This season at Wrigley Field, hospitality group Levy and the Chicago Cubs will debut a rotating menu that pays tribute to the city and some of their baseball rivals, with new signature items including a doughnut in the shape of a baseball.
When the Cubs play their first home game of the season on April 4 against the San Diego Padres, one of the debut items will be a roast beef jibarito sandwich. The sandwich has its roots in the Chicago Puerto Rican community and was selected as a gluten-free option; instead of bread, the fillings are sandwiched between two fried plantains. Wrigley’s iteration has roast beef, garlic aioli and a sweet red pepper for garnish.
“The jibarito sandwich was actually created here in Chicago,” Mary Ann Culleton, executive chef for Levy at Wrigley Field, said at a preview event Wednesday morning. “We believe we’re the only baseball park featuring that this season.”
The Marquee Classics concession stand by section 117 will feature rotating menus throughout the season, with new items coming in each homestand.
Other items available during the April 4-9 games include chili lime fries and sticky pork bao buns. The team said every homestand will have at least one vegetarian item; the first will be a veggie burger with kimchi and broccoli slaw.
“This will be my 20th opening day,” Senior Executive Chef David Burns said of this upcoming weekend. He said that might make him the longest tenured ballpark chef currently in Major League Baseball. The kitchen facilities at Wrigley are older than some of their contemporaries, which is something they have to consider during their prep.
A team of 16 chefs developed a menu of over 50 items that will be available over the course of the season. Besides the classic items, the menu incorporates dishes that reflect the diversity of Chicago neighborhoods and also pays culinary tribute to visiting teams.
For instance, from July 18-23, Wrigley will be offering a classic New England lobster roll garnished with lemons, inspired by the games against the Boston Red Sox. Other items included a puffy carne asada taco (April 18-27), short rib sliders that are smoked for 18 hours in-house (July 1-6), smoked prime rib sandwich (July 1-6) and BLT fries with crispy pork belly (Sept. 1-7).
Some new additions to Wrigley’s signature items include dill pickle tater tots that exist in a space between chips and fries (available at Third Base Classics near section 110), fried ranch bombs with a spicy honey drizzle (available at Addison Street Grill near section 126) and the aforementioned baseball doughnut (available at Marquee Classics).
The doughnut, complete with red frosting stitching, comes in a display case alongside a pipette that allows fans to fill their donut with either strawberry or blueberry filling. Even though it looks like a souvenir, the chefs say the baseball donut is meant to be eaten right away.
The full menu was not available yet, but the chefs promised surprises for fans. In the past, Wrigley has had seasonal items, but this year’s menu reflects a growing ambition to attract chefs from higher-end restaurants to expand the food beyond hot dogs and burgers.
Of course, the classics still have to be represented. Bradley Johnson, senior director of hospitality and retail for the Cubs, said Wrigley Field will still have their Vienna beef Chicago dogs. Other standbys such as nachos, pretzels and Garrett’s popcorn will all be available as usual.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back the best fans in baseball here at Wrigley Field,” Johnson said.
Levy had previously debuted a new menu at the United Center for the Bulls and Blackhawks. The hospitality group works with many different stadiums, but the teams of chefs operate independently. The Wrigley team hopes the rotating menu will engage fans.
“We’d like to, for the final homestand, take feedback from the fans, so we can have the opportunity to run something a second time,” said Culleton. So, though the lobster roll might pay tribute to Boston, it could be brought back at the end of the season if fans enjoy it enough; same goes for the jibarito.
