The lineup on the field is facing increased competition from the food at Citi Field this year, including mozzarella pepperoni sticks.
The Mets on Thursday unveiled this year’s roster of concession stands at the ballpark, including one from Michelin-starred chef Michael White.
No prices have been set.
The event has become an annual affair since the Mets moved from Shea Stadium to Citi Field in 2009, with the team making dining options the main focus of what fans can expect during the upcoming season at the ballpark, which kicks off April 3.
Along with White, this year’s list includes Citi Field veterans David Chang, Josh Capon, star meat purveyor Pat La Frieda and Long Islander David Pasternack, the James Beard-award-winning chef at Esca, an Italian fish restaurant in Manhattan
“If the lineup on the field is half as good as the lineup we got in the kitchen, we’re going back to the Series and we’re going to win the whole thing this time,” said Capon, the food TV personality and executive chef at Manhattan restaurants like Lure Fishbar, referring to the Mets’ 2015 World Series defeat to the Kansas City Royals.
The Yankees are scheduled to unveil their culinary roster for Yankee Stadium on April 4.
At Citi Field, the focus mostly remains on the kinds of foods one would expect to find at a ballpark, much of it driven by market research that shows, among other things, that people want foods that they can hold with one hand while cradling a drink in the other, and foods that don’t drip too much, said Patrick Schaeffer, the senior executive chef at Aramark, which manages the concessions at the ballpark.
White’s outpost of his Nicoletta restaurant will feature a version of his chicken Parmesan sandwich, a 6-inch butter-toasted roll that is stuffed with a pan-seared breaded chicken breast, tomato sauce and stracciatella cheese.
The menu will also feature breaded mozzarella and pepperoni sticks with a side of marinara sauce.
Capon, who for the past two seasons has cooked grilled cheese at Citi Field, will be instead making his signature Bash burger, which has won awards at the New York Wine & Food Festival the past six years. His patty is topped with caramelized onions, bacon jam, shaved pickles, American cheese and a “secret sauce.”
Chang returns with Fuku, his fried chicken sandwich mini chain, where the menu will include a battered-and-fried habanero pepper-brined chicken thigh sandwich that’s stuffed inside a bun with pickles.
There is also a pork belly bao from the Baohaus in Manhattan, a red wine-braised short rib sandwich from Tribeca Grill and, for dessert, scoops of edible cookie dough that are served in a cup or on a cone from DO.
Rounding out the list of all-stars are veterans including Danny Meyer, who returns with Shake Shack burgers, Blue Smoke barbecue and El Verano tacos.