Oilpressure

You may or may not be aware that there is a new concession vendor at IMS. Levy Restaurant’s took over the concessions in 2014. I’m assuming it was a ten-year deal, because there is a new vendor for 2024. Aramark is now responsible for feeding us, at least in The Pagoda Plaza.

When I reviewed the awful Breaded Pork Tenderloin ten years ago, it was what was served at the main L-shaped concession stand behind The Pagoda (I believe it’s called Alley Cafe, but I can’t swear to it).. What I later found out is that some of the stands across the track under The Paddock and A-Stand, were still selling the delicious Classic Jumbo Tenderloin we have all grown to know over the years.

That may still be the case, because I have not yet sampled the few stands over there that are open for practice. But I did go and sample the main stand for lunch today. It was a mixed bag.

The Good: They have added a Grab & Go store, just east of the main concession stand, called Refreshments Express. Not only do they have a refrigerated section with drinks and cold sandwiches, but they also have a nice selection of hot items.

The prices aren’t cheap. Keep in mind, you are at a major sporting event. But I have heard the offerings there are quite good. I talked to someone yesterday who had a bratwurst that was very tasty. I trust his judgment when it comes to food, so I’ll go with that.

Once you get what you want, there are multiple self-service kiosks. While some people are turned off by the kiosks, I prefer it. I am not going to make a mistake, and I will not crush my chips by putting my drink bottle on top of it.

The main concession stand has seen a redesign of the line, which is a big improvement. They now have several zig-zag lines similar to what you will see at an amusement park ride. The line moves very quickly. The only problem is that the customers don’t seem to know to watch for the next station to open up. While in line, I saw no less than five people stand there staring into space, while the Aramark employee was waving their arms yelling “I’ll serve the next in line”.

I will also give a tip of the hat to the training of the staff. In an era where customer service is dead, all of the employees that I witnessed went overboard in killing the customers with smiles and kindness. It was as if they were taking their cues from Chick-fil-A. It was very refreshing.

The Bad: The prices in the main concession area were painful to look at. I had to Google what an Al Pastor Burger was, but it didn’t matter. There was no way I was going to pay $16 for any type of burger.

Miller Lite was $8.95 and if you wanted a Pepsi product (I’m a Coca-Cola man myself), you had to buy the souvenir cup to go along with it. And $5.00 for water? Please.

The Ugly: I ordered the Pork Tenderloin, just because that’s what I eat when I go to Indiana. This was a big mistake. First of all, it was not a true tenderloin. It was a fritter. The F-word. For the uninitiated, a true tenderloin is a thick slice of pork tenderloin that is pounded flat, before it is battered and fried. A fritter is a blob of ground pork that is shaped into a disk before it is fried. The texture is disgusting and it is a general insult to one’s intelligence to have this preformed disk, passed off as a tenderloin. It’s the same as trying to pass off a ground beef patty as a filet.

What made it worse is that this was not even a good fritter. I don’t care for real tenderloins that have cornmeal breading on them. The Aramark fritter was coated in cornmeal batter. If there is a way to make a fritter even worse, use cornmeal.

If you are a longtime fan of Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwiches, you know that the ultimate insult to a tenderloin is to compare it to Pete’s Pride.

What I ate today was enough to make Pete send it back. It even had a bad flavor, that I have been tasting more than two hours after I ate it. I may have to go to the gift shop to seek out some Tums, if this taste doesn’t go away. I can honestly say that what I had for lunch today was the worst excuse for a tenderloin I have ever had. I would take the Levy tenderloin over this. At least it wasn’t a fritter, and it was not coated in cornmeal.

I’ve obviously not sampled anything else, and I probably won’t. I saw a friend eating a chicken-finger basket yesterday. He said it was good, and it actually looked good. But after spending $12.50 for afternoon indigestion, I think if Aramark gets any more business from me this month, it’ll be from the Refreshment Express store.

George Phillips

This entry was posted on May 16, 2024 at 1:33 pm and is filed under Indianapolis 500. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.