<table border="0" align="right" width="310"><tr><td><img src="http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/bats_grill.jpg" border="1" align="right"></td></tr><tr><td>There's lots of food options at Slugger Field, including these brats and colorful grilled peppers. Photos by Robin Garr.</td></tr></table>LEO's Eat 'n' Blog with Louisville HotBytes
(Slugger Field, Derby weekend dining tips)
Not only is it Derby Week, but the Louisville Bats' season is under way at Slugger Field, so even sports fans who have been sweating out the long months until the Cards and Cats are back in play have little to complain about.
But food lovers who enjoy a good dinner to go with the baseball game are pretty much out of luck at Slugger Field, where concession quality has dropped off a long way from the splendid fare that the memorable A. Ray Smith brought to Louisville when he brought the old Redbirds to town at the Fairgrounds' Cardinal Stadium back in the early '80s.
Smith, an old-fashioned baseball man who understood that there's more to winning fan loyalty than opening the gates and yelling "Play Ball," introduced the city to nachos, a confection so exotic at the time that newspaper stories of the era found it necessary to define the word with a brief explanation when writing about the new team and renovated old ballpark. In those days, a ball fan could put together a pretty good dinner at Cardinal Stadium and still have change left over for a cold beer.
Nowadays at Slugger Field, a light ballpark repast for a couple can burn through a $20 bill mighty fast, and you need to pick and choose in order to come up with selections that justify that toll.
Full report on LouisvilleHotBytes. The LEO Website update has been delayed this week.
