99 Burger Highlights New Culinary Events and Yankees Stadium Menu

Matt Gibson has always loved burgers.

“Big burger guy,” the executive chef of Legends Hospitality called himself.

Specifically, he craved an In-N-Out Burger from his time on the West Coast, but he never discovered one that matched the taste.

So he decided to create his own take on the menu at Yankee Stadium, where the 99 Burger has its roots.

The creation features two American Wagyu beef patties from Lobel’s of New York, New School American Cheese, secret sauce, pickles and caramelized onions, all on a brioche bun with lettuce and tomato available as an additional garnish.

It will cost $19.99. Only 99 of them will be available in each home game.

It’s a California-inspired food named after the uniform number of California Yankees boy Aaron Judge, and one of the new additions to the menu – along with a trio of new partners – making its debut. in the Bronx for the 2023 season.

“The core will still be there,” Gibson told The Post on Wednesday during a food and meal tasting at Yankee Stadium. “Chicken fingers, hot dogs and fries – as tried and true, works. … Nothing crazy (with the 99 Burger). Nothing super fancy.

“The best products we can use, cooked fresh, and we only offer 99 of them just to make sure they stay fresh.”

Gibson’s vision for new partners – Fuku, Mac Truck and chef Christian Petroni’s cheese-laden garlic bread – and new menu items such as the 99 Burger began shortly after the end of the 2022 season.

He started dining out, seeing which concepts were popular and which names were making headlines.

“Just because their concept works in their restaurant doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in Yankee Stadium,” Gibson told the Post.

Other dishes added include Fuku’s OG Spicy Chicken Sando, Mac and Cheese – with charred corn pico de gallo and crushed tortilla chips as a topping option – and a Bronx Burrito.

For the 99 Burger, Gibson called Mark Lobel to discuss the different types of meats.

Lobel sent American Wagyu, and Gibson thought it was delicious.

The next step involved Eric Greenspan and his cheese: aged cheddar, real cream, real butter and salt.

And on Wednesday, their burger was on display — a 99 white flag, with a baseball atop, piercing each half — as workers prepared the ground under the Yankee Stadium Audi Club, where the judge blasted part of his record 62 circuits. in 2022.

During the tasting, Petroni, a Bronx native, recalled games at the old Yankee Stadium, growing up 15 minutes away at 241st St. and White Plains Rd.

He and his family frequented a nearby restaurant and Petroni realized how passionate his garlic bread was – wicker baskets lined with foil, cheesy garlic bread served with warm marinara sauce .

This laid the foundation for his cheesy garlic bread, which uses bastone from a wholesaler in the Bronx.

There is mozzarella and parmesan. There’s oregano and marinara sauce.

There’s even pepperoni.

Gibson saw Petroni’s garlic bread after posting it online, and he messaged about trying to make a partnership work. Petroni even has a hidden tattoo under his lip, with “THE BRONX” reminding him of his borough — and, indirectly, everything associated with it, like his place in baseball history.

It was supposed to fade after two years, he joked, but some 20 years later Petroni could still flash his ink, as he stood around other chefs and told how the next layer of his culinary dream has come true.

“I cried for three weeks straight as I walked in and out of the stadium to train with the team,” Petroni said. “I can’t believe this is even real life.”