How was the Royals’ special playoff menu? We tried this sticky sandwich to find out
Editor’s note: Welcome back to a special edition of our series Let’s Dish, Kansas City, showcasing some of our favorite meals for sale around Kansas City.
The Kansas City Royals made it to the American League Division Series for the first time in nine years. It was a surprise to fans of the team and followers of MLB, following the 2023 season’s 106 losses, a franchise record.
The team has continued to surprise fans with its pregame festivities, including first pitches thrown by former players Eric Hosmer and Zack Greinke, flyovers and pregame hype packages.
For another bonus, Aramark, the Royals’ catering service, cooked up a few more surprises for fans to buy during the postseason.
Before Game 3 on Wednesday, Oct. 9, the catering service unveiled new foods, ranging from sandwiches to sweet treats. Fans could find these items scattered around Kauffman Stadium’s special concession stands like the Craft & Draft and Diamond Club sections.
Items on the list include:
Home run cornbread skillet: blue jalapeno cheddar cornbread, burnt ends, BBQ sauce, shredded cheddar, charred corn, jalapeno slaw
The Mac and Jack: jalapeno brisket sausage topped with in-house mac and cheese, crispy cornbread crumbles, hot honey drizzle, and green onion, served with onion rings
Blue moon pie: two oatmeal cookies, marshmallow ice cream, chocolate dip, blue white chocolate drizzle
Back to blueberry: two funnel cake buns filled with a slice of cheesecake, blueberry compote, cinnamon toast crunch cereal, and caramelized bananas
What caught my eye as I was looking at the newest selections was the Grand Slamwich ($16). The sandwich consists of a long john doughnut topped with maple glaze and filled with a chicken tender tossed in a gochujang honey glaze. Bread and butter pickles come on top, and leafy greens are stuffed inside the doughnut. Waffle fries come with the meal as a side.
The smell of the maple glaze dominated the walk back from the Craft & Draft section located in the middle deck of Kauffman Stadium to the press section in the outfield. This item is only available in this section, but the section is open to all stadium visitors no matter where your seats are located.
The staff in Craft & Draft give you a handful of napkins and for good reason. Your fingers instantly become sticky the moment you pick it up from the box. Don’t forget to wash your hands when you’re done eating.
You’re hit with quite a mix of flavors on the first bite: the gochujang on the chicken tender, the maple glaze on the doughnut and the pickles all combine to create a sweet flavor. As you take more bites, it becomes tougher to decipher which flavor is more prominent than the other.
The aftertaste from the sandwich is a combination of sweet and savory, but it doesn’t linger in your mouth.
The doughnut sandwich is something you need to finish just as soon as the staff hands it to you. No one likes a cold piece of chicken on a cool night in October. Plus, the doughnut starts to break apart from the weight of the chicken and toppings.
Since the fries were placed on top of the sandwich in the box, some of the fries had picked up some of the glaze from the doughnut, producing a nice sweet and salty combination.
Whether it was the Taste of The K taco that Star reporter Jaylon Thompson tried in July or a helmet filled with nothing but baked beans, fans have had their fair share of goodies to choose from at Kauffman Stadium.
For those who made it to The K, make the doughnut sandwich or any of the new options from Aramark a priority to try once, but only once. It might leave you satisfied enough to last the whole rest of the game, too.
