Since he’d gone on his own at a game earlier this season, but we’d not gone at the last Yankees game together as my budget didn’t allow, this time, Beer Boor decided he wanted to get the meatball sandwich from Parm for a second time (he’d gotten it once at another game that I didn’t attend with him).  For $14, well, I was happy to let him get one that I could photograph!

The center of the cart displays the rolls and fresh tomatoes on the vine.  (And if you look really closely, you’ll find the answer to the question I Tweeted earlier that day: “Yvo Incognito: what do I wear when I don’t want to be recognized?”) 

They also have two display sandwiches, I guess in case you don’t know what a turkey sandwich or a meatball parm sandwich looks like.  Turkey was actually winning that day; a lot of people were ordering it. 

Beer Boor’s sandwich in the box…

Closer up…

Inside shot – fresh basil makes me happy.

And finally, a cross section.  I was cajoled into taking a bite, just so I could report on how it tasted, though I wasn’t very hungry.  Honestly?  My bite was towards the end of the sandwich, but honestly?  I don’t get the hype.  It’s a seasoned burger with no crust, topped with parm-toppings (cheese, sauce, basil), served on a soft roll.  The meat was pretty soft where I took a bite, and while it tastes good… I don’t think this is worth $14 at all.  This gets a huge fat MEH from me.  The texture was all one-note, and I really need more texture to my food than “soft” all throughout, even if the flavor was good.

Sorry Parm & Torrisi, but I’m ruling this a big PASS. 

Note: Beer Boor thoroughly enjoyed this sandwich – at least twice now – and much like myself, he won’t spend money on something he doesn’t think tastes good.  So I know he liked it quite a bit, and I’m sure he’ll chime in with his own thoughts as well, but personally, this didn’t do it for me. 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: sandwiches, Yankees

So one gorgeous afternoon when the Mets were playing the Angels  - these are not my normal seats, no, my darling mother-in-law’s friend offered BF and I tickets to these seats, and I took this picture to show how close I was to 3rd base… sadly, David Wright was already on the DL, and I’m not sure when I’ll again sit so close to his position, wahhh.  And they lost terribly that day… plus Howie Kendrick lost control of his bat, and it went flying into the stands heading straight for me.  It hit a little girl a few rows ahead of me, but we were on TV briefly because of it.  She was fine, and got to keep the bat – and a Mets representative in a suit showed up moments later to ask her for her contact info, presumably to offer her consolation items later.  Maybe tickets to another game later.

In between innings, I walked over to Keith’s Grill.

There are only two things on the menu – the Gold Glove Burger and the Mex Burger.  Both are $10.  There are no fries, no hot dogs, nothing else on the menu.  And please note that BF wanted to try this stand almost as much as I did, but when I said “Isn’t there too much stuff on the burger for you?” he agreed, then said he’d give it a try… but then decided against it when he saw his friend was ordering a plain burger.  Boo – if he’d gotten the Gold Glove, I’d have gotten the Mex Burger and gotten to try both!  Instead, they both opted just for bacon cheeseburgers, which costs the same as the Gold Glove or Mex Burger – $10.  Granted, this is a specialty stand, and you should go here for specialty burgers, or walk down three stands to the Brooklyn Burger stand… but still!  $10?!  Ridiculous.

Because they only make two types of burgers, it’s pretty assembly line – one guy makes up the buns and stacks on the toppings for whatever burger you ordered, and then plops them in a tray for the guy to slide your cooked patty on top.

While I was taking these pictures, the guy manning the grill kept telling me that “That’s without the burgers!”  I guess he was worried I would pick up the tray and walk off without my meat?  It was funny.

Also, note that my burger has bacon on it, even though the Gold Glove doesn’t normally have bacon on it. There was a mix up and when the guy asked if we wanted bacon, I just told him to put it on all of them. Oh well.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to eat the burger until about 45 minutes later, so while I enjoyed the burger and thought it was tasty enough – just not $10 tasty – I thought it could have been better. I decided I had to try again… to give it a fair shake.

The next time I went was easily the busiest I’ve ever seen the stadium this season.  I’m not entirely sure if it was because it was Jose Reyes’ return to the Mets off the DL, or if it was because it was BOBBLEHEAD DAY – or BOTH! – but the stadium was somewhat packed.  I went early for a bobblehead and then dutifully waited on line for my burgers.

As I waited, I noticed these gorgeous wall decorations above the stand, to the left.

A really nice gift for me would be a huge poster of David Wright with his tongue out, hitting the ball… ahem…

See the bobblehead?    Beer Boor wound up wanting to try the burger as well, so we decided to split both.  Unfortunately, due to some mishap behind the stand, the Golden Glove burger was ready first and we spent time waiting for the second one to come out.

