The Chicago White Sox 2024 marketing slogan is "Better at the Ballpark," and that's a statement that requires more showing than telling after a summer where fans were shot inside the stadium, and others were hit by a car crossing 35th Street.
Updated bike lanes were painted, and new barriers down 35th Street should make it safer for White Sox fans to walk or bike to the stadium. Updated security parameters will also be implemented, but much like visiting a casino or resort, fans won't see those types of upgrades.
Fans can see new concessions, and the White Sox offered a sneak preview of the new offerings around the park at Guaranteed Rate Field on Thursday. While Brooks Boyer and his White Sox marketing team, have no control over who plays for the White Sox, the part of the front office that isn't responsible for the on-field product is hoping that new food items, along with fan giveaways and events throughout the season will help curb what's expected to be a great attendance decline.
Sox Machine once again participated in the White Sox Food Preview Day. Like previous events, I'll share my reviews of the new items below and where you can find them in the ballpark.
A reminder of the grading system:
- Single: Worth trying once, but not a must-have.
- Double: Solid offering that’s worth buying occasionally
- Triple: Terrific concession item that should be part of the rotation.
- Home Run: Must-have at the ballpark.
VIZZY VIEW BAR UPDATE AND NEW GENERAL CONCESSION OFFERINGS
Last year, the White Sox promoted two new bars in the 500 level: Blue Moon Balcony and Miller High Life Sky Lounge. Having visited both last season, I can say they are nice areas to hang out while overlooking the field, but they're much smaller than expected. The new bar upgrade is the Vizzy View Bar. With new flooring and furniture, it’s a great refresh to the bar located in the left field corner.
The White Sox have added a longer drink railing to encourage fans to step outside and hang out. Installing accordion doors won’t make the bar feel so enclosed and cut off from the game. It gives White Sox fans another option waiting out rain delays than everyone trying to stuff into the Leinie Lodge.
While the White Sox updated a bar, they also have a new bratwurst and Italian sausage vendor in Ogden Foods, a local company near Cicero that replaces Johnsonville. I enjoyed my one slice of bratwurst from Ogden Foods. It reminds me of Usinger's in Milwaukee, with a good garlicky, smoky flavor.
For those searching for meat-free items, the White Sox continue to add to this category. They introduced Impossible Burgers at grill stands and now will have Impossible Hot Dogs. In Section 160, the White Sox will have a new empanada stand serving veggie-friendly spinach and traditional beef empanada.
In Sections 140, 163, and 544, the Chicago White Sox will have a new Crispy Chicken Sandwich that looks much like other fast food versions. They may go well with the latest ice cream alcoholic combo of a Jack and Coke Float. Imagine a can of Jack and Coke from Jack Daniels poured over two scoops of ice cream, and there you have it. I’m a big fan of the root beer float that you can find in the outfield concourse, which is great on a hot summer day and/or when the White Sox lose by nine runs. This new version now contains alcohol, so that it may be more beneficial for those blowout games.
NEW CLUB LEVEL AND SUITES CONCESSION OFFERINGS
As usual, the concessions for the 300-level and suites grab the most attention. At this year's food day, they dominated the sample lines to encourage fans to splurge once in a while at Guaranteed Rate Field.
This season's big food theme is an old one: sandwiches. Lots and lots of sandwiches.
SMASH BURGERS
Burgers are nothing new at White Sox games. You can get the simple variety at grill stands around the ballpark or sample the behemoths in the Leinie Lodge. What's different is that the White Sox are opting for the smash burger style. By grinding their own beef, White Sox concessions will be able to grill burgers made-to-order, which is a nice touch.
There are two versions: the Southside Smash Burger and the Smoke House Smash Burger. The latter will be only available at the ChiSox Bar & Grill, which is technically outside the stadium. Gibson's no longer operates that bar, and responsibilities have been passed over to Delaware North, which operates the White Sox's general concessions. This management change may mean that the ChiSox Bar & Grill will be more open in 2024, but that hasn't been confirmed yet.
We didn't get to try the Smoke House variety, which was on display. It's like other BBQ Burger types: pulled pork, BBQ sauce, beer cheese, and a giant onion ring.
We did get to try the Southside Smash Burger, which is a simpler offering: a smash burger topped with pickles, American cheese, and secret sauce on potato brioche.
Grade: Double
Review: I found this burger surprisingly sweet. The secret sauce tasted like a variant of honey mustard, and that, combined with a brioche bun, threw me off. The "spicy" pickles were not spicy. Overall, it's a good offering for a ballpark burger. I would swap out the secret sauce with a garlic aioli.
THE WALKING STICKS
As a fan of the baguette-style sandwiches, I appreciate the White Sox's attempt to bring them to the ballpark. These offerings will be around a foot long and come in Ham & Swiss, Roast Beef, and Roasted Turkey.
Ham & Swiss Walking Stick
A favorite of the head chef from Levy Restaurants, this is a straightforward sandwich of ham and Swiss cheese with mustard butter on a pretzel baguette.
Roast Beef Walking Stick
Tender roast beef with garlic horseradish aioli and arugula on a traditional baguette.
Grade: Triple
Review: As a season ticket holder in Section 108, I frequently visit the deli stand. It's a nice change of pace, especially for afternoon games. These Walking Sticks are an excellent offering that I wish replaced the deli stand sandwiches. Easy to eat and very portable, both versions of the Walking Sticks had great flavor.
Campfire Milkshake
Milkshakes are no strangers to the Stadium Club. They rolled out the Horchata Churro milkshake last year, which tasted a lot like drinking a bowl of milk after eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Continuing to punch the nostalgia bag, the White Sox are offering the Campfire Milkshake, which is a play on a S'more. It's a chocolate shake base mixed with graham crackers and topped with toasted marshmallows.
Grade: Home Run
Review: The best food offering of the day. Mixing some toasted marshmallows with the chocolate and graham crackers was like drinking a S'more, so the White Sox nailed the flavor profile here and will force me to find a fellow season ticket holder to borrow a Stadium Club pass before a game. There's too much work to provide this level of milkshake in general concessions, but it has me thinking that instead of the helmet sundaes that create a massive line in the concourse, the White Sox should offer shakes in 100 and 500 levels.
NEW CRAFT ALCOHOL AND NON-ALCOHOL OFFERINGS
White Sox have implemented a new feedback system on their website at https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/fans/better-at-the-ballpark. That link will also allow fans to be featured in White Sox promotions and advertising campaigns. One part of the feedback they have been hearing a lot since last year was the need for more non-alcoholic options. New partnerships with vendors are forming, and non-alcoholic drinks will be introduced during the season.
On the beer front, the White Sox are promoting more than 50 craft beers from 36 breweries this season. They are continuing their partnership with Pilot Project Brewing, a brewery incubator from Logan Square.
A few of the new offerings:
- Goldfinger Brewing (Downers Grove) - Original Helles Lager
- Alter Brewing (Downers Grove) - Alterado Lager
- Marz Brewing (Chicago - Bridgeport) - Jungle Boogie American Pale Wheat
- Begyle Brewing (Chicago - North Center) - No Tomorrow Hazy IPA
- JK’s Farmhouse Cider (Flushing, Michigan) - Traverse City Cherry Cider
- Braxton Brewing (Covington, Kentucky) - Garage Beer Lager
Coming back for another season will be offerings from Hopbutcher of the World, Pipeworks Brewing, and minority-owned breweries 18th Street Brewing and Funkytown Brewing.
