Stacked Bloody Marys, brisket burgers, vegan crunch wraps, corned beef eggrolls, barbecue nachos and more game-time grub are available for Lions fans this season at Ford Field.
This year, there’s a focus not just on local, Black-owned businesses and chefs, but those who have restaurants near the stadium. Bert’s Marketplace in Eastern Market, Great Lakes Burger and Pizza Bar near Greektown, Crack & Sizzle hibachi carryout in the Rivertown area and local caterers On the Roll Next Level Eggrolls all have cuisine available at Ford Field.
“Ford Field has a long history of working with restaurant partners in general … we have focused more so recently on working with more Metro Detroit restaurant partners, minority-owned specifically,” said Cyrus Walker, director of operations at Levy Restaurants, which supplies the food and beverage for the stadium. “We also have a ton of other minority-owned restaurant partners in the building. We do everything we can to work with them.”
The goal is to attract football fans early to ease congestion not just at the gates but on the road, and offer ticketholders an in-stadium experience. Gates will open at 10:30 a.m. for Sunday’s home opener, 30 minutes earlier than usual.
Early birds will have access to more deals, too. From 10:30 a.m. to noon, fans can experience “power hour,” with $7 Bloody Marys, $4 beers and cocktails, $3 soft drinks and $3.50 hot dogs.
In addition to supporting local, hometown brands like Bert’s and Great Lakes Burger Bar, Ford Field has new signature items this year for a variety of diets. Levy Restaurants’ chef Matt Coleman, a lifelong Lions fan who recently relocated from Las Vegas, calls these “wow items.”
Sure to be popular with the plant-based crowd, the vegan crunch wrap has soy chorizo, vegan cheese, refried beans and salsa verde. Expect quite a few vegan and vegetarian dishes and alternatives at the stadium, which was named on People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ list of top vegan-friendly NFL venues last month.
Levy hospitality group is also launching Coca-Cola pulled-pork nachos to celebrate Ford Fields’ new partnership with Coca-Cola. The Coke-infused, tender and sweet pulled pork is paired with melted nacho cheese, sour cream, barbecue sauce and chopped green onions. Both the nachos and the vegan crunch wrap will be sold in section 140.
Naturally, hamburgers are a big offering at the stadium. The best may be the gourmet brisket burger from Great Lakes Burger Bar, found in the North Club, which has lettuce, tomato, thick-cut pickle slices and a creamy aioli. Head to the upper concourse to section 239 for the Midwest inspired “King of the North” burger with local beef topped with Chicago-style Italian beef, Minnesota-inspired Spam, Wisconsin cheese curds and grilled onions.
Yet another burger is part of the monstrosity that is the 90th season Bloody Mary, a whopper of a brunch beverage garnished with not just celery, but also a meat stick, peppers, cheese, cheese curds, olives, an entire beef slider and a shot of beer. Served in a commemorative cup, this cocktail will run you about $25 and is sold in sections 112 and 222.
In addition to finding Coca-Cola products throughout Ford Field, visitors will also notice a lot of Little Caesars. The Detroit-based pizza company has eight concession stands selling the “super slice,” a massive rectangle, deep dish slice of pepperoni or plain cheese pizza.
Melody Baetens is The Detroit News’ restaurant critic
mbaetens@detroitnews.com