Secret Menus And Special Creations Build U.S. Open Food Buzz

The orange boxes of Coqodaq’s famed chicken nuggets fill the grounds at the U.S. Open. What’s less known is there’s also a black-bagged secret menu Black Truffle Sandwich available to the masses in the CQDQ food court location. Pasta Raman has a secret Japanese sando at its new site, just a few stalls down. And the limited-edition offerings from Michelin-starred and acclaimed chefs and eateries abound at the U.S. Open give fans a fresh food wrinkle on site.

“I’ve heard it said this is a food festival we just happen to play tennis at,” Robbie Felice, owner of Pasta Raman, tells me. “This is the biggest pop up I’ve ever done. It’s really awesome. It’s incredible and a lot to take in. I’m excited about all of it.”

Creating energy around food for what has turned into a three-week event is all part of the plan. “With the pop ups and social piece, people are going crazy,” Ron Krivosik, Levy vice president and chef and one of the leaders of the food experience at the U.S. Open, tells me. “People know they can come here and get great food. They look for what’s interesting and fun and CQDQ and Robbie, the way they are offering a secret menu, people on social search for it and that creates energy.”

Paul Schwartz, Levy vice president, tells me the off-menu items help give restaurants a new way to interact with fans on social media while giving those on site the opportunity to “experience something special.”

Secret or not, a bevy of U.S. Open-specific menu items help create allure.

Coqodaq/CQDQ

In 2024, Coqodaq entered the U.S. Open with its famed Korean-inspired chicken nuggets—they’re served with caviar—on the club level of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Seung Kyu (SK) Kim, executive chef and partner of Coqodaq, part of the Simon Kim-led restaurant group that includes Michelin-starred COTE Korean Steakhouse, tells me people were asking why they weren’t available to the everyone. “We heard you,” he says. The CQDQ food village location not only serves everyone on site but offers up a first-ever for the brand, a fried chicken sandwich. The “Gangnam style” sandwich features crispy chicken, soy garlic glaze, Kewpie mayo, coleslaw and a brioche bun.

Known for frying in non-seed Zero Acre oil with gluten free chicken using high-end rice flour, which KS Kim calls “the pleasure without the guilt,” serving a sandwich was always the idea once they had the nugget nailed down. The sandwich makes its debut in Flushing in a mild and spicy version, meaning its only available at the tennis center, not the hard-to-get-into New York City restaurant.

“Each year, I want to bring something new and exciting to delight our customers,” Simon Kim, founder and CEO of Gracious Hospitality Management, tells me, “and this year I’m excited for everyone to try our crispy chicken sandwich, something we created that was authentically us. We’ve been working on this dish for a long time, and the U.S. Open is the perfect stage to debut it.”

Simon Kim likens adding new items to the menu as a way to match the players, bringing their best to what he calls one of the premier sporting events in the country. “At Coqodaq, we’ve spent the year practicing and perfecting one dish, and we’re so excited to present our new crispy chicken sandwich at the U.S. Open alongside so many world-class athletes.”

With the boxes of nuggets floating around the site and the new crispy chicken sandwich creating buzz for fans of the brand—along with the only-at-the-U.S. Open peaches and cream soft serve—the off-menu Black Truffle Sandwich adds another level of intrigue. “We love sports,” KS Kim says. “We love tennis.” The fans are loving the chicken.

PastaRamen

For Felice, PastaRamen’s first year in the food village has been a lot to take in and different than any sort of pop up he’s ever done, saying something for a restaurant born from pop ups. And while it now has a permanent location in Montclair, New Jersey, Felice always has a pop up going. This one is different.

The Wafu Italian mashup of flavors means Felice is serving up his well-known Temomi Shrimp Scampi Ramen with ponzu, garlic and shrimp alongside his and Bao Bun Zeppoli with Nutella crema that helps draw fans of his food to the site. “People have heard of the shrimp scampi ramen and a ton want to try it,” he tells me. “Regulars and fans come by.”

