One of the toughest things about being a parent is when your grown children leave the nest for good. Such was the case when, after graduating from UC San Diego, my daughter Christina moved to New York to pursue her dreams and put her college degree to good use.

But while it was gut-wrenching when my baby girl moved away, there was solace in knowing that we had raised her right – including, of course, her love of the Dodgers.

Fortunately, I get to see Christina a couple times a year when she comes out for a visit and we I travel to New York to visit her, usually and by sheer coincidence (yeah, right) when the Dodgers just so happen to be in town to play the Mets and or Yankees.

During a visit home back in 2014 on a night when I was in the Vin Scully Press Box at Dodger Stadium for ThinkBlue LA, Christina and her brother Tim utilized my season tickets out in the Left Field Pavilion. The date was June 18, 2014. Yep, my daughter, son, and I witnessed Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter live and in person. It was clearly a blessing from God.

Two years later and again by sheer coincidence (yeah, right), I happened to be visiting my daughter in New York when, on September 12, 2016, the Pantone 294 did one of their their now-famous Stadium Takeovers of Yankee Stadium during an interleague game between the Dodgers and Yankees.

But wait … There’s more!

This past Friday while packing for my trip to Arizona to cover the Dodgers pitchers and catchers reporting for Spring Training 2019, I received this text message from my darling daughter:

“Hey Dad, I stumbled upon a Dodgers bar / Mexican restaurant in the East Village. It’s called Taqueria St. Marks Place. We can hit it when you come visit in September.”

I need to point out that in addition to her love for the Dodgers, my daughter is also a huge fan of authentic Mexican food, a rarity in the Empire State. As such, it came as no surprise to me when she added this to her text message:

“The food is legit too.”

Not convinced yet? Here’s what The Infatuation – a New York-based website that recommends good eating spots to those who live in (or visit) The Big Apple – had to say about Taqueria St. Marks Place:

“Taqueria St. Mark’s is a divey, two-floor Mexican bar and restaurant with margaritas and Mexican food so cheap you’ll think you’re suddenly back in your college town, unless you’ve spent a lot of time in LA – in which case you might think you’re there.

“There’s Lakers [and Dodgers] stuff everywhere, the people are friendly, and the tacos here remind us of the ones you’ll find at dime-a-dozen random solid taco spots across that city. The difference is that this is New York, not LA, and when you find a random solid taco spot where you and all your friends can eat and drink like cauliflower lords for well under $20 a person, it’s actually a pretty big deal.”

As it turns out, Taqueria St. Marks Place has actually been at its current location for a while. In fact, lifelong Dodger fans (from their Brooklyn days) and New York natives Will Isabella and Joe Pierre actually went there to watch the 2017 World Series on one of their many big screen TVs.

“They had a lot of Dodger memorabilia there and most of the people there during the World Series were transplanted from LA,” Isabella said. “We stayed until the game ended, which the Dodgers won, and of course everyone left happy.

“It was a great atmosphere with all those Dodger fans together and great to see so many people wearing blue and pulling for the Dodgers,” added Isabella. “A place like that is a dream come true for me. Maybe that’s what it was like in Brooklyn bars back when the Brooklyn Dodgers played in the World Series … although listening to the games on the radio, not watching them on television”

As you might have guessed and by sheer coincidence, Christina and her boyfriend Max Letaconnoux (whom she has transformed into a huge Dodger fan) will be at Taqueria St. Marks Place on Opening Day 2019 to watch the Dodgers take on the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium … while enjoying great tacos and margaritas, of course.

Speaking of coincidences (yeah, right) and if you haven’t heard yet, the Pantone 294 just added an additional Stadium Takeover trip to their 2019 schedule. They’ve added a trip to (wait for it…) Citi Field for the game between the Dodgers and Mets on Saturday, September 14, 2019 at 4:10 pm ET (7:10 pm PT). Not only will the Pantones take over Citi Field, there is an exceptionally good chance that a number of them will also take over Taqueria St. Marks Place during the other two games. How cool would that be?

Dodger fans interested in attending the Pantone 294 trip to New York can reserve a spot via the Pantone 294 website, but you might not want to wait too long to do so, as tickets to the September 14 Dodgers-Mets game at Citi Field will probably go as fast as the tacos at Taqueria St. Marks Place.

Play Ball!

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