Last week, I received a pretty cool email.

A member from the Hornets communications team invited me to a media tasting event to showcase new items for the fall season!

At first, I was like, is this real?? After close examination I realized that they did indeed intend to invite me. And I was all in.

On Monday, I made my way to Time Warner Cable Arena, stomach empty and pumped to try some delicious food. When I arrived, we were directed to the FrontCourt Club, where prepped tables were waiting to be filled with food.

As the food came rolling in, we were invited to come up and take photos before digging in. The phrase “kid in a candy shop” has never rang so true for me.

After executive chef Aaron Cox spoke a few words, we starting piling items on our plates. I didn’t try EVERYTHING, but the things I tried were spot on.

Here’s what I personally ate (don’t judge me):

• A mini gyro from IOS Kitchen
• Pulled pork nachos from Queen City Q
• Half a burger
• A cup of “orange soda slaw”
• A teppanyaki (New flavor to me. Note, it’s great.) chicken lollipop
• Half a corn flake fried chicken sandwich
• And a piece of AMAZINGG fried chicken

Some items are only available in suites (part of the Carolina Chicken Shack Package) while others are available in concession stands. RuRu’s Tacos + Tequila, IOS Greek Kitchen, and Queen City Q are new restaurant partners, so you’ll be able to snack on some of their best items, too. (Queen City Q has its own stands: at the entry pavilion an
d on the 2nd floor. My fave BBQ in CLT!)

Look out for these intriguing items that we didn’t try but sound incredible:

• Hugo’s Boss: 4 lbs of cheese steak stromboli, fit for 6-10 guests. Whattt?
• Concessions Buffalo Bagel Dog: a hot dog wrapped in cheese and a bagel crust, topped with buffalo sauce and blue cheese.
• Concessions Chicken Parmesan Calzone: chicken parm wrapped in pizza crust.

Needless to say, I left full, happy, and very appreciative for the invitation. Hopefully this inspires you to try something new at your next visit to the arena. Go Hornets!!

(P.S. Are you following @bestfoodcharlotte on Instagram? I’m its newest community leader!)

This post was created after a complimentary meal from the arena. All opinions are my own.