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On a recent visit to New York City I was fired up to check out Citi Field, the brand new home of the New York Mets. Completed in time for opening day 2009, Citi Field is located in Queens on the site of the old Shea Stadium. Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals were in town and I was armed with two sweet Mets tickets courtesy of RazorGator!

Citi Field
Citi Field
12301 Roosevelt Avenue
Flushing, New York 11368

Google Maps - Citi Field

My journey to Citi Field began on the upper west side of Manhattan. I rendezvoused with my buddy John at his place on 86th St. at Central Park West. Considering that we were leaving for the game around 6:00 p.m., the only real transportation option was the subway, and a good option it turned out to be.

We caught the 1 train to 42nd Street and then switched to the 7 train destined for the Mets-Willets Point stop in Queens. Basically if you’re coming from anywhere in New York City this is your best bet, get to 42nd Street and catch the 7 train. The Long Island Railroad stops at the field as well and there is ample parking at a rate of $18 per car.

I caught my first glimpse of the brand new Citi Field as I emerged from the subway and was duly impressed. The exterior brick façade, inspired by the look of the old Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, was extremely appealing to the eye. John and I nodded in approval as we made our way around the outside of the stadium to the right field entrance, labeled RF on our tickets from RazorGator. Upon entering, an escalator awaited to whisk up to the field level.

As we got to the concourse level there was a refreshingly cool breeze running through the stadium, a product of its open-air layout. We soon found our way to our seats, which were located just a few rows off the field near the right field foul pole.

The view was fantastic, as the seats were elevated just enough and aimed at a perfect angle towards the infield, a benefit that is often lacking in some of the older major league parks. The brick motif was sustained inside the stadium as well, with the outfield wall featuring a brick design that reminded us a bit of Wrigley Field. Unlike Wrigely, however, Citi Field was virtually pristine.

From the comfortable seats with ample legroom to the wide cement aisles to the field itself, as I settled into Citi Field for the first time I felt as if I was taking a new car for a drive. As new as it felt, though, there was definitely a classic feel to Citi Field as well-the best of both worlds for any baseball fan.

One of the things that I noticed right way, and that I immediately came to appreciate, was the outfield scoreboard that listed all the other games going on in the major leagues that night. Whereas parks like Fenway feature manual scoreboards that are extremely slow to update, Citi Field’s electronic scoreboard not only showed us the scores and the uniform numbers of the respective pitchers, but it also featured a diamond design that indicated which team was batting, how many men were on base, the inning and the number of outs.

If you’ve ever followed a game on a “Game Center” site on the net, you’ll recognize this type of information system instantly and will be able to follow along with other games of significance even as you watch the Mets game in person.

Food & Drink at Citi Field
With all due respect to the Mets, it didn’t take me long to figure out that the real star of the show at Citi Field were the concessions. As a former hot dog vendor at Fenway Park I am extremely sensitive the quality of food and drink at any ballpark and Citi Field did not disappoint. I have been to my share of stadiums and I can easily say that Citi Field has the best concessions I have ever seen or, should I say, tasted.

The first thing I noticed in this regard was that the hot dog vendors moving through the aisles were carrying none other than Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, an old New York classic. I ordered one right up, slapped a little mustard on top, and loved every bite. The snap of the natural casing and the juicy interior confirmed that the Mets were sparing no expense when it came to their hot dogs. But what good is a hot dog without a cold beer to chase it down, right?

I tracked down a nearby beer vendor and asked him was he was carrying. I was presented with three choices, all good ones: Becks, Heineken, and Brooklyn Lager. Fantastic. Under the “When in Rome” rule I ordered up a Brooklyn Lager, which was poured out from a bottle into a plastic cup right in front of me. Good stuff- I recommend the Brooklyn Lager, a more than worthy companion to the aforementioned dog and fairly reasonably price by ballpark standards at $6.50.

Food & Drink, Part II: THE SHAKE SHACK
Our exploration of the Citi Field cuisine did not stop there, however. On the contrary it was just beginning. My buddy John was raving about the Shake Shack, an acclaimed New York City burger joint that had set up shop in center field. So we ventured back onto the open air concourse, appreciating the breeze once again, and made our way towards center field. What greeted us was an extensive outdoor gathering area with a wide array of high quality food and drink options.

First, there was a beer stand with an offering of about twenty different foreign beers. There was also a barbecue joint called “Blue Smoke,” a wood-fired pizza place, and another spot offering some good-looking tacos and some other Mexican fare as well. The clear favorite, however, was the Shake Shack. In fact, this place was so popular that the line snaked around and around across the concourse. The area in front of the Shake Shack looked like a crowded airline terminal on a Friday afternoon.

As badly as we wanted that burger, John and I just shook our heads and vowed to return later. And return we did, a few innings hence, when the line was still long but not as completely ridiculous as before. This time we waited it out, keeping our eyes on the game projected on the massive backside of the center field scoreboard. We were well-rewarded for our patience with one of the better burgers that I have had in a long, long time.

The Shake Shack burger is perfectly conceived, small enough to hold in one hand (unlike those unwieldy bar burgers) and substantial enough to fill you up (unlike a McDonald’s hamburger or quarter pounder). Most importantly, the Shake Shack burger featured a soft, fresh bun wrapped around a juicy, flavorful, cheese-bearing burger patty nestled within.

As much as I love the ballpark fare, I usually try to make sure that I don’t walk into a ballpark truly hungry because the concessions are usually too pricey and mediocre to justify a significant gastro-economic investment. At Citi Field, however, I would advise precisely the opposite. The food here is so good, and so relatively reasonably priced, that you would be doing yourself a disservice to walk in on a full stomach.

The atmosphere at Citi Park
I would be remiss if I didn’t also mention the festive atmosphere that Citi Field offers, particularly around the center field concourse. Aside from all the wonderful food and drink selections, there were little picnic tables and circular bar tables placed along the back of the aisles where people could hang out and socialize while also watching the game.

This is a great place to bring a date, hang out with some buddies, or even mingle and make some new friends. If you’re bringing the kids you’ll want to ask about the Fan Fest family entertainment area as well. Also, there’s a sit-down restaurant in left field with field view seating. There’s something for everyone and one does not have to be a passionate or knowledgeable baseball fan to have a great time at Citi Field.

The Game
Did I forget to mention that there was actually a baseball game being played this day as well? You’ll excuse me if I seem more focused on the food than the game because the former was of much higher quality than the latter.

The game between the Mets and Cards was close for awhile before the Cards started throwing the ball around and committing errors like a bunch of little leaguers. With the visiting Cards being so hospitable even the Mets, usually not the most potent hitting team, were eventually able to blow it open, cruising to an 11-0 win. Although I would have preferred to see a better game, I still ended up having a great time stuffing my face, drinking beer, and making friends in center field.

Getting Home
While we could have easily backtracked home the same way we came, John and I were feeling a bit lazy after the game and decided to forego the subway in favor of a luxurious car ride home. This would not have been advisable on the way to the game due to rush hour traffic, but it was much more feasible with the highways busting open at 10:30 on a Wednesday night.

We walked out to the street in front of the stadium where there were a bunch of guys in Lincoln Town Cars were loitering about. One guy approached, we said $50, he said $60, we said $50 again, he said $50 plus tolls (an additional $5), and we accepted. As expected, we sped home relatively quickly and were delivered right back on the doorstep at Central Park West.

All in all a wonderful time. Thanks to RazorGator for the sweet baseball tickets!