Brat topped by curds tops new Packers game day foods at Lambeau Field
Daniel HigginsGREEN BAY - Cheese curds on brats. Bacon in tater tots. Welcome to the concession stands at Lambeau Field for the Green Bay Packers 100th season.
Delaware North, which runs the food operations for the Packers, trotted out its latest creations on Tuesday for a media tasting.
Heath Barbato, executive chef for Delaware North at Lambeau Field, says they looked into doing a 100-year-anniversary food item, but after looking at menus from a century ago, it was clear that American food tastes have changed. Significantly. How do you work quail into a game day menu?
Still, topping a bratwurst with melty cheese curds, known by its menu name Brat-in-a-Blanket, seems rather appropriate. Oh, and it's topped with a beer mustard.
"It's kinda the Wisconsin sandwich," Barbato said.
Meanwhile, Barbato got inspired to stuff tater tots with bacon after creating crab-stuffed tots during a business trip to San Francisco.
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Most food items making it out of testing and landing in concession stands around Lambeau included bratwurst, bacon and cheese. Big surprise, right?
Brat-in-a-Blanket
Ingredients: Brat wrapped by melted cheese curds, topped with beer mustard in a pretzel bun.
Cost: $12
Where: Sections 135, 347, 405, 674
Scouting report: Melty cheese curds mellow out the spicy brat and beer mustard. Usually, I only take a bite or two of each sample during the media tasting, but this was tasty enough to get me to finish the whole thing.
Brat & Cheese Dip with Hard Pretzels
Cost: $6
Where: Sections 105, 108, 116, 119, 124, 131, 132, 309, 407
Scouting report: Barbato predicted I would really like this one. He was right. It's a thicker version of a brat-cheese soup. Think of the hard pretzels as your croutons but tastier.
Loaded Potato Tater-Barrels
Ingredients: Over-sized tater tots made with bacon, chives and cheese, topped with sour cream.
Cost: $9
Where: 124, 407, 427
Scouting report: Proving bacon does make everything better, even tots, the super-sized barrels of deep-fried taters delivered plenty of smokey bacon flavor.
Ham Fanwich
Ingredients: Shaved Black Forest ham, Black Forest bacon, sautéed onions, mustard cheese sauce on a pretzel roll.
Cost: $10
Where: Sections 124, 131, 315, 486
Scouting report: Another sample I finished. I debated going back for seconds. Granted, it's pretty much a ham and bacon sandwich. But it is a ham and bacon sandwich, so, how can you go wrong? The version at the toasted sandwiches stand will come on a hoagie bun.
Maple Bacon Wrapped Hot Dog
Ingredients: Hot dog wrapped in maple glazed bacon.
Cost: $9
Where: Section 124
Scouting report: It's what you'd expect. Smokey with a hint of sweet. It is served on a stick, so, no bun, which, is good for the carb-averse, I guess.
Churros with chocolate sauce
Cost: $11
Where: Sections 106, 137, 138, 354, 742, North Balcony (Taco Verde)
Scouting report: No, these aren't made in-house, but the vendor provides what you want from a churro. Crunchy outside. Chewy inside. Sweet all the way through. Yes, you want to dip it in the chocolate sauce.
Brat Trio
Ingredients: Jalapeno-cheddar bratwurst split with bacon jam, an Old World sausage with da-works sauce, and an Italian sausage with peppers and onions.
Cost: $12
Where: Sections 405, 674
Scouting report: The jalapeno-cheddar brat packs the most flavor punch. I would go for three of those if it were an option.
Pizza Box Nachos
Ingredients: Loaded nachos in a pizza-sized box.
Cost: $14
Where: Section 686
Scouting report: Pretty much nachos in a large box. Share these.