A new ballgame for Floyd Cardoz

Who would have thought you’d be getting gourmet food in the rough and tumble of a ball park? Leave it to celebrity chef Floyd Cardoz and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group to bring elegance to the usual hot dog, precooked burgers and popcorn routine. The new multimillion-dollar Citi Field Stadium, home of the New York Mets, is  serving tacos and salsas from Tabla’s chef Floyd Cardoz at El Verano Taquería.

With Cardoz, high quality local ingredients and an orchestration of spices are his trademarks, so bland ball park food is getting quite a makeover. So what can Cardoz fans expect? Known for inventive, non-traditional Indian food, he’s going the traditional, authentic route with Mexican food.

A master of spices, he is familiar with the similarities between Indian and Mexican cuisine and plays hardball with chilies and a variety of herbs and flavors. The chicken mole is cooked with pumpkin seeds, chillies and tomatillos, almost like a chicken curry; the tacos also have fillings of braised goat; and the tortillas of course are very similar to Indian rotis. Another spicy offering with vibrant flavors is Carnita, pork shoulder cooked with pork fat, Mexican cinnamon, oregano, chilies and lemon juice. There’s even corn on the cob with mayonnaise and Cotija cheese and red pepper, similar to the Indian butta! Says Cardoz: “Some day I’d like to take it in India because I think Indians will enjoy it a lot. That’s my dream!”

While Tabla, the celebrated temple of New Indian cuisine, is an exclusive spot, El Verano is a whole different ball game, with thousands of tacos being whipped up in the course of a day for thousands of people. About 2000 pounds of meat were used in just two days. In the course of ten games, Cardoz estimates they’ve served 240,000 tacos.

He says: “The lines are there all the time, and people tell me they love it! For me, it was a learning curve doing 1400 tacos in a few hours. Since the meat is braised, like curries, they hold up so I was able to adapt it much better.”  For Cardoz, who is chef-partner at Tabla and consulting chef at El Verano, the big bonus is its location in Citi Field since he’s a big Mets fan.  Has he managed to catch many games? “I’ve made it a point to see every first pitch so far.  I get to see all the games – so it’s worked for me!”