AlwaysHungryNY: Yankee Stadium Fare

Arthur Bovino — April 22, 2009

Eating was fun at the old Stadium even when the best option was Premio Sweet Italian Sausage in tin foil, but now that the Bombers have relocated to grander digs with an expanded menu we were excited to see what was what. We passed on peanuts, crackerjacks and the delicious, double-feature popcorn smell wafting through the food courts to do a thorough tasting of each stand. Having seen foodie takes on ballpark food, we thought we’d do a baseball take on ballpark food.

So with the help of veteran Yankees announcer, John Sterling’s WCBS radio calls, we’ve included highlights, things to avoid and the best Stadium meal you can create.

Lobel’s

Steak Sandwich ($15): “27 up, 27 down! Baseball immortality”
A sprinkled cheese topped bun. Juicy meat a ¼-inch thick. Jus that sogs up the bun-bottom. A large condiment cup packed with nostril-flaring, pound-the-wall horseradish. The Steak Sandwich is the Stadium’s culinary Sultan of Swat. What do they say? It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.

Garlic Fries

Garlic Fries ($5, small): “Yankees Win! Thuhh Yank-ees Win!”
There’s a stand for garlic fries. Crispy, garlicky, sweet and savory fries tossed in a huge bowl with real garlic that at times is almost caramelized. Fans have been complaining about being on line at other stands to buy food accompanied by fries and not being able to bring in these Garlic Fries as a pinch-hitter. Besides the logistical problems this would involve they have a point.

Brother Jimmy’s

Frickles ($8) & Pulled Pork Sandwich ($10): “Back to Back and uh, Belly to Belly”
Frickles (aka deep-fried pickles): crunch outside, conventional green pickle inside—are the Stadium’s most creative dish. More filling than you’d think. The pulled pork sandwich (served with a side of vinegar) is completely respectable—there’s just not enough pork for all the bread.

Nathan’s

Nathan’s Hot Dog ($6.75): “It is high! It is far! It is GONE!”
Corn Dog ($4): “Lined like a bullet, base hit!”
You can’t go wrong with a Nathan’s Hot Dog— it’s quintessential ballpark food. Passing on it would be un-American, like the Red Sox winning…anything, ever. As for the corn dog, it’s sweet, salty, light and crunchy—everything a corndog should be. And while their fries don’t compete with the Stadium’s Garlic Fries, you certainly can’t run on them.

Sushi

Rainbow Roll ($15): “He…MAKES the catch!
Pretty basic sushi (Crab, Salmon, Tuna, Shrimp and Avocado) but it’s not sitting around and they sell sake here too…Stadium sake bombs?

Arthur Avenue Italian Deli

Eggplant Parmigiana ($10.75): “You’re on the Mark, Texeira!”
Italian Sub ($10): “It is high, it is far, it is…….caught!”
The Arthur Ave. cold cuts are like a home run call that goes wrong at the warning tracks. You go into the sandwich thinking you’re in for a treat but a high ratio of bread to meat ultimately disappoints. As for the eggplant parmigiana—it’s on toasty warm bread and just needs a touch of sauce.

Johnny Rockets

Chicken Tenders and Fries ($10.50): “It’s a Johnny Rocket!”
Cheeseburger ($9): “Cut on and missed”
Chicken tenders are just as good, maybe better, than those at the old stadium. But the cheeseburger bun was a little stale and the burger needed something— like maybe to be a Shackburger and not be from Johnny Rockets. Come on, not having Shake Shack at the Stadium smacks of Cashman not throwing Hughes into the deal for Santana. Mets fans are talking about Shackburgers with Tony Paige at 3am on WFAN. There’s a reason for that besides Oliver Pérez.

Sliders

Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Fries ($10): “El Capitan! A Jeter jolt!”
Beef Burger Sliders with Fries ($10): “Baseball is the most unpredictable game. I defy anyone to predict this game of baseball. This isn’t basketball, or football. You can’t just out-physical the other team. You know why? Because the starting pitcher changes every day. Imagine that! The most important player on the team and he changes every day.”
Though it could use a little sauce, the chicken is well-spiced and moist inside. Like a starter who doesn’t perform as expected, the beef sliders were better than Johnny Rockets’ burgers but were still dry. A little sad. When it comes to the burgers and sliders, if you’re not going to have the Shack you’d be better off with White Castle. Avoid the fries.

