Can Baseball Fans Stomach Tofu Hot Dogs? : S.F. Giants Offering Health Food at Park

SAN FRANCISCO — Let’s hear it one more time: “Take me out to the ball game, take me out to the park, buy me some tofu and trail mix.”

Tofu and trail mix?

The San Francisco Giants have rewritten the annual summer anthem by offering their fans a variety of nutritious foods in a unique concession stand called the Health Hut. The non-traditional fare offered at the stand includes meatless (tofu) hot dogs, Chinese chicken salad, pasta salad, trail mix, bottled mineral water and two kinds of yogurt.

While there were more than a few anxious moments for team and concession officials during the off-season, the fan response during the Giants’ first home stand has far exceeded the expectations of the most optimistic supporter of the Hut.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” said Greg Kramer, the general manager of Harry M. Stevens Co.--the Candlestick Park concessionaire. “It could have bombed. But the last two nights have far exceeded our expectations.

“I don’t know right now if it’s the novelty or if this is something the fans want. It’s a little premature to tell. But I know the demand this week has forced us to stretch our supplies.”

The hottest items have been the salads, which sell for $4.25 each. The stand’s supply of about 40 salads sold out by game time opening night and nearly twice that many were sold the next night.

Has Bland Taste

“Our ordering has been hit-and-miss because we just didn’t have a clue of the amount to order,” Kramer said. “We have called the company we get our meatless hot dogs from and told them to keep ‘em coming.”

Among the other big sellers has been the meatless, or tofu, hot dog, which goes for $1.75.

“It has the same texture as a normal hot dog, but it has a rather bland taste,” Kramer said. “If you put enough mustard and onions on it, even a hot dog connoisseur can’t tell the difference.”

The health food stand began to take shape early this year when Giants and Stevens officials met to discuss changes for the 1989 season. Giants President and General Manager Al Rosen had suffered an off-season heart attack and was in the middle of changing his life style.

“I’ve had to change my diet and it’s made me more aware of nutritional foods,” Rosen said. “Americans are paying a lot more attention today to their diet. They are being told if they eat healthy food they will live longer and feel better. We wanted to offer our fans the option of buying healthy food.”

There’s just one Health Hut stand in all of Candlestick Park, but Rosen says that may change.

“I think it’s the wave of the future,” Rosen said. “And we hope to expand on it.”

While many may shrug off health food at the ballpark as just another California aberration, Kramer thinks the idea may catch on elsewhere.

“There is a health craze right now in the United States,” he said. “It’s not just people in California who are watching their salt and cholesterol. It’s happening all over the country.