CWS Food – OMAHA BLOG: OMAHA EVENTS AND MORE!

Omaha Interview: College World Series Media Tasting, Alec Woockman

OmahaNebraska.com interviewed Alec Woockman,Executive Chef at Levy Restaurants.

What are the inspirations for this year’s offerings for the College World Series?

I try to stay updated on the trends as much as I can.

Also, these are flavors I personally like, and I think they fit well in the ballpark.

I take inspiration from a lot of things and Chris Myer. Everything from a sandwich with a lot of pickles on it to a vegetarian fried cauliflower curry aioli and sriracha. I think there is a broad spectrum of things that I like that I think also work well in a ballpark.

What are some of the items that you are most excited about?

Right, so some of the things I am most excited about are first the fried chicken sandwich.

I really wanted to overwhelm it with pickle ingredients.

I think you either love pickles or love pickles and I am the latter so . . . I took bread and butter pickles, aioli, a sweet and creamy aioli. Then we have fried pickles. We also have these really nice long crinkle-cut dill pickles that just hang over the bun.

I think one of the most fun items that we have is a shared item called The Slugger, an Italian beef sandwich.

So, it’s pretty classic Italian beef. We braise it in house with beef stock, Italian seasonings, and pepperoncini.

We braise that, shred it, and save that braising liquid to make an au jus which we serve along with the sandwich.

A 14-inch, full loaf of bread that we cut open ourselves, put a pound of Italian beef in, and top with cheese and we toast it in our pizza oven.

Then we top that with giardiniera and grated Parmesan cheese and add a cup of au jus.

We cut the sandwich in three pieces. It comes in a nice box with a handle on it that you can carry.

I say it easily feeds three really hungry people, but I think probably you can feed four.

What is your inspiration for the shrimp po’ boy? I’ve never seen that at a ballpark.

So, a shrimp po’ boy . . . it’s a very traditional shrimp po’ boy. We didn’t do anything too crazy. It’s fried shrimp on a hoagie with shredded lettuce and tomato and a remoulade.

It’s just a flavor that I think should be at a ballpark. I think it will appeal to the masses. I think it is missing from this environment. You don’t see shrimp po boys. Why not shrimp po’ boys?

Another very classic flavor this year is our Chicken Parm Sandwich . . . mozzarella, marina . . .I think it fills a slot that a lot of people will enjoy.

How did you become a chef?

I’ve loved cooking from a very young age. I’ve been cooking since I was 16 years old.

…

A few years went by and I went to culinary school and started cooking in restaurants.

I started with CHI, as well as the ballpark here. I’ve been here with this company for about seven years now.

And so, I have been just climbing the ladder.

This week I’ve been very excited. I’ve been wanting to be here for a long time.

I can’t imagine how hard this was, but amazing it is.

Yes. It’s absolutely amazing. Obviously, I love to cook, so getting to do this every day is dream come true.

I would say you are coming up with ideas and creating recipes.

I would say that it gets easier the more time you are doing it.

Starting at the beginning, it is a little harder to put this together, but I think we did a really good job this year in what we are offering. Yeah, it’s a blast!

Thank you.

Absolutely.

Omaha Media Event: College World Series Food Tasting 2022-Images and Description, 15 June

Here are some of our photographs and descriptions of the CWS food sampled at the College World Series Food Tasting 2022 at Charles Schwab Field Omaha:

The Slugger: One pound of Italian beef on not just any size bread but a whole entire loaf of Italian bread. It’s huge and should feed three hungry (maybe four) fans and it’s so big it even gets its own carrying case!

Shrimp Po Boy: No thing po here in flavor. This was a surprise new favorite for me. In general, I am not a fan of fried shrimp but these perfectly gold and perfectly breaded shrimp were only perfected by the Cajun-style remoulade sauce giving it just the right tang and spice to complement the breading and large shrimp.

O Dog: Omaha Steaks hot dog nestled in queso and jalapeno jam with a heavy sprinkled with caramelized onions and grilled steak.

