College World Series – Page 2 – OMAHA BLOG: OMAHA EVENTS AND MORE!

Omaha Interview: Amy Hornocker, Executive Director at College World Series of Omaha, Inc.

OmahaNebraska.com Interview with Amy Hornocker at the College World Series of Omaha, Inc.

Thank you to Amy for the interview for this Omaha event.

Amy Hornocker, CWS Inc, Executive Director

Please tell me how you came to be here.

I grew up over in Des Moines. I went to school at Iowa State in Ames. I played sports in high school. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had an advisor that was kind of like we have a sports management program. So I worked in the football office there, and then, I actually came over here in 2005 and did my internship under Katherine and Carol here and then, stayed in touch when I graduated. And then, Katherine’s husband, Dan, started the Omaha Sports Commission. So, I came over and worked for him and was with the Sports Commission for 10 years. Had the chance to do three Swim Trials and about 30 other really cool sporting events, so and then, in 2017, they had a staff vacancy here, and they called me and I was just like at a point where I was ready to try basically what we always say “coming back home.” I came you back here and did the Marketing Committee outreach and then, had the opportunity to interview for this, the executive director position when Kathryn announced she was retiring.

What are some of your favorite things about the College World Series and about Omaha?

Okay, so basically, Omaha feels like home to me now, even though it was you know, it’s not where I’m from. It’s so similar, but everybody’s just .. the amount of support that we get for this event and the amount of people that come out and it’s kind of like what it means to the city and what the city aims to. It’s like it’s so cool to see and so some of my favorite parts about what I get to do here is like less about baseball and more about our what we do in the community with our grant program. We’ve given over $5 million to local baseball and softball fields and projects in the Greater Omaha community.

And then we have this Readers Become Leaders initiative with the NCAA that we work with Omaha Public Schools for third grade reading, once you can’t read a third grade, by the time you’re in fourth grade, you’re behind.

Is that a pivotal age group then?

Yeah, so that’s what the studies show is that if they are lacking by fourth grade, then they never catch up again. And so we do kick offs in the schools. We contribute a bunch of books to each kid and then incentives to read … and then they submit book reports. We had one girl I think she I think I’d have to the look 55 reports she did. She’s the winner. She’s the winner. So 15 of them with their parents will come to the one of the games. We have like five teachers that are from the winning classrooms. So that one’s fun. It’s so fun to go to the kickoffs and see them get excited about like their books and reading and it’s just a little way we can help there.

That’s something with a really great ripple effect.

Yeah, because you know, this one, we want to leave a legacy here. It’s great because the community pours their heart into it.

We put a donation program together this year for the first time with tickets that we’re we’re kind of testing this year. So when you go in to your mobile ticket account, you can transfer, sell, or donate. Like, if you can’t use your tickets or if you just want to donate, and we’re working with three organizations this year to see how it goes.

Vet Tix [https://www.vettix.org], which is a nationwide organization, so you can sign up. I think it’s first responders and military members and then you can sign up for access to these tickets. Then they go into the communities these events and find these people and it’s really turnkey. So we don’t really have to do much with that. And then we’re working with Boys Town and Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands. So because I feel like everybody from every corner of the city should get to enjoy it. So we’re going to try and build on that donation as we move forward. So that is really cool.

I think we already have seen some come through for Vet Tix and with Boys Town. It’s hard to find groups that can take a large quantity that like the last minute and be able to provide transportation, that kind of stuff. Those are some things we’ve got to kind of figure out but those are like some of my favorite things about the events and event and then obviously this time here when I look at the teams here.

We have our intern starting there’s some of my favorites because they change the dynamic of the office and we will have eight more getting here Monday. That will just work the two weeks and they come from all over the country. And so they apply and go through interviews and they they all become friends kind of it’s kind of fun to see them and help navigate this career path.

Did you ever think you’d be executive director..

No. [laughter] No, I’ve always been a behind the scenes person, like operations, and so I never thought that I would be here back here. Because I, you know, my first series, it was 1998 when I came with my high school baseball team. I was a manager.

