The Metropolitans Food Review For Shea Eats

If you've ever gone to a ballpark other than Shea, most likely you'll find some interesting foods. Some of the food you will abroad would be pulled a pork sandwich, chipotle cheeseburgers, garlic fries, brisket sandwich, sushi, panani, slopilicious turkey legs, pierogies, fish tacos, Primanti Brothers sandwich (which has roast beef, cheese, cole slaw, and French fries between two buns), salmon sandwiches, bison dogs/burgers, baby-back ribs, bratwurst, Polish sausage, and fresh roasted sweet corn amongst other foods. Now you'll read some of the above things and think they could never be good at a baseball stadium, but that is just simply not true. Some of the above things taste as good in the stadiums as you can get anywhere else. The sausage and pepper sandwiches are the unofficial signature food of most NY sports stadiums, but they are really not very good. Outside of the hot-dogs, not much has been worth mentioning while watching your favorite New York fan at their home stomping grounds. When you are under the tyranny of Aramark, you come to expect less.

Now don't get me wrong, I go to the stadium and stuff my face. I love the hot dogs, I eat the fries, I've had the nachos, I've had the burritos, and just about everything else, but nothing made you want to slap yo' mamma in the past. This year, the Mets have made a few additions and subtractions to their food family. While I have been only at a few games, here is what I've discovered so far. As suspected, the Mets one year experiment with Quiznos and their two sandwiches are a thing of the past with their recent deals with Subway, which you may or may not know, but Subway has a few commercials starring Willie that you rarely see/hear during baseball games. Subway has broke onto the scene with four, count 'em four, sandwiches doubling Quizno's sandwich options. The only problem is, I do not want to come to Shea and eat what I can get on every corner of midtown Manhattan. The Mets did add Cuban sandwiches, which are not bad, but I suspect they would be even better if they are not frozen in the middle. My suggestion to anyone thinking about trying one is wait until the third or fourth inning before trying one. They are heated by heat lamps and then pressed on a grill, but not quite long enough for frozen ones. Down on the field level in the right field concourse, the Mets cannot find a food stand that actually sticks and this year should no different. They have added a place that serves Chinese food. Word on the street is the stray cat problem has gotten a lot better, so proceed with caution on anything they label "chicken". Me? I would never each that Chinese food...never.

Now, to the food rankings.

= Slap Yo' Mamma
= Slap Yo' Grand Mamma
= Slap Yo' Self
= Kick the Dog

The Mets dumped Khan's in favor of Nathan's hot dogs and aside from bringing in Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, bringing in Nathan's was the Mets best off season move. The hot dogs in the stadium are available jumbo or foot long. You can get either with chili and/or cheese amongst some other toppings if you so choose. However, the foot long chili cheese dog is completely and utterly unnecessary and painful. If you are not masochistic like me skip it.
Hot Dog:
Foot Long Hot Dog:
Foot Long Chili Cheese Dog: at first, negative later

In terms of ballpark food, I very rarely have anything that strikes my fancy enough for a round two outside of the classic hot dog. However, one thing did strike my fancy enough for a second round....a very greasy second round. I was drawn to the Nathan's concession stand because this is the only place you can find 20 oz. Miller Lite beer and short lines for beer. Once I go to the line to buy my beer, I saw onion rings, corn dogs, and crinkle cut fries. I do realize I just said I hate eating things I get just about anywhere, and Nathan's is in every mall in North Jersey, but corn dogs get a free pass. The paper they are wrapped in after they are fried is completely transparent after soaking up the grease of the beautiful hot dog that was dipped in cornmeal batter, and fried. Make no mistake, it is one solid food offering at Shea stadium and possibly the best.
Nathan’s Corn Dogs:

The onion rings are just as greasy and tasty as the corn dogs.
Nathan’s Onion Rings:

The french fries are much better than their other crappy fries they had last year.
French Fries:

The potato knish is very New York and very forgettable.
Potato Knish:

The sausage sandwiches, which always have big lines, are the food equivalent of Derek Jeter. Overrated.
Sausage Sandwich:

Subway is probably pretty good, but nothing about Subways says "at the ballpark".
Subway:…I’m guessing:

There is a place on the field level that makes a good Italian Sandwich, but like a women who does not nag and drives good, I have yet to see it. (No girls read this website, right?)
Italian Sandwich….I’m guessing:

The pizza, which tastes like a frozen pizza, is not bad. They moved to big single slices form personal pizzas to make you think they were making their own NY style pizza, but they are just fucking with you. It's the same stuff from a bigger pie. If you have a hankering for a frozen pizza, order away.
Pizza:

There are also nachos with cheese and salsa and fully loaded nachos with meat, sour cream, guacamole, etc. The former of the two versions of nachos is the way to go, but purely from a standpoint of being much less messy. Just make sure you get some jalapenos on the side.
Nachos #1:
Nachos #2:

The burritos are not bad, but they are not that good either. If the best thing I can say about something is that it is not that bad, it's probably something you can pass on.
Burritos:

They also have burgers, but for some reason they have something against adding cheese to them.
Burgers…I’m guessing:

There is also an Italian chicken sandwich which appears to be a plain chicken breast on a bun. I’m still not sure what makes it Italian…maybe it’s a female chicken with a moustache, hairy armpits, and hairy legs, but I'd steer clear of it.
Italian Chicken Sandwich...I'm guessing:

The Cuban sandwich….wait until later in the game.
The Cuban Sandwich: when cooked, and when frozen in the middle

Chinese food at Shea Stadium? ‘Nuff said.
Chinese Food…I’m guessing: negative

Nothing says fatten me up like a funnel cake. Aramark has stuck funnel cakes in all Nathan’s stand and though I haven’t had them, I’m guessing they taste like every other funnel cake in the grand ‘ole US of A.
Funnel Cake:

Hot pretzels are a staple of many sporting events, but getting one that is hot and not rock hard is not easy. If you must have one, wait for the guy in bright yellow shirt to walk by with one.
Hot Pretzels: from the vendors that walk around the stadium and from the vendors in the concourse

I’m sure I missed some crappy food, so let me know if I did.

