U.S. Open Food Review: Hidden Gems Because eating at the United States Open is a high-stakes game, we will feature a daily review of items available at the food courts at the National Tennis Center. When it starts to rain at the United States Open, eating becomes an entirely different kind of challenge, and I'm not talking about finding a way to keep the food dry. Getting to the food can be an athletic event, often an endurance one. When the weather turns - as it always does - eating becomes the way fans distract themselves from not watching tennis in unroofed stadiums. If it is time for lunch or dinner when rain arrives, wise Open fans make a beeline for the concession stand of their choice. On Wednesday the lucky ones got a heads-up from friends in Manhattan who sent news ahead that a downpour was coming (thanks, guys!) and a better jump on the hordes. To make things easy, I headed to my favorite hidden gem, the South Plaza Cafe, under the Court 7 stands. It's not exactly hidden - although it was dwarfed when the Heineken Cafe was expanded into something resembling a spaceship - but it is almost never crowded. The staff is delightful if you take the time to say hello and chat. And it has the time, because, again, it's almost never crowded (until it pours; then everything is crowded). This is where they used to serve the awesome secret lobster rolls and some overflowing pulled-pork sandwiches. Sadly, their menu was pared down this year, but the stand still offers some of the bargains of the food court scene. For an about-to-be-rainy day, their spread of hot sandwiches had many attractive options. The panini is $12. The gem at the bottom of the menu, though, is the veggie quesadilla. For $9.50, it's sitting there ready for you, complete with sour cream and salsa, and you can pay for it before it has cooled down a degree. It's also very good. It's not crispy like the ideal quesadilla, but that's impossible to pull off in a food court under a heat lamp. The dough is nice and substantial, so you don't mind much if it starts to feel more like a crepe. It also makes it easy to scoop up salsa and sour cream. It comes in three big portions, enough for a good-size lunch. And its reasonable price means you might even feel flush enough to spring for dessert - or venture into the Heineken spaceship. I'm guessing it's pretty crowded in there, though. After all, rain makes people thirsty, too.