Ah, baseball in spring.
The crack of the bat. The light shimmer of fresh-cut Kentucky blue grass. The indigenous calls of the Philadelphia heckler.
At Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, the home of the Phillies, it also means the whiff of a Campo’s cheesesteak, a Jersey boardwalk pie from Manco and Manco or maybe some Crabfries from Chickie’s and Pete’s.
These food favorites will all remain, and those popular Manco and Manco pies also will be available at three additional locations around the ballpark. But as the Phillies face off against the Reds at the home season opener on Thursday, April 6, fans also will find some new names and some new food to choose.
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New options at Citizens Bank Park range from Israeli-made chicken tenders to the stadium’s first-ever vegan food stall, not to mention a new cheesesteak named after Phillies legend “Uncle Charlie” Manuel.
All food, including partnerships with familiar Philadelphia or Jersey names, will be served by workers from stadium vendor Aramark.
Here’s the dish on the new Phillies ballpark meals and snacks — where to find them, and how they tasted at a media preview held Monday, April 3.
Cheesesteaks at Uncle Charlie’s Steaks
Right field, Section 109
Charlie Manuel is a Phillies icon, managing the team to five straight division titles and a World Series championship. And so the stadium will honor him in true South Philly fashion: chopped ribeye and Cooper Sharp cheese on a roll.
Manuel said he’s honored they’d name a steak after him. And while he wasn’t part of developing it, he did get to try it early on and found it “tasty.” That said, his somewhat unorthodox cheese preference won’t be on the menu. “Most of the time I like Swiss cheese,’ he told us.
“If Charlie wants Swiss,” said Aramark chef Vonnie Negron, smiling, “we’ll make him one with Swiss.”
How it tastes: The roll is a hard, seeded roll with pleasing outer crispness, made specially for Uncle Charlie’s by Liscio’s bakery. If we’re going to quibble, we could say the roll could use a little more softness and give in the middle to soak up meat juice. But let’s not: This is a bona fide Liscio’s roll in a ballpark, with tender medium-chop ribeye and the luscious silkiness of Cooper Sharp American cheese. 9/10 on a ballpark-food scale.
Classic burger at 1883 Burger Co.
Right field, sections 109 and 207.
We gotta cry foul on the historical accuracy here: Maybe the Phillies were founded in 1883, but nobody invented the American hamburger until at least the 1890s.
That said, the burger in evidence here is more 1960s diner with a couple modern upgrades: shortrib-ribeye burger blend, lettuce, “special sauce” and pickles. The burger stand also will serve up chicken tenders, “jumbo Phillies Franks” and boardwalk fries.
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How it tastes: Speaking only for the burger? Not bad! The special sauce is a bit overheavy on mayo, saved by a slight tangy kick. The Liscio’s bun is a nice touch. It’s a brewpub-caliber burger at a ballpark stand, and for this it gets 8/10.
Vegan Chk’n Parm and Gyro from Greens & Grains
Behind home plate, section 123.
Atlantic County-based Greens and Grains is the first vegan restaurant to get a berth at Citizens Bank. Expect gyros made with gluten-based seitan, and a Chk’n “parm” pesto made with pea protein.
How it tastes: The parm is a remarkably solid facsimile: much less chew and crispness than a pounded cutlet, but the taste is somewhere near the bullseye. But at least in the version served at the advance media tasting, the gyro’s generous mound of seitan tended a bit toward rubber. Parm: 8/10. Gyro 5/10.
Cheesesteak Egg Rolls at PJ Whelihan’s
Home plate, Ashburn Alley
These cheesesteak egg rolls are some of the most popular items at locations of PJ Whelihan’s all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey, said Aramark general manager Kevin Tedesco. And so here they are in the ballpark!
How it tastes: You can’t go too wrong with a cheesesteak egg roll: It’s meaty, it’s cheesy, and it’s fried. 7/10
Rooster-sauced chicken tenders at Federal Donuts
Left field, section 140
Federal Donuts will continue serving their fried chicken sandwich and their doughnuts. But as at their other Philly locations starting last year, the Citizens Bank Park Federal Donuts will get a new addition: generous, thick-breaded chicken tenders dipped into a snappy Everything Rooster sauce.
How it tastes: Honestly, we prefer the fried chicken sandwich and the fancy doughnuts for now. The breast meat was a little dry —maybe we’re just thigh guys — and the breader lacked the crispness that would have made the tenders pop. The Rooster sauce, is, however a winner: a balance of brightness, creaminess and spicy kick. 6/10
“South Philly” disco fries and Mexican street popcorn at Pass and Stow
The brew pub at the third base gate
Melty-cheese disco fries are a North Jersey diner’s loud answer to Canadian poutine — but these fries aren’t flavored for Mets country. The “South Philly” version comes gussied up instead with roast pork, melted sharp provolone, roasted red peppers and broccoli rabe.
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Meanwhile, Pass and Stow also has remade Mexican street corn into something new: A popcorn flavor made with esquites’ traditional toppers of cotija cheese, lime and salty-spicy tajin powder.
How it tastes: The disco fries were hard to judge fairly: They sat on the tasting table for a while before media got a chance to try them. And as everyone knows, disco fries can’t park on the dance floor without getting soggy. The “street popcorn,” like a lot of high-concept popcorn flavors, was more concept than flavor. 6/10, but we’re more optimistic about those disco fries when they’re fresh.
Rotating and seasonal food at Citizens Bank Park
Left field, section 143 and Coca-Cola Corner
Perhaps the most exciting addition to the food offerings at Citizens Bank Park is the element of surprise: Two new vendors, Seasons Inning Stretch and the nearby Coca-Cola Corner, are both literally and figuratively left-field offerings.
Beginning with a springtime jerk-chicken-and-plantain sandwich we didn’t get to try, the Seasons Inning offering will be a rotating seasonal plate, changing up in summer and then again in fall. The newly built, cherry-red Coca-Cola Corner restaurant, meanwhile, is a novel and promising concept: During every home series, seven Philadelphia restaurants will offer one dish apiece. The seven restaurants will be announced at the beginning of each series. In an odd piece of corporate sponsorship, each of these dishes will be “paired with perfect Coca-Cola beverage.”
We don’t know at all know what that means, but we’ll be there to try it.
For a full listing of ballpark concessions, check phillies.com.
Matthew Korfhage is a Philadelphia-based reporter for USA Today Network. Email him at mkorfahge@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @matthewkorfhage.