Long before the New York Giants moved to San Francisco, Bay Area baseball fans would pack Seal Stadium to see the San Francisco Seals play minor league ball. The Seals would leave San Francisco for Arizona after the 1957 season when the NY Giants moved to SF. The Giants would play two seasons at Seal Stadium before moving to their new home – Candlestick Park. Only a few months after the end of the 1959 season, Seal Stadium was demolished. The memory of Seal Stadium lives on at Double Play Bar & Restaurant – a 100 year old establishment that sits across the street from the site of the stadium and was popular with baseball fans for food and drinks before and after games.
The century old Double Play is a favorite with locals and it is one of those places with very loyal customers, kind of like Cheers. With its baseball theme, you would almost expect there to be a bartender named “Coach”. Regulars were playing dice games and drinking beer in the early afternoon when I arrived for lunch. There was a spot at the bar, but since it was at times a little raucous, I decided to sit in the dining room where it was much quieter.
A quick glance at the menu revealed three burger options – the home run (basic burger), double play (cheeseburger) or the grand slam (bacon cheeseburger with avocado). I had trouble deciding so I asked the waitress for her burger recommendation. I was barely able to get me question out of my mouth on which burger she liked before she cut me off. “Grand Slam” she said with a straight face. Fair enough, I admire the confidence. It was decided that I would have a Grand Slam ($10.99 includes fries).
I wandered around the restaurant looking at the collection of vintage baseball gloves and old pictures of Yankees, Giants and Seals players. I discovered another dining room that was painted to look like you were inside the old Seals Stadium. There was even a pitcher’s mound and bases painted on the floor and grandstands filled with fans surrounded the space. The room was drafty and appeared to have been added on to the existing restaurant. Nevertheless, it was a pretty cool room – a must for a true baseball fan.
I was shocked at how big the Grand Slam was as the waitress placed it in front of me. I was also surprised that it came on a huge sourdough roll. When I say huge, I am talking the size of a 1970’s Honda Civic. The burger to bread ratio was definitely in favor of the bread. I could barely see the patty and only a small strip of bacon was visible. I was under the impression that the burger would be on a bun and had I known it was going to be on a loaf of bread, I might have gone with a different burger. Oh well, such is life. In addition to the bacon, the football shaped hand-formed patty had slices of barely melted cheddar cheese. A big pile of semi-grilled onions and avocado were next to the burger on the plate along with fries and lengthwise slices of pickle. I added the avocado and pickle, skipped the onions.
I had to scrunch the burger a little to get it in my mouth which in turn caused some of the avocado to slide out. This went on throughout the meal. The meat was cooked between medium and medium-rare, just as ordered. The patty was juicy and tasted like it was good beef. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of seasoning but that was fine since the beef stood on its own. The bacon tasted like bacon and the cheese was a little bland. While each component of the burger was good, the overall product lacked flavor. The bread was too much and ended up sucking the life out of this burger. I did occasionally get a bite that didn’t have too much bread and it was pretty tasty. Like I said, I gotta give props to the meat – the fresh hand formed football shaped patty was the highlight.
Double Play is a cool place and a must see for die hard baseball fans. The stadium room was great – I could almost hear the crack of the bat and the roar of the fans as I stood there on the painted pitcher’s mound. The bar seems like a lot of fun and if I lived in the neighborhood I am sure I would have a lot of fun there. If you go for lunch, check and see if they have regular buns for the burgers. The menu said they did, but it wasn’t offered to me. I think the burger could be a lot better with less bread.
RATING: 2.5 out of 5
Double Play Bar & Restaurant
2401 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 621-9859
http://www.doubleplaysf.com
Hours: 7 Days a Week – Lunch 11:30AM – 2:30PM
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You added the avo but skipped the onions? You should be stripped of your burger critic credentials. No self-respecting burger consumer would ever defile the hallowed ground chuck with some prissy LA mush-melon.
If a similar establishment honoring the Oakland Oaks existed, I’d be a regular, but this place I’ve got to check out just for the atmo- that dining room on the “field” looks awesome.
Checking their online menu I see that each burger comes with “French roll or bun.” Odd that the roll is the default option- I’ll be sure to specify the bun (wonder if the patties are still foot-ball shaped tho’) thanks to your heads-up.