in yesterday's SF chronicle

[Guest guest]

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Hitting a home run with vegetarians

PETA ranks Oakland A's ballpark 4th for meatless chow

 

Chuck Squatriglia, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, April 8, 2002

 

 

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Take me out to the ballgame, take me out with the crowd, buy me some. .

 

.. tofu and veggie dogs?

 

Yep. Ballpark food is becoming as green as the outfield at Pacific Bell Park.

While the good ol' hot dog remains the overwhelming favorite, fans are

increasingly noshing on broiled tofu, boiled soybeans and other vegetarian fare

that would make a Zen master proud.

 

So big is the trend that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently

ranked America's top-10 vegetarian-friendly ballparks. Oakland's Network

Associates Coliseum placed fourth, but Pac Bell Park in San Francisco struck out

despite its dizzying array of meatless meals.

 

" The A's may have settled for a wild-card spot last year, but they won the

pennant with vegetarians, " said PETA's Dan Shannon.

 

Shannon admits the survey was unscientific but says it shows sports arenas have

learned that America's 17 million vegetarians who gain 1 million converts

annually -- are a cash cow.

 

" This is a trend you're going to see increase, " he said. " Not only is it common

sense, it's financial sense. These things sell. "

 

Ballpark brass agree.

 

" I don't think people sit down and think, 'Hmm . . . what are we going to do to

win that coveted PETA ranking?' " said Jim Wilson, president of Bay Area Sports

Management, which handles A's concessions. " But if even one-half to 1 percent of

your fan base expresses interest, you have to listen. We served 2.2 million

people last year, so that's not a number to trifle at. "

 

It's hard to know just how many fans are giving healthier fare a try because

ballpark concessionaires say the information is proprietary. But they say the

stuff is catching on.

 

" Baked potatoes are huge down here, " said Marty Price, general manager of

concessions for the Houston Astros, which added veggie dogs this season. " Of

course, they top 'em with barbecue beef, but they are popular. "

 

Die-hard fans shudder at the thought of gobbling such things while Mark Mulder

hurls a strike or Barry Bonds splashes one into the bay. For them, America's

favorite pastime can be accompanied by just two things.

 

" A beer and a dog, " Ken Conner of Lafayette said as he ordered both at an A's

game last week. " I mean, c'mon. "

 

But many vegetarians love baseball, and they get hungry, too. Until recently,

they had to snack on junk food or listen to their stomachs growl through the

seventh-inning stretch.

 

" I usually don't eat, or I get peanuts, " said Akela Eldridge of Chico, who was

thrilled to find Your Black Muslim Bakery selling tofu sandwiches at A's games.

" You learn to count on not eating. Or you get the chicken sandwich and pull the

meat off. "

 

Ballparks have long offered quasi-vegetarian snacks like cheese pizza, nachos

and fries. But only in the past few years have they offered truly vegetarian

fare like veggie dogs, veggie burgers and veggie stir-fries.

 

Despite its standing as a bastion of vegetarianism, the Bay Area can't lay claim

to starting the trend. The heathens at Dodger Stadium get credit for that,

having first offered veggie dogs, sandwiches and pizzas two years ago.

 

Many ballparks now offer everything from veggie quesadillas to black beans and

rice. But veggie dogs remain a rarity available in only eight major league

stadiums -- and even there you often have to hunt for them.

 

" I think they're down there someplace, " said a concessionaire for the A's, which

added veggie dogs and burgers last year. " And I think we've got some upstairs. I

dunno. Good luck. "

 

A's fans buy about 80 to 100 veggie dogs and burgers during each game, officials

said. Vegetarian and health-conscious spectators also wolf down a fair number of

salads and baked potatoes.

 

" I thought it would be healthier than anything else, " said Dick Harrow of

Emeryville as he dug into a potato smothered in steamed broccoli and what

appeared to be a pint of frighteningly orange cheese sauce. " I'll have to scrape

off some of this cheese, though. "

 

Pac Bell Park offers its own menu of vegetarian fare, including sushi rolls,

 

Gardenburgers and boiled soybeans.

 

" The soybeans sell really well, " said Bill Greathouse, general manager of food

and beverages. " The people who eat them are very neat. You don't see the hulls

around, not like peanut shells. People leave those damn things everywhere. "

 

But you won't find veggie dogs on the menu -- an oversight Greathouse hopes to

change by midseason, when they'll be offered with a veggie chili he said is

fantastic.

 

" I have tasted more veggie dogs in the past month than I have in my entire

life, " he said, admitting that wasn't very many at all. " I have to report that

they just don't meet the taste test. But we're continuing our search. "

 

Greathouse says he doesn't expect to sell a lot of them, though.

 

" We have a huge selection of food here, but it's all overshadowed by the hot

dogs, " he said. " People maintain a healthy diet at home. But when they come

here, it's time to splurge. " . For more information about vegetarian food

offered at major league ballparks, log on to www.soyhappy.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

©2002 San Francisco Chronicle Page B - 1