Islanders unveil new food offerings at UBS Arena, including Nerds Gummy Cluster brie grilled cheese
A glimpse at some of the new food options at UBS Arena this season. Credit: Newsday/Ben Dickson
Heading to UBS Arena for an Islanders game this season?
Come with an empty stomach and an open mind.
UBS Arena and hospitality partner Delaware North Sportservice revealed their new lineup of food and beverage options for the 2026-27 season on Wednesday afternoon, 10 days before the Islanders’ home opener against the Devils on Oct. 3.
The most unique of the several new food items is the Nerds Gummy Cluster brie grilled cheese, which features creamy brie cheese and Nerds Gummy Clusters inside toasted brioche and will be available at the Section 220 market. Ted Donnelly, the executive chef at UBS Arena, compared it to a baked brie with a bit of a twist.
What was the inspiration for the sandwich?
“It’s funny,” Donnelly told Newsday. “I was scrolling on social media, came across a cheesemonger that was handing out samples of a piece of brie and a Nerds Gummy Cluster on a little toothpick to his guests. I was like, I can make a grilled cheese out of that, and it's something that probably would go viral. And I feel like it eats well, and it's going to catch on.”
He was “pleasantly surprised” once he tried it.
“I wasn't sure,” he said. “I'm a big gummy candy fan, but it sort of melts into the cheese, gets a little gooey, has that little sour aspect, and it was surprisingly really good.”
Another item that stands out is the Uncrustable pulled pork tostada: a fried peanut butter and jelly in the shape of a Smucker’s Uncrustables sandwich, topped with pulled pork, chopped peanuts, grape jelly barbecue sauce and scallions. That will be sold at Section 107.
Every new food item introduced Wednesday will be available to all fans in the arena. While no prices were made available, Michael Sciortino, the general manager at UBS Arena, said they are comparable to everything already being sold at the venue.
“The guest experience is our north star,” Sciortino told Newsday. “Every decision that we make when we're here at the arena and the way we do things and what's going to be guest-facing is all around the best guest experience that we can provide. And that's everything from the decision someone makes to come to the arena, to the bathrooms when you're here, to certainly the food and the drink when you're here.
“What you're buying, the value you're getting, how exciting it is, how delicious it is – that is our north star in every decision we make. So we're super proud of it, and want to mix it up every year and make sure people are excited about new things.”
Sciortino’s favorite new item? The Mister Softee nachos, which feature either chocolate, vanilla or twist soft-serve ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, raspberry syrup, caramel sauce and waffle cone chips. They will be sold at Sections 110 and 226.
He also shouted out the Magnolia banana pudding cups – a dessert from the New York City-based Magnolia Bakery that will be available in Sections 108, 111 and 203 – the built-out mocktail program and the JetBlue Mint Condition, a vodka cocktail with house-made limeade, club soda and a mint garnish that is available at the JetBlue Terrace Bar and JetBlue Mosaic Lounge.
One of Donnelly’s personal favorites is the burrata boat, which features tater tots topped with cherry tomatoes, creamy burrata, balsamic glaze and fresh basil.
“I think that's just something that's uniquely different that presents really well and just tastes delicious,” he said. “Because on Long Island we have such an Italian-American crowd and people that like Italian-American food, over something as familiar as tater tots. So that crispiness and saltiness of tater tots, that creaminess of the burrata, matched with that little tartness from the cherry tomatoes in there and the balsamic, it just eats really well and is something that nobody has seen before.”
He expects the loaded Kraft Mac & Cheese – topped with jerk chicken, buffalo chicken or pulled pork – to “pop off with the fans.”
The new Coca-Cola Corner at Section 105 will feature a rotation of four local restaurants, starting with Tap Room and followed by Wok N’ Roll.
Other new food items include the two-foot chicken cutlet “Strombo‘LI’” sandwich, Big Chicken hot chicken and waffles, the South Shore Berry Boba Shake, poke esquites, crab rangoon toast and a churrasco steak sandwich. Three new burgers, including the “Bodega Burger” with jalapenos, queso fresco, grilled pineapple and chamoy, also are available.
Wednesday’s event also featured three spots from the adjacent Belmont Park Village: chocolatier Neuhaus, plant-based restaurant Le Botaniste and Hundredfold Brasserie.
Islanders alumni Arron Asham, Johnny Boychuk, Eric Cairns and Dennis Seidenberg were in attendance.
“It's always interesting trying to add on to the amazing things that we're already doing year after year,” Donnelly said. “But somehow we find a way to do it and figure out the crazy things that work and the things that everybody wants to have.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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