UA football stadium reinvents menu with help of Si Charro to give Big 12 fans taste of

We’re not talking about what Noah Fifita and company will dish up on the field.

We’re talking about the Sweet Ride Nachos — crunchy, chewy, cinnamony churros in a bed of crispy fried wontons sitting on a pillow of fresh whipped cream and chocolate syrup — from Sir Veza’s.

Or the Tucson restaurant’s tamale bowl — a tamale sitting on a bed of rice and pinto beans, garnished with lettuce and pico and drizzled with a red sauce kicked up with the sweet-and-spicy Los Gatos Wild Sauce, a commercial collaboration between Sir Veza’s parent company Si Charro and the University of Arizona.

Sir Veza’s, Si Charro’s concession arm, also will have burritos and classic nachos and the Wild SirNoran Dog, Sir Veza’s spiced-up version of Tucson’s ubiquitous Sonoran hot dog using that Los Gatos Sauce.

Meanwhile, the new menu from Aramark, the UA’s concessions operator, includes the Big 12 Dog, a footlong hotdog topped with onion rings; and the Bear Down Burger with bacon and onion rings.

But the thing that got the room of media reps and UA Athletic Department employees excited when the menus were unveiled at Arizona Stadium on Friday, Aug. 23, was Aramark’s elote bites — breaded and deep-fried elote, the Mexican corn mixed with cheese, mayo, chile and lime.

“Food is Tucson, right?” Si Charro President Ray Flores told the group. “And our food is built around our culture. We are excited about UA football.”

The unveiling, led by Aramark’s General Manager Ian Waetje, Flores and Si Charro’s Executive Chef Gary Hickey, came as the UA counts down toward its season opener against the New Mexico Lobos on Aug. 31. Arizona has seven home games in 2024, including NAU a week later, that Texas Tech matchup in October, while the schedule also includes visits from Colorado, West Virginia and Houston before wrapping up with rival ASU in the 98th Territorial Cup game on Nov. 30 at Arizona Stadium. 

Tony Daniel, the UA’s senior associate athletic director of revenue, said the emphasis on food is one of several areas at the stadium that the UA is upgrading to improve the fan experience. 

“It’s really exciting to show our fans and those coming to the stadium what they can expect from a taste of Tucson,” Daniel said, as UA Athletic Director Desireé Reed-Francois nodded in agreement.

Reed-Francois, who earned her law degree from the UA in 1997, said she didn’t remember Tucson being so much of a foodie town when she was here from 1994-97. Since returning last spring, she said she and her husband have eaten their way around town.

“Tucson, the food here is absolutely incredible,” she gushed. “Every time we go out to dinner, we think it can’t get any better than this.”

In 2015, Tucson was named the first American UNESCO City of Gastronomy, a designation that celebrates Tucson’s food diversity and heritage. San Antonio is the only other American city to earn the designation. 

Sir Veza’s presence in Arizona Stadium continues Si Charro‘s 20-plus-year history with the university, where Flores and members of his family and staff graduated. 

Los Gatos Wild Sauce, bottled under the name Old Main Mercado, is available at Si Charro restaurants (El Charro Cafe, The Monica, Charrovida, Charro Chico and Charro Steak & del Rey) and online. UA Bookstores also will soon carry it, Flores said. 

The UA has also shared that additional new food vendors at the stadium include Rudy’s BBQ, Chick-fil-A, Mustache Pretzels and Cactus Confessions Fresh Lemonade and Kettle Corn.