Best steak, brunch and speakeasies in Sacramento? A’s baseball team needs your advice
Plenty of on-field excitement awaits the Athletics’ West Sacramento debut in March. Off the field, though, the 26-man roster, coaches and staff will be the latest Bay Area expats figuring out their new lives in the capital region.
The Sacramento River Cats were founded as the Oakland Athletics’ Triple-A affiliate, but that agreement ended after the 2014 season, meaning many of the current roster’s standouts had never stepped foot in the capital city before a media blitz earlier this week. Others had merely visited for a series or two against the River Cats, leaving little time to explore.
A group of players and manager Mark Kotsay kicked off their Sacramento stay Sunday with dinner at one of the city’s defining farm-to-fork restaurants, Mulvaney’s B&L in midtown. According to MLB.com, they also stopped by the Sandwich Spot, a Sacramento-based chain with 14 regional locations.
Kotsay, outfielders Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday, designated hitter Brent Rooker and starting pitcher JP Sears took in the Kings’ double-overtime win over the Miami Heat on Monday night, then the hitters visited Mariemont Elementary School in Arden Arcade on Tuesday.
Baseball players are known for frequenting steakhouses, where they’re essentially guaranteed an experience that’s upscale, reliable and protein-rich. That’s especially true on the road, but players such as Sears and Bleday will want to try meat caves such as Echo & Rig in downtown Sacramento, Sutter Street Steakhouse in Folsom and longstanding Buckhorn Steakhouse in Winters.
The left-handers also independently asked about Sacramento’s pasta houses — Adamo’s in midtown, Mattone in East Sacramento, Cacio in Greenhaven and several others can fulfill that need — and speakeasies, where they can grab a secluded drink in a dark, low-volume atmosphere.
“I love steak, I love pasta, I love eating both. I could eat steak and pasta every day,” Bleday said. “(And) I love speakeasies. I’m not a big clubber or anything like that, but just (looking for) places to go to when you’re not playing baseball. I think it’s good to — when you have that downtime — make the most of it and just have that separation from your job and just find the life.”
One of America’s wettest cities during Prohibition, Sacramento’s rich history has inspired modern speakeasies such as Trophy Club in Downtown Commons, The Roost in the R Street Corridor and Daniello’s in Roseville, which should sate the players’ steakhouse desires as well.
Rooker is one of the few players who’s previously suited up in West Sacramento, though he said he didn’t get out much when visiting for a six-game series in 2022. The reigning Silver Slugger, who signed a five-year contract extension announced Wednesday, has also developed a reputation as the team’s foremost foodie.
Rooker frequently posts pictures of his favorite breakfast spots on social media, and put out a call on social media for Sacramento-area recommendations earlier this week, along with places for pad thai. The Morning Fork in midtown, Tree House Cafe in West Sacramento and Bacon & Butter in Tahoe Park stood out among the many replies, he said.
A 30-year-old veteran who played for three other MLB teams before joining the A’s in 2023, Rooker’s many moves and road trips have allowed him to eat his way across U.S. cities — New York City and Chicago stood out, of course, but so did Minneapolis. With most games played at night, he often has time in the morning to check out a new breakfast nook — and time to spend with his young family once they move to Sacramento for the regular season.
“My daughter, when she gets out here, will be about three-and-a-half. So parks are big for us right now, playgrounds, walking trails, anything to get out of the house a little bit,” Rooker said. “We have a four-and-a-half-month-old as well, so outdoor activities will be very important for my wife to be able to kill time when I’m on the road or at the field.”
There’s a practical aspect to ballplayers’ brunch obsessions too, said Sears. Players arrive at the ballpark hours before their 7:05 p.m. games, and clubhouse attendants have lunch spreads laid out for them. Post-game meals are provided as well, leaving breakfast or brunch as the only meal players really need to get for themselves.
Sears only takes the field every five games as a starting pitcher, making it easy for his parents to schedule their flights from South Carolina to watch his starts. They might go to brunch together or hit a local golf course on one of his off days. Bleday, meanwhile, said he’s looking forward to chartering a boat for sturgeon fishing in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The 6-foot-3 Butler grew up eating well thanks to his father, whose culinary skills were sharpened while playing professional basketball in France. Butler, who was raised in Atlanta, is looking for Sacramento soul food haunts such as Tori’s Place in Del Paso Heights and Colo’s Southern Cafe in Old North Sacramento, along with Mexican and seafood options.
A’s players endured a strange, uncomfortable season in 2024, the final one in the team’s 57-year tenure in Oakland before temporarily coming to West Sacramento ahead of a move to Las Vegas in 2028 or 2029. The team improved by 19 wins from 2023 to 2024 despite the turbulence, and Butler said players bonded over large group dinners.
In 2025, they might want to hold such meals at downtown restaurants such as Ella Dining Room & Bar, Camden Spit + Larder and Prelude Kitchen & Bar, all of which are used to accommodating high-profile guests in private dining rooms. NBA players and Golden 1 Center-performing artists also frequent Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine for James Beard Award-finalist sushi in East Sacramento and Q1227 in Roseville for high-end, Cali-Southern cooking.
“We all get along,” he said, adding “so we have days where we’ll be like, ‘Hey, team dinner at this spot,’ and everybody, all of us, just go hang out, eat dinner and just enjoy ourselves.”
This story was originally published January 9, 2025 at 7:00 AM.