But there’s also two never-done-before items from PastaRamen for the Open: a Chicken Teriyaki Gyoza Fritti with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Strawberry Yuzu Japanese Italian Ice. If that’s not enough, during the tournament, the James Beard-nominated Rising Star Chef takes his Wafu Italian creations into the world of a Japanese sando with Italian leanings for a secret off-menu specialty. “It took a lot of trial and error,” he says about the process for using rice flour to create the right type of Italian-themed bread. PastaRamen now has plenty of new options to explore, some secret and some not, but they’re all at the U.S. Open.

Van Leeuwen Ice Cream

Arguably the most popular ice cream shop in New York fills pink cups aplenty at the U.S. Open. After creating a signature flavor in 2023—the Honeycomb Fudge Slam—that flavor makes a return for 2025. A mashup of the brand’s popular Honeycomb flavor with a ripple of fudge, bringing back the exclusive flavor gives Van Leeuwen fans a little something extra to look forward to when on site at the Open.

“The U.S. Open is a one-of-a-kind event that grows in popularity every year, and part of its appeal is the exclusivity, special experiences, limited-time offerings and iconic food and beverage items,” Ben Van Leeuwen, co-founder and CEO of Van Leeuwen, tells me. “The Honey Deuce, for example, has become a must-have because it’s only available at the Open. We wanted to create something along the same lines, an item fans can’t get anywhere else. Honeycomb Fudge Slam instantly became a hit and has been our number-one flavor since we started offering it.”

The Honeycomb is the brand’s most popular flavor, Ben Van Leeuwen says, so intruding a new version only available at the Open offers something both familiar and new, something the fans recognize, but “elevated with a unique twist they can’t find in our scoop shops. And the tennis topper adds to the fun,” he says. “It’s become a little tradition that people look forward to every year.”

Honey Deuce

Maybe the most well-known exclusive item at the U.S. Open is the Honey Deuce alcoholic drink. In 2024, the tournament sold over 556,000 of the cocktails, a more than 23% increase from even just 2023 and a total sales of $12.8 million. The drink, made with Grey Goose Vodka, fresh lemonade, raspberry liqueur and topped with three honeydew melon balls continues to create buzz, with the U.S. Open this year designing an entire apparel and hat lineup around the drink.

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Carnegie Deli

Krivosik says the U.S. Open is blending the old with the new. Carnegie Deli, a New York institution that opened in 1937, is well known. But it’s also not available any longer, having closed in 2016. The U.S. Open brought it back in 2014, giving fans a chance to get the popular deli items in only one spot: the U.S. Open food village.

Oyamel by Jose Andres Group

Famed chef Jose Andres has brought his flavors to Flushing, orchestrating the Mexican cuisine inside the Dobel Tequila Club with Oyamel by Jose Andres Group, including Oyamel’s Taco Cochinita, made of Yucatan-style pit barbecued port, achiote, Mexican sour orange and pickled red onions.

“Oyamel is brand new to NYC, and the U.S. Open is such a quintessential New York experience,” Carlos Cruz-Santos, head chef of Jose Andres Group, tells me. “We want guests to experience new flavors and our takes on authentic dishes and ingredients to discover how vibrant Mexican cuisine can be.”

Along with the taco, Cruz-Santos says an exclusive on-site item is the Cucumber Smash, a “refreshing complement” to the menu’s lineup.

Benjamin Steakhouse

The Champions Bar & Grill offers the elevated Benjamin Steakhouse experience that has been popular for the likes of Roger Federer and Frances Tiafoe for six years. Located at the club level, the 2025 menu features regulars from Benjamin’s New York restaurant, along with signature steaks and a variety of salads (everything from lobster to shrimp to salmon to chicken), available only seasonally at the New York restaurant. What gives the steakhouse an even more exclusive menu feel is a cocktail menu special for the U.S. Open, including, of course, the famed Honey Deuce.

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