Sweet Bird @ The Golden 1 Center

I'm heading up to the second floor of the Golden 1 Center to give Sweet Bird a try! It's a concession stand that features not only delicious fried chicken options, there are sweets to be had here as well. I gave both a try on my visit upstairs during the last Kings game.

Food -
I'm starting to find out that the places at the Golden 1 Center are BIG into tots. Now that I think about it... is there any place that I can get some actual fries here? All the places have had tots... I'm going to have to do some sleuthing the next time out.

Anyways, I ordered a chicken biscuit, but I think things got mixed up and I ended up with a chicken fingers and tots basket. No biggie. This was an excellent filling meal to get at a game. The chicken fingers were hearty and well breaded. I got my choice of sauce to dip them in. I went with BBQ sauce. The BBQ sauce at the Golden 1 Center has been great every time I've had it so that was my natural choice. The chicken fingers came with tots so I got a big mess of ketchup and went at it. It was delicious.

There are a number of desserts to purchase at Sweet Bird, but I chose to go with the churro fries because they sounded very unique and enticing. Well... as it turns out these 'fries' are just what a longer churro cut up into smaller pieces would be. These do have a more french fry consistency though as they are softer and less crunchy than many other churros I had. I personally prefer crunchy churros but this was by no means bad. I especially enjoyed the churro fries with the two dips they gave me. I had my choice of chocolate or caramel. OMG the caramel was soooooo great! I even ended up dipping some chicken fingers into it. That was a good life choice.

Service/Atmosphere - 
Ordering on the second level of Golden 1 is a bit different than the lower level. At Sweet Bird, there aren't roped off lines to form, but the area in front of the stand is large enough that ropes aren't needed. I got to the stand well before the game and had many open cashiers to visit.

Price -
Sweet Bird is your typical concession stand and so are the prices. Things aren't cheap at the Golden 1 Center, but there are certainly more expensive places to go than Sweet Bird.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
Chicken fingers and tots is probably one of the easiest and least messy things you can get to watch the game at your seat. If you're looking for ease at the game, this item may be your best bet!

Bottom Line - 
Sweet Bird brings a mix of sweet and savory to the Golden 1 Center experience. Though chicken fingers may seem like a plain item, its ability to fill you up and be very delicious makes it a winner. If you wanna pony up a bit more money, get a nice sweet finisher at this very same place.

Letter Grade

A-

Go to the upper concourse to find Sweet Bird.

Check out those churro fries right there!

Chicken tenders with tots.

Porchetta House Rotisserie @ The Golden 1 Center

You might expect to have some chicken tenders at a sports game... but legit bbq chicken? That's what Porchetta House Rotisserie serves up as its main food attraction. They also offer a loaded tots dish that is absolutely phenomenal. You can't go wrong with the food from this great concession stand!

Food -
The main item here at Porchetta is the chicken. It comes with a breast, wing, and thigh. The pieces are a generous size and are smothered in this savory sauce with just a little bit of a kick to it. The chicken comes skin on and packed with juicy flavor. In fact, the chicken was surprisingly juicy - not something that I would expect at an arena - that's for sure. The dish you must eat with a knife and fork otherwise you're going to end up with a huge mess on your hands.

Though the chicken was excellent, I was really surprised by the potatoes that it comes with. They look like big fat steak fries. They have a nice light seasoning on the outside and pillowy soft potato on the inside. Dip these in just a little bit of ketchup and you've got a winner right here. This may be a side item, but it nearly steals the show!

Another show stealer is their tot dish. It comes loaded to the max with delicious ingredients, but the main one is the pork. There are chunks of pork and pork skin with the tots. It's a combination that I'd never thought I'd have! The pork really makes the entire plate pop with extreme amounts of flavor. My only complaint about this dish is that some of the pork can be quite hard... so watch your teeth for those of you who are sensitive!

Service/Atmosphere - 
As with all the other concession stands at the Golden 1 Center, this one does of good job of getting people through the line. If you're in a hurry, get the chicken as it is easier to put together than the tots.

Price -
The price is the only part of Porchetta that stings a bit. The chicken will cost you a hefty $20 for the dish. That's a pretty big chunk of change... and that's not even with a drink yet. The loaded tots isn't as much but it's closing in on that $20 mark. Be prepared for the high costs here. Porchetta may be one of the higher priced concession stands at Golden 1.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
If you have Apple Pay, you can find a special line that is usually not very long to get into rather than the full line. As the game was beginning, the line at Porchetta was looking pretty long. I saw the Apple Pay line with just two people in it. Score!

