Michigan

Smash burgers, duck pasties, craft beer: What’s new at Michigan Stadium concessions

Published

6 months ago

August 13, 2024

Smash burgers, duck pasties, craft beer: What’s new at Michigan Stadium concessions

Smash burgers with local flavor, cheesesteak fries smothered with thinly sliced Chicago beef, and a Great Lakes smoked white fish dip.

Toss in a nod to Michigan’s pasties with a duck pasty and a local custard shop’s not-to-miss macarons with creamy custard in between, and you’re ready for some football at the Big House in Ann Arbor.

When Michigan football gets underway later this month, hungry fans will have plenty of food options to cheer about.

Alcohol sales are allowed for the first time at the stadium after rolling out last year at Crisler Center and Yost Ice Arena.

On Tuesday, the University of Michigan and its hospitality partner, Sodexo Live, gave the media a tasty preview of new food options available to fans at concession areas throughout the Big House, including at the club and suite levels.

Bret Donaldson, Sodexo Live’s senior executive chef, comes to Michigan Stadium after several years with the Chicago White Sox.

“(The Big House) is roughly three times the size of the White Sox stadium, there’s definitely a bit of a learning curve just in growing into the scale of this,” he said.

A focus of the new items, Donaldson said, was current trends, such as its new hot honey chicken as well as working with new and current local partners. Its new smash burger is made with a customer blend of beef brisket, short rib and beef chuck from Detroit’s third generation-owned Fairway Packing Co. and returning partner Dearborn Sausage and its all-beef hot dog.

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“Over the coming years, we certainly want to start incorporating more Michigan locally produced and Michigan central food,” Donaldson said.

For fans of barbecue, Donaldson brings Carolina burnt ends served with a peach barbecue sauce and toppings such as crispy fried haystack onions. The burnt ends are chunks of tender beef that have smoked over hardwood charcoal.

A favorite of Donaldson’s is the Founder’s Bratwurst for its balance of flavors and at one-third pound, “it’s huge, bold and big.”

For those leaning more toward vegetarian fare, there’s a jackfruit sandwich and cilantro rice bowl with a cauliflower sofrito option and cauliflower and quinoa burgers.

Sweet tooth fans can indulge in local newcomer to the stadium Custard Hut custard with locations in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. There’s vegan custard in cups and creamy custard sandwiched between macarons with flecks of maize and blue. Also new to food concessions is Detroit Wing Co. (DWC).

Local food options returning to the Big House are Big Boy’s, Buddy’s Pizza and Olga’s Kitchen.

One of the highlights this season at Michigan Stadium is alcohol sales. The University announced in May they would implement a class C liquor license starting Aug. 31 with the home game against Fresno State. Being able to sell booze on Michigan’s biggest campuses at football, hockey and other games was made possible by a bill signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

While no details of which specific brands will be served, Dave Ablauf, associate athletic director for football communications, said fans can expect Michigan craft beers, domestic and import beers and canned cocktails.

Adding alcohol sales pushed the stadium’s point-of-sale areas to more than double. This year, there are 750, up from last year’s 350, areas for concessions stadium wide for food and alcohol sales. Those buying alcohol will, of course, be required to show ID to staff who have been Tips Alcohol certification trained.

Here’s what to know about alcohol sales, according to Michael Jordan, Sodexo Live general manager.

Sales will begin one hour prior to kick-off and complete by the start of the fourth quarter.
You will be asked for picture identification by concessions selling alcohol.
You can’t purchase more than two at a time.
Those purchasing alcohol will be given a wristband.
A compliance team will monitor throughout the stadium, checking that those who have alcohol, also are wearing a wristband.

