At Citi Field, there are the usual heavy hitters when it comes to food choices — not to mention on-field stars — but the new additions make this year’s options a well-rounded food lineup with plenty of depth.
The food is just part of what goes into the decision-making for the partners the Mets bring in each season, as there are unique stories and backgrounds all across the diamond that they hope satisfy hungry fans.
This year will see a wide array of additions, ranging from 1986 World Series hero Mookie Wilson bringing his take on barbecue to Bronx-born chef Zina Bunch, who is taking her brand of Puerto Rican empanadas to the major leagues.
“I think that those stories are really great, and that’s what I mean when literally everywhere you look in the ballpark, there’s a cool story, there’s a cool food item, and there’s just something amazing,” Jason Eksterowicz, Aramark senior executive chef for Citi Field, told The Post.
“When you look around here, and you talk to all of these different partners, it literally is like a food family that we’ve built here.”
The Mets are selling 37 new offerings for the 2026 season in partnership with 27 different vendors. The Amazin’s may be looking for their first World Series crown in 40 years, but Citi Field’s culinary concoctions continue to be champs — now having won USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Award for best baseball stadium food for three straight years.
Ahead of the Mets’ home opener on Thursday, March 26, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, here are some of The Post’s favorite dishes for this coming season after sampling items at the team’s annual tasting event.
Eat in the Cave
The Puerto Rican soul-food kitchen brings its delectable empanadas to Citi Field, with its veggie nadas being the star of the show. Described as a savory blend of rice, cilantro, sweet pumpkin, chickpeas and potato, they pair with the aptly named Cave sauce that bolsters the flavor of the dish.
Chef Bunch told The Post that the veggie nadas are one of the best-selling items for their New Jersey-based food truck, and the inclusion of the vegan-friendly option — the Cave sauce, however, is not — was because she “wanted to touch the crowd of vegans and vegetarians, and Citi Field thought it would be a great touch.”
Eat in the Cave will also offer beef and cheese nadas, and fans looking to try them can find the empanadas in the Hudson Whiskey NY or Clover Home Plate Clubs.
Pig Beach BBQ
A fan favorite at Citi Field the past few seasons, this barbecue joint is throwing a changeup with a new menu item — loaded corn bread with decadent cheddar cheese sauce, BBQ sauce and, the pièce de résistance, pulled pork. The cornbread is moist and sweet and balances out nicely with the pork.
Because this isn’t exactly your garden-variety cornbread, Pig Beach founding partner and chef Shane McBride recommends to The Post that fans use a fork to enjoy this indulgent item, which he considers a main attraction and no mere side dish.
“The pulled pork just naturally goes with it — it’s just juicy, succulent,” McBride said. “There’s a little bit of sweet and sour from the vinegar sauce, and it pairs really well with the corn bread. It’s quick and easy … This is probably the fastest dish we’ve ever done here.”
Taqueria Ramirez
Brooklyn residents have become acutely aware of this Greenpoint eatery’s fresh tacos over the past few years, and now the world’s borough will experience some of that at the Coca-Cola Food Truck in section 302 from Opening Day through July 12.
The stand will offer a nopales (cactus) taco, and with the depth of flavor, even carnivores will have a hard time turning up their noses.
Chef and co-owner Giovanni Cervantes is bringing his best fastball with this one because it definitely doesn’t lack heat. There’s a crunch and je ne sais quoi quality to the flavor profile that Cervantes believes foodies will crave.
“We always like to create a little bit of contrast with a little bit of fat, a little bit of acidity that we create with the salsas, a little bit of spiciness that comes with that as well,” Cervantes, who hails from Mexico City, told The Post. “But I feel, particularly, this taco is really rich in textures you don’t expect.”
Legacy Catering by Mookie Wilson and family
During his playing days, Wilson used to cook up pork chops and yams for himself and some of his teammates. Now, the Mets legend is showing off his culinary skills for everyone.
The smoked pulled-chicken sliders — available at the Hudson Whiskey NY Club — feature a classic golden BBQ sauce, bread and butter pickles on a Martin’s slider bun. One could argue that the sandwich is as enjoyable as watching Wilson hit a groundball through a certain first baseman’s legs.
Wilson enjoys the idea that his food will help people see the many layers that baseball players have.
“I think that it kind of opened people’s eyes a little bit,” he told The Post. “There’s another side to many, many ball players.”
Willets Point Brewery
The 9-9-9 challenge — nine beers and nine hot dogs over nine innings — has taken over a subset of baseball culture over the past few years, and Citi Field is now offering fans a more formal way to do it, albeit in a scaled-down variation. Chowhounds can pig out on nine mini Nathan’s hot dogs that come with nine 4-ounce beers (either Coors Light or Heineken).
But Willets Point is also selling a backyard BBQ burger that is loaded with two 4-ounce Pat LaFrieda patties, New York cheddar, BBQ pulled pork, onion rings, whiskey BBQ sauce, shredded lettuce and pickles on a brioche bun.
This was one of The Post’s new favorite bites, so if you’re looking for an elevated burger, this should be a go-to.
The rest
If any of those items don’t catch your fancy, there are plenty of other options when you’re at the ballpark.
The Queensboro — an eatery from Jackson Heights — will have a kimchi reuben at the Taste of Queens from March 26 to July 12, while former “Man vs. Food” host Adam Richman’s Burger Hall of Fame will now offer a caprese burger at its stand. Amazin’ Deli added a chopped Italian sausage sandwich that’s a new spin on a ballpark staple.
Those looking for a sweet treat have a few choices, with Long Island-based Hildebrandt Ice Cream bringing a Mets-inspired Blue & Orange Skies flavor, along with Pat LaFrieda’s Chop House adding an apple pie cheesecake that bears a striking resemblance to the ballpark’s iconic home run apple.
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