So what does all this mean? It means the perfect day at the park is a hot dog, corn dog, fries, onion rings, and a pretzel with some 20 oz Miller Lites. Whether you want to eat all of that yourself is up to you, but feel free. However, whatever you do, avoid the smells of onions and peppers getting grilled for a supringly tastelss sausage sandwich.

* * *

How many 20/20/20 guys were there in the history of the majors? Twenty steals, twenty triples, and twenty doubles in one season. I have no idea, but Jose Reyes has a great chance of becoming one. There have been no 30/30/30 guys, but Jose Reyes would have to dial it up a notch to get 30 triples and it really is highly unlikely he gets 30 triples.

The Weaver/Angels negotiations seem to be at a standstill.

Said Boras: "If they want to talk to us, we're here to listen."

Said Stoneman: "This isn't a bluff. We're absolutely serious."

Classic.

Valent thinks he's the fall guy, but something had to give. Diaz has taken his spot on the roster and will be the starting right fielder until Carlos heals up, and Carlos should take as much time as he needs. When he comes back, he needs to be stealing bases and Cammy/Floyd/Diaz will be solid outfield in the meantime. Now, if somone can convince Willie to get Diaz higher in the lineup to see what type of run producing capabilities he has....

Harris raised eyebrows when he bunted for a base hit against Martinez on April 21, after the ace had retired the previous 13 Marlins, and with the Mets holding a nine-run lead. Martinez laughed off the bunt single after that game even though similar acts are considered in poor taste in baseball circles. Harris, .a universally liked player, said they smoothed it out yesterday.

When Martinez and Alomar repeatedly brought it up Thursday, Harris apparently was stung.

"I didn't think they were going to take it too far. Once, twice, okay, that's cool," Harris said. "But if you just keep saying the same thing, it gets old. I don't know if they were offended by it or what. . . . Screaming out of the dugout, I'm thinking I'm still back in high school. . . . I talked to Willie Randolph. He said he didn't appreciate that too much and he'd talk to them."

Try not to bunt down by nine runs next time.

The Mets, who beat the Marlins on Dog Night at Dolphins Stadium on Thursday, will have their own Dog Night in the picnic area at Shea Stadium on Aug. 20. ... The Mets are off Monday, so Victor Zambrano will be pushed back a day in the rotation.

I'd love to bring my dog, but she'd try and murder the other dogs.

Yusmeiro is going to be a dad. He is flying back to Venezuela to be with his girlfriend for the birth of their child.

Cliffy has more outfield assists this season than any other outfielder in the majors.

As long as Jose Reyes remains the Mets' leadoff hitter, fans should arrive early or risk missing what generally is regarded as one of the most exciting plays in baseball.

That would be the triple, and no one has hit them more frequently than Reyes in at least 36 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Doug Mientkiewicz will appear with Jennie Finch on an upcoming segment of "This Week in Baseball," which was filmed yesterday. Mientkiewicz wasn't sure when it would air. "Hopefully soon," said the slumping first baseman, "while I'm still in the big leagues." Otherwise, he said, the show might need to be renamed "This Week in Norfolk."

Pedro Martinez is my jheri currled daddy. Watching him pitch is an absolute treat for Mets fans that has not been seen since watching Doc Gooden or David Cone work back in the 80's. The way he picks apart batters and approaches that game is ridiculous. Martinez is without a doubt one of the top ten pitchers out there today even with his 90% torn labrum and fragile arm.

Minor update:

• Norfolk beat Ottawa 4-1. Diaz went 0 for 2, but managed to get on base twice via walks and scored one run. Steve Coyler went 1.1 scoreless innings and gave up two hits while walking none and striking out none. His ERA is down to 2.57.
  
• Hagerstown beat Delmarva 11-3. One of the many five tool talents in the Mets minor league system, Carlos Gomez, went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and one walk. Dante Brinkley continues to assault low A ball pitching and went 2 for 4 with one run scored and two RBIs. His average is up to .382. Mike Carp went one for five with one run scored, two RBIs, and one double. Carp does not turn 19 until the end of June an is becoming one of my favorites. He can take a walk, as evidenced by his OBP being more than .100 points higher than his average, and he is second in the league in homers with eleven and tied for fourth in RBIs with thirty six.
  
• Binghamton beat Trenton 8-6 off a two run homer in the ninth inning. Mike Jacobs continues to hit after a slow start and went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, a double, a homer, and two RBIs. Brian Bannister was effective going 5.2 innings, giving up three runs, and seven hits while walking two and striking out four.
  
• St. Lucie beat Clearwater 8-3. Cory Ragsdale continues to show some pop with his seventh homer of the year and went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, a double, a homer, and two RBIs (the same line as Mike Jacobs). Lastings went 1 for 4 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. Milledge has a line of .285/.372/.400 so far this season and while his slugging is a bit of a let down, that OBP is impressive. Brett Harper hit his 17th homer in a 2 for 5 night in which he knocked in three RBIs.