That photo is from the last regular season game at Citi Field that was included in my Sunday plan (September 25, 2011). 

This picture is from the last regular season game that I actually attended – September 27, 2011 – courtesy of my overactive Twitter account one day a few months ago.  I participated in a Twitter battle between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Mets, and because I helped them beat the competition, they DMed me for my address “to send me an autographed photo of Mr. Met” – but included in the envelope was a couple of surprise goodies, including a nifty orange watch with the Mets logo on it, and… four tickets to the second-to-last game of the season, with these seats. 

Because I’m a nice “boss” – and because there are few people in this world more fun to watch baseball with than Beer Boor – I decided to take the NY-based members of the Feisty Family (bloggers, not my blood family, because they hate baseball – I am the only one who enjoys it): Beer Boor, TT & CT. 

After my usual photo of David’s first at-bat (posted above), we went to get food.  Most of this is nothing new – the elotes that I love so dearly, but this time they were not mine.  Beer Boor smartly ordered this… I should have asked him to get one for me too! 

He also got the taco combo, which he logically pointed out was $10.75 for three tacos, and pretty good quality ones at that.  Fine, they’re not expensive, I just don’t particularly like them there.  I’ll take Nixtamal any day! 

TT opted for Blue Smoke and ordered the BBQ bologna sandwich.  It’s definitely one of the more interesting offerings at the park; the bologna is cut very thick, then grilled to give it a smoky flavor, doused in BBQ sauce, onions and pickles.  I remember I’d enjoyed the less saucy bologna sandwich last year, and it looks even better now… I just couldn’t justify the price when I got it.  However, since then, they’ve lowered the price to $7.75, which is more in line with what I said I’d pay for it (in that first link when I ate it) – and it looks bigger now, too.  Interesting – I might get this again at some point! 

CT went for the buttermilk ranch sandwich, which hadn’t been good the time I sampled it but I’ve heard varying reports, and I think she enjoyed it.  I didn’t hear any complaints, anyway! 

What did I eat?  Well…

I finally decided to bite the bullet and order the lobster roll from Catch of the Day.  I always balked at the price and at eating lobster at the ballpark, but TT sent me a photo earlier in the day from another blog and it looked half decent.  I justified it by saying lobster rolls elsewhere around the city are easily $30 – Ed’s Chowder House, anyone? – so why not?  Here’s why not: the photo TT sent was from a few years ago and showed a top-split hot dog bun with chunks of lobster, not much mayo, and just… a lobster roll.  What I got, as you can see in the pics above, is chopped up lobster meat.  You don’t chop up lobster meat unless it’s to get rid of bad parts / hide the funky bits.  No one wants to eat shreds of lobster meat, they want to eat chunks of it.  While it was tasty enough – like chopped up lobster meat, bits of celery, and I squeezed lemon on it for a little brightness… I would not recommend this – even at a cheaper price.  I didn’t get sick, but really, I was offended by the chopped up lobster meat.  Let the meat shine!  Let it speak for itself! 

Unfortunately, though we were winning for most of the game, true to form, we wound up tying, then going into extra innings and just… bleh.  I hope TT and CT enjoyed their first ever game at Citi Field, despite the cold and the loss (they left before the game ended; it was a school night after all!). 

One more season down at Citi Field, and one more sadface from me.  My home for 6 months out of the year, and it’s over!  Next year guys… there’s always next year.

© Feisty Foodie for The Feisty Foodie, 2011. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: lobster rolls

This year, things are a little different.  Baseball is still my number 1 sport, and I don’t see that changing any time soon, but my bestest buddies started a Fantasy Football League this season, and I’m participating.  I’ve watched the Super Bowl every year regardless of whether I cared who won or not (I always pick a team to root for just to make it more fun), and I like football enough… but I’d never been to a game. 

Enter Cookie: she won tickets to her company’s suite at New Meadowlands Stadium, and graciously invited me to attend with her.  Um, yes, hello, suite seating?  Sure, it was a pre-season game, but whatever, why not enjoy a game in style? 

After a bit of traffic – yes, I drove into lower Manhattan to pick Cookie up, then onwards into NJ, on a Monday evening – we arrived at the stadium.  I took a photo of this because I understand the Weber connection, but Lobel’s?  Does this mean there’s a stand inside???  I really like their steak sandwiches at Yankee Stadium…

but we headed straight to our suite and I snapped a photo of the view, while the players warmed up a bit. 

For the suite, as soon as I walked in, this was on the table on the right – cookies, brownies, and a Cobb salad.  With lots of bacon and chicken, which sucked for Cookie because she’s a vegetarian. 

The salad itself was really pretty – grilled green onions, cubes of avocado, chicken, blue cheese, bacon, brightly colored tomatoes, cabbage… it was pretty tasty too. 

I snapped this photo when we got there, but it was refilled shortly after – chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, and buffalo wings (which went the quickest – definitely football food!). 

Hot dogs… which no one touched.  Baseball food, I guess?

Pulled pork on the left, and spinach-cheese dip on the right (which is what Cookie wound up eating mostly).  Needs more chips and bread! 

I don’t know why this amused me so much, but it did: the phones have the Giants logo on them! 

And my first plate was clearly absentmindedly chosen: cole slaw, salad, and chicken fingers.  I still don’t know what I was thinking.  Cisco phones and Sysco food… the chicken fingers were exactly as you’d expect. 

The pulled pork was marginally more interesting, while I liked the spinach-cheese dip a lot.  The wings were pretty eh – again, standard Sysco issue – but great football food.  I think I may start making wings on weekends as I’m watching a lot more football now (and getting my butt kicked in my Fantasy Football League). 

Then, kickoff! and I sat outside, glued to the game, watching the Giants kick Bears butt.  I totally forgot to wander around the stadium to see what’s available in terms of stands because I have this “nasty” habit of staying in my seat during game play.  (I get to baseball games early, eat, then sit in my seat for the entire game… rarely taking bathroom breaks unless absolutely necessary.) 

I had a lot of fun at my first live football game though, even though the food was only so-so in the expensive seats.  Thanks again to Cookie for the ticket, and big ups to the Giants for their stomping of the Bears in pre-season ball!!! 

Oh yeah: Ottis Anderson was totally in the suite next to us, rocking both his Super Bowl rings.  A girl in our suite started ranting about him being a jerk for wearing the rings or something, but I didn’t understand what she was talking about.  Cookie went over to say hi to him, and he let her try on one of his rings, which I thought was cool (they are BLING!).  The guy seemed nice enough but I didn’t feel comfortable going over to talk to him when I had no idea who he was…  Oh well! 

Let’s go BIG BLUE!!! 

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

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

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. 

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Post tags: frites, sandwiches