I did not know that.

I was the manager of my high school team. In Iowa, we play summer baseball. So we were playing in a tournament in Sioux City. We came down here, well to Rosenblatt and did that the GA [General Admission] sat in the grass waiting to get in, and then, it just stuck with me. So, then, I did the internship so I never thought.. no…[laughter] .. I would be here.

Our leadership was and is phenomenal that the our board of directors that had the vision to bring this where it is today. There’s not another national championship that … They have some semi-permanent sites Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma, FCS football in Frisco, but nobody has an organization like this. The NCAA still runs those. They just have like kind of a semi-permanent city.

So they’ve really been smart and how they put this forward and then and how they’ve… during the COVID year, were able to keep us on staff, and then to see the vision of you know of moving it forward and letting me run with a creative and marketing person that we badly needed. There’s a hole that we didn’t have here. So, he’s got two social media interns that are doing cool things.

Is that something different or new you’ve been working on?

Yes, so we did not. So I was in a marketing role. And then we had another staff member and that wasn’t really our background and so we really were intentional about when Kathryn left to kind of restructured that that’s really the hole that was missing-was to promote this event year round and do it in these cool ways. I’m amazed all like, watch over these guys shoulders, because watching them put videos together and the hard work. They are crawling all over. They had the [National Champion] trophy at the zoo. So it’s really fun to watch it.
They took it to the zoo and it got to go in with the penguins and giraffes. Then they took it to the Gene Leahy Mall. And like Ryan was crawling around and so yeah, they took that roll. They’ve been taking around the city. Taking pictures everywhere. I think they went to Blackstone yesterday.

Thank you.

CWS Omaha, Inc., Building Exterior with Signage

College World Series of Omaha, Inc.
808 N 13th St.
Omaha, NE 68102
(402) 554-4422
https://cwsomaha.com

You can find the schedule here for #CWS2023 :
2023 Baseball Schedule – College World Series (cwsomaha.com)

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 Interview: College World Series Pre-Game Press Conference, Omaha Mayor

OmahaNebraska.com interviewed Omaha mayor, Jean Stothert, after the College World Series Pre-Game Press Conference.

There have been many changes over the last many years from Rosenblatt to here. What are some of the more noticeable changes and what were your favorite changes?

Well, I mean we built a brand-new stadium, a brand-new state of the art stadium to keep the College World Series for 25 years. And so there’s been just a multitude of changes. But I think the most important thing is working with the CWS and the NCAA and MECA that we were able to create a state of the art stadium that will keep the College World Series here for years.

What my parts are my favorite? I would say I love this out here [motions to the entire stadium] that it gives people a lot more room to walk around. I love the big screen. I love how the seating is. It’s just a beautiful stadium so it all works together.

Do you have any favorite baseball memories? I am sure that it’s hard to pick just one or two.

I can’t say that I have one favorite memory. I enjoyed coming in College World Series when it was at Rosenblatt.

I was here for the first game in the new stadium. I think from Omahan perspective, I think one of my favorite memories would have to be sitting in this stadium for the first time.

That’s wonderful. I know that it contributes quite a bit to the economic development of Omaha.

It’s estimated that the College World Series brings in between 75 and 80 million dollars.

And so you know, those years that we didn’t have it because of the pandemic . . . the trickle down was enormous because the hotels weren’t filled, the restaurants weren’t filled, bars weren’t filled. It made a big impact. I thought last year showed that because the first year was back in person we had record breaking crowds, and everybody just wanted to get out and be outside and enjoy some activity. And so, it really just encouraged people to be out again, and the College World Series is something that I think Omahans love and can’t wait for every year.

It’s been wonderful to watch all these things grow and develop and now Gene Leahy Mall is getting its refresh. Can you tell us a little about what is coming up please?

