Taste-Testing New York Baseball

WSJ ^ | Apr 18, 2009 | By RAYMOND SOKOLOV

[zaphod3000]

Both local teams lost the openers at their new stadiums -- the Mets to the Padres on Monday 6-5, and the Yankees to Cleveland on Thursday 10-2 -- but they scored points with their efforts to give New York baseball fans a lot more than franks and beer to feed themselves and their loyalty.

Like the Mets, the Yankees have devoted vast space to a vastly improved string of food purveyors in an area with a full view of the diamond. And like those at Citi Field, many of the stalls at the new Yankee Stadium are operated by trademark restaurateurs and food-service veterans with local or national reputations for quality.

SNIP

. . . [T]oday's food fight is about stadium fodder available to all fans.

So what's the official box score? We totaled up the runs column and declare Citi Field the winner. But the struggle will continue, at least until the end of the regular season. Some New Yorkers are complaining about high ticket prices at the new stadiums and the multimillion-dollar public subsidies for their construction. But the radical improvement in the food service, no matter which team's concessions you prefer, now puts Big Apple teams on a competitive culinary footing with the Boston Red Sox.

[zaphod3000]

Go to the article see how the two teams compare on burgers, hot dogs, seafood, and BBQ.

[deannadurbin]

http://www.goldensilents.com/baseball.mp3

:)

[Larry381]

If you plan on eating at either stadium-forget it-unless you bring a sack of money.

[Old North State]

So the new parks are really just big theme restaurants? Makes sense, airports are now shopping malls where planes land and take off.

[zaphod3000]

Considering how the teams played on opening day, (esp. the Yankees), no doubt the food was more interesting.

[razorback-bert]

So now it is just a food mall, where a ball games happens to be.

[irishtenor]

I went to Shea stadium two years ago. Asked for a dark beer, the guy said it was in a dark bottle. (it was Bud)
The rest of the fair was just as bad. Hotdog, pretzles, peanuts, and nachos. That’s it as far as i could see.
Nothing at all like I am used to at Safeco field in Seattle. You can get about 20 kinds of beer, and everything from hotdogs to sushi with everything in between. Including the HOTTEST hot sauce you have EVER put in your mouth, found at Dixie’s BBQ on the first floor on the first base side.

[Arguendo]

I had no idea Citi managed to get a Shake Shack—that’s certainly impressive. With that and some of the others it looks like they’re the clear winner here.

[sionnsar]

airports are now shopping malls where planes land and take off.

So true. My first, and hopefully last and only, tour through Heathrow's new Terminal 5 on a really short connection almost ended in disaster because the important signage (Where Is Your Gate?) was so buried in the commercial junk that I literally figured out the system and made it down the secret elevator to my departure gate seconds before it closed (I was last through).

I've long since avoided Heathrow most any way possible; Terminal 5's cr*ppy signage just gives me one more reason to avoid Heathrow, and British Airways, on any international flight. High-priced Northwor$t Airlines is far preferable (when I can book them under company low-price policy), and Schiphol is generally a much nicer airport. IMHO