I'll be in NYC in late June and have a couple of afternoons to kill while my wife is busy. Picked up tickets to a Mets game in Citi Field.
Never been to NYC so the train ride out should be interesting. Just curious if there are a lot of places to eat and drink near the stadium
and wondered if anyone had suggestions or advice if they had been there before.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Fuck Barbara Walters, and Marry Oprah?

It is my favorite new ball park design. Queens is terrible for places around that park. There are a few hotels with places across the highway (there is a walking path), and then one bar attached to the stadium. Otherwise, it is surrounded by chop shops (yeah seriously).

BUT, the outfield concourse is awesome at that place. The Shake Shack is always packed, but there are tons of places to eat and drink in centerfield.

The parking lot has a decent amount of tail gating. I would definitely eat before you head out.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

The other thing that is nice about Citi is that there are lots of cupholders and tables only the railing for your beer so you can stand and talk with other fans. The funniest thing I find about New Yorkers is that so few have been to Chicago. They were friendly to us and almost to a man, they would say they had never been to Chicago. If they had been to Chicago, it was typically just at O'Hare on their way to somewhere else. Obviously the business folk have been here many times, but the regulars at the game haven't.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Queens is a lot like Hammond Indiana.

The burroughs are redeveloping quickly. I am amazed at all the new buildings, especially in Brooklyn. We stayed in Queens about a mile from the park, and it is still an edgy place.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

This is good info. I looked on a map and did some internet searches and the lack of options made me want to ask someone who had actually been there.
I will keep this in mind before getting there.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Let me know what you think of the park. It is quite intimate with the fans being close to the field. I just loved all the concourses, and we stood around and talked to folks for the majority of the two games. I found the inside to be fan friendly despite the lack of stuff around the park.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I wonder how they'll develop the area around the park. The chop shops are supposed to go soon. There was talk of the new Islanders arena going up around there, but they went with Belmont Park a little further east instead (right move).

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Yeah I will do that. Got seats for myself and another guy I am travelling with in the 425 section. I thought $48 with all the fees and stuff to be
reasonable for where we are sitting. Really been wanting to go to a game this season so to go somewhere new is a bonus. I see that they have
some kind of Mets museum there at the park. Did you check that out? I was a fan of the 86' Mets so if it is free I might go look around in there.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

The LGA redevelopment is moving fast. They are also working on the Midtown Tunnel. There are cranes everywhere from LGA to Manhattan. I don't know what is going on, but NYC is getting a lot of projects done.

The best ballpark experiences are always in places where the atmosphere around the park is fan friendly- Coors, PNC, Fenway, Wrigley, Target. Philly has tried to make an entertainment district around their parks, which I have yet to sample. It was still being built when I went to Citizens Bank. Busch is trying with their area outside left field.

I find Petco to be boring mainly because downtown San Diego is boring (gas light my ass). Amazingly AT&T has weak surroundings as well. Minute Maid was a haul from any of the fun bars because it has all that convention stuff around it. Miller is acceptable because of the awesome tail gate. Chase was so so, but like San Diego, Phoenix is pretty lame. Turner was in a bad part of the city, and Suntrust is too far out. At least they have an entertainment district around it. Great American (God bless it) has gotten a lot better with the Banks redevelopment. Progressive is ok because Cleveland has a legit bar district. I'll let the masses speak to Guaranteed Rate. New Marlins park is a joke and so is the area around it. Why is this not near downtown?

I won't see LA until this June, but it is pretty far away from any cool areas.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I don't recall any museum. We had one game in the upper area near right field, and they had an upper concourse that was also fun. Our other game was in the lower bowl. I really enjoyed the park. My only complaint is that the great center field concourse is blocked by the giant scoreboard, so you need to migrate to left or right to see what is going on

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Probably nowhere downtown to put it. A retractable-roof park requires a bigger footprint than a built-up downtown like Miami could ever hope to accommodate. The Orange Bowl was probably the right place to build.

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The only thing remotely decent about that park was the Clevelander Club in left field. The spinning dolphin thing is dumb, and the color scheme is ugly but what one would expect for South Florida. Ok I like the shot of downtown with the roof open, but it just shows you how far away you are from the fun.

And downtown Miami is a thing. I don't just mean South Beach either. There are fabulous restaurants, mostly open air, with all varieties of Caribbean and South/Central American influences. It has been developed very nicely. The bike traffic from Key Biscayne almost exceeds the car traffic. Everyone is outside.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I couldn't imagine a reason to visit Chicago if I were from one of the few actually interesting cities in this country. You can eat as well or better in many places and the architecture isn't a good reason to plan a visit.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

I've been to every major U.S. City but Seattle. And while I love and appreciate the city, you are correct. You have places that are just bland- Dallas, Atlanta, Houston. And then there are really fun places like Miami, New York, Denver, Vegas, New Orleans, San Fran.

The one thing I have found, though, is that Midwestern folks are the best. It's not even close. We'll retire in the Midwest for sure. But we hate hot weather and don't mind winters.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Great park, terrible hot dogs.

I enjoyed Citi Field when I went there a few years ago, but it was 99 degrees both days we were there. The day game, we had club seats, and spent an unfortunate amount of time indoors watching on TV. But I'd certainly return. The food was excellent.

Inedible hot dogs.

And some weird sight lines and seating sections. Try to stay between the bases, stay out of the faux-club level. And don't try to use the freeway, come in from Echo Park on Sunset Blvd to Vin Scully Drive, and park in one of the lots to the 3rd base side.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

I find dogs outside of Chicago and Milwaukee to be gross. Cincy is the prime example.

I am well versed on LA traffic. One of the guys in our group lives out there. We'll be staying downtown, so not much way around the traffic. But I figure we'll be fine by the time the game ends.

Edit: Already have my tickets- section 44 on 6/27 and 51 on 6/28.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

I wondered if it were just me. NYC is the only other place I'll eat them.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Looks like the weather will be low-mid 80s and mostly sunny this Sunday. Taking the train from Manhattan but between
myself and the guy I am going with we should be able to figure it out with a transfer halfway there. I have a laundry list
of good beers to keep my eyes peeled for over the weekend and hope to knock a few off. Just be nice to get out of Dodge
for a few days.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

You'll love the field. We were talking about favorite fields at the Cubs game on Wednesday, and the folks from NJ that I was with all agreed that inside Citi Field is great. Definitely hang out on the concourse in right and center field. You will see what I mean. There are tons of beer places out there too.

I just booked a family trip to NYC. We are going to stay in Queens the first night and catch a game there. Unfortunately it won't be the Cubs, but I wanted to show my family the field.

If/when you're in Midtown, I definitely recommend Sparks. Use Open Table for a reservation and get the lamp chop appetizer. You will thank me.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Real nice park overall. The train ride out from Manhattan isn't too bad but an awful lot of stops. When you get let out you are just kind of out there in
the middle of nothing. Ball park is spacious and well laid out. Lot of concessions everywhere. It was about 90 degrees and humid. I bought the first
round of beer. Two Goose Island IPA tall boy cans. Only $28! We sat and watched the game for about 4 innings and then walked around the stadium.
Ended up in that McFaddens bar behind center field and had some food and a few more beers and got on the train at the end of the 7th inning before
it got too crowded. Picked up a nice Mets hat and t-shirt as souvenirs. I'd say the worst thing about the park was that it is directly in the line of one of
La Guardia's runways and large planes were taking off directly over the stadium about every 3 minutes.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

D_howit_feelz

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Welp I will be doing Dodgers Stadium reviews next. Headed there tomorrow!

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Have fun. Last year at this time I was out near there. This year they came to us.

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Elections have consequences.