New At Citi Field: 5 Food Items For The 2016 Baseball Season

Since opening in 2009, Citi Field has seen its share of mediocre baseball. Its home team, the New York Mets, failed to seriously contend for a playoff spot during the first six years of the ballpark before making an improbable run to the World Series last season. In contrast, the quality of the food and beverage options available at Citi Field has never been questioned. Between collaborations with big-name chefs and local businesses, the stadium has always boasted an impressive array of gastronomic offerings.

Be sure to check out our complete guide on where to eat at Citi Field.

With the Mets and their strong-armed rotation of young pitchers primed to contend for the right to repeat as National League champions, team ownership has rolled out the red carpet for fans. Field operations have resodded the playing surface for the first time in the stadium's history, and the culinary lineup is once again welcoming additional vendors touting novel food items (as well as a gigantic new, interactive Coca-Cola sign above right field). Just in time for the team's first game this weekend and for next Friday's home opener against the lowly Philadelphia Phillies, here is a look at five new concession options to seek out this season at Citi Field. And just remember: Ya Gotta Believe!

This is not a drill. David Chang — he of the recently announced delivery-only restaurant and the newly opened Fuku stall at Madison Square Garden — is coming to Citi Field. Adjacent to lower-level section 102, the stand will hawk his famous spicy fried chicken sandwich, as well as fries, Fuku fingers and desserts from Momofuku Milk Bar.

Danny Meyer's handprints are all over Citi Field. The NYC restaurateur already operates Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, El Verano Taqueria and Box Frites from the stadium's lower-level outfield concourse. His latest venture — available only at Citi Field — is a pizza counter that will dish out handcrafted takes on margherita, pepperoni and mushroom and cheese pies. There will also be Italian ices, perfect for midsummer games.

And Danny Meyer finds himself right back in the conversation. Shake Shack lines continue to stretch longer than any other venue at Citi Field (and, frequently, across multiple innings). The addition of a SmokeShack burger — topped with cheese, Niman Ranch bacon, chopped cherry pepper and Shack Sauce — only figures to keep it that way.

Challenging Meyer for Citi Field food supremacy is meat master Pat LaFrieda. Along with operating two stands serving his signature filet-mignon sandwich topped with Monterey jack cheese, sweet caramelized onions and au jus on top of a toasted French baguette (and meatballs topped with whipped ricotta), LaFrieda is also behind a sit-down restaurant in the stadium's exclusive Delta Club. We're not advocating for spending $154 on a single hunk of meat, but damn, is this monstrous, juicy rib chop — served with chimichurri sauce — the perfect rain-delay antidote.

A new addition to the stadium's options last year, Pig Guy NYC just might be Citi Field's single most underrated stop. Serving thoroughly impressively thick-cut bacon hot off the grill and doused in either a sweet-and-spicy maple or salted-caramel glaze from the lower level in right field, Pig Guy NYC has created a new concoction that might just be its most ambitious. A generous coating of peanut butter is tossed in salted pretzel crumble and pasted on top of the signature bacon. The result is a glamorous mess that proves just how far stadium food has come in 2016.