White Sox Add Celebrity Chef David Chang’s Fried Chicken to the New 2025 Food Lineup

No — “Fuku” isn’t what White Sox fans will say to other baseball fans when asked about the team’s disastrous 2024 season. Fuku (pronounced “foo-koo”) is the name of a popular chicken sandwich chain started in 2015 in New York City by David Chang, a spinoff of the superstar chef’s Momofuku empire.

While expanding to locations at Citi Field, home of the New York Mets, and Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks, Fuku and its tributaries have avoided Chicago. Milk Bar, another New York chain that spun from Momofuku, in February arrived in Fulton Market. It only took Milk Bar 17 years to reach Chicago.

But thanks to the Sox and partner Delaware North’s connections, Chicagoans will finally have an opportunity to sample the chicken sandwiches and chicken fingers that New Yorkers once waited in long lines to try. Fuku headlines the new food lineup at Sox Park, now known as Rate Field. Opening Day is Thursday, March 27 versus the Angels.

In 2023, Fuku — which has no relation to former White Sox Kosuke Fukudome — arrived at Yankees Stadium. The chain also has a presence at Oracle Park, the home of the San Francisco Giants; and at Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles. This is the kind of food item that could convince a casual fan to visit the ballpark. The chicken sandwiches have a nice, but not overpowering, spice thanks to a 24-hour habanero brine with a recipe that’s easily scaled. Sox Park is the only place in the city where folks will find Chang’s food — unless you count the numerous grocery stores that sell his chili crisp. A sweet version of Fuku’s chicken isn’t on the Opening Day menu but may be added eventually in Section 110.

With the Cubs opening the Major League Baseball season in Tokyo, it’s not hard to reflect on Asia’s influence on America’s Pastime. The sport’s best player, Shohei Ohtani, is from Japan, and stadiums there provide a different ambiance, including the concessions. Parks in Seattle and San Francisco, with more sizable Asian populations, have already tailored their menus with sushi and other items available.

Still, Sox Park has been reluctant to embrace Japanese, Korean, and Chinese flavors apart from the Wow Bao stand down the left field line or the Wok Off noodle cart. This is the franchise that would sound a gong after closer Japanese-born Shingo Takatsu registered a strikeout from 2004 to 2005.

Adding Asian items to the ballpark was a missed opportunity, says Delaware North’s operations manager, Jenny Kribs. The void is especially daunting with Chinatown’s proximity to the stadium, just one stop north on the CTA’s Red Line. Chinatown has more than Chinese food, and Kribs says she’s been particularly enamored with the buzz surrounding Korean hot dogs which are especially popular among youngsters. Over the last year, Delaware North went to work on developing a new brand featuring Korean street food for the stadiums it services.

This year, White Sox fans will notice that new brand, Lucky’s, at a concessions stand at Section 154. Lucky’s features a logo featuring the beckoning cat, a symbol of luck with Japanese origins but celebrated throughout Asia. And given the lack of good fortune a team needs to possess when losing 121 games in a season, the team could benefit from a little luck. Vienna Beef corn dogs are used and then dusted with a variety of toppings. There’s one with Frosted Flakes, ketchup, and mustard; another with mozzarella, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, sambal mayo, and “Fu” sauce. The Unicorn dog comes with marshmallows, Fruity Pebbles, and condensed sweet milk. The stadium found a lot of success with bacon on a stick, so adding more food on a stick wouldn’t be too far-fetched.

Lucky’s is also serving four kinds of bubble waffles, including one with chicken and sweet chili sauce; and another with vanilla ice cream, miso chili, caramel, peanuts, and crushed Oreo. If Chicago fans respond well, Delaware North wants to bring the concept to other stadiums across the country.

There are other additions worth nothing, including a Patty Melt and Strawberry Cream Nachos available on the Club Level or at the Stadium Club But let’s face it — it’s time to reflect on the legacy of the Campfire Milkshake. Unlike the team’s presumed closer, the Campfire Milkshake is a holdover from the 2024 season that brings joy to the fanbase. The popularity of the shake gives the team good reason to bring it back for the 2025 season, unlike the pitcher who will not be named.

But as the team is eager to flip the page on 2025, there’s a new milkshake on the block. The Celebration Cake Shake takes a page out of Milk Bar’s playbook with colorful sprinkles and a cookie that looks like one of the signature pinwheels that adorns Sox Park’s scoreboard. The souvenir glass is dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles, then stuffed with Birthday Cake ice cream from Prairie Farms and confetti cake sliced into little squares. There’s plenty of whipped cream and it’s topped with a Maraschino cherry. This shake exudes the kind of blind optimism that fans need after last year. New executive chef Nick Toth, who works with Levy, created the shake. It’s a remarkably balanced drink. The carbs from the cake cut the ice cream’s sweetness.

The Campfire Milkshake went viral last year and as the Sox season crumbled, fans and the team’s marketing staff latched on to the milkshake for comfort. Could the new shake spark a renaissance as the team celebrates its 125th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of its last World Series win in 2005?

With the franchise recovering from last year’s depressing journey, getting fans into the stands will take more than peanuts and Cracker Jack.