IN THE PARK HOME RUN

Myriad Restaurant Group Rounds the Culinary Bases at Citi field’s Acela Club
Last fall it was good-bye to beloved Shea Stadium, but this spring it’s hello to a new playing field–not only for players rounding the bases, but for food fans in the stands as well.

Myriad Restaurant Group, working with Aramark, was invited to consult on the food and beverage services at Citi Field’s Acela Club, an upscale, 350-seat restaurant on the Excelsior Level with a multitiered dining room, outdoor patio seating, and panoramic views overlooking left field. The 8,000-square-foot Acela Club is open to special ticket holders, including Delta Sky Club Platinum and Gold, Ebbets Gold, Caesars Club Platinum and Gold, Metropolitan and Field Box, and Commissioners Box. There are also flat-screen TVs everywhere inside, so not a minute of the action on the field will be missed.
The ballpark dining destination features contemporary American fare inspired by Myriad’s restaurants. Myriad and its chef, Stephen Lewandowski, named Michael Sobelman, previously of Tribeca Grill, as Acela Club’s executive chef. Lewandowski and Sobelman have created a large selection of market-driven cuisine featuring local products.
The $48 prix fixe menu is a home run. Its “Market Table” features a collection of antipasti, artisanal cheeses, salads, pastas, charcuterie, and flatbreads. But some of the buffet’s real stars are the al forno dishes, specifically the pastas, baked in ceramic pots using an open fire. Already, there are big fans of the White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese with Pancetta and the Baked Garganelle with Short Rib Bolognese. Big-hitters with larger appetites can slide into American classics like the Miracle Mets Burger or the Smoked BBQ Ribs with Cornbread, or go for entrées, like the Grilled Skirt Steak with Salsa Verde and crispy Sweet Potato Fries, Spit-Roasted Heritage Pork, or the Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes. And on the lighter side, there is a Rotisserie Lemon and Herb Chicken served with arugula, or the Grilled Swordfish with Basil Pesto.
“The real reason I am here is because my brother Tracy and I are devout Mets fans, since 1962,” Drew Nieporent says. “We are lifelong New Yorkers, and when the Mets approached us about helping them create great food at Citi Field, we were inspired by their commitment to making it happen. When the Mets step up to the plate, it will be our challenge to put great food on the plate.”
With the help of Myriad Restaurant Group, the Acela Club has elevated the ballpark dining experience to a new level. How much better can it get than sitting on the restaurant’s patio, eating incredible food, taking in the game, and hopefully cheering the Mets to a World Series championship!
Photos:
Top: Tracy Nieporent in uniform, 1962
Middle: Mets Official Year Book cover, 1962
Bottom: Tracy “The Fork” Nieporent at Mets Fantasy Camp, 2003

Locations of the myriad restaurant group

Tribeca Grill
375 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013, Tel: 212.941.3900
Centrico
211 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013, Tel: 212.431.0700
Mai House
186 Franklin Street, New York, NY 10013, Tel: 212.431.0606
Corton
239 West Broadway, New York, NY 10013, Tel: 212.219.2777
Nobu New York City
105 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013, Tel: 212.219.0500
Next Door Nobu
105 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013, Tel: 212.334.4445
Nobu Fifty Seven
40 West 57 Street, New York, NY 10019, Tel: 212.757.3000
Nobu London
19 Old Park Lane, London WIY 4LB, Tel: 020.7447.4747
Crush Wine & Spirits
153 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022, Tel: 212.980.WINE (9463)

CHILDHOD MEMORIES

Anyone who operates a business starts with some kind of inspiration. Often it’s memories from childhood that set a career in motion. That’s how our involvement in the restaurant business began.

Headquarters Restaurant 108 West 49th Street, near Radio City, opened in 1946.

Our dad, Andrew Nieporent, was an attorney who did legal work for restaurants. Our mom, Sybil Trent, was an actress. As a result, when we were youngsters, we often went out for dinner as a family. We ate in a wide range of different restaurants, with many different themes and cuisines. We tasted the foods of diverse cultures, sat at tables in many different dining environments, and observed the work ethic of chefs and waitstaff. My brother, Drew, was fascinated by the many atmospheres we encountered and knew from his early teens that this would be his life’s work. He was fascinated by every aspect of the business, in both the front and back of the house, and absorbed a wealth of technical knowledge. We always sat at the table in such a way that he would have the best view of all the hustle and bustle around us.

