Mariners New Food Ferry Has Me Wondering: Are Fish & Chips A Good Ballpark Food?

It seems like we're all in baseball mode a bit earlier this year, thanks to the World Baseball Classic. But Opening Day is just a few weeks away, which means it's time to start looking at what kind of grub can be found at stadiums around the league.

But it's not just the food itself that is worth checking out. Sometimes, the vessel in which it is carried is part of the experience.

And in the case of something the Seattle Mariners have cooked up, it really is a vessel.

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The Mariners released a bunch of new items for this year, including some kind of taco and a Mariner Moose sundae in a mini batting helmet. But we need to focus on the little number sitting in the upper left-hand corner:

Yes, that is a model of the Washington State Ferry Boat that even lets you store some sauces on the bow and stern (those are nautical terms for "front" and "back").

I'm a sucker for any kind of vehicle or piece of equipment filled with food, and this is a great one. They're even letting you choose what to put in it, from crab nachos to chicken tenders to fries to — and this is a biggie — fish and chips.

I'm a big fish and chips guy. We can bash English food all day ("Bubbles and Squeak?" What the hell is that?), but the planets aligned whenever they dunked some fish in the deep fryer. 

Sure, there are bad fish and chips, but few meals satisfy quite like a perfect piece of beer-battered cod with some thick-cut chips.

That's good eatin'… I'm just torn on whether it's good ballpark food.

Sure, it makes sense in Seattle, a town so known for seafood that fishmongers hurl salmon back and forth to each other for fun.

But I question the practicality.

On one hand, it's finger food. That's good for the ballpark, but there are a lot of accouterments that go with it. I mean, you practically need a Batman utility belt full of condiments to enjoy it properly.

There's ketchup for the fries, tartar sauce for the fish (maybe a nice little lemon wedge too), and then a little malt vinegar to splash on everything.

That malt vinegar is a fickle mistress. Sure, it ties everything together nicely, but it's also going to leave your hands with vinegar funk well beyond the last out.

And if you're with your lady, mind your breath.

Also, if they only have vinegar in little packets, that's a problem too. Vinegar lacks the viscosity of a ketchup or mustard, which means when you open it up, you could accidentally spray it all over your Levi's or on the people sitting behind you.

Have fun enjoying your ferry boat full of food after everyone within 15 feet of you knows you as "That Douche Who Splashed Malt Vinegar On Everybody."

But, hey, I'd give it the old college try, because what grown adult doesn't want to eat finger food out of a toy boat?