The Mex burger, with jalapenos, guacamole, bacon, pepperjack cheese AND cheddar…

and the Gold Glove burger, again.  Oh yeah – both burgers come with some potato chips and a Tootsie Roll pop.

I started with the Mex burger.  Please note that somehow, I managed to get two tops for my burger, no bottom bun.  Fluffy, but too much bread for me.  The flavor of everything was lost – I barely had any heat from the cheese (I moved the fresh jalapenos off my side of the burger), and while the bread was soft, just too much of it.  Maybe because I got two tops?

On the other hand, the Gold Glove burger had lots going on in terms of flavor, but the bread was stale.  Rock hard and difficult to bite through easily.  It’s the same bread (technically), but was the lag time while I waited enough to make it stale?  No, I’d gather this bread was prepped too far in advance (they prep trays of grilled buns, chips and lollipops ahead of time, and then dress them with the appropriate toppings as needed; the prepped trays are stacked up in the back), and became super stale and hard.  Should have been thrown away.

Oddly, Beer Boor had the opposite opinion, much preferring the soft, fluffy bread and taste of the Mex burger to the Gold Glove.  I gather that consistency is the biggest issue here: our burgers may have been topped unevenly, leading to me having more topping on my side of the Gold Glove, and vice versa for him.  Obviously, having two top buns (or bottoms, as someone must’ve had) is a (small) problem as well… but the stale bun is one of the more egregious mistakes here.  That is something that really needs to be QC checked for… it can totally ruin an entire burger!

I’m hoping that as time goes on and the stand becomes more popular (it hasn’t been particularly busy the few times I’ve been, though this time there grew a line behind us – partially because it moves slow, and partially because people walking by actually commented “this line is long, it must be good!”), they work out all the kinks and figure out how to deliver this product the way it’s intended to be eaten.  I think it has a lot of potential that just isn’t being realized for now.

Just… like… the… Mets…

This was our view this time around.  Not bad – fair territory.  An interesting angle to watch the game from.

And as we exited, I was still surprised by how busy it was – a sea of red brake lights! – that I had to snap a photo that didn’t really capture that point.  Ah well.

Let’s go Mets!!!

Final conclusion: the burger is good, but I don’t know if it’s $10 good.

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Burgers

As I mentioned last week, it’s a giveaway a week here at FeistyFoodie in the month of June.  Why?  Because I can!  This week’s prize is near & dear to my heart.  It’s Mets themed!  (And you may see more Mets stuff in the next few weeks… or maybe not.  I like to keep my stuff.) 

In any case, in this prize pack you will win: a Mets tote bag (not that one, that’s mine and has been used; I have another one still in its plastic wrap, pristine), a Coconut ONE water juice box, a full size bottle of SmartyPants gummy vitamins, and a bottle of sparkling non-alcoholic Concord grape juice… and the piece de resistance: two tickets to a Mets game!!!  (Those are the actual tickets in the picture, not just showpiece tickets.)  I may throw in some other random stuff as well… we’ll see. 

How do you enter?  Very simple: leave a comment telling me why you want to win.  That’s it.  Nothing to it!  And again, like last week, if you enter this week, you get another entry into next week’s giveaway.  How awesome is that?! 

One MAJOR caveat: this contest is ONLY OPEN TO THOSE WHO LIVE IN NYC, and/or are available to meet me in Queens or Manhattan so I can deliver this to them in person.  Obviously you should actually GO to the Mets game, too, but what you do with your prize pack is your business really.  (I can tell you where to eat at the stadium, though, of course!)  

Good luck!!! 

Other caveats: this giveaway is sponsored by no one.  The Mets, SmartyPants vitamins, ONE, Knudsen – none of them know I exist (though I really wish the Mets would!).  I received these items free, courtesy of games and press events I’ve attended in the past.  But that doesn’t mean I love the Mets any less, it just means I can’t afford to buy stuff specifically to give away on the site.  I get so much great stuff that I can’t use though, so why not share the love? 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: contest, giveaway

Garlic parmesan frites from Box Frites – always yummy and super filling

Fried dough from the fried dough stand.  BF loves this, asks them to fry it extra much to get it crispy as possible, and they let you add your own powdered sugar.  Half of his powdered sugar inevitably ends up on me because I sit next to him in a windy stadium

Antipasto salad from Mama’s of Corona

I thought this was good, since I was in the mood for a salad, but I wouldn’t necessarily seek it out again.  Not a bad option if that’s what you want though!

