ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Wild will feature some old favorites and a few new faces when the club kicks off the 2018-19 season in Colorado, before returning for Saturday's home opener against the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
That's when Xcel Energy Center Executive Chef Kyle Bowles and his team will take the wraps off their own lineup, a collection of food and drink offerings that fans coming to the X will enjoy. On Tuesday they staged 'Taste of the Wild', a preview of what we can expect.
PHOTOS: New food for MN Wild games
"You gotta go bigger every year, ya know?" Bowles quipped when asked how he keeps the menu fresh. "You just try and do fun, new stuff and try to stay ahead of the competition."
While Bowles and his talented staff are well-equipped to challenge fan taste buds, the biggest change for 2018-2019 is inviting four of St. Paul's most popular restaurants into the fold.
Revival, Pajarito, Octo and Mucci will stage regular menu takeovers in the various Xcel dining venues, and will also have popular menu items on the regular menu.
"The chefs have been amazing. We’re doing a seafood tower (from Octo) on the suite level and a BBQ Board from Revival, tacos from Pajarito that are incredible, a lasagna from Mucci that is off the charts," Bowles explained.
A hockey fan himself, Bowles tries not to overthink things. He considers hockey food something that is hot, can hold in your hands, and tastes good with an ice cold brew or two. In that vein, fans will encounter sliders, super slices of pizza that are good for folding in half, classic pasta with giant hand formed meatballs, boutique brats and street tacos. Bowles says something else Wild fans can expect is concession food that is held to a higher standard ... hand formed burgers and hand cut fries instead of something out of a box or bag. It's harder to do on a mass scale, but worth it.
"In a restaurant you can get an order, make one burger and serve one customer, when we open the doors that concession stand’s got to be ready to make 300 burgers and have ten different lines goin' … and you’ve got to be fast, and you’ve got to be ready," Bowles said. "And that’s why a lot of people cut a lot of corners, and we’re not doing it anymore. We’re making a nice, good, fresh, real burger."
Even old favorites like the brat get a spin, like a topping of apple-bacon sauerkraut. Pizzas (on conventional crust and flatbread) are covered with off-the-board toppings and sauces.
Planning and executing food service is Bowles' job, but when talking to him it becomes clear it's also something personal. He says over his 10 years working for the X, he has become a Wild fan, and an even BIGGER fan of the city in which the arena sits.
"Our building and St. Paul both have this unique feel, it feels like a family, and as much as I want the team to win, I want the experience in this building to be the best," he said. "Not only in the Twin Cities, obviously, is what I’m going for, but in the whole country, I want this to be food, fan-wise, off the charts. I want it to be the best the fan can get, bring your family down and just have an incredible night."