Bottom Line - 
Porchetta House Rotisserie is a slam dunk when it comes to the quality of food. It's one of my favorite places to eat whenever I go to the Golden 1 Center. Just watch out for the price as you may get sticker shock!

Letter Grade

A-

This is a LOADED tot dish!

Porchetta House Rotisserie is easy to find inside the Golden 1 Center.

High quality food here for sure.

Getting these two together will cost you a pretty penny.

This tot item is excellent - maybe too crunchy at times.

These star of the entire place might be these potatoes!

Big Cheese Dog House @ The Golden 1 Center

Anyone here a fan of cheese? I know I am! Well, if you love cheese then Big Cheese Dog House at the Golden 1 Center might just be the ticket to a delicious meal while enjoying a basketball game. The items here feature cheese as their star attraction. This location on the concourse also features a large amount of sweet desserts to satisfy anyone looking to finish off their savory meal. 

Food -
Pulled pork grilled cheese sandwiches (or the regular variety), hotdogs, and nachos... these are the main items of interest at Big Cheese Dog House. All of these items feature cheese and, if you like, chili as well. On my visit to Big Cheese I chose to try their standard grilled cheese sandwich and a chili cheese hotdog.

The grilled cheese sandwich was pretty well made. I make a pretty mean grilled cheese sandwich, so it's hard to impress me. More often than not I've found myself disappointed in the grilled cheese creations at places I've visited. Thankfully, the one at Big Cheese is pretty simple - and that's what makes it good. The bread is nice and buttery crisp and there is a decent amount of cheese inside it. That's really all you need! I was surprised to find out that you get a side of deliciously seasoned chips to go along with the sandwich. It was a nice addition!

The chili cheese hotdog was very difficult to eat because it was extremely messy. There was so much chili and cheese in it that I couldn't even find the wiener! It almost like a man-which type sandwich at first. This item packed a ton of flavor, but it was just too difficult for met to handle. At a game, I'd have to bring back tons of napkins back to my seat in order to feel like I could get cleaned up after eating it.

I didn't get a chance to try the desserts, but it was surprising how many different varieties there were. They had cakes, tiramisu, and tarts all available. It was actually quite a stunning amount of sweets to choose from. For a place that serves up carnival-like foods, these refined desserts ready for consumption were quite surprising.

Service/Atmosphere - 
Like most of the large concession stands at Golden 1 Center, Big Cheese is easy to navigate with many cashiers ready to take your order. The set-up is modern and looks good. The menus on the screens are bright so you can easily figure out what you'd like to order.

Price -
The grilled cheese sandwich and chips at $8 was a very nice deal I thought. This is something I'd definitely get again. The big messy hotdog I got was $9. Overall, I think the prices here are just a smidge lower than the other places around the arena.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
If you're going to go for the chili cheese stuff, make sure you get plenty of napkins and a fork/knife combination. Don't use your hands! It's a huge mess and you'll thank me for this suggestion later!

Bottom Line - 
The food here at Big Cheese may be the best value for your money at Golden 1 Center. The taste is there but things can get out of hand if you're not careful handling your meal!

Letter Grade

B+

Getting ready for some cheesy goodness.

Where is the wiener? It's buried under all that meat and cheese.

Stretchy cheese in my grilled cheese sandwich.

The name really says it all.

Selland's @ The Golden 1 Center

Arco Arena featured Pizza Guys pizza slices when it was open and operating. They definitely did the job, but now that Sacramento has the Golden 1 Center, the pizza selection's bar has been raised. Selland's is one of the places you can go to find a slice of pizza pie. They are located on the main concourse at Golden 1 Center and should be very easy to find.

Food -
Selland's offers up two types of pizza slices - pepperoni or margherita. As a big meat fan, I opted for the pepperoni, but it's nice that there is a vegetarian option in the margherita slice that isn't just plain cheese. And guess what? They have a gluten free crust option as well! So plenty of nice options for all types of eaters here at this concession stand.

The slices here at Selland's are of the thin variety. The slice is very thin and very flat. The crust of the pizza has a crunchy texture to it. If you're a fan of thin crust pizzas, this may be the pizza slice for you! The pepperoni on my slice had a nice salty flavor. The edges of the pepperoni slightly edge upward - a popular version of pepperoni nowadays. Overall the slice is excellent tasting - especially if you get a really fresh one. Perhaps because of the thinness, but slices that have been out for a while can have cheese that gets a bit hard.

