{"id":8982,"date":"2026-10-02T01:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T01:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/8982\/"},"modified":"2026-10-02T01:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T01:50:09","slug":"new-sacramento-kings-food-drink-concessions-in-2026-27-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/8982\/","title":{"rendered":"New Sacramento Kings food, drink concessions in 2026-27 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version:<\/p>\n

Rod Cuadra, the new chef serving Golden 1 Center via Legends Hospitality, will introduce new menu items across the arena in 2026-27 season. <\/p>\n

Cuadra worked in Sacramento, including for Legends, before leaving to pursue upscale cooking in the Napa Valley.<\/p>\n

His new items at Golden 1 Center include a chicken parm sandwich, ahi poke nachos and a smoked turkey leg with housemade barbecue sauce.<\/p>\n

Rod Cuadra began working for Legends Hospitality, Golden 1 Center\u2019s concessions arm, before the arena opened in 2016. Ten years later, he\u2019s back \u2014 this time in the lead role, with a menu to flex what he learned.<\/p>\n

Cuadra left Sacramento to helm fine dining kitchens in the Napa Valley, first at Silverado Resort and then aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train. He\u2019ll be cooking decidedly different fare for Sacramento Kings games. But it\u2019s the best concessions Golden 1 Center has seen in years \u2014 perhaps ever.<\/p>\n

Cuadra\u2019s signature items, previewed at a Golden 1 Center media event Thursday, include a chicken parm sandwich (Section 106) cooked to perfection, spread with Bianco DiNapoli tomato sauce and served on a crackly Pugliese roll from Bella Bru Baking Co. Another sandwich uses Mary\u2019s Chicken, cooked on a rotisserie then shredded and placed amid aioli, pickled onions and a creamy slaw on a potato bun (Section 121).<\/p>\n

\"Sandwich\"Golden 1 Center\u2019s rotisserie chicken sandwich features pulled Mary\u2019s Chicken, aioli, pickled onions, coleslaw and a Martin\u2019s potato bun, served with fries on Oct. 1, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe food is no different from going to a restaurant outside. You\u2019re getting a great dining experience here as well,\u201d Cuadra said.<\/p>\n

Ahi poke nachos (Section 112), a 2026 sports bar staple, can be enjoyed on the scene as well, their flavorful fish chunks draped in a sweet soy glaze and avocado crema for scooping with airy wonton chips. <\/p>\n

\"Nachos\"Ahi poke nachos include spicy mayonnaise, avocado crema, sweet soy glaze, jalapeno, furikake and green onions at Golden 1 Center on Oct. 1, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

A cumin-spiced black bean burger (Sections 115 and 216), designed by Paragary Restaurant Group chef and partner Kurt Spataro, with a thin layer of jalape\u00f1o sauce spread across a housemade bun, is as strong a vegan option as you\u2019ll find at a sporting event.<\/p>\n

The \u201cshowstopper,\u201d Legends Hospitality vice president Ryan Golpeo said, is a cherrywood-smoked turkey leg (Section 112), its skin crackling beyond a toothsome balance of muscle and fat from R&G Family Farms in Lodi. Served with kettle chips and a peppery house barbecue sauce, it\u2019s best enjoyed with a little elbow room.<\/p>\n

\"turkeyGolden 1 Center\u2019s smoked turkey leg, served with housemade barbecue sauce and kettle chips. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

Since opening, Golden 1 Center has prided itself on sourcing 90% of ingredients from within 150 miles of the arena. This season, that means fish and chips made with rockfish caught off the coast of Fort Bragg (190 miles, but who\u2019s counting), sprinkled with malt vinegar salt crumbles and served with crispy, crinkle-cut fries.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo us, it makes sense to do a fish and chips at a sporting venue. Everybody\u2019s looking for fried food. Everybody\u2019s looking for a beer to go in-hand. And also, we have the ability to get really fresh seafood out here, so it all makes sense,\u201d Cuadra said.<\/p>\n

There are a few new dessert additions as well. A toothaching trifle made with purple buttercream and confetti cake will be sold near Sections 108 and 219, while milk chocolate \u201cKings Bark\u201d loaded with marshmallows, M&Ms, pretzels and popcorn will be available by Section 112. Espresso chocolate cookies, available in lounges and at special events, are a lovely wash of tempered sweetness over the tongue.<\/p>\n

The Kings host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday for their first preseason game of the 2026-27 season, with the regular season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 23. Whatever the team\u2019s performance, the kitchen is already off to a strong start.<\/p>\n

\u201cSacramento\u2019s fun, and the food scene is amazing,\u201d Cuadra said. \u201cWe\u2019re blessed to have great farms around us, and just doing it this scale, it\u2019s fun to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cookie\"The espresso chocolate cookie, a new dessert item this year, was revealed at Golden 1 Center on Oct. 1, 2026. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version: Rod Cuadra, the new chef serving Golden 1 Center via Legends Hospitality, will introduce new menu items across the arena in 2026-27 season. Cuadra worked in Sacramento, including for Legends, before leaving to pursue upscale cooking in the Napa Valley. His new items at Golden 1 Center include a chicken parm sandwich,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-8982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chefs","tag-chef"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117368810530442097","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/chefs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}