XM MLB Chat: Seafood paella one of Yankee favorites-Yankee chef

Zagat Buzz: "But something else happened within the past year that might have fueled the victorious (AL East) season: a new chef at the stadium. Chef Ricardo Cardona stepped in to cook for the Bronx Bombers at home games. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Manhattan, Cardona has emerged as one of the city’s eminent Latino chefs with his restaurants Sazon, Sofrito, Hudson River Café and Mamajuana Cafe. What is he feeding these champs? We caught Cardona between games to talk about the team’s favorite eats.

Zagat Buzz: Were you always a Yankee fan?

Ricardo Cardona: I became a Yankee fan while cooking for them, because I really didn’t care much about baseball before that. Once I started cooking for them, I became friends with them. I became a Yankee fan, and now I feel I am part of the family.

ZB: How did you become the chef for the New York Yankees?

RC: I used to work in a restaurant called Jimmy’s Bronx Café back in 1999–2000. The restaurant was five minutes away from Yankee Stadium. I met a family there called the Cucuzza family, who takes care of the clubhouse. They were regular customers, and we became friends. They would ask me to cater for the Yankees all the time. When Jimmy’s Bronx Café closed, we kept in contact, and they asked me to cater for them still because they liked my food....

ZB: Do the players often have special menu requests?

RC: Sometimes if they are doing special training, or are on a special diet, they will ask for something in advance. For example, Mariano Rivera once requested watercress juice. But, really, they are very simple guys. When they’re hungry, they’ll eat anything.

ZB: What’s on the menu for the World Series?

RC: Seafood paella, that’s one of their favorites. Grilled shrimp, pork chops. Skirt steak. Rice and beans....

ZB: What restaurant recommendations do you have for fans near the stadium?

RC: Well, I run a restaurant called Hudson River Café on 135th Street and Twelfth Avenue in Manhattan, and there’s the steakhouse at the Fairway too. I recommend eating in that area because of the parking. It’s easy to park your car there, then hop in a taxi to the stadium and you are there in five minutes.

ZB: Where do the players like to eat?

RC: The Latino players like to go to Dyckman Street to some of the Dominican restaurants and other Latino spots. I used to see Melky Cabrera all the time at Lua in Hoboken. A lot of them go to my spot Sofrito on 57th Street, one of the few Puerto Rican restaurants in New York. They like it because we do very homey-style Puerto Rican food there. Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera love Sofrito.

ZB: What’s A-Rod’s favorite dish?

RC: He likes lean foods – low-fat, low-butter – and sweet potato and apple purée. He actually taught my cook how to make it.

ZB: Does Derek Jeter have a favorite dish?

RC: Well, he was upset because the reporter who wrote an article in the Daily News recently said he eats pork, and that’s not true. He does not eat pork. I don’t know why that reporter wrote that. But Jeter likes grilled chicken breast. Grilled chicken on whole wheat bread is one dish he eats a lot. He is very self-disciplined. He is the captain and you’ve got to lead by example, so he eats very healthy.

ZB: Do you feel your menu affects whether the Yankees win?

RC: I wish I could say that! But I think it’s their playing."