Silvertips beer. Teriyaki skewers. Steamed bao buns. Sassy molassy chicken wings.
Comcast Arena not only has a new name, it has a new menu.
If wings are your thing, you might not want to wear your favorite white shirt to the Everett arena, now called Xfinity.
There will be a new wings bars, Wings Over Washington, or WOW for short, with four sauce options at Silvertips games and other events. You have to try all four to decide which is your favorite.
You might want to bring a belt to loosen as well, to partake in the buffets where you can fill and refill your plate with oodles of food.
That’s what guests did at the recent Xfinity open house to show off the new drinks and eats that will be served in the concourse, conference center, Octane Lounge and Arena Grill.
Items ranged from Romano-crusted halibut and lemon aioli crab to Moroccan spice and Southwest flavors to sprinkle on popcorn.
A big wow was the bao cooked up by Chef Stuart Wright, known as Chef Stu. The bao is smoked pork belly, hoisin sauce, Thai lettuce slaw and sriracha mayonnaise on a steamed bun.
Chef Stu said he was inspired by a recent stint of doing chef support in the Bay area.
“I did the preseason game for the 49ers-Chargers and in all the restaurants in the Bay area they are really pushing pork bao,” he said. “It’s really hot. Years ago everybody sold it. It went away and now it’s back. We are going to sell it as a special on the concourse for hockey games. We’ll do it where our stir-fry is. It’s all in the Asian-type theme. We’ll do it for some concerts.”
The bao is so new it wasn’t on the pre-printed menu at the open house for people to rate the food. “Some ladies said, ‘We wrote it in the menu. We wanted to give it 5 stars,’” said Xfinity spokeswoman Tammi Bryant-Olson.
Yep, it’s that good.
Wash it down with some Silvertips IPA and Blonde Ale from American Brewing Company of Edmonds.
It’s the hockey team’s signature beer.
Now let’s talk about the buffets.
“We’ve been testing the buffets here and they’ve been an absolute smash,” Chef Stu said. “We do a themed buffet. So for OneRepublic we had more of a young-crowd themed buffet. For Celtic Woman we had that type of Irish cuisine.”
Open house guest John deWeber liked everything he tried.
“The prime rib was great. The pork was juicy. And the dessert was exceptional,” he said.
“The halibut. I loved the halibut,” added his wife, Lila. “I liked the scampi shrimp and the Asian bar was delicious.”
Even if the Silvertips lose, the food will be a win.
Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.
Xfinity Arena
2000 Hewitt Ave., Everett, 425-322-2600, xfinityarenaeverett.com.
Hours: Open only during events
Alcohol: Beer and wine; full cocktail service in Octane Lounge.
Prices: Arena Grill buffet specials are $12 to $22, with special pricing for kids.
Wings Over Washington, $8, on the concourse. Thai peanut chicken and teriyaki beef skewers with rice, $9, from the Shanghai Wok on the concourse. Hockey Happy Hour: Friday Silvertips games, doors open 90 minutes before the game, with $5 beer and food specials. Midweek Madness: Tuesday and Wednesday games will be BOGOs on tickets with $5 beer, soda and food specials.
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