Everything you’ll want to eat and drink at Chase Center.

Catching the Warriors at Chase Center? Here’s where to eat — and don’t forget the wine.

The pulled pork at Big Nate’s BBQ is cooked for hours over low heat and splashed with a tomatobased barbecue sauce with hints of brown sugar and maple syrup. When tossed onto a hamburger bun with coleslaw, a showstopping sandwich is born — one that almost seems outofplace at a concession stand inside the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center.

Then again, maybe it doesn’t.

What even constitutes stadium food in San Francisco anymore? Is it still hot dogs and nachos or is it steamed Cantonese pork buns and Africaninspired peanut stew?

These are timely questions in 2020 as major sports franchises around the country up the ante when it comes to inhouse dining options. As a result, sports fans have grown up from burgerandbeer folks to foodies, which is why we, as food media, have breathlessly covered the Chase Center dining situation since 2018.

The only question that went unanswered was whether the arena’s food is any good. In pursuit of answers, The Chronicle’s Food Team a Warriors game last month to eat, drink and maybe take in some basketball if there was time between bites (which there was, fortunately). We left the arena knowing where and what every Chase Center customer should eat.

Chase Center is overflowing with local restaurant brands, many of which are familyowned and have roots in San Francisco and Oakland. Warriors fans can enjoy char siu bao (steamed Cantonese pork buns) from Paper Lantern, peanut stew from Old Skool Cafe, fried chicken sandwiches from Bakesale Betty and pecan pie from Yvonne’s Southern Sweets.

Big Nate’s BBQ, the former

Folsom Street barbecue destination from late Basketball Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond, is the only food business in the arena with a direct connection to the team. Thurmond, who played 11 seasons with the Warriors, closed the original Big Nate’s BBQ restaurant in 2011.

Other Chase Center concession areas serve food from San Francisco establishments Tacolicious, Tony’s Pizza, Hot Dog Bills, La Cocina, Sadie’s Deli and La Corneta, as well as Tin Pot in Palo Alto and Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay.

The arena also has fullservice dining options scattered across multiple floors. Several, like the Chase Club, the Chase Center theater boxes, the JP Morgan Club and the courtside suites, have restricted access for specific ticket holders. The only restaurant in the arena that is open to all fans is the Modelo Cantina located at the top of the stadium, where a buffetstyle dinner costs $55 per person.

Cocktail bars and beer stands at Chase Center, from big brands like Hennessy, Jameson, Lagunitas, Avion and Modelo, draw crowds to the arena’s Main Concourse.

It’s important to note that all of the food comes via a partnership with hospitality groups Bon Appetit Management Co. and Levy Restaurants. The original restaurants signed over rights for their recipes and insignia to allow for replication in the Chase Center, and the

spaces are staffed and run by Bon Appetit and Levy. So how did we determine the best Chase Center food options? The methodology was simple. Each member of the food team took into account the price, location and, most importantly, taste.

We also tagged each item with the following subcategories:

Lap-friendly: An underrated aspect of arena food is whether it can actually be eaten at a seat during the game. Only the food we deemed least likely to be a messy undertaking made it to this category.

Family-friendly: Anything we found to be flavorful, not overly complex and capable of pacifying younger children gets this tag.

Cheap eats: Dining at a sporting event isn’t a cheap endeavor, but some delicious items at Chase Center are at least a good value.

Fast order: Time management is important when navigating lines for restrooms and food. These food items are least likely to slow you down.

Remember, this guide is subjective. So, please send us your own votes for the best restaurants and dishes at Chase Center via email to food@sfchronicle.com or on Twitter.

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @JustMrPhillips