BUY me some peanuts and Cracker Jack – and a California roll?
NYC stadium fare has long been notoriously bad, stuck in an era of soggy dogs and watery beer. No more.
When the new stadiums open in April, both will offer an incredibly diverse array of upscale restaurants and concession stands. But while the Yankees are going slick and corporate (Hard Rock Cafe, anyone?), the Mets are appealing to locals by luring some of the city’s top restaurateurs.
In other words, fans will have more to argue about than batting averages and who juiced when.
“It’s Mets versus Yankees competition at its finest – even down to the food,” BALLPARKS says Erika Boeke, co-creator of gogameface.com, a Web site aimed at female sports fans.
Sure, you’ll still be able to score a classic hot-dog-and-suds combo, but why stop there? Up in The Bronx, gamegoers can indulge in sushi and steak, while spectators at Citi Field will be able to enjoy Brooklyn Brewery specialty beers, Belgian-style fries and authentic Mexican tacos – not to mention food and drink specials inspired by visiting teams. Get your microbrewed beer, here!
“Food plays an enormous role in the baseball experience,” says Dave Howard, executive vice president of business operations for the Mets. After all, a baseball game can drag on for hours – leaving multitasking New Yorkers in search of stimulation.
Following the lead of food-forward ballparks from Philly to San Francisco, the Mets organization has asked some of the city’s leading restaurateurs to step to the plate. At the new Citi Field, Danny Meyer – not Oscar Mayer – will be the one feeding hungry fans.
A new “Taste of the City” food court will feature spinoffs of Meyer’s popular Manhattan eateries Shake Shack and Blue Smoke. There will also be two new concepts from Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group – Box Frites, serving Belgian-style french fries with various dips and “dust-up” spice blends, and El Verano, an authentic Mexican taqueria.
“BBQ and burgers are a no-brainer. We decided to do a taqueria because so many Hispanic Americans go to these games [and because of our location] in Queens,” says Tabla’s Floyd Cardoz, who is designing El Verano’s menu, which will feature soft corn tortillas, several varieties of salsa and a Mexican-style beer from Brooklyn Brewery.
Also keeping it local at “Taste of the City”: A branch of Leo’s Latticini deli (a k a Mama’s of Corona) and a new high-end pizza concept from the Queens-based Cascarino’s.
Of course, Citi Field’s 1,600 premium ticket holders won’t need to venture far – they can have their ShackBurgers delivered straight to their seats. They’ll also have access to two exclusive eateries: an as-yet-unnamed dining room and lounge showcasing modern cocktails and a market-driven menu developed by Union Square Cafe’s Michael Romano. Adjacent to that space, the Wheelhouse Market will feature a specialty coffee bar, a large wood-burning pizza oven for churning out Neapolitan-style pies and a global beer and wine bar overlooking the Mets’ warm-up area.
But Meyer isn’t the only heavy hitter in the Mets’ restaurant rotation. According to Dave Howard, the glass-enclosed Acela Club will feature “classic menu items from some of the leading restaurants in New York City” – not to mention tiered seating overlooking the diamond and a huge outdoor terrace.
A recent report in Crain’s fingering restaurateur Drew Nieporent as Acela’s likely operator means the menu may include dishes from hot spots like Nobu. A formal announcement is expected by early March.
The Yankees, meanwhile, are partnering with slicker, entertainment-oriented brands like Hard Rock Cafe and – it is rumored – the Food Network (neither the Food Network nor the Yankees would confirm). In addition, the stadium will open restaurants dedicated to upscale fare like sushi.
“The Mets are taking the approach [of] ‘Let’s find the finest food in New York and bring it to the ballpark,’ whereas the Yankees [are] like, ‘Let’s start our own steakhouse because we know better than anyone else,’ ” says
gogameface.com’s Boeke.
Boeke is referring to NYY Steak, the Yankees’ new joint venture with Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment. Located on the stadium’s second floor, it will feature servers sporting Yankee pinstripe oxford shirts and prime dry-aged beef like a 24-ounce bone-in rib-eye.
The restaurant will also include a floor-to-ceiling brass “signature wall” with laser-etched autographs of Yankee Hall of Famers.
Below, the Hard Rock Cafe will serve its specialty burgers and ribs amid sporty music memorabilia such as a baseball-themed Elton John outfit. Neither restaurant will have views of the field.
So will streetwise Yank fans trade their game seats for a burger paired with closed-circuit TV and spandex leggings? “Who are they catering to? New Yorkers or that person flying in saying, ‘Let’s go spend a fortune at the Yankee game’?” asks Boeke.
Either way, they’ll spend. After all, there are only 81 home games a year. But with NYY Steak and Hard Rock Cafe operating year-round, the stadium is promising to become an uptown version of Times Square – a 365-day tourist attraction complete with Yankee store and museum.
“Even on nongame days, people can be in the stadium and part of the experience,” says David E. Miller, Hard Rock’s director of operations.
So will the new restaurants come with typical tourist pricing? According to those working at Citi Field, delivering value in the current economic climate has been a big part of the discussion.
“When the stadium opens, I think people will be pleasantly surprised with the prices,” says Ron Parker, managing director of Hudson Yards, Union Square Hospitality’s catering, sports and entertainment division.
And if you can’t afford to splurge on NYY Steak at Yankee Stadium, no need to sweat it. We’re told Carl’s Steaks – the popular Philly cheese-steak purveyor – will be making the move to the new digs. After all, some things just can’t be improved upon.