If you look at the marketing research, 16 percent of the people show up for baseball, the others come for the family, the entertainment, getting out of the house, but the majority of them eat elsewhere, so the idea is to try and get the buzz started on something. – Salt Lake Bees executive chef Thomas Lynch
Crazy food concoctions have become more and more of the norm in the baseball world.
From chicken in a cone to two-foot sandwiches to churros disguising as hot dogs, eating unique food is just part of the ballpark experience. It's no different in Salt Lake City.
“I have worked for one of the biggest managers of arenas and they always come up with like a three-pound hamburger and all kinds of crazy stuff,” Salt Lake Bees executive chef Thomas Lynch said. “If you look at the marketing research, 16 percent of the people show up for baseball, the others come for the family, the entertainment, getting out of the house, but the majority of them eat elsewhere, so the idea is to try and get the buzz started on something.”
This year that something is the Smokehouse Burger.
What do you get when you top a burger with cheese, beef brisket, pulled pork, coleslaw, onions, tomato and pickles, and served with a side of watermelon? One American good time. Also, potentially a heart attack, but isn’t that just part of the fun?
With the Smokehouse Burger, the Bees food staff is sticking to the old saying — bigger is better. Lynch said that because stadium food charges premium price, the idea is to give customers something that’s worth it, and that means things can get pretty extravagant and large.
The new burger is the main attraction to the ballpark’s new smoker, and though currently the smoker, which is located in the right field concourse, is just sitting on a trailer sending out the aroma of flavored wood and premium meat, it will soon all be the site of some barbecuing exhibitions.
“We are going to take it off the trailer, build a stand for it, then build a dress for it,” Lynch said. “So it looks like it’s part of the building but still have the outside opportunity. We will have a cutting block, guy carving it up and putting in on, so it’s a show.”
Lynch was originally told the station would be ready by May 15, but thinks it’s more realistic that it will be done by the end of the month.
The only problem with having such a large burger is that there aren’t a lot of places to sit down and eat. Lynch is aware of this, and he has dreams of a food eating area put in in the right-field patio. But as of now, those are only dreams (if you cook it, it will come?)
The Bees did adapt one of their new dishes from last year to make it easier for fans to handle in the stands. The Southwest Sausage is a half-pound sausage, covered with sauteed peppers and onion and topped off with southwest sauce. The sausage itself doesn’t come close to fitting in the foot-long bun, but it’s relative thinness has helped fans in the bleachers. A season ago, the sausage was more bulky which, according to Lynch, made it harder to eat and also gave it an odd texture.
“Last year it was a fatter one and a little stubbier,” he said. “And when you bit into it, I can’t really explain it, but it was like, ‘nah, that’s not very good.’”
So for one of the harder assignments that I’ve had to do as a sports writer, I went and got myself one of these sausages and grabbed a seat at Smith’s Ballpark to see if it was easy to eat while watching a game, and also to find if it was good.
Since the sausage is far larger than the bun, the whole picking it up like a hot dog thing probably is not the best route to go. But with a little help from the basket it comes in, it was pretty easy to eat. No spills on the shirt, no peppers falling to the ground and one could stand and cheer for the home team without it slipping out his or her hands. It passed the test in my book.
And the taste? If you like fajitas mixed with sausage and baseball you found your new best friend. The peppers and sauce do give it a kick, but not enough of one to overpower the sausage taste, just enhance it.
Prior to the 2014 season, Lynch was driving home and he started thinking about what the Bees should do for the upcoming Minor League ballpark concession contest. This thought entered his mind: “Everyone loves hot dogs, everyone love nachos — let’s do a nacho dog.”
Soon the Nacho Dog — an all-beef hot dog topped with taco meat, cheese, olives, sour cream, served with chips on the side for scooping up the remains — was born.
“If you look at any arena anywhere, be football, basketball, baseball, they are all going for a wow factor,” Lynch said.
Smith's Ballpark is no different, and while the park has other items including pizza, standard hot dogs (which are $1 on Wednesday’s) and Philly cheese steaks, the wow items may just give fans a major league test at a Minor League park.