Jan. 26, 2024 By Ethan Marshall
The New York Mets announced the three winning Queens-based small businesses whose food will be available at the portable “Taste of Queens” in Citi Field throughout the 2024 season.
The aim of the Taste of Queens mobile initiative is to contribute to the community by offering exposure opportunities to small businesses based in Queens, allowing them to share their stories with Citi Field’s fans.
Poprice, RyRy’s Kitchen and Benny’s Cuban Café will each be featured at the portable, located on the field level concourse in right field, on a rotating basis throughout the season.
“Poprice, RyRy’s Kitchen and Benny’s Cuban Café all have such unique stories and cuisines that will help us continue to elevate our dining options at Citi Field,” Mets Vice President of Hospitality Taryn Donovan said. “It means so much to the Mets organization to be able to highlight local small businesses through the Taste of Queens program, and we’re so excited to have these three incredible businesses join Citi Field’s 2024 culinary lineup.”
The Mets debuted the Taste of Queens portable last season in Taste of the City on the field level concourse, with the goal of giving back to the community by providing exposure for Queens-based small businesses and helping them share their story with the fans at Citi Field. In addition to providing fans with new food, Taste of the City played a role in the Mets being named the 2023 USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest for Best Stadium Food.
Poprice will be the first Taste of Queens restaurant featured at Citi Field. Running from Thursday, Mar. 28 through Tuesday, May 14, the menu will include egg fried rice (egg, Chinese pickles, Poprice special seasoning, scallions, garlic and soy sauce), egg fried rice with a chicken teriyaki skewer (halal chicken thighs and Poprice secret marinade) and egg fried rice with a BBQ skewer (USDA prime boneless beef short ribs and Poprice secret marinade).
Poprice owner and Chef Shuai Zhang opened the small business in 2022. Each dish fuses tradition and innovation, blending classic and contemporary Asian American flavors.
RyRy’s Kitchen will be the second Taste of Queens restaurant featured, from Friday, May 24 through Sunday, July 14. The menu will include the yardmon burger (jerk patty, coleslaw, sweet plantains, mango chutney and RyRy’s jerk sauce served on a Martin’s potato roll), the jerk chicken sandwich (jerk rubbed boneless chicken thigh, coleslaw and jerk aioli served on a Martin’s potato roll) and sides of plantains and cloe slaw.
Chef Rayan Campbell opened RyRy’s Kitchen in Queens shortly after moving from Jamaica to New York City in 2016. Chef Rayan has brought Caribbean flavors to RyRy’s Kitchen while boldly enhancing classic tastes while innovating traditional and new recipes.
Benny’s Cuban Café, the third and final Taste of Queens restaurant featured at Citi Field, will run from Thursday, July 25 through Sunday, Sept. 22. The Citi Field menu will consist of the Cubano (roasted pernil, smoked ham, Swiss cheese, mustard and dill pickles pressed on a buttered Cuban roll) and Cuban nachos (crispy plantain chips, roasted and pulled pernil and Benny’s flamingo sauce.
Owner and Chef Mike “Benny” Lopez and Chef Felix Martinez used their expertise in traditional Cuban cuisine to create Benny’s Cuban Café, the self-proclaimed “Home of NYC’s best Cubano Sandwich.” The café has also made an impact in the Queens community by preparing free meals for those in need.
In addition to featuring these three small businesses throughout the season, the Mets will give fans the chance to vote on which of their favorite food vendors from the past to bring back to Citi Field for the 2024 season. The nominees are Keith’s Grill, Dan + John’s Wings and Stuf’d. To learn more and vote, visit Mets.com/FanVote.