Like any good coach, Farmer was careful when shaking up his squad with new foods for this season.
“We don’t want it to be so far out of left field that it makes no sense for it to be on our menu,” he says. “We want it to be cool and unique. It’s not worth doing something if they can already get it somewhere else.”
With a decent scouting report, after having been a featured item during a homestand last year, loaded tater tots earned a permanent position on Farmer’s roster this season.
“French fries are great,” the chef says, “but tots are where it’s at for me. … I’ve always preferred a tater tot over a french fry. They’re super versatile, and, for me, it brings back memories of a good childhood.”
The potato-based dish is covered in nacho cheese, chili, bacon and scallions. Fans are then able to add jalapeños or onions and other garnishes depending on their preference.
Burgertopia — located behind Section 105 on the first base side of the concourse — now features an Italian sausage sandwich with grilled peppers and onions.
On the sweet side, one of Farmer’s most promising rookies this season is the churro doughnut.
“It’s a cinnamon-sugar churro that is formed into a doughnut,” he says. “It has the signature ridges of a churro.”
The idea for the dessert item came from Farmer’s own family.
“In recent years, me and my wife and my daughter, we’ve kind of become Disney nuts,” he says. “So every year that we go there, my daughter (makes sure) the first thing we do is get a churro. She craves them every year, so that’s kind of a personal thing for me. It’s kind of cool to bring that here.”
The chef made plenty of churros while working in a Spanish restaurant in Indianapolis. It’s no surprise that the crispy-on-the-outside, still-warm-on-the-inside pastry covered in cinnamon and sugar is a delicious treat during a cool Sunday afternoon doubleheader, rare as those may be in today’s game.
As the days turn warmer, fans can add ice cream to their churro or to an elephant ear at the stadium’s new “Sweet Spot.” A go-to place for desserts, the new concession is behind home plate on the concourse.
“So it’s just novelty specialty desserts, things like that,” Farmer says. “That was something that we kind of had in little pockets around the park, but it didn’t really have a home, necessarily. We wanted to give it a home, do some cool and unique things.”
The new items will join a number of already established favorites unique to the stadium, such as the Philly Cheesesteak nachos. The stadium started serving the fan favorite when the team started its first season as the Cubs.
“Those things pretty much have a following of their own,” Farmer says. “We could probably start a Facebook page for them or an Instagram following for them. … They’re super simple, but it just works. It’s just one of those items that all of those (ingredients) just work together very, very well. It’s a home run for us.”
For more than a decade, minor league baseball teams have made names for themselves with their culinary creations. One of the first, if not the first food items to garner the attention of baseball fans and foodies was the Krispy Kreme Burger introduced in 2006 by the Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget, Ill.
That bacon cheeseburger uses a Krispy Kreme doughnut as a bun and is touted as “Baseball’s Best Burger.” It was introduced into the Frontier League Hall of Fame last year.
The Cubs — like all minor league teams — will continue to serve classic baseball foods such as hot dogs and popcorn, but those looking for a little adventure on their ballpark menus are going to find it.
“It’s just a unique way to bring people out to the ballpark,” Farmer says, “especially with a minor league team.”
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