Eating our way through Big 12 tourney food
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Even as a Mizzou grad, I'd eat this every day. Photo: Travis Meier/Axios
The Big 12 tournaments are bringing some Big Eats to the Power & Light District with the creation of school-specific snacks, milkshakes and food-related apparel.
Why it matters: It's something both fans with tickets and downtown revelers can sink their teeth into over the next two weeks.
Zoom in: Inside the T-Mobile Center, 16 menu items (for the 16 teams) are meant to bring a little piece of each school to the tip of fans' tongues.
- Executive chef Justin Grabowski with Levy Restaurants at the T-Mobile Center said at an event Monday that his goal was to create regional items that fans could recognize from home.
What to try: The Big Jay Loaded Mac and Cheese (KU) is rich and gooey with a sweet and smoky barbecue topping, perfect for a hungry fan in need of some KC flavor.
- The Cosmo's Churros (BYU) were a standout, with creamy caramel filling and a toffee topping that sent this sweet tooth straight to heaven.
- I also liked the Cincy Cheese Coney chili dog and the Mini Chicken Chimichangas (University of Arizona).
What to skip: The Green Chili Pork Walking Tacos (Iowa State) had good flavor, but if you let them sit too long, the chips turn into a soggy mess.
- The Powercat Steak Tacos (K-State) were bland and immediately fell apart. Hopefully that's not an omen for the team.
Zoom out: Folks who don't have tickets can still sip on some school spirit at The Yard Milkshake Bar, located west of the T-Mobile Center at 1350 Walnut St.
- These loaded shakes come in every team color and are made up of a chocolate-chip cookie-dough base with a colorful marshmallow cream swirl ($25).
- And Rally House on 14th and Grand even has Big Eats shirts ($40) by Charlie Hustle — in case you want to, I don't know, represent the food you ate?
My thought bubble: I'm not one to wear my stomach on my sleeve, but the Wildcats were redeemed in milkshake form. So good.
- But between the ice cream and the dense brownie that comes with it (the frosting is in the shape of a bracket), it's a lot to digest. I recommend splitting.
The bottom line: The Big 12 is more than just basketball. For some, it's memories, meals and a sweet treat to top it off.