My passion for the business came later. During those early days, my primary mission was just to eat and enjoy the theatricality of the restaurants and the company of our family. It is no surprise that many of the happiest memories of childhood happened at the dinner table of restaurants. These restaurants of 40 years ago are now all gone and sadly forgotten in the sands of time. But they are part of our DNA and have a profound influence on us. Let me take you on a brief visit back in time to some of New York City’s places in which we were raised and that made an indelible impression on us.

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Interview: INHERITED TALENTS

One late fall day, Aarón Sanchez, chef and co-owner of Centrico, sat down with his mother, Zarela Martinez, the fabled chef and owner of Zarela’s, to discuss the past, present, and future of Mexican cooking in New York.

To Zarela: How would you describe your role in the expansion of New Yorkers’ idea of what Mexican cuisine is?

Zarela: When I first opened Zarela’s, I was attempting to cook contemporary interpretations of Mexican food. Then after I had traveled around Mexico extensively, I asked myself, Why reinvent? Since then I’ve dedicated myself to exposing New Yorkers to Mexico’s rich culinary heritage, and I think I’ve been successful.

To Zarela: What were your early frustrations? Did you meet with much resistance? Did people come in and expect the same-old-same-old?

Zarela: I have a funny story about this, actually. One day Barbara Sinatra came in to Zarela’s with her whole entourage and called me over to her table. “I want a taco,” she told me. I said, “I’m sorry, we don’t serve tacos.” So she said, “You will serve tacos, because your whole experiment will be a failure!” And here we are, 21 years
later!

To Aarón: What about your more modern cooking? Do you find people open to it, or are they still more comfortable eating what they understand?

Aarón: What’s interesting at Centrico is that, for the most part, our customers are very sophisticated. They are open to new interpretations, and they have a good base of knowledge about traditional Mexican foods. I think my mom established a real appreciation for classical dishes done well, which allows me to be a bit more adventurous.

To both: Where are we today in terms of our Mexican culinary education?

Aarón: We’re in a good place these days. Contemporary Mexican food can really command the same standards as contemporary European food, which shows how far we’ve come.

Zarela: These days, New Yorkers want to know how to make their own tamales, how to work with fresh masa. My YouTube video that demonstrates how to make tamales gets 8,000 views a day–this shows you how far we’ve come! At the beginning, there was very little interest in Mexican culinary traditions, but at this point our customers have taste memories that they want to recreate.

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Traditional Flavors – Local Ingredients

Left: Birria al estilo Jalisco: Braised short ribs Jalisco style, ancho chile broth.
Right: Aarón outside on the Centrico patio
CHEF’S TIP
Aarón points out that although chiles such as ancho, pasilla, guajilla, arbol and chipotle are sold “dry,” they should retain some moisture and for that reason he never buys them in bulk.

Developing a menu comprising dishes that use local, sustainable ingredients puts the average New York chef to the test. But for Aarón Sanchez of Centrico, the challenge is that much greater as the cuisine he is recreating is only local if you’re 2,000 miles away in Mexico.
To accomplish this feat–and he does–Aarón spends a lot of time and energy seeking out the best
local purveyors of his beloved ingredients. From a family-run business in Queens to a dedicated farmer in Massachusetts, Aarón, son of the celebrated chef and ambassador of Mexican cuisine Zarela Martinez, makes it his business to get the goods.
Perhaps the best method Aarón has for keeping his menu sustainable is making sure he is not a slave to tradition; he maintains authentic roots for each dish but integrates contemporary techniques and local ingredients. Sweetbreads Two Ways, a reminder of the sweetbreads served on the cattle ranch where his grandmother grew up, is served with locally smoked bacon; sopa seca was his special birthday dish as a child and contains cotija cheese, which he buys from Marcelina, a local Mexican-owned business. The Union Square Greenmarket is a great resource for local corn, tomatoes, and other seasonal vegetables. Aarón shops there religiously, even crediting the farmers on his menu: Fried Cherry Lane Okra, Ensalada de Jitomates featuring Eckerton Farms heirlooms, Yuno’s Farm Greens with Cotija Cheese, Chile Walnuts and Cava Vinaigrette. “There is no corn on my menu in the winter,” he says. “I only use it when it’s available!” Huitalacoche (the corn fungus known as the Mexican truffle) comes from a farmer in Massachusetts who hand-harvests his crops, while his epazote (a leaf vegetable) comes from the Essex Street Market.
What Aarón can’t find, he makes in-house, like fresh chorizo, manteca (rendered pork fat used in cooking), and molé. Of course, when he’s really stuck, he does the obvious: he calls his mom.