Citi Field parking lot turns into a 35-restaurant food festival this weekend

Yes Chef Food Fest sets up in the Citi Field parking lot in Queens on Saturday, Sept. 26, and Sunday, Sept. 27, with more than 35 restaurants and food concepts serving over two days.

The weekend mixes tastings with live cooking. Chef David Bouhadana of Sushi by Bou is scheduled to cut down a 300-pound bluefin tuna in front of the crowd, and chef Aaron May will run a 100-pound Hawaiian pig roast. A Raising Cane’s chicken finger eating contest is also on the program, along with music and chef demonstrations. Oysters, caviar, wagyu, pizza, cannoli, burgers and tacos are among the foods on offer.

Restaurants at Yes Chef Food Fest

Burger fans can head to Gotham Burger Social Club for smash burgers, while Mama’s TOO! brings its pizza and Bark Barbecue serves barbecue done the Dominican way. There are two taco stops: Tacos Domingo, plus Tacos Atarantados, which comes from Mexico City. Jamrock Jerk and Charles Pan-Fried Chicken are on the confirmed list too, as are Buba Bureka, Cuerno and Ayada. Rounding it out are Nuts Factory, Arthur & Sons, Oyster Party and Gone Bananas Bread.

Jack Goldburg, a food creator who posts as @jacksdiningroom, picked the lineup for organizer Yes Chef Group. After selling out two years in a row, the organizers say this is the biggest New York version of the event they have put on.

What a general admission ticket covers

General admission gets visitors access to all the vendors, free food and drink samples while they last, the live demos, entertainment and sponsor activations. Individual dishes are also sold on site.

The setting fits the ballpark’s year. Yelp ranked the Mets’ home first in its 2026 Top Stadium Eats list, and readers voting in USA Today’s 10Best awards named its concessions the best in baseball this year. That makes four years straight that the stadium has earned a national honor for its food.