Chef Ray Garcia; Chef Bradford Kent; Joseph Martin, Staples Center, Los Angeles, executive chef, Chef Ludo Lefebvre and Chef Josiah Citrin. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM LOS ANGELES — A hot dog with mustard and a pretzel used to be the concessions of choice for large venues. But fans hungry for better facility fare, have demanded better food, more choices and brands they know and love.
Staples Center, Los Angeles, like many arenas and stadiums, has listened to the customers and adapted their menus to accommodate new-era foodie fans. Upscale food is in; menus are incorporating trends like healthy food and locally sourced food. National chains that the fans already are familiar with are in high demand, and partnering with award winning chefs normally associated with high-end food, are taking over the concourses.
“It’s no longer just a stand with typical arena food that the people want,” said Joseph Martin, executive chef for Levy Restaurants at Staples Center. “The culture of concession food has changed; there’s been a paradigm shift. It’s not just about how the food tastes; it’s also about quality of the ingredients going into the food and the presentation, like it’s art on display. It’s also about the look of the concessions stand itself.”
“We’ve heard the fans, adjusted our menus and even the way the concourse looks,” said Martin. “The concourse now has a great feel. It’s inviting and interesting to look at. AEG started changing things about four years ago when we introduced Ludo Bird by chef Ludo Lefebvre. They invested a lot of money in redoing the concession stands. It’s now got a great ambiance, a great feel, and it’s like we’re in a neighborhood visiting individual restaurants on each side of the street and we’re stopping by for a bite of this and a bite of that.”
“Each stand has their own unique style,” said Martin, “with full decor. It’s not your traditional stand. I think AEG hit it right on the head when they started developing the concourse this way and have capitalized on the energy the new concepts are bringing to Staples Center.”
“The idea of partnering with award-winning chefs is something that’s very exciting for us and working quite well,” said Martin. “We feed around 18,000 people at a typical event. AEG and Levy have identified what people want from their venue food today, and what we’ve heard is that fans are craving high quality food brought to them by people who have culinary experience.”
“We started with Chef Ludo a few years ago,” he said. “It was an instant hit. Then we added other chefs and now we are on our fourth chef-driven menu. It’s not like the old days when we had stands that repeated themselves over and over through the concourse; today there is something different and unique around every corner.”
Blaze Pizza, a national chain with 153 restaurants in 31 states in the U.S. and Canada, has opened shop at Staples Center. It’s the first Blaze location located in a sports and entertainment venue. Unlike a traditional Blaze location, the Staples Center version does not allow the customers to walk down the line and assemble their own pizzas.
“We had to make some adjustment for an operation of this size,” said Bradford Kent, Blaze Pizza chef. “Here we are geared toward turning out 350 pizzas an hour. There was no intelligent way to utilize our in-store model of having the customer pick what they want on their pizza.”
Blaze Pizza's BBQ Chicken Pizza. (VT Photo)
There are four pizzas available at Staples Center: The traditional cheese pizza pie; pepperoni pizza, BBQ chicken buffalo and the Meateater, which has pepperoni and meatballs. Blaze Pizza also sells kale & quinoa salads and S’More pies for dessert.
Pizzas range from $11.50 to $12.50; the salads are $12 and the S’More pie is $5.
“In our restaurants we have 120 ingredients,” said Kent. “With simplicity in mind we moved toward the most popular pizzas we sell,” said Kent. “We use all natural ingredients. Our dough is fermented for 24 hours, which is not what you’d expect at an arena pizza restaurant. It digests more easily.”
A stack of Blaze Pizza's S'More Pies. (VT Photo)
Kent said that the experiment at Staples Center with the prearranged pizzas was something the Blaze Pizza Corporation is watching closely. “We’ve only been open here for a few weeks and done about eight events,” he said. “So far it’s gone great and we’ve had lines. The fans seem to like having us here. I would expect this to be the first of many, many Blaze Pizza restaurants you will see in large venues.”
Ludo Bird opened four years ago. The brainchild of celebrity chef Ludo Lefebvre, Ludo Bird sells traditional fried chicken and chicken sandwiches with a twist.
“Fried chicken may look easy, but it’s not,” said Chef Ludo Lefebvre, “The meat must be moist and the crust must be crispy. We only use quality ingredients. We brine the chicken for 12 hours and we have a special technique for frying it where the chicken does not cook for very long. We use buttermilk and fresh herbs for that special flavor.” The chicken dishes run from $11.50-$12.50.
Ludo Bird's White Meat Chicken Sandwich. (VT Photo)
Chef Ludo said since opening four years ago, each year has been better than the last. “I like to call the concept ‘fast good,’ meaning it tastes great but you don’t have to wait in one of my restaurants for your meal, and pay sit-down restaurant prices,” he said.
Dave’s Doghouse is inspired by Chef Josiah Citrin. There are currently three Dave’s Doghouse locations in Staples Center. The concept was originally founded by Citrin's cousin, David Cheren, in Arizona. They serve all-beef hot dogs with a variety of toppings. Along with the classic Dave's Dog, the hot dogs can come topped with Citrin's own chili, Boston baked beans, or mac 'n' cheese and bacon. The hot dogs are $9.50.
Dave's Doghouse's Dave's Dog; California Dog and Mac 'N "Cheese Dog. (VT Photo)
“We use the best quality Hebrew National hot dogs and make them our own,” said Citrin. “It looks like a classic hot dog but tastes like a gourmet item. We’re all about doing the dogs by order so they are fresh and hot.”
B.S. Taqueria is brought to Staples Center by Chef Ray Garcia. The menu is made up of hand-rolled tacos with carnitas, carne asada and pollo all served with guacamole, salsa verde or pico de gallo and salsa roja. Sides include heirloom corn tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa, and on the dessert menu are cinnamon churros with sugar and chili chocolate sauce. Tacos are $12 and churros are $6.
B.S. Taqueria's churros. (VT Photo)
Chef Garcia went to UCLA and started taking cooking classes when he was 20 years old. “I got tired of eating the same bad food,” said Garcia. “When I learned to cook, I found out that how you prepare the food is as important as using the best ingredients. We start early in the morning. Everything here is done from scratch; the salsas are made fresh every day; the guacamole is made here, too.”
“The traditional hot dogs and popcorn are great and still do very well for us, but having the chefs and their brand in the building is an opportunity for fans to have a different culinary experience every time they come,” said Cara Vanderhook, senior director, communications & social media, Staples Center. “We’ve got great chefs and Levy Restaurants does an outstanding job of providing our concessions.”
Interviewed for this story: Joseph Martin, Ludo Lefebvre, Josiah Citrin, Ray Garcia, Bradford Kent, (213) 742-7875; Cara Vanderhook, (213) 742-7273