Sure, there’s 90 acres of city owned property. It’s the Gene Leahy Mall. Go east Heartland of America Park and then you go north to Lewis and Clark Park Landing. That whole area. We are working in cooperation with the private sector. And when it’s all done, it’s going to be about a $400 million project and the city put in $50 million and the rest is private. And so that just really shows that the good public private partnerships that we have in Omaha and the investment that is going on in Omaha right now.

The Gene Leahy Mall will open the first of July, and it’s fantastic. We’ve raised it up to the street level so it’s usable. It’s usable for events. The old mall was pretty, but you couldn’t use it for anything. I think when people get in it, they are going to love it.

I toured it the other day and it’s gorgeous. It has something for everybody. And then it will go on down to Heartland of America Park which will connect us right to the river. That’s our most important geographic feature we have. We live on the river, so that park will go all the way down to the river and then north to Lewis and Clark Landing where a beautiful new STEM museum will be down there that Kiewit is the major funder. That portion of it, Heartland and Lewis and Clark Landing, should be open by August of next year. So everything is moving along. They are right on schedule. They’re keeping it within budget. And it will be done. And it’s going to just spur development downtown and it already has. With Mutual of Omaha coming downtown now and there’s a new hotel in the Landmark. There’s a lot of other investors looking at downtown because of what we are building downtown. We are pretty much building a new downtown.

It looks so different, but then a lot of the favorite features are still there.

Yes.

Everyone is so happy that you kept the arch and the slides.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we wanted to incorporate everything in there and it will remain the Gene Leahy Mall.

Thank you.

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

CWS Interview with Kathryn Morrissey, Executive Director, College World Series of Omaha, Inc.

Hurray! The College World Series is back and it’s time for another interview with the Executive Director for College World Series of Omaha, Inc. This is one of my favorite Omaha events and Omaha interviews.

Thank you to Kathryn Morrissey, Executive Director, College World Series of Omaha, Inc. for the interview for CWS 2021 update on 11 June 2021.

Please tell us a little about yourself.

Kathryn Morrissey, Executive Director of College World Series of Omaha. This is my 33rd year working on the College World Series and we are thrilled that we are actually playing baseball this year.

I am so looking forward to it as well.

What new changes have there been with either equipment or the facility?

You know in terms of the facility, one of the biggest changes is that we through the Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority-They have gone campus-wide to digital tickets-in other words, anyone attending the Swim Trials or were attending the basketball Creighton games this last winter. All the tickets are digital as they are TD Ameritrade Park.

That is a change but it just reflects what is happening nationally. Everybody whether it is an airline ticket or a ticket to a play or something along those lines. It seem like everything is going digital. So, we are joining that group too.

How will that work?

You know at this point, all of our season tickets have been offered to season ticket holders in a digital format. We had our advanced sale that started this last Monday, June 7th, and those were also offered online on https://www.ncaatickets.com/championship/college-world-series . So far we’ve even had one event sold out that would be Saturday night. So, apparently people figured out how to make that work.

That’s good.

Yes.

College World Series TD AmeritradePark Entrance and Statue

Are there any new security or safety measures or changes that the fans might need to be aware of ahead of time?

Well, MECA is certainly the experts in terms of commenting on which changes have been made during the age of COVID. Certainly, one of the ones that I am aware of that fans will want to know about is that the concessions are cashless now. That means that obviously you’ll want to bring your credit card to the ballpark but also and if you are a fan that likes to use cash, there will be a revers ATM available. So, you can bring in cash and convert it into a debit type card that can be used at the ballpark and used else where after the College World Series.

Wow. That’s the first time I have heard of that. How does the reverse ATM work?

Basically for example, you will take, for example, a $20 dollar bill and feed it into the machine and then out pops something that looks and functions like a credit card but it is obviously limited to the amount of money that you load it on.

Thank you.

Any other changes for the fans?

You know there will be some other changes. For the first time and only for this year, the general admission-the outfield spaces will not be sold in the traditional general admission format. There are a lot of good reasons for that relating to the health and safety of the fans attending still in the age of COVID; recommendations that have been put in place from the NCAA’s advisory team.