Jalapeno Popper Dog: This is another new favorite for me. One Omaha Steaks hot dog nestled in cream cheese and housemade jalapeño jam with a heavy sprinkle of tasty spicy French-fried jalapeños flakes and bacon bits.

Fried Sweet Chili Ribs: This was my number one favorite. A sweet BBQ sauce glazes the crisp outside of the meaty ribs but tender on the inside succulent ribs in a bed of sweet Asian coleslaw. This was a winner with many others at the tasting. Warning-Don’t eat this fast and miss its tender savory goodness.

Cauliflower and Tots: Large breaded tender chunks of cauliflower are drizzled with two types of sauces. The curry mayonaise and spicey sirachi sauce gently imparts some zing and heat to the delicately breaded veggie.

Chicken N Waffle Fries: This was a surprise favorite coming at number two for me. It was only surpassed by the Fried Sweet Chili Ribs. Wonderfully breaded and seasoned chicken bites in a bed of seasoned waffle fries are brought together with not just a love for cooking but an amazing spicy maple aioli.

Chicken Parm: Breaded chicken, creamy cheese and a testy marinara will make you think you are having dinner instead of a sandwich.

Chicken in a Pickle: What’s better than a pickle-more pickles! What’s better than more pickles? Chicken in a pickel! Breaded chicken is surround by two kinds of pickles and topped with a bread and butter pickle ailio.

Bratter Up Burger: Step up to home- a home of an Omaha Steaks beef patty, sliced “bat” worst- I mean-bratwurst, Cheddar cheese, a sprinkle of caramelized onions, whole-grain mustard aioli.

So how can you have more than one favorite? Go the the College World Series this year and find out for yourself and sample these restaurant quality offerings.

Up next? More food and interviews! Please visit back later to view.

Omaha Media Event: College World Series Food Tasting 2022, 15 June

This Omaha media event, College World Series Food Tasting, is looked forward to by all. Omaha gets its first taste, pardon the pun, of the new food offerings for the series. This year we have an interview with the creator of this fine fare, Alec Woockman. Check out the menu and photographs below and visit back later for our interview with the Executive Chef at Levy Restaurants.

The Slugger, Shrimp PoBoy, Jalapeno Popper Dog, The O Dog

Chicken Parm, The Slugger, Shrimp Po Boy

Cauliflower Tots, Fried Sweet Chili Ribs, Chicken N Waffle Fries

Click here, 2022 MCWS Media Tasting 6-15-22, if you need it for a screenreader. It has the same information as the above images. The only things missing are text in the images above are the NCAA CWS Logo, “Charles Schwab Field Omaha” logo and the one for “Levy”.

Omaha Event: 2021 College World Series- Food Favorites Return

UPDATE: I learned that this paired down list is not returning. CWS staff have been informed about the link below not listing the actual items that are offered. I took pictures of the concessions and will add them here later.

This year we have returning food favorites for the College World Series fans to welcome their return!

Here are some of the returning CWS food favorites:
( There was no tasting this year, so we are using images and some of the descriptions from the 2018 CWS Food Tasting.)

Wild Thing Burger-This burger has gone wild escaping the fluffy doughy confines of its bun with pineapple salsa, bacon, black pepper sauce, jack cheese and of course the burger itself.

Wild Thing Dog– This wild hot dog is back also with the same toppings as the Wild Thing Burger above.

Just a Bit Outside Dog– I say this dog is more than a bit out being that it is a footlong served on a regular bun. Yummy cheese sauce surrounds the tucked in the bun part of the dog.

Pickle Hitters-You guessed fried pickles but with a suprise smoky bacon dipping sauce.

Small Slider Dogs– A trio of tasty mini dog sliders. Also available for four times the flavor and fun as a set of twelve.

