Despite being a bottom-ten team in the league this season, the Kansas City Royals are still finding ways to stay relevant. While it may not be for their play on the field, the organization is now in headlines for doing some absurdly creative things behind the scenes.
Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Royals, went viral on Twitter earlier this week when a fan posted a photo of a new culinary creation being sold at the Kansas City ballpark. The Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Pit food stand has recently unveiled the new “BBQ Reese’s Sandwich,” which has pulled pork, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, Reese’s peanut butter cups, and bacon bits all squished between two buns. The wacky food item has caused a comment storm on Twitter with most users calling the sandwich an abomination to food.
One Twitter user wrote “Why do Americans eat like they’ve got free healthcare?” While another user added “I am a fan of all of these ingredients, but I am NOT a fan of combining them. Ugh.” Though comments like this seemed to be the consensus among the crowd, there were a few people open to trying the behemoth of a sandwich.
“Do I like this idea? No. Would I eat it? F*** yes,” said an optimistic user. Even Cousin Sal from Jimmy Kimmel Live showed some backwards-support for the food invention, posting “this is quite possibly the most disgusting concoction I’ve ever seen. (Booking a Southwest flight to Kansas City International Airport immediately).”
The weird flavor combo is part of Aramark’s Dare to Pair menu, which combines several unlikely flavors into oddball snacks and dishes. Aramark, which works with several stadiums across the country to provide food, facility, and uniform services, has been dishing out abnormal foods all season long at other ballparks, but this is probably the weirdest one yet. For example, Citi Field now serves Aramark’s “Lil Chicken & Waffles” which features fried chicken, waffles, and lemon maple syrup. Interesting for sure, but it’s no chocolate peanut butter pork. Even Fenway got a crazy combo with their “Fluffernutter Fries” which are made with sweet potato fries, crushed peanuts, cilantro, and both peanut and fluff sauce (honestly these sound really good without the cilantro).
The man behind all of these ridiculous creations is Aramark executive chef Johnny Woychick, who isn’t afraid of a little experimentation. He says the idea of the BBQ Reese’s Sandwich came after he made his own one night at home. “I had just brought some smoked pork belly home, and I had some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups,” he said. “So I combined them. Everybody loved it, and I kept that idea in the back of my head.”
It seems Woychick is just getting started on his quest to create the strangest food combinations in baseball history as he is unveiling his newest creation tonight again at Kauffman Stadium. Tonight, August 10, is Grateful Dead Night in KC. So, as a tribute to the legendary band, Woychick is serving up “Jerry Garcia Dogs.” These outrageous wieners may be the weirdest combo yet as they are chorizo dogs topped with red-colored mustard, deep-fried ketchup, and a relish made out of pickled jalapeño gummy bears. Yep, you heard that right. As if jalapeño gummies weren’t enough, Woychick decided he would toss the ketchup for the hot dog in tempura batter. Who does that?
This dude is on some sort of drug and I love it. I have no idea if any of this tastes good (lowkey I feel like it would slap), but I just respect this guy for being so bold. He has a sick job creating new foods for MLB teams and rather than playing it safe, this man is trying to change the world. He may be giving people diabetes, but he’s also giving me an excuse to go to baseball games.
