Thread: 2010 Chicago Cubs

SON OF A ***** Why must they play this craptacularly?

Originally Posted by motownbear

why is this thread so quiet?

Maybe most of us already gave up hope.....

CUBS WIN! CUBS WIN!

Cubs top Brewers - MLB News - FOX Sports on MSN

Sweep?

Baseball food at Wrigley Field, U.S. Cellular Field - chicagotribune.com

Menu lineup changes at Wrigley, The Cell

New items, new venues highlight the eating options for White Sox, Cubs fans

When somebody says your barbecue skills remind them of "ballpark food," you probably don't reply, "Really? Thank you!"

Ballpark food has never enjoyed much of a reputation. Indeed, the line, "buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack" could very well be interpreted as a tacit warning to steer clear of the mystery-meat hot dogs.

But through the years, ballpark food has experienced a — well, we couldn't call it a Renaissance, but surely an uptick — in quality. Sure, there remains no shortage of food that contains more fat and more sodium than is nutritionally prudent, but you're at a sporting event, not a day spa. And at least now there are options. A veggie burger here, a gluten-free option there, better meat quality overall, and root, root, rooting for the home team needn't be a diet disaster.

Here's what's new on the home team lineups this season, starting with The Cell...

Cell throws out the first bao

Holy Bao! Sportservice, which handles concessions for the White Sox, has teamed with Lettuce Entertain You to place a Wao Bao concession cart in the left-field concourse. For $5, you get a pair of bao (steamed buns), either teriyaki chicken and barbecued pork, or a vegetarian duo. Each bao is less than 200 calories. They taste just as good here as they do at the Wao Bao stores.

Elsewhere on the concourse, the Tex-Mex carts (there are two this season) have been upgraded; instead of last year's chicken and steak pieces, now there is authentic pork, beef or chicken barbacoa, assembled to order with a nice array of toppings. They're served two to a portion (you can mix and match) for $8.

At the funnel-cake carts, admittedly not the place for fastidious eaters, a new item is Funnel Fries, a $3.50 portion of french-fry-size funnel-cake strips. It's a low-mess, easy-to-share option. And you feel less guilty.

Elsewhere on the main concourse, one concession stand is now the Triple Play Carvery, selling carved-to-order roast beef, turkey and corned beef sandwiches, with three choices of bread and the usual lettuce-tomato-mayo-mustard options; $7.50 for a good-size sandwich, with kettle chips.

Up on the 500 level, a cart near Section 537 sells the stadium's messiest sandwich: an Italian sausage burger, a thick patty smothered with marinara sauce, grilled onions and spicy-hot giardiniera. One of these is just $6.50, plus $3 to get the stains dry-cleaned out of your shirt.

Now up on the Skyline Club level, for those who buy the pricier tickets ($50-$64, except for half-price Mondays), there are more refined choices, plus a wide, carpeted concourse with tables and chairs (there's also waiter service at outdoor seats). Levy Restaurants handles these concessions.

I tried two new items here — one hit, one miss. Bun-encased Niman Ranch sausages, available in apple-gouda, chipotle-cheddar and spicy-Italian versions, are flat-out terrific, and worth the pricey $7.50.

The Street Fusion cart, which serves a different ethnic cuisine each homestand, was in Greek mode when I visited, and let's just say the gyros need a little work still; the pita's too thick and the meat is too bland. Not horrible, but I can't recommend them.

Also new is the Victory Knot, a $15 pretzel the size of a pizza, served with three dipping sauces. Devotees of both parks will recognize this as a relabeling of the North Side Twist, an identical pretzel introduced to Wrigley (obviously successfully) last season. Now both parks have it.

The best incentive for working hard might be that someday you'll be able to afford season tickets and a membership in the Cell's Stadium Club, also run by Levy. It's a tiered, glassed-in area overlooking right field (spectacular views, by the way), where members feed at a lavish buffet of carved roasts, pastas and appetizers such as crab-stuffed mushrooms and roasted cauliflowers. And the Stadium Club Bar serves a Niman Ranch burger, on a sturdy pretzel bun, that's one of the best burgers in Chicago. Stay in school, kids.

Wrigley has 'em buffaloed

Levy Restaurants handles just about all the food at Wrigley. The one exception is the Captain Morgan Club, the indoor/outdoor space launched last year and still operated by the Harry Caray Restaurant Group. Captain Morgan is the one dining area open to the public even on nongame days; new items here include fried portobello mushrooms and pork-shank "wings" with barbecue sauce. And you can carry your food inside Wrigley.

But back to the park.

Turns out the Ricketts family brought more to the Cubs than fresh faces and a remodeled players' locker room. The family's ranch in Little Jackson Hole, Wyo., produces humanely raised, all-natural bison meat, which goes into the High Plains Bison hot dog, available at the Chicago Dogs carts at various points in the park. At a mere $5.25, this is one terrific hot dog, with meaty flavor and a satisfying bite. It's the best hot dog in the park. You can also get it buffalo-style (buffalo-style bison sounds redundant, but it isn't), and the Big Dawg's kiosk by the home-plate entrance offers footlong versions for $7.

The Sheffield Grill, the private-party space just inside the park in the right-field corner, isn't new. What is new is that it's open to the public for the two hours before game time. Upholstered bar stools, tile floors and ceiling fans give the place a Chicago-bar feel, and you can order either a High Plains Bison burger ($8, and very nice), and whatever meat is being carved that day — barbecued brisket on my visit, but maybe citrus-marinated turkey breast on a bun, or even pad thai. Even better, few fans seem to know this, so there's plenty of room to sit and relax.

Along the concourse, new items include a hot and juicy chicken-breast sandwich ($6.50); thumb-size pretzel bites ($4.50) that I would like if they skipped the gloppy pump-cheese topping and cut out about two-thirds of the salt; and an Italian Cub sandwich (get it?) that's a good deal for $6.75.

The eye-catching addition this year is dubbed Big Slugger Nachos, and lest you think "big slugger" is hyperbolic, let me assure you it isn't. The dish, which costs $15 (same price as the ginormous North Side Twist pretzel), embodies two solid pounds of tortilla chips, chili con carne, melted cheese, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, black olives, green onions, sour cream and cilantro, all piled in a keepsake plastic Cubs hat. The idea is to share this monstrosity with at least three (and preferably 15) other people. This dish is legitimately frightening. You can find it at the Big Dawg's kiosk, at the Cub House on the terrace level (behind home plate) and at Bleacher Bums in, where else, the bleachers.

On the plus side, the hat fits.

And for those who only rarely dine on plastic ware: Wrigley's new PNC Club, a 71-person premium club up among the suites, where deep-pocketed fans (members, that is; you can't simply visit) can sample bibb salad with poached pears and bleu cheese, High Plains Bison sirloin, rack of lamb and other baseball classics.


Two-pound Big Slugger Nachos served at Wrigley Field in a keepsake plastic Cubs hat.
View more pictures of the food at Wrigley Field and The Cell HERE.

What did Jesus say to the cubs?

Spoiler

Dont do anything till I get back