I finally got a chance to check out the new Yankee Stadium and lucky for me, the food choices there and at Citi Field have already been blogged about to death. Since everyone else has already done the dirty investigative work, I read up on a few places and weighed our options. Eventually we decided to check out Lobel’s of New York and their famed $15 steak sandwich.
We got to the stadium around 6:30 and took a quick walk around to see everything. I liked the open air structure – you can still see the field while waiting in line at the concession stands. I also thought the food court was a clever addition and helped with crowd control in the walkways. After picking up some decent but pricey beers at the Beers of the World stand, we got in line at Lobel’s. It was probably the longest line I saw out of all the concession stands, and it moved very slowly for some reason. Fortunately we had our beers to keep us company, and we watched the butchers behind the glass window trimming some beautiful pieces of beef.
We eventually wound our way to the front of the line and watched as they piled the meat onto our sandwiches. We also picked up containers of olive spread, though they told us they were out of horseradish.
Steak sandwich assembly line
By the time we got our sandwiches, we had already missed the first inning. Not a big deal; we picked up some more beer and headed up to our seats.
The cup holders at the new stadium are a brilliant addition
Luckily we didn’t miss much in the first inning, and the game picked up in the second. We dug into our sandwiches right away so they wouldn’t get cold. Josh and I both spread the olive tapenade onto the top bun.
We added olive tapenade to our sandwiches
The juice/gravy from the meat had already completely soaked through the bottom bun. Josh picked up his sandwich to eat it, which was a messy choice. A ton of liquid dripped out all over him and down his arm so he had to eat very quickly.
Close up on the beef and all the gravy soaking into the bottom bun
I didn’t want to mess up my clothes so I ended up holding the container under my sandwich the entire time. It was a clumsy way to eat but I managed to keep myself stain-free. The verdict? Meh. It was just ok. The meat was tender but all I could taste was whatever they seasoned it with. The gravy basically overpowered the taste of the beef. I also thought it was too sweet so I was glad to have the olive spread to counteract that a bit. They do give you a lot of meat, so extra points for that, but I’m not sure I would pay $15 for that sandwich outside of the stadium. Ballpark food is overpriced, and this is no exception. Still, this is probably the best deal out of all the other stadium offerings.
A decent, but not great, sandwich
After an exciting start the game, the Yankee offense really slowed down and the Blue Jays took the lead. It got a bit boring after a while so we headed back down for some more beers and to grab a snack. We head straight for the Garlic Fries stand and picked up a large order to share. We also picked up a small order for our friend, but there wasn’t a huge difference in the size. We were probably better off sticking with a small order, as it was a fairly substantial portion to begin with, and these fries are rich and filling.
The fries are topped with tons of freshly chopped garlic and parsley so they’re really flavorful, but they were also a bit oily. I enjoyed them a lot but you really can’t eat too many without feeling overwhelmed. And you’ll definitely want a mint or gum afterward. They were really tasty though, and I’d definitely get them again the next time I’m at the stadium.
Garlicky garlic fries
Overall I wasn’t super impressed with Lobel’s or the other options at Yankee Stadium. To be fair, I didn’t try any of the other options but nothing else really appealed to me. Places like Brother Jimmy’s and Johnny Rockets I can get outside of the stadium. I would like to try Mike’s Deli the next time though. I did enjoy the Garlic Fries a lot, and I thought they were a great twist on traditional stadium food. We’ll be heading to Citi Field in a week for my first visit there and I can’t wait to see what it has to offer.
Tags: Baseball, Fries, Sandwiches, Yankees