Walking into what looks like a backyard barn party hosted by Andy Warhol, customers are greeted with the aroma of the pork and chicken pate of a Banh Mi, a traditional Vietnamese sandwich, and dozens of crayon-colored pictures of pigs proudly displayed from floor to ceiling.

Located at the intersection of Truxel Rd. and Arena Blvd. in North Natomas, Pork Belly Grub Shack raises the bar for casual dining. Created from the minds of Buu “Billy” Ngo, owner and executive chef at award-winning downtown Japanese restaurant Kru, and Aimal Formoli, a traditional French-trained chef and owner of Formoli’s Bistro, this swine shrine offers high-end eats for a price that compliments the quality.

The Grub Shack menu contains food items ranging from a deep fried catfish Po’Boy to rice bowls to some of the best pork belly offered in the Sacramento area. Its signature pork belly is braised in-house for a total of four hours and adorns almost everything on the menu, or can be for an additional two dollars.

One of the more popular burgers, named “Notorious P.I.G.”, will make you want to call them “big poppa.” The sandwich consists of a certified Angus beef patty, house-cured strips of bacon, cheddar cheese, lemon pepper aioli and greens nestled between toasted artisan buns.

The Pork Belly Westerner comes with shoestring fries and is just over eight bucks. The Westerner is layered with a toasted baguette covered in lemon pepper aioli and barbecue sauce, two strips of fried bacon, two onion rings, jalapenos and a thick, beyond delicious slice of their signature pork belly. The sweet, salty, crispy outside and creamy, white fat of the pork makes you feel you’ve gone to hog heaven.

This sty is a stone’s throw away from the Sleep Train Arena so when fans are done cheering on our Sacramento Kings, they can pig out at the grub shack.