Carl’s Philly CheeseSteak

Cheesesteak with Onions ($10.75): “[An opposing pitcher fooling a Yankee hitter] There’s a fast strike.”
Chicken Cheesesteak ($10.75): “It [a bad inning] always starts with a walk.”
The ground chicken is ridiculously dry. If you insist on waiting on this line opt for the regular cheesesteak. Onions are barely noticeable but pickled jalapeños and peppers are redeeming and the steak is moist and flavorful. If this is New York’s best (as some have claimed) then the city should be embarrassed. We hate conceding anything to Philly, but you’re better off driving down the New Jersey Turnpike to Tony Luke’s.

Moe’s Southwestern Grill (formerly La Esquina Lantina)

Nachos Supreme ($9): “The Giambino!!”
Cuban Sandwich ($9.75): “[When a visitor gets a triple] That ball will roll all the way to the wall”
Loaded nachos have good coverage and decent fixings but are flaky and break too easily. The Cuban sandwich is gummy and makes us wonder why Danny Meyer hates the Yankees. Citifield gets the Shack and El Verano Taqueria? Oh that’s right the Mets haven’t won since ’86. There’s got to be parity somewhere.

Famous Famiglia Pizzeria

Pepperoni ($5): “Robbie Cano! Don’t You Know!”:
We used to like Famous Famiglia in a pinch for their sauce but they haven’t found the same groove that they had at the cart outside the old stadium. We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Noodle Bowl

Chicken Noodle Bowl ($8.50): “An A-Bomb! From A-Rod!”
Egg Roll ($6): “Them’s the breaks”
If it were October, the Yanks were in the playoffs and you doctored it with soy and hot sauce, the chicken noodle bowl would be the perfect meal to hold at your seat, keeping your hands and belly warm in between finally being able to stand up for that long-awaited meaningful post-season homer by A-Rod. The egg roll is grease-soaked and flavorless, doomed from the start. Just like our beloved Yanks when they play the Angels.

Mohegan Sun Sports Bar

Grand Slam Chicken Tempura Satay with Soy Mustard Sauce ($13): “It is high! It is far! IT. IZZ. GAWN!”
Prime Beef Yankee Cheese-stuffed Mini-burngers with fresh chips ($16): “Bern, Baby, Bern!”
Yankees Cheescake on a Stick ($9): “6-4-3 inning ending double-play”
While we wouldn’t waste our time waiting on line in the hallway outside the center field bar (that hallway really needs a flatscreen) unless the Yanks were down 14-2 in the second inning, the food inside is pretty decent, especially the sliders which may be the Stadium’s best burgers and the chicken satays, which are winners.

In conclusion, we give the Yankees credit for the diversity of options (they have a fruit stand and old-school beers)—it’s a marked improvement over the old stadium. Then again, we’d trade Lobel’s for a 27th World Series trophy and a Premio Italian sausage (“Mattingly! Smashingly!”).

Ultimate Everyman Stadium Meal
Lobel’s Steak Sandwich with Garlic Fries finished with Carvel ice cream in a plastic Yankees helmet. As John Sterling would say, “Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! Thuhhh Yank-ees win!”

We’ll conclude with the batting order for our culinary lineup, our starting five and the bullpen.

Culinary Batting Order:
1 Premio Italian Sausage
2 Buffalo Chicken Sliders
3 Garlic Fries
4 Lobel’s Steak Sandwich
5 Pulled Pork
6 Corn dog
7 Fried Pickles
8 Beef CheeseSteak
9 Rainbow Sushi Roll

Pinch-hitter: Hush Puppies

Starting Five Pitchers:
1 Nathan’s Hot Dog
2 Mohegan Sun Beef Sliders
3 Chicken Satay
4 Arthur Ave.‘s Italian Sub
5 La Famiglia

Long-relief: Chicken Noodle Bowl

Closer: Carvel