With the holidays right around the corner, the SacFoodies will be posting some last-minute food gift ideas this week.
It’s no secret the SacFoodies team loves food – especially Sacramento food. So we were all excited to experience a few local eateries in a new way on a walking tour in the midtown and East Sacramento neighborhoods earlier this month, courtesy of Local Roots Food Tours. So, if you’re looking to give the gift of food to someone (not just foodies), I highly recommend giving one of these tours.
Here are some of the highlights from our tour:
Cafe Bernando
Our first stop was a private tasting at the Capitol Ave. location of this Paragary Restaurant Group property, which included a tasting of the eatery’s creamy, flavorful Orrechiette pasta dish. Not only does Cafe Bernardo use fresh and local ingredients, but the restaurant also makes its own pasta at a nearby bakery. The Orrechiette was outstanding—every bite was filled with the flavors of cauliflower, leeks, pancetta and Parmesan cheese.
Paragary Bakery
This private shop services all of the Paragary-owned restaurants, and the SacFoodies were lucky enough to score a sneak peak of the inside. Of course, the industrial-sized mixers and ovens were not much to see, but what came out of those were some of the tastiest morsels of the day—gingerbread cookies with browned butter cream cheese frosting (simply: WOW).
Cool fact: The bakery makes everything from pizza dough to bread to pastries, and it uses an average of 70 lbs. of butter per day.
Coffee Works and Juno’s Kitchen & Delicatessen
Coffee Works, one of the oldest coffee shops in Sacramento that does its own roasting, provided us with a much-needed caffeine pick-me-up. We were shown how the roasting process works, which was a bit more complex than the Keurig Single Cup Coffee Maker I’m used to.
Juno’s was a quick surprise stop on the tour, and while streetside, we got to try their Israeli Couscous with a side of roasted potatoes.
Both Coffee Works and Juno’s are the kind of neighborhood joints that make the Sacramento food scene so great—these gems are a bit off the beaten path but offer delicious options.
La Trattoria Bohemia
What would a food tour be without beer? At this Czech and Italian restaurant, we were able to enjoy a nice cold pilsner on the side of Margherita pizza and tiramisu. It was a refreshing treat, despite most of us already feeling stuffed to the gills.
Centro Cocina Mexicana
Our final stop concluded with another Paragary-owned restaurant, and by this time, we could barely fit another bite in our mouths. Thankfully, there’s always room for tequila! We ended our fabulous tour with one of Centro’s tequila infusions. As we sipped our fruity tequila (which one SacFoodie insisted tasted just like juice—but with a little extra kick!), we all agreed that the Local Roots Food Tours are a great way to experience a taste of the Sacramento dining scene.
Local Roots Food Tours
(800) 838-3006
www.localrootsfoodtours.com
Erin says
Looks like fun, you guys should come up and try out the Local Roots Food tour in Nevada City!