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Where sports fans can feast their eyesBy Janet K. Keeler © St. Petersburg Times, published April 1, 1998 Perched over centerfield, the restaurant affords a panoramic view of the field that is surreal in its scope. The camera flashes during the first pitch were like a galaxy of stars around the diners. And it seemed as if centerfielder Quinton McCracken disappeared underneath the restaurant when he ended the top of the first inning with a somersault catch at the warning track. Very cool. The folks in the stands would have been proud to know that the diners inside the 350-seat restaurant kept up their end of the wave when it came around. But remember, the Batter's Eye is 400-plus feet from home plate, which means patrons must rely on the bank of 10 color TVs or binoculars to catch the action on the field. Like a sports bar, the noise level in the restaurant was ear-splitting. The TVs were much too loud. (A suggestion: Turn off the volume and pipe in the announcer and music that the folks in the stands are hearing.) And maybe it was Opening Day jitters, but the drink service was slow. Another peccadillo: There are no bathrooms in the restaurant. Patrons must use bathrooms down the hall, but those facilities, for women and men, weren't in tiptop shape Tuesday night. No mirrors, no trash cans. Ugh. But enough quibbling. Here's the way the Batter's Eye works: There are two seatings for dinner. Early seating, for which you must have a ticket to the game, begins two hours before the game, and diners must clear out 30 minutes before the first pitch. The second seating begins 15 minutes before the game, and you can stay until the last out. The first seating is first come, first served. Cost is $19.95 for adults, $12.95 for 14 and younger for an all-you-can-eat buffet. Drinks, dessert and tip are extra. For the second seating, tables cost $60 for a four-person table, with $60 minimum for food. Expect to pay at least $180 for four, without alcoholic drinks. The buffet is upscale, if a little underspiced. Tuesday's offerings included beef and turkey at carving stations, conch chowder, black beans and yellow rice, grouper with lime and cilantro sauce, sauteed breast of chicken escabeche, penne pasta with shrimp, scallops and saffron cream, a salad bar and other items. Hillsborough County firefighters Gary Rodriquez and Frank Hagen ate up the view and the food at the first seating. They had seats behind third base for the game. "This is first-class," Rodriquez said. "We just wanted some good food, and we found it. The food is tremendous." They were glad, though, to be heading to the stands. "We already sat in our seats," Hagen said, "and there's just a different feel out there." Indeed. The Batter's Eye is a great place to watch the game if you want elbow room, a comfortable seat and a haven from the masses. But just because you are insulated from the crowds, you won't be shielded from the obnoxious battle cries of know-it-all fans. When Detroit started to run away with the game, folks from the stands poured into the bar and the party really started. The Rev. Norman Pearson, associate pastor of Mount Zion Progressive Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, gave the Batter's Eye a big thumbs-up. "I saw a World Series game from the club lounge at Pro Player Park (the home of the Florida Marlins), and it wasn't as nice as this," Pearson said. He planned to be back on Sunday with his wife. After church, of course.
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hink of the Batter's Eye restaurant as a sports bar with an awesome view.