Smoke Rings– Smokey rings of onions will delight your palate. Sweet barbecue sauce copiously drizzled over perfectly golden onion rings. But that is not all . These golden beauties are sprinkled with pulled pork, smoked Gouda and bacon. But wait there is more. They are dusted with green onions and are sure to delight any fan.

All-American Pretzel– There are two surprises waiting for you with this already elevated Bavarian pretzel. Carmel apple dipping sauce and a fried pretzel add a twist to the pretzel. (This is one of my favorites.)

No Crying in Baseball Dog– There is no crying indeed even with all those onions. This hot dog is a wonderful combination of sweet and spicy meets hotdog with of course- plenty of onions. (This is one of my favorites.)

Impossible Burger– The mission, if you accept it, is to try this tasty burger. Chef Chris Myers took on the mission impossible in 2018 to create a veggie burger that has both the taste and texture of meat. Well done Chef!

Don’t forget-cashless concessions! Bring your credit card or use the reverse ATM to turn your cash into a card that you can use at the park.

For a full list of College World Series food offerings, please check out this link:
http://www.tdameritradeparkomaha.com/concessions

Omaha Event: College World Series Interview with Chris Myers, Executive Sous Chef, Levy Restaurants

Thank you for making such a wonderful and artistic spread for us.

Thanks for coming.

It’s going to be awesome. I noticed a lot of inspiration from gourmet cooking this year.

Yes.

What kind of hashtags are you looking for you “not hotdog” is a sandwich?

… More hashtags…It’s kind of a fun debate that’s out there.

[Using #SandwichNotSandwich on Twitter @inomahanebraska]

Your definition of a sandwich is?

Anything between bread. It doesn’t have to be meat…A calzone maybe that’s more a pastry…

We had a debate actually among computer science students this last semester. “Is it a sandwich? What is a sandwich? What is the class, inheritance, etc?” Calzones came out as a sandwich…

Then what do you call a pop tart? A pastry?

That was also part of the debate

Was it really?

Yes. That one wasn’t a clear winner either way for the debate on “is it a sandwich”.

No?

What is your most unusual one and what do you think will be the biggest sales one?

I honestly think the nachos and our new taco. We have them a little more modern with braised beef. Nachos-they are a bigger version too. You get more with this.

I enjoyed your pun on Ty Cobb salad.

Yes. It’s fun.

Your pork wings? What is your inspiration for that?

I used them some years ago and popped up again somewhere. They are fun and easy to eat. They have handles. You don’t have to get as messy to eat them

Please tell me a little bit about your sauce on them.

It’s just our restaurant barbecue sauce. It’s in every Levy restaurant stadium in the country. The same barbecue sauce.

I had that last year it was really good.

Thank you very much.

[We hope to post more later. There were some technical difficulties with both recordings.]

CWS Media Tasting 2018: Great Food Meets the Greatest Show on Dirt

It was another outstanding performance of culinary expertise at TD Ameritrade Park for the College World Series at the CWS Media Tasting 2018. Levy Restaurants put forth some amazing delectable creations taking ballpark food up way beyond several notches.

As the saying goes, “you eat first with your eyes”. Please enjoy our tasty pictures. Then go to the CWS and taste these wonderful creations yourself.

My personal favorites were:

No Crying in Baseball Dog- There is no crying indeed even with all those onions. Chef Chris Myers has prepared a wonderful combination of sweet and spicy meets hotdog with of course- plenty of onions

Smoke Rings- Smokey rings of onions will delight your palate. Sweet barbecue sauce copiously drizzled over perfectly golden onion rings. But that is not all . These golden beauties are sprinkled with pulled pork, smoked Gouda and bacon. But wait there is more. They are dusted with green onions and are sure to delight any fan.

All-American Pretzel- There are two surprises waiting for you with this already elevated Bavarian pretzel. Carmel apple dipping sauce and a fried pretzel add a twist to the pretzel.

Impossible Burger- The mission if you accept it is to try this tasty burger. Chef Chris Myers took on the mission impossible to create a veggie burger that has both the taste and texture of meat. Well done Chef!