The following is from City of Treats, a food and drink newsletter by Abridged Senior Food Editor Benjy Egel. Want it sent directly to your inbox? Sign up here.
For most of the next six months, thousands of fans will descend on Sutter Health Park each day to watch the Athletics and Sacramento River Cats in action. And while the players chew gum, spit sunflower seeds and chow down on dugout bananas, those in the audience shouldn’t go hungry, either.
The A’s first season in West Sacramento brought a bit of culinary disillusionment last year. Sutter Health Park isn’t immediately surrounded by a bevy of restaurants and bars, as at Golden 1 Center, and there weren’t many food upgrades inside the stadium (though the French dip sandwich and pulled pork sliders became my go-tos).
It felt like people needed help finding places for decent pregame eats. So I spent weeks dining at restaurants within a 15-minute walk of the ballpark, both in Sacramento and West Sacramento, to author a guide on where to feast prior to the first pitch. Then on Friday morning, chief visual journalist Martin Christian and I scoped out the new concessions inside Sutter Health Park’s gates, including a fried chicken sandwich, jackfruit tacos and rotating pizza toppings.
There’s lots more to tease the tongue in this City of Treats edition, including homemade buffalo chicken dip, a bright spring recipe from Cooking In Season writer Zoe Barrie and a Rancho Cordova brewery’s 1990s celebration. Play ball!
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Benjy’s Bites
Bali Kitchen | 1100 Front St., Suite 150, Sacramento | 916-446-4008
Bali Kitchen’s rendang. (Benjy Egel)
Of all the places I tried for my pregame eats story, there was none like Bali Kitchen, the Sacramento region’s lone Indonesian restaurant. Owned and operated (often solely) by Indonesia native Tessa Scaief, it’s been a fixture on the Old Sacramento waterfront since 1998, known as Indo Cafe for many of those years. The covered wooden patio is preferable to the cramped interior, so be sure to visit on a day when you’ll want to sit outside and grab one of Bali Kitchen’s icy dessert drinks.
Indonesian food shares some characteristics with Malaysian and Thai cuisines, but has dishes that are solely its own. Take nasi goreng ($17), fried rice soaked in sweet soy sauce with garlic, vegetables and the customer’s choice of protein. Rendang ($20) is a must-try, a dry beef curry served in a lettuce leaf that pops with makrut lime and lemongrass before giving way to a fiery back end. And since the best way to eat durian is to let someone else prepare it, end your meal with durian sticky rice ($15). The warm, fleshy fruit lacks its notorious odor in this preparation, and lands somewhere between mango and jackfruit in taste and texture.
Egel’s Nest
I live, play and cook in this community just like you. This recurring section is a window into my life outside of restaurants and bars, always with a food and/or drink angle.
Buffalo chicken dip. (Benjy Egel)
I spent much of the weekend being fed by various friends. My childhood pal Leah and her husband Sammy hosted me for a sumac- and lemon-forward Shabbat dinner of the Greek soup avgolemono, creamy hummus, crispy falafel and Persian-inspired cucumber salad on Friday night, before settling in to watch the 1998 Dreamworks classic “The Prince of Egypt.”
On Saturday, I hopped from grilled bratwurst and corn at my friends Zac and Manon’s housewarming party to a skillet of buffalo chicken dip at my bud Tommy’s NCAA men’s basketball Final Four viewing. I chipped in along the way by bringing my mom’s chocolate-and-caramel-covered matzo on Friday, a jar of preserved lemons to the housewarming and, well, nothing more than good cheer to Tommy’s house Saturday.
In the news
Sutter Health Park’s carne asada fries. (Martin Christian)
Former area Marriott hotels chef Robb Henry now runs concessions at Sutter Health Park, the home of the A’s and Sacramento River Cats. He rolled out his new creations during the opening homestand last weekend, including a smash burger, achiote chicken tacos and a riff on In-N-Out Burger’s animal fries.
Balsamic chips at Cap’s Bar & Grill inside Capitol Bowl. (Cameron Clark)
Stadium eats offer more convenience, but there are plenty of worthwhile restaurants within a 15-minute walk of the ballpark, from 53-year-old burger joint to a bowling alley with a real chef in the kitchen. Note: while this list is designed for baseball fans, it also works as a dining guide for West Sacramento and Old Sacramento restaurants near the Sacramento River.
Michael Picker leaves Calvin’s Market with a sandwich on Feb. 26, 2026. (James Smith)
Sometimes, corner stores are just places to conveniently grab odds and ends. Other times, they become true community hubs. James Smith, a member of the Abridged by PBS KVIE Community Reporters program, looked at five Sacramento-area stores that fall into the latter category. One even serves housemade Indian curries.
Snap peas with burrata, basil and lemon zest. (Zoe Barrie)
Zoe Barrie’s celebration of spring continues in her latest recipe for Abridged: snap peas with lemon-basil oil and burrata. It takes about 30 minutes to make and works well as a side dish, or as an easy appetizer if one adds some crusty bread.
Happening this week
Rancho Cordova’s Movement Brewing is throwing it back a few decades with 90s Fest on Saturday at 11151 Trade Center Drive, Suite 104. While the main beer festival is sold out, the brewery open to the public after 2:30 p.m., with retro vibes, live music and newly released beers going into the night.
Ponderosa Cider Co. is celebrating, too. The Auburn cider house at 102 Gum Lane, Suite B will mark three years in business with a bash Saturday afternoon. Look for live music, tie dye and a raffle with free giveaways.
The Pasty Shack is closing after 74 years at 4746 J St. in East Sacramento, its operators announced on social media last Thursday. Customers have until April 24 to stop by for savory Cornish hand pies.
Benjy Egel is the senior food editor at Abridged. Born and raised in the Sacramento region, he has covered its local restaurants and bars since 2018. He also writes and edits Abridged’s weekly food and drink newsletter, City of Treats.