After 16 season of playoff-less futility, the Sacramento Kings are shockingly winners this season. As the NBA All-Star break concluded and second-half action kicked off Thursday, the city’s lovable losers sit third in the Western Conference at 32-25.

De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis made the All-Star Game, but this year’s fan favorite is ... the Beam. The purple laser shooting out of Golden 1 Center marks every Kings victory with a beacon piercing downtown Sacramento’s night sky.

The Beam has become the unofficial mascot of the Kings’ resurgent season, and several area bars have hopped on board. Beam-themed cocktails and beers have popped up at watering holes around the Sacramento region, particularly near the arena.

Tiger Restaurant & Lounge plans to host a Beam Cocktail competition around the start of the playoffs in April, co-owner Ryan Royster wrote in a text message. For now, the downtown hotspot is one of many places to celebrate a Kings win with like-minded fans.

Bambi Vegan Tacos (1725 I St., Sacramento): This plant-based restaurant also has fun cocktails such as The Beam, made with Gordon’s Gin, elderflower liqueur, butterfly pea tea lemon and Chandon sparkling wine and priced at $12.

Bike Dog Brewing (2568 Industrial Blvd., Suite 110, West Sacramento and 915 Broadway, Suite 200, Sacramento): Cans of “Beam Team,” a 7.5% West Coast IPA made with Nelson Sauvin and Eukanot Cryo hops, illustrate The Beam launching out of Golden 1 Center when stacked vertically.

Fizz Champagne & Bubbles Bar (615 David J Stern Walk, Suite 105, Sacramento): Gin, sparkling wine, lemon juice and simple syrup are turned purple in front of the customer by the addition of housemade pea flower tea.

Flatland Brewing (9183 Survey Road, Suite 104, Elk Grove): “It Was All A Beam” is a 6.9% IPA made from Mosaic hops, with flavors and aromas of blueberries, guava, papaya and other fruits.

Kick’N Mule Restaurant & Sports Bar (2901 W. Capitol Ave., West Sacramento): Ask for the Beam at this West Sacramento sports bar, and you’ll end up with an $8 blueberry margarita comprised of well tequila, agave syrup, triple sec, fresh muddled blueberries, lime juice and purple edible glitter.

Malt & Mash (715 K St., Sacramento): This arena-adjacent Irish pub’s Beam variation includes Roe & Co Irish whiskey, peach liqueur, lemon and sugar, chilled and served in a four-ounce shot glass after every Kings win.

MidiCi Neapolitan Pizza (728 K St., Sacramento): This downtown pizzeria’s Beam-based cocktail, made from Empress 1908 Gin, Cointreau, lime juice and simple syrup, is discounted to $9 on Kings’ game days.

Moksa Brewing (5860 Pacific St., Rocklin): Moksa’s “Light the Beam” hazy double IPA debuted in December, an 8.2% beer made with Citra, Nelson Sauvin and Galaxy hops.

Tiger Restaurant & Lounge (722 K St, Sacramento): Made with Branson Cognac V.S. Phantom, lime juice, simple syrup, soda water, butterfly pea powder and edible glitter, Tiger’s Beam cocktail has an extra Kings twist. Branson Cognac, owned by 50 Cent, was introduced this season as an official partner of the team and is served at Golden 1 Center.

What I’m Eating

Basha Taste of Jerusalem is a bit of an oasis on a relatively industrial stretch of Fulton Avenue. Murals of olive trees and the Temple Mount (a holy site for Christians, Jews and Muslims) graces the back wall behind cerulean chairs as camel figurines and swords watch over the dining room.

“Taste of Jerusalem” is diplomatic phrasing because, to be clear, Mohammad Abboushi’s Arden Arcade eatery is a Palestinian restaurant. Dinner entrees such as maqluba (a tower of chicken, rice and vegetables flipped upside-down) and qalayet bandora (seasoned chicken or beef sauteed with tomatoes, onions and peppers, anglicized on the menu “kalaya”) come from that territory and are scarcely found around Sacramento-area restaurants.

This halal restaurant has simpler Palestinian items as well, such as the bright pink beet/tahini dip mutabbal shamandar ($9) with complementary pita. A pleasantly bitter starter with taste more muted than it looks, its eggplant-forward cousin mutabbal batinjan is also available for the same price.

I really enjoyed the complex flavors behind Basha’s molokhia ($6 for a cup, $9 for a bowl or $24 for a family-style dinner entree). An oily green chicken stew made from jute mallow leaves, it was a little tangy, a bit rich, almost fishy despite the abscence of any seafood — the kind of flavor that grabs you and makes you say “oh wow.”

The lunch menu is more fusionized than dinner, as evidenced by kofta burgers and sumac-dusted fries. The Basha pizza ($15, add chicken or beef shawarma for an additional $3) was homey if simple, a chewy medium-thick crust layered with tasty mozzarella and sprinkled with za’atar.

Info

Address: 1833 Fulton Ave., Sacramento.

Hours: 2-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

Phone number: (916) 486-1944.

Website: https://bashasacramento.com

Drinks: Sodas, coffee drinks and Laziza, a nonalcoholic sparkling malt beverage.

Animal-free options: A few, including vegetable skewers and falafel wraps.

Noise level: Quiet.

Openings & Closings

• Dave’s Hot Chicken will open its newest area location Friday at 8810 Madison Ave. in Fair Oaks’ Madison Marketplace, joining an existing restaurant in Arden Arcade and one in Folsom. The fried chicken chain has grown rapidly since gaining the investments of celebrities such as Drake, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Strahan.
  
  
• Song Pa Korean Restaurant appears to have closed in Mather’s Bradville Square Shopping Center. The buzzy spot known for its yukgaejang (spicy beef soup) opened in July 2020 and was named one of The Sacramento Bee’s top restaurants to open during the pandemic.
• Station 38 Coffee will close for good Saturday, the East Sacramento cafe announced via Instagram on Tuesday. Minnie Nguyen and Trinh Le opened the sister concept to Station 16 and Firehouse Crawfish in April 2018.