short and the Ave gets crowded fast. This guide is about using that window well.
Why a Friday kickoff is harder to feed
On a Saturday, you graze. On a Friday, you have roughly a two-hour gap between "done with the day" and "in your seat," and it overlaps with the evening rush on I-5, Montlake, and 45th. Restaurants near campus get a wave of fans around 4:30 and stay slammed until about 5:30, when everyone suddenly remembers the walk to the stadium.
The other problem: a 6 PM kickoff with a typical three-and-a-half-hour game puts the final whistle around 9:30 PM. Plenty of kitchens on and around the Ave wind down by then. So you want a real meal before the game, not a snack you plan to "fix later."
The game-day timing guide
Here's a schedule that works backward from kickoff. Adjust for your section, your walking speed, and how seriously you take the pregame band.
- 3:30–4:15 PM — Eat. This is the sweet spot. Lines on the Ave are still manageable and you have time to sit down instead of eating on the sidewalk.
- 4:15–4:45 PM — Second wave. Still workable, but expect lines. Order ahead online if the place offers it.
- 4:45–5:15 PM — Start walking. From the Ave, Husky Stadium is a 20–25 minute walk across campus. Security lines at the gates add more.
- 5:15–5:45 PM — Get through the gates. Check the Huskies app for exact gate times and the clear-bag rules before you leave.
- 6:00 PM — Kickoff. Ideally you're seated, fed, and not still licking sauce off your fingers in the concourse.
If you're coming by Link light rail, U District Station drops you right by the Ave, and UW Station sits next to the stadium. Eating near the first and riding one stop to the second is a perfectly respectable strategy for anyone who has already walked enough today.
What to eat before kickoff
The ideal pregame meal is fast, filling, and won't leave you sluggish by the second quarter. That rules out a few things. Giant platters take too long. Anything soupy is hard to rush. A sandwich at 4 PM is gone by halftime.
A noodle bowl hits the balance well: real carbs and protein, served quickly, eaten in about fifteen minutes. That's where aburasoba comes in. It's brothless ramen — thick noodles tossed in a seasoned sauce with toppings, no hot soup to wait on or spill. At Slurp Station (4701 Brooklyn Ave NE, one block off the Ave), a bowl comes out quickly and you can be walking toward Montlake within half an hour of sitting down. We're open until 9 PM, and online ordering runs until 8:30, so a pickup order placed around 4 lets you skip the line entirely.
Other solid pregame options on and around the Ave: a teriyaki plate, a rice bowl, a burrito, or a slice or two of pizza. The rule is the same everywhere — pick something that comes out fast and fills you up, and go early.
Eating after the final whistle
This is where Friday night gets tricky. If the game runs long, you'll be walking back toward the Ave around 9:30 or later along with tens of thousands of other people. Many sit-down kitchens near campus, including ours, will be closed by then.
A few honest options:
- Leave at the half. Not recommended against a ranked opponent, but you'd beat both the crowd and the kitchen closings.
- Order pickup before the game, eat it after. Grab a second bowl or a to-go box at 4 PM and keep it for later. Aburasoba reheats better than soup ramen since there's no broth to go cold.
- Head for late-night spots. The U District has a handful of places that stay open past 10 — our late-night food guide covers them.
- Go home. Underrated. Your fridge doesn't have a line.
A few game-day survival tips
Bring a layer. October nights by Lake Washington get cold quickly once the sun drops, and the stadium is open to the wind off the water. Charge your phone before you leave, since mobile tickets and a dead battery don't mix. And if you're driving, plan to park well away from the stadium and walk — traffic out of the Montlake area after a night game is slow.
Most importantly, eat before you go. Stadium food is fine, but at stadium prices, a real meal on the Ave tends to win on both price and flavor. Enjoy the game, and go Dawgs. 🐾
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