SF Chronicle article: Hitting a home run with vegetarians...

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Hitting a home run with vegetarians...

 

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

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?

file=/chronicle/archive/2002/04/08/BA134999.DTL

 

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.

 

E-mail Chuck Squatriglia csquatriglia.

©2002 San Francisco Chronicle Page B - 1 Chronicle