Acrisure Arena eats: Inside and outside, food options overflow
You're off to Acrisure Arena. You've got your tickets, you've bought some merchandise, you're ready to check out the concert or cheer on the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
There's one more big part of the equation. You've got to eat.
Well, the culinary team at Acrisure Arena, helmed by executive chef David Harvie, has you covered, and it starts before you even step inside the arena.
Outside
The arena will feature food options on the outside of the arena, some of which come with some big names attached.
There will be five modular outdoor options including Big Chicken — a chicken restaurant created by former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal. If you like your chicken sandwich spicy, you'll have to try the Shaqtus (Shaq + cactus). It has jalapenos, pepperjack cheese and a fuego sauce. (The Fuego sauce is not affiliated with the Firebirds mascot of the same name, but I bet he'd like it.)
Giada De Laurentiis of Food Network fame brings her sophisticated pizza joint Pronto to Acrisure. Her spot specializes in "grandma-style" pizza — which is code for square pizza — and using fresh and organic ingredients, fresh sauces, fresh dough, etc. Try the sausage, pepper and onion or the margherita.
Joining Shaq and Giada will be Tanner's Prime Burgers, a Southern California-based burger joint (try the beef tallow fried, french fries), a jumbo hot dog spot called Coco, and Casa Escobar, a legendary street taco purveyor from the Los Angeles area.
While these restaurants are on the outside of Acrisure Arena, you can't just walk up to them. They are available only for ticketed customers.
Inside for everyone
When you step inside the arena, that's where you'll really notice the overall goal of the culinary game plan.
"The guys at OVG (Oak View Group) are very conscious of featuring local, featuring multiple options for fans, including healthy and vegetarian options," said Bill Cheek, the hospitality general manager for OVG and Acrisure Arena. "At the same time featuring a less-waste-is-more policy. The goal is to limit our carbon footprint by 2026 to be carbon neutral. That's a huge ask for an arena or stadium."
That emphasis on the word "local" will be obvious to desert dwellers in the main concourse.
Desert staples like Fisherman's Market & Grill will be selling their fish and chips. CV Barbecue, an Indio-based barbecue joint, will be dishing out tri-tip, smoked pork and mac and cheese. And look for special lemonades from E & E Pels, a Cathedral City-based operation.
You like kettle corn? If you live in the desert, maybe you've had Glady Jimenez's famous kettle corn around town and high school football games or farmer's markets. Acrisure Arena will sell already-bagged kettle corn from Jimenez around the arena, or you can get freshly popped at the arena.
"I don't know how she does it exactly, but it's one of the best kettle corns I've ever had," Harvie said. "It's not going to be a small task to make that much kettle corn, but she's amazing."
Also in the main concourse available to all ticket holders, Harvie and his team will have some portable stations set up serving yummy options like house-made chicken and beef empanadas, as well as a nachos area with beef, chicken and a vegan option.
Club level
If you purchase a club-level ticket, a few more culinary treasures are unlocked. This is where Harvie and the Acrisure team really strut their stuff.
On one side of the arena, they will be selling hand-crafted carved sandwiches, gourmet hot dogs and something called a "sloppy Jane." That's a vegetarian sloppy Joe that has plant-based meat, barley and fresh vegetables. It has the profile of a sloppy Joe, but meets the needs of vegetarians.
"I ate one of these with my eyes closed and I couldn't tell the difference between it and a sloppy Joe, it's pretty remarkable," Cheek said.
On the other end of the arena will be a bowl-based stand as Harvie and his team will feature an Asian bowl concept with hoisin steak, orange plum chicken and lo-mein noodles, as well as a Latin bowl with chicken and Spanish rice and whatever toppings you want.
A vegan ice-cream cart also will be rolling around the club level where the suites are located.
The suites themselves, as you might expect, will have full all-inclusive menus that the Acrisure team will curate, with multiple options that will change throughout the year.
Beverages
There will be bar areas peppered around the arena, but specific sponsors will again add a local touch.
The Indio-based Buzzbox premium cocktails will anchor one area as it fits the arena's stated goals perfectly. Buzzbox offers premium single-serve natural-ingredient-infused cocktails in eco-friendly packaging.
Michelob Ultra and Anheuser Busch are also sponsors as well as Texas-based Garrison Brothers Whiskey, so you will find their products around the grounds. Another drinking and dining option will be The Chairman's Club, which is affiliated with sponsor Spotlight 29.
Harvie is a veteran at arena food. In his career, he's worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the team now known as the Washington Commanders in the NFL and for the NBA's Indiana Pacers. He's happy to add Acrisure Arena, with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, to his list.
"I've done this before, but it's always exciting," Harvie said.
Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Acrisure Arena eats: Inside and outside, food options overflow