What’s new at food concessions:

Classic smashburger: Griddle-seared blend of beef short rib, brisket and chuck, hand-pressed and griddle-seared on a classic bun served with crispy fries
Bacon Jam burger: Smashburger topped with sweet and savory bacon jam.
Flock sandwich: Crispy breaded whole-muscle all-natural chicken breast, topped with house-made spicy creole sauce.
Hot honey tenders: crispy chicken tenders tossed in sweet and spicy hot honey sauce.
4th and Bowl: Cilantro rice topped with lettuce, black bean, corn, shredded cheese, fresh pico de gallo, sour cream with choice of spicy chicken tinga or cauliflower sofrito.
Elotes corndog: Battered and fried all-beef corndog smothered in creamy roasted street corn with poblano, spices, and cream cheese.
Founder’s Bratwurst: Founder’s beer braised bratwurst topped with caraway sauerkraut and spicy mustard.
Cheesesteak fries: Savory Italian-style shaved beef and creamy cheese sauce over crispy fries.

Club level

Smokehouse sandwiches: Brisket, chicken and jackfruit options smoked over hardwood and served with sweet and spicy BBQ sauce.
Vegan cauliflower and quinoa burger: seasoned with turmeric, coriander and cayenne.

Suite level:

Smokehouse Great Lakes Fish Dip: House-smoked white fish, charred hatch pepper, lemon served with assorted crackers and baguette.
Pasty Duck: Moulard Duck confit, vegetables, spice enveloped classic crispy pasty pastry and house mustard dip.
Carolina burnt ends “slider”: Served on mini brioche bun, chunks of beef are served with sweet pickles, haystack onions side and big house barbecue sauce.
M Street Bakery Maize and Blue Cake Pops.

Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.

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USC Trojans Michigan, Texas Recruiting No. 1 Hawaii Prospect Malakai Lee

Published

10 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

USC Trojans Michigan, Texas Recruiting No. 1 Hawaii Prospect Malakai Lee

The USC Trojans are off to a hot start for recruiting the class of 2026. Offensive tackle Malakai Lee is the No. 1 player in Hawaii in 2026, and he is beginning to make his final list of top schools.

Lee is the No. 14 offensive tackle and the No. 176 recruit in the nation per 247Sports. The 2026 offensive tackle plans to narrow down his list of schools by the end of January. He has visited a couple of schools, and coaches have gone out to see him. Narrowing down his list early will help him figure out which schools he would like an official visit with.

“We’re actually planning to narrow it down at the end of the month after all the coaches have come through,” Lee told 247Sports. “But we definitely want to cut things down and make things easy on us.”

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore shakes hands with USC head coach Lincoln Riley after 27-24 win at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Being a Hawaii local, narrowing down schools before an official visit will make it easier for Lee. Lee visited schools last season and will use the next few months to narrow down his final schools.

Among the schools that have picked up steam for the offensive tackle is the USC Trojans. Tennessee, Utah, Texas, and BYU have also visited Lee in the last couple of weeks. Lee also said that Michigan coach Sherrone Moore will be visiting soon, and he is interested in Nebraska as well.

“Coach (Johnny) Nansen from Texas came through on Friday and coach (Zach) Hanson from USC also came by,” said Lee.

Lee did get the chance to visit schools throughout the season, including the USC Trojans. Lee attended USC’s game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Though the Trojans lost the match, Lee was able to attend a historic rivalry matchup.

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Lee spoke to 247Sports after the visit, calling it an awesome trip.

“I know there’s bad blood between Notre Dame and USC, so the fans from both teams were ready to go. I was just stoked to be there. USC definitely knows how to host a party. The pre game area for recruits was fire. I had a chance to get to know some of the other recruits which was cool,” Lee said. “This was my first time in the Coliseum, walking into that stadium, you can feel the energy.”

Outside of attending a rivalry game, Lee spoke about USC’s coaches and the rest of the staff, giving them immense credit for how he and his family were treated. USC coaches Lincoln Riley and Josh Henson made sure to make Lee feel welcome.

“The coaches and staff at USC really took great care of us and I can’t wait to get back there,” Lee said. “I also really enjoyed getting to know coach (Lincoln) Riley and coach (Josh) Henson.”

