April 22 (Bloomberg) -- The culinary offerings at Citi Field might turn me into a Mets fan.

The lower concourse smells like an Italian street fair. Sausages and peppers! They must be piping the porky perfume through a ventilation system.

If you were raised, like some of us Yankees die-hards, to dismiss or detest New York’s other baseball team, keep reading anyway, because a ticket to the new stadium in Flushing might be the quickest path to one of the city’s best burgers.

Patrons wait 60 minutes and longer at Danny Meyer’s Shake Shack in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park. But at his new Mets outpost, I spent just four minutes on my feet for a patty. In fact, I haven’t waited longer than five minutes at any concession here.

Good thing. As the recession threatens to curtail ballgame attendance and spending throughout the U.S., the Mets are well positioned to attract those scarce consumer dollars with shorter lines, better food and lower markups than at Shea, the team’s former stomping grounds.

But can big-name restaurateurs overseeing the concessions achieve Manhattan-worthy creations via the unionized Aramark staff? Based on two recent visits, yes.

Take Shake Shack, one of four venues Meyer runs in the outfield. The burger is just as good as at the city versions -- and just a dollar more expensive at $5.75. A salty char covers the exterior. Inside, everything is moist and beefy. A soft potato roll closes the deal. Fast-food burgers don’t get better than this. Wash it down with a rich, eggy frozen-custard shake.

Slow-Cooked Pork

There’s only one El Verano Taqueria and it’s at Citi Field. Meyer should consider opening more. The kiosk dishes out tacos that rival some of the city’s better Mexican joints. Skirt steak ($7.25) was spiked with chili; the tough, hefty cut marinated into submission. Add a squeeze of lime. Pork was slow-cooked to the point of creaminess, with heat from smoky chipotles. Corn tortillas impart a robust finish. One request: Give diners the option to add a little Cotija cheese to help regulate the fire.

Blue Smoke was still a work in progress. The offshoot of the Gramercy Park establishment offered a bland pulled-pork sandwich ($9) and Kansas City ribs ($10) that were tender, but with no smoke rings. And Meyer should consider dryer Memphis or Texas ribs: Who wants to walk around a ballpark with sticky fingers?

Lobster Rolls

Stadium seafood? Catch of the Day, by Esca’s David Pasternack, served me what could be one of New York’s great lobster rolls ($17). The cool meat had just a gloss of mayonnaise. The split-top bun may have been a little soggy, but the tender flesh, barely cooked through, picked up the slack. It left my mouth with a gentle seawater tang that lingered.

Eat it all on a bench -- New York’s scarcest commodity. Citi Field puts the “park” back in “ballpark” with picnic- style tables in the outfield. You’re not confined to your tiny, assigned seat to practice the dangerous art of balancing beer and fries on your lap.

But there are better, bigger seats at the Acela Club. Just $48 gets you a two-course meal courtesy of Nobu’s Drew Nieporent, and a view of the field that would rival that of a luxury skybox.

Tables overlook the ballpark from far left field. They’re tiered like theater seats, so patrons get a vista of green grass, signage and flying baseballs. Flat-screen televisions are just behind the tables for a closer look.

But...

One catch: Admission to the Acela is only open to fans with more expensive tickets (not enforced during our visit). The cheapest generally start at $75. Let’s hope the Mets drop this requirement.

Piles of cappicola and parmesan dot the all-you-can-eat buffet. “It’s like a cruise,” said Nieporent, who was at the game on Thursday.

Stick with the high-quality cured meats and the creamy mozzarella. Avoid the overcooked pastas. Try spit-roasted pork for a main. It’s like a fattier, juicier version of a ham steak, flanked by a bacon-like skin. Skirt steak, sporting an addictive gas-grill tang, came with airy, crispy sweet potato fries.

Skip dessert -- an extra $8 -- to leave room for the free macaroons, as light and airy as at Nieporent’s Corton. I wonder whether the food at the New Yankee stadium is just as good.

Apostasy might be imminent.

The Bloomberg Questions

Cost? Not cheap -- remember, you need game tickets to eat!

Sound level? Loud when the Mets are winning. It’s not always loud.

Date place? If your companion considers a baseball game a date, get married.

Inside tip? If you want to drink Citi’s fine selection of dark beers, you’ll need I.D. And for those who like fries, Meyer also runs a Box Frites stand.

Special feature? Acela Club is a good, if pricey, refuge for cold games.

Private room? There are even private bathrooms!

Will I be back? If only the Yankees could relocate here.

Citi Field is at 126th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, Flushing, Queens. Acela Club Reservations: +1-718-565-4333. Information: http://www.mets.com

(Ryan Sutton writes about New York City restaurants for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Ryan Sutton in New York at rsutton1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 22, 2009 00:01 EDT