Sushi with a view at Wind & Sea Lounge (photo/lambertphoto.com)

Standard policy is to withhold judgment on a restaurant until it’s been open at least three months. If it’s still open, then it’s fair game. By then its operators should have worked out most, if not all, of the kinks. Even cursed with an unquenchable foodie curiosity that compels me to be among the first to eat at any new restaurant of significance, I always hold back any major criticism during that first three-month window.

Same goes for Petco Park. Yes, you’ve read nasty comments about the food in the papers, and we’ve heard dozens of complaints about the cold hot dogs at the exhibition games. On the other hand, how many of those reports noted that because of construction delays there was no electricity at many of the stands, forcing vendors to pinch-hit with Sternos instead?

Petco Park is the biggest tootin’ restaurant ever to open in San Diego, so it was bound to take a little bit of time to get in a groove. Imagine opening a restaurant, or any business for that matter, hiring and training more than 1,400 employees in fewer than three weeks to work in a yet-to-be completed building where even those hired to do the training haven’t tried out the equipment. A bit scary, to say the least.

OK, enough about that.

It’s a little more than halfway through its first baseball season in San Diego and Sportservice, the park’s food and beverage operator led by Steven Casad, general manager and Executive Chef Sam Viniegra, is getting into the swing of things. Sportservice is a division of Delaware North, which operates at several other ballparks and sports centers as well as music, entertainment and national park venues throughout the United States and Canada.

Accompanied by my skinny little assistant Bethany Kraynack, I ate my way through a whistle-stop tour of Petco Park one night a couple of weeks ago. It could not have been a better evening: balmy and 70 degrees with Padres Manager Bruce Bochy & Co. keeping the San Francisco Giants firmly under their thumbs, allowing just five hits and two runs.

Fine, but what about the food? Well, For the love of Pete, what are those Petco people thinking, serving food so good that nobody wants to sit in their seats to watch the game? This could be a problem, albeit a most pleasant and unexpected one.

Times, They Are A Changin’

Club 19 bartender Dan Wallis keeps the spirits flowing. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

As ballparks have evolved in the past 10 or so years, so has the food. The construction of fan-friendly sports palaces with state-of-the-art kitchens, video monitors, sound systems, lounges and restaurants has changed America’s pastime from that of simply watching a game into a full-scale drinking and dining evening of entertainment.

Petco Park has 1,500 club seats on The Toyota Terrace level and 55 luxury suites, the lucky occupants of which have not only a pretty darn good view, but more importantly, have ready access to four exclusive lounges and restaurants.

Wind & Sea Lounge specializes in made-to-order sushi, Coronado’s features casual American fare, Baja Bistro serves south-of-the-border cuisine, while Club 19 is the hippest watering hole in the park. Club 19’s clean-line couches, modern design and upscale fare attracts the chic-y, cheeky and, well, sneaky crowd. (By “sneaky” I mean it is off all by itself and you would never run into anyone you know there, if you get the drift.)

Starting out at Baja Bistro, we sampled a couple of appetizers and finished with the Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos. The Baja Shrimp Cocktail, served in a plastic daiquiri glass (no glass is allowed in the park), wowed me. A good-sized helping of bay shrimp is tossed in a sweet, slightly spicy, almost ceviche-ish cocktail sauce, and topped with a fresh avocado slice and wedge of lime. I hate to admit it, fancying myself a gourmand and all, but the Guacamole Cheddar Fries were irresistible. Yeah, it is institutional “cheese food,” but spiced up with poblano chiles and poured over skinny fries with a blob of guac on top, it also is pretty darn good. (We’re at a ballgame, after all.)

The grilled fish tacos were wrapped in good-quality corn tortillas, topped with cabbage and salsa and served with rice and beans. They could have used a creamy sauce of some sort, but the squirtable mayonnaise placed on the table for the burgers was just fine.

That’s A Whole Lotta Dog

Terryl Gavre prepares to sample the ‘Half-Pound Dawg.’ (photo/lambertphoto.com)

A ball game is not complete without partaking in a good old- fashioned hot dog. They still are the top-selling item at ballparks today and Petco sells more than 10,000 each game day. The “Half-Pound Dawg” available at Friars Franks is a big, fat oversized wiener that hangs out of the bun at both ends. It’s juicy, salty and good, especially smothered in catsup, mustard, onions and sweet relish. Washed it down nicely with an ice-cold Karl Strauss beer.

At this point into an evening of noshing, I heard not the crack of the bat, but the crack of my leather belt, crying out to be loosened. I obliged and moved on to the Wind & Sea Lounge, where chefs offer up a fantastic selection of made-to-order sushi. Diners sit along floor-to-ceiling glass windows or out on a terrace overlooking the left field line while nibbling on “a little of this” and “a little of that” and sipping beer, wine and premium brands of sake.

The crowded PCL keeps waiter Jesse busy. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

The Home Run Roll was Bethany’s favorite: a six-piece California roll slathered with spicy tuna and sprinkled with furokaki. She ate more than her share of it but I didn’t mind because I favored the Ball Park Roll: Crab, cucumber and avocado wrapped in nori is topped with eel and sweet avocado sauce. Although the sushi is first-rate, well made, and beautifully presented, at $24 a roll, I think it’s a bit pricey — almost like I’m eating my money (a bit hard to swallow).

Just next door is the Hall of Fame Bar and Grill, located in the now famous Western Metal Supply Building and accessible to all ticket holders. There, we enjoyed an oversized chicken quesadilla topped with all the usual trimmings while sitting out on a cantilevered deck overlooking left field.

Then it was off to the PCL (short for Pacific Coast League), also open to all ticket holders, for some good old-fashioned bar-style food. “Buffalo Hot Wings,” “Fried Calamari” and creamy “Spinach Dip” headline the appetizer list, followed by a nice selection of salads and sandwiches. The “California Bistro Burger” is a big bang for your buck, a half-pound burger with smoked bacon, cheddar, avocado and all the veggies plus fries for $8.95.

The Clubhouse Martini at Sony Dugout. (photo/lambertphoto.com)

After loosening my belt yet another notch, we went down to the Sony Dugout Club, Petco’s premiere dining venue. It is dark and clubby and windows provide a view of the batter’s cage. This exclusive dinner club is an amenity to the well-heeled, lower-level season ticket holders, who in addition to their tickets purchased a membership to the club. It is open throughout the evening serving complimentary drinks and dinner, both buffet and off the menu, and even has a chef’s table that looks into the exhibition kitchen for private parties and special events. I sipped the house specialty, the Clubhouse Martini, a blend of Bombay Sapphire, Triple Sec and Blue Curacao with a twist of lemon while I glanced at the game on a flat-screen monitor.

I have to confess I was enjoying my dining so much that I paid little attention to the game that night — normally those ballplayers are mighty easy to look at. I admit it, I looked up those fancy stats quoted earlier in this article on the Internet the next day. Heck, I only knew the game was ending because “Hell’s Bells” came blaring over the sound system. Secretly hoping that the Giants might tie it up if only long enough for me to make it back to Baja Bistro for some deep fried cheesecake, I finished my martini and headed downstairs towards the Baja Bistro.

Damn that Trevor Hoffman! He finished off those Giants before I could get my dessert.

Crab Cakes and Spinach Dip at Club 19. (photo/lambertphoto.com)		Terryl and Bethany enjoy a double play of sushi. (photo/lambertphoto.com)