Dec 27, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Texas A&M Aggies in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC worked hard to impress their recruits that day, hosting pregame festivities and the offensive lineman went bowling and had dinner with Elijah Paige. Lee had the chance to see the campus, meet the coaches, and bond with other recruits.

Lee went into his plan for the decision process and after he commits.

“When I cut the list, it will be to five and then I’ll take official visits to five schools,” said Lee. “Then we’re aiming towards the end of June or July for a decision.”

Lee is planning to graduate in December after he commits and enroll that month. This will give him a chance to get to the university quickly and attend the school’s bowl practices. With Lee’s finalists coming out in the coming weeks, USC will be a school to watch for as they continue to build up their class of 2026 recruits.

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Spectacular Aerial Footage Shows Frozen Lake Michigan

Published

18 hours ago

January 26, 2025

Press Room

Spectacular Aerial Footage Shows Frozen Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan’s frozen surface created a spectacular landscape in late January after an extended stretch of winter weather. Aerial footage captured by Brendan Walsh shows a vast expanse of ice stretching to St Joseph’s lighthouse, creating a striking scene. The National Weather Service reported that ice cover on the Great Lakes was about average for this time of year, with Lake Michigan covered by over 20 percent around that date. Credit: Brendan Walsh via Storyful

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Michigan Tops No. 8 Army, No. 13 Springfield Behind Season-High Score – University of Michigan Athletics

Published

1 day ago

January 25, 2025

Press Room

Michigan Tops No. 8 Army, No. 13 Springfield Behind Season-High Score – University of Michigan Athletics

Site: Springfield, Mass. (Blake Arena)
Scores: #7 Michigan 318.050, #8 Army 307.050, #13 Springfield College 299.550
Records: U-M (4-1), Army (3-5), Springfield (1-8)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 25 — at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 2 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men’s gymnastics team got back to its winning ways, earning a season-high score of 318.050 to defeat No. 8 Army (307.050) and host No. 13 Springfield College (299.550) in a tri-meet at Blake Arena.

The Wolverines took five event titles, sweeping the podium on high bar and floor exercise. Carson Eshleman continued his breakout debut season, earning a pair of titles on the parallel bars (13.250) and still rings (14.100). Fred Richard returned to the lineup for the first time this season, earning the vault and high bar titles.

How it Happened

Still Rings
U-M opened the meet with Robert Noll leading off the rotation and posting a score of 13.200. Eshleman earned a season-high score of 14.100 on his way to the event title, with Rithik Puri also seeing a season-high score (13.500) to finish second.

Floor Exercise
Syam Buradagunta and Jake Islam led off, each scoring a 13.300 to tie for second. Charlie Larson took the event title with a score of 14.050, improving by 0.400 points from his debut performance at the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 18).

Pommel Horse
Junior Zach Granados made his season debut to open the rotation, scoring a 13.200 to tie for third. Richard was U-M’s top scorer on the apparatus with a 13.750, closing out the event. Army’s Maddox Pabellon won the event title with a 14.000. Through the first three rotations, the Wolverines led with a score of 158.550.

High Bar
The Maize and Blue swept the podium, with Noll once again leading off the rotation and finishing second (13.400). Eshleman finished third with a score of 13.350 while Richard earned his first event title of the day with a score of 13.850. Noll, Eshleman, and Evgeny Siminiuc (12.300) each earned a stick bonus on the event.

Vault
Michigan’s strongest event of the day came on vault, scoring 54.100 and putting two Wolverines on the podium. Islam led off the event and earned a third-place finish, scoring a season-high 13.700. Richard closed the rotation with a 14.000, earning a stick bonus on his way to an event title.

Parallel Bars
Two Wolverines took the event title on the final rotation, with Eshleman and Kyle Walchuk each scoring a 13.250. Solen Chiodi finished fourth (13.150), just 0.050 points behind third-place finisher, Army’s Conor Heary.

Up Next

Michigan will stay on the road, heading to State College, Pa., to open its Big Ten schedule at Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 4 p.m.

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