Since I never turn down the chance to obtain free food, I raced over to Nationals Park last evening for a food tasting inside the Stars and Stripes Club inside the stadium. This was a chance for owners of luxury suites to sample the menu items they can order while watching the game, and also served as a chance for Nationals officials to try and convince more fans to buy some of the suites still for sale.

The Stars and Stripes Club is a two-story club situated behind the luxury suites. It has a massive window overlooking the Anacostia River and the not-so-exquisite Florida Rock cement plant that everyone keeps hoping will be demolished at some point.

Centerplate last night filled the club with food, all of which we could sample, except for some items on the west end that were only for display purposes. I learned about the do-not-touch items after nearly picking up a chocolate croissant, only to see Nationals principal owner Bob Tanenbaum politely scolded for attempting a similar move on a sandwich.

Among the food options were the typical ballpark fare (hot dogs, chicken fingers, wings, sausages) and some fairly ambitious entrees, including wasabi pea crusted tuna, Asian glass noodle salad and lemon grass ginger grilled chicken. There was also something called two-way chicken, which I could make jokes about but won't because this is a family newspaper.

I was also thrilled to see the will offer Philly Cheesesteaks, and immediately decided to sample one. As a native of the Philadelphia area, I am kind of a snob when it comes to these sandwiches. In my view, here's what makes a quality steak:

* Fresh, high quality top round steak, thinly sliced
* Fresh onions and green peppers, sliced thin
* Cheez Whiz or American or Provolone cheese
* A medium to large hoagie roll, preferably from Amoroso's, but other brands are ok as long as they are soft and relatively flaky.

I wasn't able to judge the quality of the Centerplate rolls, because all they had were hot dog rolls, which I assume will be replaced by something more appropriate once the season starts. I gave the meat on the Centerplate cheesesteaks a solid B. The quality seemed ok, but it needed to be sliced a bit better and it was clear that it had been sitting in the catering bin for a while, which dried it out. Meat is generally best right off the grill, if possible, so that the grease can seep into the roll and create a moist and decadent explosion of flavor. As for the cheese: it came through with a solid A, because they came through with the Cheez Whiz, which most places outside of Philly don't offer.

"Quality job on the steak," I told Nationals president Stan Kasten as I wiped yellow gunk off my chin. "You actually have Whiz."

"Yeah, but why have Whiz when you can have actual real cheese?" he asked.

"Why have real cheese when you can have Whiz?" I replied.

"Because some of our more gourmet customers might want real cheese instead of that processed cheese product."

To each his own, I suppose.

Of course, the food isn't cheap, in either quality or price. I watched an official from Centerplate demonstrate the company's "EZ- Plan-It" online food ordering system, and saw that a package that includes some of the most popular ballpark fare costs more than $500, plus an 18 percent (18 percent!) service charge and 10 percent food and entertainment tax. So it came to more than $800.

The Stars and Stripes Club was packed full of people last night, many of which seemed on the fence about whether they would be buying a luxury suite this year. But Kasten was unapologetic in saying that these were the people the team wanted to woo.

"All 41,000 of our customers are our most important customers," he said. "But those of you who are up here in the suites in the club seats, you're just a little bit more important than just the average customer. So we're very glad you're here. We think you're going to be knocked out by the place."

Tamala Scott, the associate director of new ventures for the Paralyzed Veterans of America, said her organization was considering renting out a suite for at least some games this year. The food options, she said, were impressive, but it was unlikely anyone from her group would be selecting the pea-crusted tuna while at the ballgame.

"With our members, we're more hot dogs, to be quite honest with you," Scott said, as she picked up a sausage. "I love sushi, but we don't have a sushi crowd. But whatever food you like, you will find and you will be happy with it."

Scott, of course, was also on a seperate mission, to test the suites for handicapped accessibility. The PVA has worked with architect HOK Sport to ensure proper access for the disabled, and has uncovered no problems so far.