Foodie Friday: Lettuce Entertain You cooking up for NASCAR Chicago Street Race
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This weekend's NASCAR Chicago Street Race is more than just a race; it's a major weekend event full of performances, activities, and of course food.
So for Foodie Friday, digital journalist Jamaica Ponder hits the track to find out what you can eat.
You can't race on an empty tank, and you can't enjoy one on an empty stomach…
Max Robbins, executive chef at Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, is the food point person in the pole position for all things culinary at this weekend's NASCAR event in Grant Park.
"It's like a mini Taste of Chicago, but with racing, and with music and entertainment," he said.
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises is the race's exclusive restaurant partner, providing all the food for the race, including chopped brisket sandwiches and pulled pork sandwiches from Bub City.
"We're doing this with the staff from our restaurant. So the people who are cooking the burger at NASCAR are the same people who cook it at Bub City," Robbins said. "It's a really great representation of some of the really great restaurants, the classic restaurants in Chicago."
His team is constructing an entirely new infrastructure to cook for the crowds.
"We're building kitchens there," he said.
They're bringing in cooks from around the city to recreate some Chicago classics.
"I think people will be surprised by; usually can't go to a NASCAR sporting event and get brisket of this quality, or get tacos of this quality," Robbins said. "So I think that'll be very unique not only for Chicago but also for NASCAR."
Cool for the fans, and the cooks
"I don't know how many people who work in our restaurants or in Chicago have been to a NASCAR race, let alone something of this magnitude," Robbins said. "We didn't get into cooking because we thought it would lead us to these kind of like grand opportunities or these grand places."
And what a grand place to showcase some classic Chicago eats.