By Jimmy Carlton Sportswriter Published Dec 14, 2017 at 8:01 PM

When the Bucks host the Bulls on Friday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, fans can get a taste of Chicago while they watch Milwaukee – presumably, hopefully – beat up on its rival, the NBA’s second-worst team.

That’s because the Bucks are launching a unique food initiative for select games, and the Dec. 15 contest is the first in which they will feature quintessential dishes famous in the city of the team Milwaukee is playing against that night. Fans will be able to purchase the special dishes in Club 50, located on the north end of the Bradley Center Suite Level.

The new civic-focused food program will be offered on seven dates this season.

For Friday’s game, there will be Italian Beef Sandwiches and Chicago-style hot dogs with the signature toppings. It’s a nice culinary tribute to a city currently enduring both the terrible Bears and the even-more terrible Bulls.

Then, when the Bucks take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Dec. 28, Club 50 will serve Tater Tot Hot Dish and Baked Walleye with pecan butter, a nod to the Land of 10,000 Lakes’ famous savory casserole and favorite fish. On Jan. 17, for the Bucks’ game against the Miami Heat, the featured dish will be fricasé de pollo (Cuban-style chicken stew) and fried plantains with guacamole, which should help Milwaukeeans warm up in the middle of winter.

On Jan. 29, when the Bucks play the Philadelphia 76ers, there will be, of course, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. On Feb. 25, against the New Orleans Pelicans, fans can enjoy delicious jambalaya with andouille sausage and chicken. For the March 9 game, when Milwaukee hosts the New York Knicks, the Big Apple offering will be chef-carved corned beef sandwiches and Waldorf salad; perhaps the Bucks’ NYC-based owners will be in town for a taste of home. And, finally, when Milwaukee faces the Celtics on April 3, Club 50 will serve fried clams and Boston baked beans, and will tell you to go get your chowder somewhere else.

This is a cool concept that ought to be expanded, both for more games and to more concession areas throughout the arena. Also makes you wonder what Milwaukee's city-specific food would be at another arena; probably cheese curds and beer. Milwaukee wins. 

For more information on BMO Harris Bradley Center food options, click here.

For information on Bucks tickets, click here.

Born in Milwaukee but a product of Shorewood High School (go ‘Hounds!) and Northwestern University (go ‘Cats!), Jimmy never knew the schoolboy bliss of cheering for a winning football, basketball or baseball team. So he ditched being a fan in order to cover sports professionally - occasionally objectively, always passionately. He's lived in Chicago, New York and Dallas, but now resides again in his beloved Brew City and is an ardent attacker of the notorious Milwaukee Inferiority Complex.

After interning at print publications like Birds and Blooms (official motto: "America's #1 backyard birding and gardening magazine!"), Sports Illustrated (unofficial motto: "Subscribe and save up to 90% off the cover price!") and The Dallas Morning News (a newspaper!), Jimmy worked for web outlets like CBSSports.com, where he was a Packers beat reporter, and FOX Sports Wisconsin, where he managed digital content. He's a proponent and frequent user of em dashes, parenthetical asides, descriptive appositives and, really, anything that makes his sentences longer and more needlessly complex.

Jimmy appreciates references to late '90s Brewers and Bucks players and is the curator of the unofficial John Jaha Hall of Fame. He also enjoys running, biking and soccer, but isn't too annoying about them. He writes about sports - both mainstream and unconventional - and non-sports, including history, music, food, art and even golf (just kidding!), and welcomes reader suggestions for off-the-beaten-path story ideas.