HOME PLATE SPECIAL
The Mets and Yankees are rivals on the field — and in the food stands. Time to taste the latest ballpark eats
T HOUGH Mets and Yankees fans are always hungry for a winner, a World Series ring is never a sure thing. But both New York teams can guarantee that hungry fans will get their fill of delicious, ballpark-friendly food at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium this season.
At the Mets’ Flushing home, visitors can enjoy another year from heavy hitters such as Josh Capon — who has swapped last year’s concept, Pressed, for the new Bash Burger — and David Chang, who helms Fuku. In his rookie season, Marea chef Michael White is bringing in selections from his Nicoletta restaurant.
White admits he’s excited to work with the Mets. “Queens is the most diversified borough in New York City . . . so having all this different food speaks to being in Queens,” he says.
Nicoletta’s debut menu includes a jumbo mozzarella stick ($9.50) wrapped in pepperoni, breaded and
fried, served with a side of marinara sauce, plus “classica” and Calabrese stromboli roll-ups ($10 to $12). White promises that his chicken Parmesan on a sesame roll ($14) won’t drip on your Michael Conforto T-shirt. “It’s not messy, and that’s what I worked on,” he says.
Also new this year are yet another jumbo mozzarella stick option from Big Mozz ($10), hand-breaded and -seasoned, served with housemade sauce. Chef and “Fresh Off the Boat” author Eddie Huang is bringing an old favorite from his original Baohaus original menu, the Chairman Bao — braised Berkshire pork belly inside a cloudlike bao bun, topped with relish, crushed peanuts, Taiwanese red sugar and cilantro — along with the Birdhaus fried chicken bao and the fried tofu version, Uncle Jesse ($6).
Met fans may be conflicted over another new offering at Citi Field — Do (pronounced dough), cookie dough from Kristen Tomlan and her Greenwich Village shop. She says her treat is perfect ballpark fare. “It doesn’t melt — that’s the beauty of it,” says Tomlan. She’s offering sugar cookie, chocolate chip and cake batter flavors in a cup or cone ($6 to $13). And we recommend the Mets blue-andorange sprinkles. But Tomlan confesses: “I actually grew up in St. Louis, so I’m a Cardinals fan, but [the Mets] understand.”
Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group will have five different cuisine concepts throughout Citi Field. Its pizza counter, Papa Rosso, led by chef John Karangis, is serving made-to-
order pies ($12 to $13). No warmed-over, heat-lamp slices. “[That] means a loss of quality,” says Karangis. His pizzas are fresh from a 720-degree oven.
Up in The Bronx, Yankee Stadium executive chef Matt Gibson boasts that his food team tops the Mets’ cuisine. “We have four [bao] offerings,” he says. (The Mets have three — all from Baohaus.)
Choose from hoisinbraised pork belly, rotisserie prime beef rib, charbroiled chicken or crispy Buffalo cauliflower buns (two for $8).
Gibson also calls the sta- dium’s “dingers” from Frank’s RedHot Terrace (custom-ground, hand-smashed sliders with onions, American cheese and French’s yellow mustard served on a steamed potato bun) a home run. At three for $12, Gibson says, “We want to make sure everyone’s getting a good bang for their buck.”
Veteran Manhattan meat purveyor Lobel’s, has added a USDA prime beef meatloaf burger ($12.50) to the yummy Yankee lineup. Also debuting are a hickory molasses-glazed chicken sandwich ($8) and steak-and-potato fries ($15), which are baked, then fried, home fries topped with cheese, gravy, sour cream, bacon, scallions and, of course, top-notch steak bits.
Like their Queens counterparts, the Bronx Bombers are also big on mozzarella. Explaining how the Yankee menu reflects Bronx culture, Gibson says, “You want to talk about Bronx? The Mozzarella Joint [is] hand-pulling mozzarella.” The Joint’s Mitch Cynamon, a lifelong Yankee fan, even pokes fun at the Mets, calling his $13 sandwich the Mutz. He says,“Fresh mozzarella, it’s something that speaks to everybody, especially around here.”
Mighty Quinn’s barbecue choices should make pinstripe fans as happy as a Gary Sanchez home run. New callups include three meaty sandwiches: brisket ($16), burnt ends ($14) and pulled pork ($13). And Mighty Quinn co-founder Christos Gourmos says the new Brontosaurus Rib ($38) might draw a crowd.
At more than a pound of bone-in beef rib, smoked for 16 hours, Gourmos anticipates some hungry carnivores stepping up to the plate.
“Usually it’s for two,” he says, “but some big guys can handle the one rib by themselves.” Game on, then!