I’ve had the pleasure to go to the Barclays Center twice recently. I didn’t realize all the popular Brooklyn foodie vendors they had (Calexico, L&B Spumoni Gardens, Fatty ‘Cue, Juniors, etc.) Makes a lot of food sense and business sense.
First time, Sam and I went to a boxing match. I really wanted to try the famous L&B Spumoni Gardens Sicilian pizza. It was okay for $6.75. Decent doughy pizza.
And then I got the Calexico Loaded Nachos bowl $11.50 that I saw everyone walking around with. It was alright. Although I was starting to get the feeling that these places are not quite up to snuff compared to their real location counterparts. Like the nachos almost seemed like generic chips with more interesting ingredients than you’d get at Madison Square Gardens. I felt the same way at Citi Field. They have awesome local food branded vendors, but they are not quite up the quality you’d expect. But still, Barclays Center food is way better than say MSG, where it’s like generic overpriced skating rink food.
The second time I came back to Barclays Center was for the Amnesty International concert. Lots of great bands and a lot I didn’t even realize were performing like Lauren Hill and the guy from Boomtown Rats. He sang one of my favorite songs, I Don’t Like Mondays. I even got stuck in an elevator with Pussy Riot for about five minutes. I didn’t realize it was them at first. I couldn’t figure out why the elevator wasn’t moving, but some guy was trying to get their autograph, so the attendant kept it open. Then they kicked me off because they were going down to the off-limits area. Pussy Riot is cute. I gave the brunette a half wink as the elevator door closed.
I got a Cheddar Bratwurst sausage from Brooklyn Bangers. I figured it’s probably the same product they sell at other places and also Sam got a dog last time and it looked plump and juicy. I guess it was good. I think I put too much feexin’s (sauerkraut, banana peppers) on it. Should have just ate it straight.
Anyway, the point is that Barclays has way better food than traditional sports venues. But I feel like they all could do better.
