Empower Field's New Food Options Include Self-Checkout, Little Man, Banh Mi and More

Monday mornings are tough, but this series isn't. Social Sightings is a quick taste of recent food tidbits that goes down as easy as your first cup of coffee, and should whet your appetite for the week ahead.

On September 10, the Denver Broncos will kick off their 2023 season. Fans attending games will notice some changes at Empower Field, including new additions to the food roster and a major price cut on some classics. Five items, including a basic hot dog, nachos, a bag of City Pop popcorn and a soft pretzel, will now be $5 each.
On the other end of the spectrum, Empower Field has transformed a previously unused space below ground level into the Breckenridge Bourbon Club, which is stocked with spirits from Breckenridge Distillery. Only 300 to 350 fans will have access to the space, and memberships for this year are already sold out. Those who do get to enter can stop in any time from three hours before the game until an hour after. Along with stadium staples, the club will offer more high-end options, including exclusive cocktails, a seafood and salad station, a ramen bar, a doughnut wall and more, plus members get VIP parking and other benefits.
For the thousands of fans who won't be dining in the fancy new lounge, five concessions areas have been renovated with a new, more streamlined setup. Waiting in line for food is one of the least fun things about going to a game, and the new self-checkout options aim to fix that problem. Fans will go through a line where they can grab bottled beverages, including beers, as well as food like pizza and burgers, then check out using kiosks that (should) take thirty seconds or less to use.
Along with new technology, Aramark, which runs the concessions at Empower Field, has added new menu items. One comes from a local favorite, Little Man, which will now sell its ice cream sandwiches at the stadium on game days. Another new frozen treat is Tipsy Scoop — ice cream infused with booze, in flavors like Dark Chocolate Whiskey Salted Caramel, Cake Batter Vodka Martini and Raspberry Limoncello Sorbet.
On the savory side, chefs at Empower Field now have a smoker, so pulled pork has been added. It's available on a sandwich with barbecue sauce, crispy onions and pickles, or as a topping for mac and cheese, which can also be loaded with buffalo chicken.
Pork Belly makes appearances in two new dishes. There's a brunch version of a banh mi with a thick slice of pork belly, an egg patty, chorizo and pickled vegetables, while the Colorado Tater Keg is a concoction made from giant tater tots topped with cheddar, pork green chile, pork belly and green onions.
Green chile also comes on the Souvenir Football Nachos — though it should be noted that Empower Field uses New Mexico-based 505 Southwestern brand green chile, which is made using Hatch, not local, Colorado-grown Pueblo green chiles. For vegan and vegetarian fans, a hearty grain bowl has joined the lineup. It's loaded with wild rice, arugula, sweet potatoes, black beans, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and chickpeas with a balsamic dressing.

While the grain bowl is nothing revolutionary, it's fresh and pretty filling. Flavor-wise, though, the standout is the pulled-pork sandwich — the crispy onions add a nice texture. But none of the new offerings — except for Little Man — really justify going out of your way to track them down.

The real stars of the Empower Field food options are the local partners, particularly the Cherry Cricket for burgers, Biker Jim's for sausages, Gringos Tacos, Wild Taco and GQue Barbecue. And the $5 hot dogs, of course.