So this year, those will be our lowest price reserve seats and the prices will vary depending on popularity of the game. But for example, the first weekend and the finals are the most popular. Those are $30 dollars this year plus ticket master fees. During the week nights, they will be $25 and then during the weekday afternoons they will be $20. The advantage, of course, is to have a reserve seat that we will actually be assigning people to specific section, row and seat number and the bench-style seats do have seat numbers. We actually utilized those as recently as the Major League Baseball game in 2019.

[To read OmahaNebraska.com’s interview with MLB Tiger’s GM Al Avila’s 2019 visit for that game, go to www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omahanebraska-com-interview-with-al-avila-vp-and-gm-of-the-detroit-tigers]

Thank you. What changes are there for the players?

Student athletes will be in a COVID tested zone. They’ll try to restrict their movements so that they are protected as much as possible to protect them from any environment in which they might be exposed to COVID. So, their movements will be more restricted this year. So as a consequence, we won’t be hosting an opening ceremony-type celebration for them this year. That’s another thing that we expect to have coming back in 2022.

Field of College World Series

Tell me more what will be different for celebrations or events at the College World Series.

I think this year the focus is on, “Isn’t it great that we are just back playing baseball again!”

[Interrupts] Yes! Yes!

It’s a kind of back-to-basics year. There will be a handful of other activities that will be occurring to enhance the fan experience. Of course we will have the opportunity for fans to bring their kids on a particular day, that’s Monday afternoon and where some kid’s music and concessions will be featured. We’ll have a throw-back day on Thursday where we hope to have basically fans wearing their most vintage College World Series apparel. And then Friday is a country night. Probably boots and cowboy hats or whatever attire- if you want to participate in that.

What does the College World Series mean to you and to Omaha?

I think this will be a huge emotional boost for Omaha that we have the College World Series back. In a way, it was a little bit last year like trying to image a Christmas without Santa Claus to image summer without the College World Series. I think we were all a little bit let down by the fact that we could not gather together and celebrate college baseball and celebrate the beginning of our Summer. And this year with that coming back, I think it is going to be a huge morale boost for the community.

I am so excited to have it come back and to be able to go and or course to be able to visit with you for the interview.

The last question is why is this “The Greatest Show on Dirt”?

“The Greatest Show on Dirt” is one of those iconic phrases that is associated with the College World Series and I think just reflects not only the fan experience but just the way the student athletes feel when they enter that field and play what could be the last games of their baseball careers and certainly their college baseball careers. They give it their complete 100 percent effort. They play with a lot of heart and I can’t imagine anything better to watch in the summer.

The one other thing that I didn’t mention that I think might be really helpful for people this year is there is a College World Series app that is put out by the NCAA. So, “NCAA Men’s College World Series” is how I believe how it is listed in the app stores. [Here is the link http://on.ncaa.com/MCWSApp] It’s probably the easiest way for fans to follow their favorite team, check the weather, get bracket and scoring information. It’s going to be a real asset for fans who kind of want to be kept up to date to the minute.

Thank you very much.

Would you like to read more stories and interviews about the College World Series? Visit later for new posts and check out the CWS posts below.

College World Series TD Ameritrade Park Game in Progress

Our Omaha blog stories on the College World Series by Year

CWS 2020

No CWS.

CWS 2019

College World Series Fans-Have You Seen the Scooters? (13 June 2019)
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/college-world-series-fans-have-you-seen-the-scooters

Omaha Event: College World Series Interview with Chris Myers, Executive Sous Chef, Levy Restaurants (12 June 2019)
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-event-college-world-series-interview-with-chris-myers-executive-sous-chef-levy-restaurants

College World Series Food Tasting, 12 June 2019
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/college-world-series-food-tasting-12-june-2019

Omaha Event: College World Series Interview with Jack Diesing, President, College World Series of Omaha Inc.
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-event-college-world-series-interview-with-jack-diesing-president-college-world-series-of-omaha-inc

