The Bears and Soldier Field this season are introducing several new concession items, as Aramark "attempts to jazz things up" at the facility, according to Phil Rosenthal of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. The Hot Bob sandwich looks like an "ordinary school-cafeteria sloppy Joe," but it has "ghost chile in the seasoned beef." Other new items include the Lightlife’s plant-based burger and the Lake Shore Drive Hoagie, which is "based on a South Side favorite, combining gyro meat, Italian Beef and corned beef with Tzatziki sauce, giardiniera and tomato." A Nashville-style fried chicken sandwich last year "enjoyed an initial surge in interest, but appetite for it dropped off by season’s end." It is "not available this year, supplanted by a crispy chicken sandwich with bacon" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 8/27). Soldier Field Exec Chef Tom Elder said that he and his team "tried 10 different" iterations of the Lake Shore Drive Hoagie before developing the final version. In Chicago, Syd Stone noted the Bears this season also will "feature chef pop-ups in the Skyline Suite and United Club" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/27).