Nachos with cheese and pico de gallo on top.  I really liked these, even though the pico was a bit watery and sogged up some of my chips.  I think they were $6.75 or so (this is 2010), not bad – from the Nachos Grande stand.

Box Frites (ketchup for the BF), and pizza.  He says the pizza isn’t good but it’s pretty much what he always gets at the stadium.

I had the opportunity to visit the Acela Club for one game, so I took advantage and we made reservations to dine at the all you can eat buffet. 

That day’s menu… I sort of wanted ribs but then decided to go with something else at the last minute.  I didn’t feel like getting all dirtied up.  By the way, though there is a row of tables along the glass (Acela Club overlooks left field) so you can watch the game from your seat and gorge, it’s an extra $10.  The buffet is already $46 so we decided not to do that – and to instead have a 5:30p reservation so that, going by their 1.5 hour time limit, we could be in our seats for the game. 

It’s a really nice space. 

Lots of food spread out in the big space for you to choose from.  Salads, breads, cheeses, charcuterie…

Sliced up and ready for the taking – there was a guy just behind the platters, slicing up meat for you to take. 

My first feeler plate… I obviously like my vegetables. 

Salads…

I think this was Beer Boor’s plate, because that doesn’t look like the kind of plate I’d get.  I could be wrong. 

People waiting for… do you see that slicer?

Well, here’s a giant hollowed out wheel of parmagiano-reggiano with Caesar salad resting inside it.  I wish I had a big wheel of parm… I’d throw hot pasta along with a little bit of pasta water in it from time to time just to get some yummy pasta (yes, I know at least one restaurant in Manhattan does that).  Then I’d cut up the rind and make ribollita with it.  Yum. 

Here’s the slicer and what people were waiting for – freshly sliced prosciutto.  YUM. 

Here’s a plate more to my style – salad, salad, prosciutto.  Hehe. 

Another angle on the same plate. 

What’s hiding underneath everything?  Mac & cheese of course.

Then our main courses arrived.  “Yorkies” as it turned out was a cute name for Yorkshire pudding, or puffy bread.  Beer Boor opted for the $5 supplement to get a beautiful slice of prime rib.  I know it was greatly enjoyed, though I don’t believe I tried any. 

I couldn’t tell you why I opted for the rack of pork.  I found it pretty tender and juicy though, and they didn’t give me a problem when I requested that they switch one of my sides for fried pickles.  I love fried pickles.  These were good, but not amazing. 

An inside shot of my fried pierogi.  It was okay. 

Prosciutto bread from Mama’s of Corona – $3. 

Inside shot of the prosciutto bread.  The flavor was great, but the bread was kind of hard, so I didn’t like it that much.  Oh well. 

Snocones, “extra red” at the BF’s request.  They were only okay and I doubt I’d get them again, too hard to eat without getting it on me… or I’m stupid

Another Mama’s of Corona sandwich…

More Box Frites parm-garlic frites, love.

Just frites this time, with blue cheese.

Some pizza for the BF.

The upskirt to make me happy. 

Shake Shack – I didn’t wait on line for this one, I assure you.

I actually think this was a cheeseburger, not a Shackburger. 

Definitely never ordered that from SS before, it was good but definitely not replacing my Shackburger. 

Bucket of popcorn for $6 or so.  I think that’s still cheaper than the movies…

Taco combo from Taqueria el Verano.  I’m not a huge fan of the tacos; they’re only okay and definitely way overpriced, I can get much better just a short walk from the stadium. 

Of course, if I’m going to wait on line at Taqueria, I’m definitely getting elotes, the corn with cheese and cayenne on it.  I love this, anywhere – here it’s OK, given the high price tag and occasionally it’s been sitting too long so it gets a bit dry…

Special Mr. Met helmet cup of ice cream with two spoons for sharing, don’t mind if I do!

Cookies from Mama’s of Corona.  I thought they’d be melty in my mouth, or soft.

They weren’t.  Still good, but not what I was expecting. 

Another Mama’s sandwich (I told you, this was my go-to last season!). 

And look at that – why wouldn’t it be?  So good!

And the BF shows off his hot dog at our last game of the season.  He shortly thereafter decided to not buy a ticket for this season…  I think he’s going to regret that decision immensely! 

I want to thank everyone who made this post possible, those who eat with me, those who give me suggestions what to eat, and those who always indulge me my desires. 