If you want to feed the entire family, whole pizzas are available. And if you're into a salad, they also have that on the menu. I have yet to try the salad, so I'll be sure to put that on a future order of mine!

Service/Atmosphere - 
The concession stands at Golden 1 Center are very modern. They large ones like Selland's look more like something you'd find at a mall rather than those housed within the walls of the concourse at an older stadium. Because the main concourse level at Golden 1 Center is pretty large, there is a lot of room to line up and wait for a cashier. Thankfully, I've never had to wait too long to order. There are also ample cashiers to help expedite food service.

Price -
Slices of pizza at Selland's are $10 each. If you'd like an entire pizza pie, it's $50. That's certainly a lot of money for pizza, but again, you'll always pay a premium at arenas such as these. If you'd like the salad option, it'll be $12.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
I definitely suggest eating this slice of pizza right away! When I filmed my video for this review, I left my slice sitting around for a while and the cheese lost its nice gooeyness. Sad day!

Bottom Line - 
If you're in the mood for pizza at a Kings game, Selland's is a good option - especially if you're into thin slices. Sure, it's a bit expensive, but it is on par with other items found at the Golden 1 Center.

Letter Grade

B+

Who's ready for some pizza?

You'll find Selland's on the plaza level of Golden 1 Center.

Check out the thinness of this slice of pizza!

El Jefe @ The Golden 1 Center

If you think about your typical arena nachos, the chips and the goopy cheese come to mind. Well... that's all in the past! If you're in the mood for nachos, prepared for them to be loaded with fresh and tasty ingredients that would give any Mexican restaurant a run for its money! El Jefe in the Golden 1 Center has an absolutely killer nacho entree. Go and get it!

Food -
At El Jefe, you can get Mexi-dogs, burritos, and nachos. For me, nachos is one of the best things you can get while watching sports. It comes in a convenient container, the chips are nice and crunchy, and you can get a variety of flavors mixed together depending on how you load up your chip. It's really a great choice if I do say so myself.

If you decided to go for the nachos at El Jefe, you can see exactly what they are putting into them as they create your entree. I was happy to see that they don't skimp when it comes to piling on the ingredients. The nachos are probably good enough for 2 to share, 3 if it's just going to be a little snack.

The nachos are really delicious. The star of it all is the meat that you choose. I chose to go with carnitas in my nachos... and I feel like I made a good life choice. The carnitas were very flavorful and tender. They worked extremely well with the cheese, sour cream, and guac. If you want to get some heat in your dish, make sure you add in some jalapenos as well!

Service/Atmosphere - 
I've really only had good experiences with the cashiers at the Golden 1 Center so far. They have been very engaging and positive whenever I've seen them. Sometimes it can be confusing where to go to start your order, but the fine folks behind the counter are great at directing you to where you need to be!

El Jefe is found in the upper concourse of Golden 1 Center - opposite of where the Sierra Nevada bar is. It's part of a larger eating area where you'll find plenty of space to walk around and find table to eat at if you don't want to get back to your seat right away.

Price -
As large as this nacho entree is, the price is quite large as well. You'll be paying around $15 for this tasty dish. As value goes, it's about the average price you're going to pay when eating at the arena. Unfortunately, prices are just going to be higher here.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
If you are not into heat, I'd advise you to just skip the jalapenos. The jalapenos at El Jefe are quite spicy and may catch you off guard if you're expecting something that doesn't have much of a bite.

Bottom Line - 
The nachos at El Jefe are an excellent choice if you want something to munch on while watching the Sacramento Kings play. It'll cost you about $15, but at least this meal will last a bit longer than some of the other options that cost the same amount.

Letter Grade

B+

Up close and personal with the nachos.

This may just be worth the price.

Star Ginger @ The Golden 1 Center

Going to a sporting event at an arena meant that your food items would be limited to choices like nachos, pizza, and hotdogs. Nowadays, areas try to outdo each other by having the best food options available. Today I'm reviewing Star Ginger inside the Golden 1 Center. It's definitely not the type of food you'd immediately think of when watching some basketball!

Food -
Star Ginger offers up rice bowls with an Asian flare. These rice bowls are filled with rice (of course!), a protein, and a good helping of various vegetables. It's certainly a cleaner and healthier option than a loaded helmet full of nachos and cheese!

You can pick from three varieties of bowls - chicken, beef, or tofu. In my opinion all three are good choices if you'd like a nice meal during the game. Load up the bowl with purple cabbage, edamame, pickled carrots alongside your protein and you're good to go! The sauce for bowl goes on the side so you can choose just how much of it you'd like on your food.

