Pizza Luce, chili, poutine to join Twins' new food lineup at Target Field

The Minnesota Twins' menu at Target Field this season will include pizza, poutine and another upgraded full-meal Bloody Marys, preferably served with a side of hard hitting from the home team.

The offerings will include some hometown heroes, including pizzas from Pizza Lucé. In full bow to these times, Lucé will serve gluten-free and vegan options. Slices range from $5.50 for cheese or pepperoni to $6.50 for the "TC Bear" all-meat version. Even on a cold Tuesday, the pizzas were warm, fresh and moist.

They're available in a new area of the ballpark built up by the Twins during the offseason, Minnie and Paul's Pub, just under the neon center field team logo that lights up for home runs.

Next to the pizza will be Red Cow, which was at the stadium last year but now offers two beef burgers, a turkey burger and poutine with fries, gravy and beef. Red Cow will sell the poutine ($12.50) as well as three popular burgers, including a $13 turkey burger.

The pub area is part of a $5 million addition. A new tickets-only area below Minnie and Paul's called Catch offers lounge seating.

In another exclusive section, the Legends' Club above home plate, there's another stratospherically delicious new poutine, a blue cheese and chicken concoction with beer-battered fries.

Down on the main concourse, local chain Barrio will sell burritos and veggie bowls at Señor Smokes. Both were surprisingly delicious. The tortilla was warm, the guacamole tasty and the beef flavorful.

Just down the concourse, Hrbek's adds to its repertoire of bombastic Bloody Marys with a Buffalo Chicken version that comes with a staggering amount of food: a chicken wing, celery, blue and cheddar cheeses, a pepperoni stick, a pepperoni and an olive. With an 8 oz. Bud lite on the side, it will cost $19.

If that's not enough, upgrade the drink by adding a slider for another $4. I tasted the liquid, which was a basic bloody mary, and ate two olives, but I made no attempt to conquer the mountain of food above it and I'm no fan of chicken wings anyway.

I also wasn't enamored of the new pretzel bites offered with various toppings from Nutella and strawberries to gravy and cheese/ Too doughy.

Izzy's will expand to multiple places throughout the park and offer chocolate, vanilla and swirled soft serve that I can definitively say is much creamier and less syrupy than the odious soft serve at national fast-food chains.

I certainly enjoyed some of the offerings, but I don't think even the allure of poutine will change my purist approach to ballpark food. When I'm at a game this season, I will belly up for a Kramarczuk's brat and a cold Summit, because there's nothing better.

On opening day, April 11, Star Tribune restaurant critic Rick Nelson will head to the ballpark to taste the offerings as prepared during a game. He'll provide his professional assessment of what to pitch and what to catch.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747

Twitter: @rochelleolson