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: frites, sandwiches

Catch of the Day – 2009

Catch of the Day – 2010

Catch of the Day – 2011

Box Frites – 2009

Box Frites – 2010

Box Frites – 2011

Taqueria el Verano – 2009

Taqueria el Verano – 2010

Taqueria el Verano – 2011

Taqueria el Verano board2 – 2009

Taqueria el Verano board2 – 2010

Taqueria el Verano board2 – 2011

Blue Smoke – 2009

Blue Smoke – 2010

Blue Smoke – 2011

Blue Smoke board2 – 2011 – I don’t seem to have a 2009 or 2010 second menu board picture, sorry!

Shake Shack – 2009

Shake Shack – 2010

Shake Shack – 2011

Shake Shack board2 – 2009

missing photo 2010

Shake Shack board2 – 2011

Not too many price changes over the years, though a few notable changes – Blue Smoke brought back my chipotle chicken wings!!!    And they also brought back the chips and fresh salsa at Taqueria el Verano (which isn’t clear through my photos, but they had it the first season and I declared it an excellent value at $3.50, but then it was yoinked from the menu last season).  Hooray!  Oh, also: Blue Smoke lowered the price of their bologna sandwich, something I complained about last year!   

My first game of this season, a friend wanted Shake Shack.  Despite the line being quite long (past the Beers of the World stand that is to the left of Shake Shack), I was ordering within 10 minutes of getting on line, and my food came out pretty fast.  Aside from that huge improvement – which the haters will say is because our ballpark isn’t being filled, but I say, read that again, the line was long but it moved faster than I recall!,

I thought this was better than the last few times I’ve had Shake Shack at Citi Field.  The burger was cooked properly, not as soggy or buttery (in a bad way) as it was in the past.  Not bad!  Faster lines and better food, I dig.  Note that my friend got a shake, and I saw them pre-made sitting on the counter.  Since this was early April, it was fine, but I don’t know how that will work in July…

And of course, David Wright’s first at-bat.  Are you new here?  I do this at every Mets game I go to.  I’ve discovered that using my nifty toy – the dSLR – makes it really hard to capture the picture the way I want, so I have to stop using it for the ballpark.  That’s right, I’m carrying two cameras to the park… just so I can get the photo I want.  Ergh. 

Box Frites, large, with blue cheese.  Again, very skimpy with the cheese, and there aren’t as good as they used to be.  Boo.  

Mama’s of Corona – 2009

Mama’s of Corona – 2010

Mama’s of Corona – 2011

Mama’s of Corona board2 – 2009

Mama’s of Corona board2 – 2010

Mama’s of Corona board2- 2011

A retry on that photo of David, but still no good.  Oh well.  Back to P&S for me, for that photo.  I’m going to have a scrapbook one day… one day.  (I actually have a photo, because of this obsessive behavior, of him swinging at a first pitch of his first at-bat – and yes, he swings at an awful lot of first pitches – and hitting it out of the park.  Pretty nifty.) 

And then I found out that the menu at the now-three Blue Smokes (I was told there are THREE Blue Smokes now; one at Taste of the City, one on Promenade level (my level), and one on field level, though I don’t know where it is and am not sure I’d be able to find the stand or be allowed to visit!… are all different!  So above you saw the photo of the ones at the Taste of the City level, this is the menu for the stand on Promenade level.  WHICH HAS FRIED CHICKEN BY THE PIECE.

No corn dogs at this one apparently though. 

Given that this is fried chicken at the stadium, but priced similarly to Hill Country… how do you not order a leg and a thigh?

Juicy, tender, moist… yeah, this is good stuff.  The only bad thing about having good fried chicken in my ballpark so close to my seats is how much weight I’ll gain from this.  I like. 

Funny that I rarely order chicken when I go out to eat – but here I ordered lots.  I wanted to see if their wings were as good as I remember; still meaty, though slightly less so, and ever so bitty more spicy than I recall.  Still good, though, and I still enjoyed it greatly.  Not sure if it’ll return to being my go-to as it was the first season (I almost literally ate these every single time I went to the park, which was 15+ times that season).  

David’s first at-bat of that game!

And my go-to from the 2010 season: the Mama’s Special Italian Hero!  Still yummy and still the same price.  Nice! 

PINK HELMET CUPS!!!  And they have hot fudge (which is more like chocolate syrup).  No extra sprinkles though… ahem. 

Here is the fried chicken sandwich from Blue Smoke.

Here’s an inside shot.  I thought this was a little dry and could have used more of that buttermilk ranch.  Not bad, but not good enough for me to want to go back and get another one.  

One more picture of David’s first-at bat.  

Tickets are really cheap right now, so get them now and eat really well at the stadium!  Or you know, just buy tickets and stay home so I don’t have to fight crowds to get to my food. 

These photos are from April 10, April 19, April 24, and May 4, 2011.

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fried chicken, frites, sandwiches, wings