Omaha Event: College World Series Press Conference, 12 June
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-event-college-world-series-press-conference-12-june

CWS Interview with Kathryn Morrissey, Executive Director, College World Series of Omaha, Inc. (5 June 2019)
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/cws-interview-with-kathryn-morrissey-executive-director-college-world-series-of-omaha-inc

CWS 2018

2018 Interview with Kathryn Morrissey, Executive Director of CWS Omaha Inc.
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/cws-interview

What’s new in CWS food for 2018
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/cws-media-tasting-2018-great-food-meets-the-greatest-show-on-dirt

2018 Interview with Chef Chris Myers
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-interview-chris-myers-with-levy-restaurants-at-td-ameritrade-park-for-college-world-series

Tigers to Play Royals in Omaha! MLB Comes to Omaha!
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/tigers-to-play-royals-in-omaha-mlb-comes-to-omaha

OmahaNebraska.com Interview with Al Avila, VP and GM of the Detroit Tigers
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omahanebraska-com-interview-with-al-avila-vp-and-gm-of-the-detroit-tigers

CWS 2017

Al Martinez Hits First Home Run for College World Series- Before the First Game is Played!
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/al-martinez-hits-first-home-run-for-college-world-series-before-the-first-game-is-played

Omaha Interview with Kristi Andersen, Director of Communications at MECA
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-interview-with-kristi-andersen-director-of-communications-at-meca

Omaha Interview with Marty Bilek at the College World Series Press Conference
https://www.omahanebraska.com/blog/omaha-interview-with-marty-bilek-at-the-college-world-series-press-conference

Omaha Interview: College World Series of Omaha, Inc. (9 June 2017)
http://omahanebraska.com/omahainterviewcollegeworldseries

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.]

College World Series Food Tasting, 12 June 2019

The College World Series Food Tasting took place today at TD Ameritrade Park. It was another home run by Chris Myers and Levy Foods!

The Colossal Tot returns this year with an Italian spin to it with Italian sausage and marinara sauce. Only 50 of these are made per game and there is a countdown for these that you can watch. Order early to not be disappointed.

My surprise absolute favorite of the tasting was the Wonderboy Dog. The pickled purple cabbage and mustard smear with a thinly sliced piece of cheese with a savory dog was incredibly delicious. Even people in the room who weren’t mustard fans enjoyed this dog.

The Lithuanian Torte is a local Omaha favorite that now people from out of town can sample and enjoy. If you have never tasted its buttery flaky layers with apricot and cream filling, you are missing out. Don’t miss out and try it. I shared one just yesterday with my youngest. Indescribably good. Yum.

Number two on my list of favorites was also a surprise-the Baja Beef Taco. It was amazingly good. It’s a must try for the CWS. Another tasty taco was the Chicken Tinga.

I didn’t get to try this punny salad. For you ,younger folk, out there, Ty Cobb was a baseball player from the Detroit Tigers. I am guessing this in honor of the Tigers coming here on Thursday. If you don’t have tickets, get some for tomorrow’s MLB game, a great appetizer for the CWS or for some the main course.

The Hot Dog Sandwich is a sandwich, Chris tells us. It has meat in the middle and bread on both sides of it. Therefore it is a sandwich. This one is a BLT with a pickle and a tasty hot dog inside. #SandwichNotSandwich

The Grand Slam Nachos looked very good but I did not get to try them. Something to look forward at the game.

The Lobster Truffle Fries were a lot of people’s favorite at the tasting.

I didn’t get to try the Pimento Cheese Pretzel but it looked might good. Have to, of course, enjoy that they are baseball shaped and set near the baseballs.

These super meaty Pork Wings were a big hit with those who tried them.

The Texas Leaguer Tavern is a loose meat sandwich. It was so good it was hard to describe. Britanny helped with the words for this, “Perfect in every bite”. That summed it up. Each bite was perfect bite after perfect bite and perfect balanced.