A cart of food is displayed at the media luncheon on Wednesday, August 28.
Credit: Eric Seger / Sports editor
Ohio State football fans can now enjoy new menu choices courtesy of Levy Restaurants during football games this season, and if you like food as much as I do, you’re in luck.
The company founded in Chicago has brought its restaurant-style food to Ohio Stadium to serve more than 105,000 guests new food options every Saturday and offer all fans a “quality restaurant experience.” Buckeye fans who like food and insist upon it being a part of theirgameday have chosen the right stadium.
I attended a food tasting with a few of my colleagues to sample the new menu items Wednesday.
My jaw might have hit the floor when I walked in the room.
There were tacos, fried chicken po’boys, smoked barbecue brisket potato skins, foot-long hotdogs and vegetables with a hummus trio, but that was only the first two carts.
The gluten-free cart was next, with hotdogs, sandwiches and nachos, way more offerings than most gluten-free eaters tend to have at at least the restaurants I’ve been to.
The next cart was as close to food heaven as there could have been. There were chili cheese dogs, and there was the Buckeye O’wich, the dreamiest sandwich my little eyes have ever seen.
Executive chef Tim Dionisio explained the perfection while I stood there wide-eyed.
“Our big hit is the ‘Buckeye O’wich.’ It’s basically Texas toast-style, making French toast from scratch in our kitchen, then they’re smeared with peanut butter, Nutella, put together, pressed like a panini, cut it in half and served with chocolate ganache and powdered sugar to finish it off,” he said. “We’re making these things like crazy.”
By the time he was done talking, I think I was drooling.
Next up was the big Brutus pretzel, a two-pound pretzel served with beer cheese, whole grain mustard and vanilla icing. I mean, does it really get any better?
Yes, it does.
The final cart was comprised of Cap City Diner meatloaf bites, Marcella’s house made cherry crustadas and Cameron Mitchell lump crab cakes.
By this point, I swear everyone in the room could have heard my stomach growling.
As I planned my attack, I decided to try a little bit of whatever I could. Since I have some food allergies, I was somewhat limited but still had plenty of choices.
First was the loaded potato skin, then chili cheese dog, and finally my dream came true as I was handed a BuckeyeO’wich.
I more or less ran to my table and dug in, and let me tell you, it was all I expected and more.
But as I continued to eat, I began to hear some rustling in the crowd and turned around to see perfection across the room.
A dessert cart.
Candy, Graeter’s ice cream, six-layer carrot cake, lemon bars and salted popcorn.
Of course I tried as much as I could, but finally I had to tap out and stop enjoying the feast.
The bottom line is, whether you’re a regular fan buying your concessions from the concourse or a season suite holder, your eating options have skyrocketed this season.
Saturday at noon, come hungry.
