Let's finally get make this official: Gate's Barbecue is gone from Kauffman Stadium.
It's a move widely met with contempt, but don't be so quick to judge. In its place is KC All-Star Barbecue. A much larger, completely new area that might be more appropriately named Fiorella's Jack Stack Kauffman.
No, KC All-Star Barbecue is not run by the Fiorella family or associated with the barbecue chain, but its executive chef Michael Slavin spent two years there. As did his sous-chef Steve Muncy. As did the pit-master Keith Rogers and his entire pit crew. So it's not surprising that KC All-Star Barbecue's flavors are quite similar to Fiorella's.
KC All-Star's barbecue sauce was created by Slavin and tastes like
five parts Jack Stack mixed with one part Arthur Bryant's.
It's sweet with a slight vinegar finish. Fans of Jack Stack will also be pleased with the cheesy corn. Yes,
cheesy corn. Along with the coleslaw, fries, burnt ends,
turkey, ham, chicken and every other menu item you'd expect from
a decent barbecue restaurant. Beef on bun may be gone, but I didn't hear anyone complaining as they tried the smokey tender ribs at a Kauffman food preview yesterday.
All of the meat is smoked on site
with hickory and oak in a 16,000 pound Southern Pride smoker.
Slavin says on game days the team starts at 6 a.m. "For opening day
right now, we're preparing for 15,000 people to try our barbecue. We know we've got tough critics but we're ready."
Next to
KC All Star Barbecue is Rivals, an enclosed two-story sports bar with
burgers, Southern-style chicken sandwiches and pot roast sliders. In the middle of Rivals
is a fully stocked bar and stools 360 degrees around it, including
quite a few seats where the stacked liquor blocks views of the field.
Kaufmann has completely overhauled the way it deals with food, Aramark District Manager Scott McGinn told me. He said the company had installed 120 more "points of sale," bringing the stadium in line with in other
big-league parks. He also said the only two outside vendors in the
stadium are Sheridan's Frozen Custard and Topsy's. But, he said, "we're always looking for opportunities to partner with local businesses."
Other
new stands in the concourses include twelve Hot Corner Grills serving KC ribeye stack and KC cheesesteaks. (Slavin is originally from
Philadelphia and is big on cheesesteak.) There are three Fry Works stands serving buffalo wings, two KC Cantina Mexican food stands, four Wheelhouse Pizza stands and a
concession stand in the outfield for children called Sluggerrrr's
Training Table. It features lunch boxes -- or, what McGinn described as "the Royals' version of a
happy meal."
How many of these will be ready for opening day remains to be seen. There is still a lot of construction going on all around the stadium. But the pit is
fired up, the beer is tapped (beer choices haven't really changed) and on April 10, thousands of people will be ready to tell McGinn, Gavin and the rest of the Royals what they think of the changes.
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Pot roast nachos were MIA but by the middle of the season when the Royal's are desperate for fans, I'm sure they'll make you whatever you want.
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