Comerica's new food items from out of left field
Detroit — Unusual and unheard of, when it comes to new foods at Comerica Park, is the name of the game, said Mark Szubeczak, executive chef of the Detroit Tigers.
"Nothing's off the table," he said. "It's the crazy, it's the off-the-wall stuff that people pay attention to. That's what's so fun about it — playing with the food and seeing how the guests like it."
Baseball fans will have a slew of new — and decidedly porcine-heavy — options come opening day Monday. Mash-ups and fusions abound in combinations that will likely raise more than a few eyebrows.
New combinations aren't new for Szubeczak, whose ancestry is Polish and Mexican and who studied at the Culinary Institute of America. Growing up, he wrapped all kinds of foods in a tortilla, he said. And of the seven new offerings, the "coney quesadilla" is the offering he expects to do the best with the upcoming crowds.
"It's another twist to the coney and I'm excited about that," Szubeczak said.
The creation is a hot dog topped with coney sauce, cheddar cheese and onions then encased in a flour tortilla and grilled. It and the other foods were unveiled to media members Thursday inside the Tiger Club at Comerica.
In addition to the coney quesadilla, the new items are:
■ Queso pork rinds: The pork rinds come with a cheese dipping sauce.
■ Foot-long coney dog: It features a natural casing and is topped with coney sauce and onions.
■ Pretzel dog: Topped with nacho cheese and scallions inside a pretzel roll.
■ Chips and dip dog: A hot dog topped with French onion dip, Lay's Potato Chips and chopped green onions.
■ Chicken bacon cheddar sandwich: The chicken is smoked and topped with cheddar, bacon and barbecue sauce and served on a kaiser roll.
■ Bacon and eggs: A thick slab of bacon topped with three deviled eggs made with sriracha hot sauce (and without mayonnaise). The eggs then will be topped with a fried jalapeno slice.
"These are just your fun and gimmicky-type things that people gravitate to," he said. "It's just a nice option for the fans to have something different."
But just because the foods will be available Opening Day doesn't mean they'll necessarily make it in the big leagues. The items that sell stay. The ones that don't will be phased out.
It's called "menu engineering," he said. In the off-season, Szubeczak and about 20 others brainstorm ideas before deciding on new items.
"We try to bring something different. Hopefully they like it," he said. "But they'll tell us what they don't like."
New items that will only be available in the Tiger Club are a crispy chicken ramen bowl, and smoked pork served with macaroni and cheese that is pressed in a waffle iron.
"Like technology the menus are evolving," said Ron Colangelo, Tigers vice president of communications. "It's about trying to give fans a taste of something different.
Szuberczak and his crew will offer healthy options also. He's working with about 30 Michigan farms and a section of the stadium will sell fresh salads, sandwiches, fruits, sushi and other less-decadent fare.
Also, come May, the former Leo's Coney Island will become a new restaurant called the Corner Tap Room.
"It's going to be a throwback to the old Tigers Stadium,' Szubeczak said. "It's going to have a lot of great beer. It's going to have a good little patio out in the front. It's going to be a brand new menu. There's about 20 new items on there."
The mode will be "urban bistro," he said, and will include memorabilia from Tigers Stadium. The restaurant will include neon and section signs from the razed ballpark.
"This is the most fun I've had in my career — going on this 35-years plus." Szubeczak said. "I walk into the stadium and everybody's high-fiving me. So that's a compliment right there. And people aren't shy. If they don't like something they speak up."
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