Safeco Field Dining: Where to Eat at a Mariners Game

It's stadium food, not tedium food. Seattle is already spoiled with restaurant-quality snacks at Safeco, and this year, it's only going to get better. In addition to grass-fed beef burgers from Ethan Stowell's Hamburg & Frites, there will be chicken tenders, plus an entire new menu from the restaurateur, created for an entirely new restaurant concept: Edgar's Cantina. There's also more offerings from Field Roast and cocktails from Rob Roy's Anu Apte. Is it time to play ball, or what?

Now, in honor of opening day for the Mariners, here's a guide to what to eat at Safeco Field and where to find it.

Safeco Field's Six Standouts

Hamburg + Frites: Safeco Field houses the first of Stowell's growing number of fast food concepts. Here, you get a 6.5 ounce grass-fed beef patty. topped with Tillamook cheese. The fries are served with an addictive garlic aioli dipping sauce. For this season, Stowell offers up a Taylor Farms oyster po'boy as well. New this season: Stowell's chicken tenders. [The Pen]

Apizza: You won't find the fanciful clam or crabmeat-topped pizzas that made chef Bill Pustari famous. But, the New Haven style pizza maker offers up a thin-crust vegetarian white pizza and a toothsome pepperoni. New this season: a Stowell-created Caesar salad pizzetti, single-serving Neapolitan-style thin-crust pizza. [The Pen]

The Natural: Vegans and vegetarians will want to seek out frankfurters and burgers made by Sodo-based Field Roast. Even omnivores have been known to say they are "super legit." In addition to the IchiBan, The Bombay, The Seattle Chili Dog, and Field Burger, Field Roast is expanding this season by adding a vegan chili cheese dog. [Field Roast Stand]

ricenroll: You can't consider yourself an Ichiroll, an ode to the only Mariners player that consistently get on base, a variation of a spicy tuna roll. [Section 137]

Hit it Here Cafe: Try the famous garlic fries here, and you may form a habit. [Right Field near ING banner]

La Creperie: Here at Stowell's other Safeco outpost, sweet and savory crepes are folded in the quarters and served up in paper cones for easy transport and consumption. [The Pen]

What's New This Season: 2013

Edgar's Cantina & Home Run Porch
The biggest changes are in the ballpark's left field corner with the new Edgar's Cantina and Home Run Porch lounge, both named for legendary designated hitter and Mariners Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez. Chef Stowell created a "Northwest Mex" menu for Edgar's Tacos at the Home Run Porch, a basket of three fresh corn tortillas with the choice of carne asada, carnitas, chicken or lengua (beef tongue), topped with diced onion, cilantro and cotija cheese.

Down below in Edgar's Cantina (behind the left field wall), Stowell updated the south-of-the-border menu of the Flying Turtle Cantina (renovated and rebranded Edgar's). Fans of the torta will still find the popular pork carnitas and salchicha tortas, as well as two new options: carne asada and Chicken Milanese. Also new are Stowell's house-made chicken tenders with chips and salsa.

As Eater first reported, Edgar's Cantina will offer five signature cocktails created by Anu Apte, owner of Rob Roy. The new drinks feature Zac, the artisanal mezcal that Martinez and business partner Gene Juarez import from Mexico. They include Zac Paloma with grapefruit soda, the .312 (Edgar's lifetime batting average) with Campari and soda and the Martinez Michelada with Mexican beer, lime and pineapple juice with a dash of cayenne pepper.

Crimson & Quartz
On Opening Night, Centerplate and Fetzer Vineyards are introducing a new product at Safeco Field, which will soon be available at Centerplate venues across the country. Zipz features Fetzer's award-winning red and white wine blends Crimson & Quartz in single-serve stem wine glasses made of recyclable plastic.

The Pen [Photos: Lisa Kennelly]