It seems like a very cool idea.  The Winter Classic was amazing and although there’s no way this could be as exciting as that, it still looks to be very interesting.  My pop always talks about how he used to see the Bears play at Wrigley back in the 1960s and how great it was (or wait, did he complain about it?  I can’t remember…).  Either way I’m getting tickets soon and you should too.

Other food ideas the Ricketts need to consider:

• More grilled hot dog stands (see above)
• Please include nacho cheese with that awesome “Northside Twist” (aka 4-pound pretzel, once consumed by Stormin Norman), the other sauces are garbage
• More nachos is always a good thing
• Is anyone in the world ok with the BS flat wooden spoons that they include with the malt cups?  Didn’t think so.
• Contract Lettuce Entertain You Consulting Group to do the food and hook them up with all sorts of free tickets for their accountant

The pretzel itself is a new thing offered by Levys Restaurants at Wrigley.  It is dubbed “the Northside Twist”.  The pretzel itself was huge and very soft.  It was a bit on the salty side but in general it wasn’t bad.  The problem came with the dipping sauces.  There were 3 sauces and each sucked for a different reason.  The first sauce was a sweet sauce that was thick and way too sweet.  The second sauce was a spicy mustard.  Now I feel like mustard is a traditional dipping sauce for pretzels, but this sauce was extremely spicy and didn’t even taste that good.  The last sauce was the only one that was bearable, but it had its own issues.  It was a cheese sauce but it was not like the nacho cheese sauce, which would have been fine.  It was a different kind of cheese with a very thick consistency, almost to the point of being hard.  The cheese itself was so-so tasting, but almost impossible to dip the soft pretzel in because of the consistency.

So overall I give the “North Side Twist” a B-.  This grade can be easily remedied with the introduction of a different sauce selection, but until then, I don’t recommend it.

“You come into a ballpark like this and you see great things,” the Cubs ace told The Associated Press on Saturday before his team’s 10-1 exhibition loss at the sparkling ballpark in the Bronx.

“You wish that Chicago’d build a new stadium for the Cubs,” he said.

Well I don’t know about you, but I would sure like to see them improve Wrigley Field.  Of course no one wants to get rid of it altogether (which Z may have been implying), but it’s not like Wrigley is above criticism.  It is a deteriorating park that is not up to the standards of modern baseball.  While there is quite a bit of charm to the real grass, the ivy, the scoreboard, and other features, those don’t need to be completely sacrificed in order to bring the field into the 20th century, let alone the 21st century.

Some Cubs fans are mad about Z’s comments though, according to the Tribune, which is running this story about how Zambrano is backtracking on his comment:

Carlos Zambrano said Sunday he was misquoted when he told an Associated Press reporter he wished Chicago would build a new stadium for the Cubs.

“I didn’t say that,” he said.

So what did Zambrano say?

“I said anybody wants to have a new ballpark,” Zambrano said. “As a player, you feel like you’re trying to be more comfortable. As a player, you want to have the greatest ballpark in the National League, or the big leagues. As a fan, we should stay there. I don’t have a problem with Wrigley Field. That’s what I said.”

…Does Zambrano care that many Cubs fans were mad at him for his comment?

“Why?” he said. “They don’t have to be mad. I didn’t say they have to build a new stadium. If the Cubs do it, we will be much better and more comfortable, as a player.

Ok Carlos, so you’re saying you didn’t really mean the Cubs should build a new stadium, but they should build a new stadium?  No one ever thought Z was logical anyways.  But my question is, what Cubs fans were mad?  Wrigley Field’s clubhouse facilities are a dump compared to most ballparks around the league.

A message to Cubs fans that are Wrigley Field Nazis (if you even exist and weren’t dreamed up by the Tribune): Wrigley Field is a wonderful place.  It’s old-school charm makes it one of the greatest ballparks in all of baseball, if not the greatest.  That being said, it was built at the beginning of the 20th century and needs improvement.  Concrete is falling from the roofs, the clubhouse facilities for the players are decades old, and overall the structure needs to be redone in a lot of ways.  So don’t get “mad” if someone calls Wrigley out for those flaws, because they obviously exist.  Thanks.

h/t: Benji (Although I know you just sent this to try to piss me off because you’re a Sox fan and hate the Cubs.  Oh and thanks for not sending me the link too, because I had to go find it myself.  Sox fans are just the best.)

***Update: Here’s a video from Wrigley today. Watch out for falling Zambonis!

FanFoodie is for the frequent traveler who makes it a point to attend sporting events when on the road, and has a penchant for local cuisine. We tap some of the premiere locally-based sports bloggers on the web to offer their culinary tips and suggestions when rooting for the home team.

It’s a very interesting and fun site. Also, surprise surprise, the featured article right now is about food at and around Wrigley Field by yours truly. Enjoy!

Wow. It almost makes you want the Cubs to tear down Wrigley and build a new stadium in Schaumberg. Oh, wait, no it doesn’t.