As a primarily Asian taste experience, the flavors will be savory, but also sweet and tangy as well. Folks who are used to Asian tastes will find a lot of familiarity here. For those not accustomed to Asian flavors, get ready for a different way of experiencing food.

The bowl is easy to carry around back to your seat or to bring to a table to eat on the concourse. It's compact and perfect as something that won't make a big mess.

Service/Atmosphere - 
The cashiers at the Golden 1 Center are friendly and will help and direct you on where you need to go. When coming to Star Ginger, you have to go to the bowl creating station before you pay. The friendly workers there let me know exactly what I needed to do to get my food.

The Golden 1 Center seats can be quite crowded. Having a bowl to eat out of is really nice as it keeps your hands clean. Overall this is a great way to eat at the arena.

Price -
Arena pricing is no joke and bowls like this are upwards of $15. That is quite steep in comparison to something you could find at a regular restaurant in town, but keep in mind this is a sporting arena and food prices will be elevated. It's definitely not ideal, but it's just kinda the way it is.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
If you're a vegetarian, getting the tofu bowl is a perfect option for you. There are so many meat options around the arena, it's nice that you can find alternative dishes at places like Star Ginger.

Bottom Line - 
The prices are steep, but having a choice like fresh rice bowls at the arena is great. A few years ago you'd never think that this kind of food would be readily available while watching your favorite team. The future is here!

Letter Grade

B

Enjoying my bowl at a table on the concourse.

I have one lone bean on my chicken. Now that you see it, you can't unsee it.

Absolutely NO MEAT in these Burgers from The Burger Patch

Watching sports at the arena or ballpark used to mean having very few food options. Usually it was hotdogs and french fries with maybe some bbq if you were lucky (and willing to fork out a substantial amount of money). The Golden 1 Center is an area that has a huge selection of different foods, including these meatless burgers from the Burger Patch.

Food -
The Burger Patch offers meatless burgers and sausages. Today I had the opportunity to give the burger a try. The burger comes with the choice of either a single patty or a double patty. The person working at the front recommended that I get all the toppings on it - I was hesitant to get everything, because I wasn't really wanting onions, but I went with it anyways for the full experience.

The burger is medium sized - mostly because of the fluffy bun. Like some recent burgers I've had, it felt like just a bit too much bun. The patty to bun ratio was just off and there was just a little too much bread for my liking. Taken as a whole, the burger tasted pretty much like a burger, but that's because all the toppings like cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and sauce (like a 1000 island concoction) made it feel that way. The patty actually got a bit lost for me in the mix - and maybe that was the point? I just didn't get much of the full beef flavor I would want in a burger. I'd be very curious to what the patty tasted like by itself without any other masking agents.

All in all the burger was just fine and totally acceptable as a burger. Because the bun was a bit on the bigger side, the burger filled me up. Also filling were the chips that came on the side. Actually, these chips were rally good. They had tremendous crunch and were satisfying to eat. It was a nice side with the burger, but it would have been nice to have fries as an option.

I'm curious as to what the meatless sausage is like. That's something I'm going to have to give a try the next time I get the chance.

Service/Atmosphere - 
I found the ordering system at the concession stand to be a little clunky. There weren't many people in line and to order I had to make a 'pre-order' before heading to the register. This method of ordering confused some of the people wanting to get food so they actually left to go to a different place! I suppose that this system was put in place to get the orders going when the line is long, but for a short line it made the entire process of ordering confusing and tedious.

Being on the concourse of an arena can be hectic, so be prepared for that when coming to this concession stand. The Burger Patch is one of the smaller stands, so it can be easy to miss if you're not looking for it.

Price -
Being at an arena automatically means prices will be higher than they should be. My burger and chip combo was twelve dollars. A double patty burger was sixteen. This is definitely a lot more than you would expect to pay for the amount of food you get - but sadly on par with arena pricing.

Special Tips and Recommendations -
My biggest recommendation would be to make sure to get all the condiments on the burger. I feel that without them, you're taste experience will be much more bland than you'd want it to be.

Bottom Line - 
It's pretty awesome that people have the option to get a meatless burger or hot dog at the Golden 1 Center. It's probably not for everybody, but I'm a fan of the fact that there are so many choices to eat at this arena.

Letter Grade

B-

The 'burger' comes with a big handful of chips!

A nice alternative for those who don't want to have meat at the game.