(FORTUNE Magazine) – Whether it's the ivy-and-brick antiquity of Wrigley Field or the indoor comfort of the Astrodome, a ballpark offers a unique forum for mixing business and pleasure. There's ample time for conversation between pitches or innings, and plenty of light material to frame the serious talk. The leagues have been cracking down on rowdyism -- which in any case is more a problem for the crowd in the bleachers than for box patrons. For most travelers, baseball works best as a refreshing substitute for yet another business dinner in an underlit, overpriced restaurant. That doesn't mean you have to settle for warm beer and cold hot dogs. Some stadiums offer surprisingly good public restaurants (as opposed to private clubs open only to season ticket holders and members). And within a long fly ball of most others you can find decent -- sometimes outstanding -- places for a meal before the game. Unless otherwise noted, all the places listed are within walking distance of the stadiums and are moderately priced (under $20 for a meal with drinks). Reservations? Consult the league standings: the better the team, the more popular the restaurant. In Cleveland the Pewter Mug (216-861-5055), just inside cavernous Municipal Stadium, serves simple fare but good -- burgers, steaks, broiled fish, salads -- and the help hustles. Get there early: the kitchen runs out of popular items and closes at game time. Pat Joyce's Tavern on the Mall nearby (602 St. Clair Avenue, 771-6444) is a popular pub that does best with broiled chops, steak sandwiches, and simple seafood, but also features passable Italian food. Open late, it's a good spot for an after-game meal too. In Detroit, Carl's Chop House (3020 Grand River Avenue, 313-833-0700) is a five-minute cab ride from ramshackle Tiger Stadium, but it's a power hitter's kind of place. You can imagine Al Kaline or Norm Cash ordering one of the ( slabs of prime beef Carl's calls a steak before launching a few into the upper deck. On a recent evening, Carl's two-pound lobster was apparently left on the bench too long, but the broiled northern pike was superb. Appetizer, entree, and drinks will run you $25 or more. At the Astrodome in Houston, tables in the Astrodome Club on the fifth level (713-790-1717) offer a view of the sidelines. A $2 fee plus $16 gains admission to a big-league buffet: artichokes at the salad bar, fresh fruit, and several main dishes, including prime rib and shrimp and Chinese vegetables. Just a dome's roll away is Kaphan's (7900 South Main, 668-0491), worth the trip even if the Astros are out of town. A meal is likely to total $25 or more, but Kaphan's excels with such regional seafood specialties as redfish and Gulf trout. Most folks order their seafood fried, and for good reason: it's greaseless and crunchy. The steak is fine too. It's so windy and chilly by the bay in San Francisco that the Giants now play many home games at high noon, and the Stadium Club (415-468-3700) does a booming brunch business. For those who brave the night games, the Club offers adequate filet of sole, chicken Kiev, and steaks. Nonmembers pay a $5 entry fee, the kitchen closes after the first inning, and reservations are recommended because members have dibs on seats. The Old Clam House up the road about three miles (Bay Shore Boulevard and Oakdale Street, 826-4880) serves local seafood, along with crawfish flown in from the South and sole from the East. The house specialties include ''scalone,'' a combination of scallops and abalone minced together into a patty and broiled. Chicago, with two of the oldest stadiums in the league, is a living baseball museum. The North Side around Wrigley Field -- where the neighbors refuse to let the Cubs play at night -- used to be a German-Scandinavian enclave; though it is now funkier than a left-handed catcher, vestiges of the old days remain. Ann Sather's Swedish Diner, a half-mile away (929 West Belmont Avenue, 312-348-2378), is actually a diner and a restaurant side by side. The restaurant is distinguished by warm wood paneling and a short but well-chosen wine list. In both halves, the fare includes solid good food like roast leg of lamb and loin of pork, along with Swedish meatballs and great German potato salad. A five-minute cab ride north of Wrigley takes you to Schulien's (2100 West Irving Park, 478-2100), an ancient saloon that fills up with hooky-playing business types before each Cubs game. The walls are covered with archive-quality vintage photos and mementos, the German food is fine, the draft beer exemplary. A block from the stadium, La Canasta (3511 North Clark Street, 935-5084) serves up a mean quesadilla and hits for average on standards like enchiladas and tostadas. The White Sox -- the city's champions -- get to play night games, but the only restaurant near Comiskey Park worth mentioning is Graziano's, a short hop away in Bridgeport (605 West 31st Street, 326-1399, no credit cards). It's an erstwhile grocery store serving good and modestly priced homemade linguine, manicotti, and other pastas. In Pittsburgh, Maggie Mae's Sportn' House (120 Federal Street, 412-231-8181) bears the hallmarks of yuppie marketing: a cutesy name, restored art deco decor, and a huge menu that runs from nachos and fried zucchini spears to strawberry soup and quiche. Most of its efforts succeed, but stay away from so-called Frangelic flounder, which seems to be fish in pancake syrup. Figgin's (2 North Shore Center, 321-9000) is cooler and more formal, affording a splendid view across the Allegheny River of downtown Pittsburgh. You can choose a sandwich or more elegant nightly specials such as spicy shrimp MacArthur, and the deep-dish apple pie hits the sweet spot. After eating, stroll up to the stadium along the river through Roberto Clemente Memorial Park. In the shadow of the Green Monster, the famous left-field wall of Boston's Fenway Park, sits the Key West (Kenmore Square, 617-262-2373). The menu has a Caribbean slant, incongruous for a pregame meal in Boston, but Key West does well by such dishes as conch chowder. The burgers are also good, and the avocado and seafood salads beautifully presented. At Charley's Eating and Drinking Saloon (344 Newbury Street, 266-3000) the fare is more traditional: a terrific prime rib and fresh seafood, broiled and served unadorned. But give the stuffed shrimp an intentional pass. If you're going to watch New York's Bronx Bombers, avoid the bombed-out Bronx. Instead, go to any restaurant along the Lexington Avenue subway line in Manhattan and then take the No. 4 train to the stadium, a 20-minute ride from Midtown. The neighborhood is more friendly in Flushing, home of the newly Amazin' Mets. A five-minute cab ride away at Lum's (138-28 Northern Boulevard, 718-445-8822), the menu offers both Cantonese and spicier Szechuan dishes. The Amber Lantern, about a mile and a half away (150-24 Northern Boulevard, 445-9500), is fancier, and the northern Italian cuisine is worth the trip. The specialties are veal and seafood; the pasta is excellent too. The house salad is an opening hit, and bananas Foster, prepared tableside, are just right for last licks.