Chef John DiGiovanni shows offerings for Columbus Crew 2026 season
Columbus Crew chef John DiGiovanni shows offerings for the 2026 season at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
ScottsMiracle-Gro Field will feature about a dozen new food and drink items for the upcoming Columbus Crew season.New Italian sandwiches, including a meatball hoagie and a mortadella sandwich, are being introduced.Rotating “Battle Nachos” will be themed to visiting teams, starting with an Italian beef version for the Chicago Fire.Other new offerings include specialty tacos, a German bratwurst, and a “Smokestack Cocktail” served in a souvenir cup.
The Columbus Crew play their first of 17 regular-season home games March 7 at the newly renamed ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
John DiGiovanni’s season, though, is well under way. The executive chef for the Crew and Levy Restaurants has introduced about a dozen new snacks, sandwiches and drinks — one with booze and one without — for fans who will fill the stadium beyond capacity all season long.
“It’s hard to please 20,000 people, but we do the best we can,” said DiGiovanni, whose lineup of dishes available throughout the stadium ranges from salads to an oversized doughnut-croissant hybrid.
There’s one contingent the chef hasn’t tried to please this season, though. Talking about new rotating nachos selections that will reflect opposing teams’ local cuisine, home-team promotional nights and other themes, DiGiovanni said he focuses on spicy ingredients rather than Cincinnati favorites for the Crew’s Hell Is Real rivalry games.
“That might be great down there,” he said when asked whether Cincinnati-stye chili might be a nacho topping July 25 when the Crew host what he calls “that team down south” at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field.
“But you know…”
Yes, we do.
Here’s a look at what Crew fans can feast on during the team’s 2026 season. This is just the new stuff, mind you. Hot dogs, popcorn, chicken tenders and all the traditional concessions will be plentiful as well.
Leaning into Italian sandwiches
Threw new Italian sandwiches — meatballs, mortadella and a chicken cutlet, not all together even though how good would that be? — are new this year for Crew fans.
The Italian Village is a four-meatball hoagie that will be sold at the stadium’s Sandwich Shoppe near Section 107. Its components come from Carfanga’s, the Italian food market and restaurant on the Far North Side. The sandwich, which comes on a hoagie bun, includes Carfagna’s well-seasoned meatballs and marinara sauce, as well as a blend of Italian cheeses.
The Big Bella is another sandwich that’s good enough for a true East Coast Italian “sangwich” designation. Served inside a wedge of herbed focaccia, it’s a lot of ingredients that go well together: mortadella, fresh mozzarella cheese, pistachio cream and toasted pistachios, arugula, black pepper, sea salt and olive oil. It’s also in the Sandwich Shoppe near Section 107.
The Chicken Cutlet Sandwich is a 1½-foot bun loaded with thin breaded and fried chicken cutlets, a tomato vodka sauce, burrata cheese, fresh basil, and a sweet but slightly spicy cherry pepper relish that makes it better than your everyday chicken parm. It’s great if you can get it, but the sandwich is available only in stadium suites.
Dueling nachos all season long
Achiote Chicken Nachos will be the constant for fans visiting the Sideline Nacho stand near Section 105. The chips are fried in-house — were you expecting walking tacos or something? — and topped with achiote-marinated chicken, queso blanco, jalapenos, salsa and an avocado-lime crema.
Battle Nachos v1.0: Italian Beef is the debut nacho created as a nod to March 7 opponent, the Chicago Fire. They include some of the components of the city’s famous Italian beef sandwiches, piled onto house-fried chips: shaved beef, roasted sweet peppers, hot and vinegary giardiniera, and Italian cheeses. Add on some white queso, because. Just because.
Not your run-of-the-mill hot dog
What Carfagna’s is to meatball subs, Schmidt’s is to bratwurst. The German Village sausage-maker supplies the brats that are beer-braised and served on a pretzel roll with sauerkraut and a schmear of tasty Schmidt’s beer cheese sauce. The German Brew District brat is available at the sandwich shop near Section 107.
A little more Latin influence
Three taco options are available at the Sideline Cantina near Section 129 at the stadium. DiGiovanni said they were the kitchen staff’s favorites among 16 the group created and taste-tested.
Chili-Braised Barbacoa Tacos come as three soft-shells filled with seasoned shredded beef, cotija cheee, salsa, corn and an avocado lime crema. Tajin-Spiced Sweet Potato Tacos are a vegetarian version that uses diced sweet potatoes as the main attraction. The cantina also will serve Achiote Chicken Tacos.
Street Corn Salad, available at Market 96 stands near sections 104, 106, 125, 128 and 238 is a vegetarian option dressed in a bright and tangy vinaigrette that’s based on Peru’s aji verde sauce. The salad itself includes mixed greens, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, burrata cheese, cotija cheese, moderately spicy Fresno chiles and ancho chile dust. The salad also is available in suites.
A Crewsmas treat for opening night
There’s a holiday-like bite awaiting fans in the premium seats: The River Club, the Bread Financial Club and the new Patio 96. Crewsmas is the name given to the celebration surrounding the Crew’s first home game of each season, and Stuffing Arancini (fried balls of risotto) will be filled with holiday flavors of brie and cranberry, along with provolone cheese. The arancini come with a cranberry chutney sauce for dipping.
Are you getting thirsty now?
Here’s a prediction for breakout star for this year’s season at ScottsMiracle Gro Field: the plastic cup that holds the new Smokestack Cocktail. First, the cocktail, though. It’s a sweet, not-too-boozy drink of vodka, ginger beer, lemonade and peach syrup. The ginger beer’s bite keeps it from being too sweet, and the sweet stuff keeps it from tasting too strong, which probably means it’ll sneak up on you.
But the cup. The souvenir yellow cup is a tall, thin replica of the 250-foot smokestack at the former Municipal Light Plant nearby. A puff of cotton candy sits on top of its lid when the cocktail is served. The cocktail will be sold at the Michelob Ultra Bar, Modelo Bar and Upper 614 Bar. Crew spokesman Nate White said the cups aren’t sold separately.
‘Dirty’ Soda Root Beer is a nonalcoholic drink that’s like the last sips of a float. It’s a mix of draft root beer, cream and vanilla syrup, and it’s available at the Dirty Pop Soda Shop near Section 108.
Follow Dispatch dining reporter Bob Vitale on Instagram at @dispatchdining. You can reach him directly at rvitale@dispatch.com.
Dining and Cooking