MLB Life brings the party at NYC food fest

Thousands of New Yorkers descended upon an iconic Queens stadium over the weekend, celebrating food, baseball and the intersection thereof.

The occasion was The Infatuation’s EEEEEATSCON NYC, a sprawling food festival held on the grounds of Forest Hills Stadium Oct. 12-13. Dozens of vendors -- representing restaurants from all over the city and cuisines from all over the world -- were on hand, and MLB Life was in the thick of it.

MLB Life, continuing a partnership with EEEEEATSCON that has also included activations at events in Los Angeles and Chicago, had a sizable presence at EEEEEATSCON NYC for the second consecutive year. A cornucopia of MLB Life merchandise was given away throughout the entirety of the event, as were packs of Topps cards. Items on display included various iterations of Nike’s Jackie Robinson Day cleats and the one-of-a-kind ballpark food consumption enabler that is the MiLB Munchie Mitt.

The event took place just prior to both of New York’s MLB teams appearing in their respective League Championship Series. Yankees fans were plentiful but, this being Queens, there were even more Mets fans. These local partisans were treated to visits from Mr. and Mrs. Met, whose massive baseball craniums towered over the crowd as they distributed foam “OMG” signs.

Anthony Grasso and Andrea Hardalo, both decked out in Mets gear, loved every minute of it.

“[EEEEEATSCON] is almost a tradition for us at this point. We love coming, we love the food,” said Grasso.

“It’s New York-based, but very inclusive,” said attendee Patrick Lindo. “There’s a bunch of different team flags all over the area. People are competitive but at the same time very respectful, and I appreciate that.”

MLB Life’s EEEEEATSCON footprint also incorporated a bar, with the sudsy libations poured into Beer Bats. This beverage choice paired well with the offerings from Dan and John’s Wings, MLB’s restaurant partners. There are now three Dan and John’s locations in New York City, two in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. The restaurant’s eponymous founders, Dan Borowski and John Henninger, were on hand, with Dan in a Yankees jersey and John representing the Mets.

“Truthfully, we're both Mets and Yankees and all things New York City, even though we’re originally from Buffalo,” said Henninger, adding that Dan and John’s once had a “nice little stand” at the Mets’ Citi Field. (It was, in fact, a glowing review from Infatuation founder Andrew Steinthal that brought them to the Mets’ attention in the first place.)

Dan and John’s solidified their baseball connection at EEEEEATSCON with their "Fall Classic": a jumbo four piece order of Buffalo or lemon pepper wings. The menu also included a Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich as well as a new item inspired by the partnership: Cracker Jack Sweet Potato Fries, tossed in Cracker Jack caramel dust.

Buffalo wings aren’t as iconic a baseball food as, well, Cracker Jacks, but there is clearly room to grow.

“We can do boneless wings, which we do very well, which you can eat with a fork or stadium spork," said Borowski. "And we also now do dry rubs, so it doesn’t have to be quite as messy as it used to be. So do I think wings could become a baseball food? Absolutely. I mean, it’s a baseball food right now. We’d love to go into every stadium.”

Meanwhile, in the adjacent MLB Life space, attendees took advantage of everything on offer. What more could you ask for on a beautiful October day?

“Super-pleasantly surprised,” said Zach Keck, in attendance with his wife Siarra. “Way better than any normal [food] convention that we’ve been to.”

“Just have fun, drink some beer, eat some great food, meet some new people,” said Borowski. “And, hopefully, spread our wings!”