Sundays have never been this GOOD.
That’s because this weekend, the Del Paso Boulevard/Arden Way area will welcome the first day of a new street fair featuring all things local – GOOD: street food + design market.
This modern-day marketplace will blend locally made and grown products, music, street food and high-quality design into a one-stop-shop– with an emphasis on learning, experiencing and having fun!
The fair takes place from 1-5 p.m. at 1409 Del Paso Blvd. every first Sunday of the month from June to November.
Check out GOOD’s promo videos here and here for a sneak peek at this exciting addition to the Sacramento food scene.
What: GOOD: street food + design market
When: Sundays from 1-5 p.m., June 2 through November
Where: 1409 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento
Info: www.facebook.com/GOODstreetfooddesignmarket
Archives for May 2012
This Weekend: Raley’s Grape Escape – Saturday, June 2
The summer months are here, friends, and that means it is time for festivals galore. This weekend brings a Sacramento region classic: the Raley’s Grape Escape.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of this spectacular event, which takes place this Saturday, June 2, from 4- 7 p.m. at Cesar Chavez Park. The Raley’s Grape Escape is open to those 21 and over, and more than 60 wineries from regional counties like Sacramento, Yolo, San Joaquin and Amador will feature 200 different wines. Yes, please!
In addition to sipping a variety of fabulous wines, the food options will be amazing. More than 40 area restaurants and breweries will be on hand to sample, including Red Rabbit, Ruhstaller, Pizza Rock, Mulvaney’s B&L and Restaurant Thir13en.
But the food and wine fun doesn’t stop there. The day will also feature a chef challenge consisting of three of Sacramento’s most praised chefs: Oliver Ridgeway of Grange Restaurant, David English of The Press Bistro & Bar and Carina Lampkin of the newly opened Blackbird Kitchen & Bar.
Head to Cesar Chavez Park this weekend, and check out why Sacramento is a premier destination for divine food and wine! Tickets are $35 at local Raley’s and Bel Air stores, $40 at RaleysGrapeEscape.com and $50 at the door.
Raley’s Grape Escape
Saturday, June 2
Cesar Chavez Park (10th and J)
4-7 p.m
BBQ Throwdown: A Primer for the Rest of Us on Cooking the Best Ribs “Evah”
Nothing says Memorial Day weekend like a good old fashioned barbecue competition. In my neighborhood, our entire block gets together, dusts off our grills and spends all day Sunday concocting competition-worthy ribs. The payoff? The winner gets bragging rights and the honor to host the festivities the following year.
As you can imagine, techniques and sauces vary from one extreme to the other. We had grillers and smokers. We had sauces that ranged from sweet to spicy to savory and in one case a sauce that actually included Monster Energy drink (the eventual rib cook-off winner!).
Every BBQ enthusiast has an opinion on how best to cook ribs. In my household it comes down to four basic components: the rub, the sauce, the smoker and time. We don’t go crazy with custom sauces but find that we get more than satisfactory results by keeping it simple and in some cases, going with store bought. If you adhere to the following basic rules you too will be able to churn out competition-worthy ribs without breaking a sweat.
Rule #1 –It’s All About the Meat
Think of the meat as your canvass with which you create your masterpiece. Would Michelangelo paint a gas station ceiling? I don’t think so. Meat is everything. Our choice cut is St. Louis cut ribs (also known as barbecue cut or Kansas City cut). This cut is essentially a slab of spare ribs without the rib tips. Spare ribs tend to have more meat between the bones than with baby backs and there is more marbling which helps enhance the flavor. Typically you’ll find the bones with spare ribs are straighter and flatter than baby backs. Another bonus, spares are typically cheaper than baby backs. Meat that won’t break the bank? Sold.
Rule # 2 – Rub it In
After you’ve prepped your meat (rinsed and removed the membranes), it’s time for the rub. Here’s a quick pro tip: coat your ribs first with store bought mustard (nothing but the finest French’s for us!). Adding mustard keeps the rub on the ribs, helps prepare the meat to accept the flavors (thanks to the vinegar in the mustard), and makes a nice crust. Don’t worry, the mustard flavor will burn off in the cooking process. Now that you’re ready for the rub, decide which flavor profile you want to impart. We like a little kick to our ribs to balance out the sweetness of the BBQ sauce so we favor Emeril’s Steak Rub (bam!).
Rule #3 – Timing is Everything
To properly cook ribs, plan on taking your time and plan on cooking low and slow. This process cannot be rushed. With a St. Louis cut, allow 5-6 hours at around 225 degrees F. Because we can’t get enough of that gorgeous pink smoke ring, we use our bullet smoker with a digital thermometer (dial thermometers are unreliable). Click here for a handy primer on how to properly set up your smoker.
Rule #4 – Get Saucy
It’s true that smoking ribs leaves some leisure time for a beer or two. In this case, “get saucy” means the actual sauce. The reality is not all of us have the time or interest to make our own hand-crafted BBQ sauce. We use store bought and find it delivers excellent results. Our recent favorite is Jack Daniel’s® Honey Smokehouse. It adds a nice sweet depth and complements the flavors imparted by the hickory chips we use in our smoker. Adding the sauce is really the last step in the process. If you’ve used a smoker up to this point, fire up your grill to get some nice carmelization and seal in the flavor.
The bottom line with ribs is to adhere to these basics and experiment within the confines. What other tips do you have for the ultimate BBQ ribs? Leave them in the comments below.
Sacramento Wine and Dine Week
It’s no secret that the Capital City is home to a robust array of delicious dining options and the upcoming Sacramento Wine & Dine Week is an excellent opportunity to enjoy an old favorite or try a new spot you’ve been dying to get to. The premise is this: from May 30-June 10 a variety of area restaurants will be participating in this event in which diners can indulge in a three-to-four course meal at a fraction of the cost. And did I mention the meals are paired with samples of regional wines? Sign me up!
Think of it as a tour du jour of hot spots from downtown to midtown and throughout the greater Sacramento area. Participating restaurants include: Biba, The Porch, Firehouse, Michelangelo’s, Frank Fat’s, Paragary’s Bar and Oven, Hawk’s Restaurant, The Press Bistro and Ten 22.
Click here for a full list of participating restaurants and to map out your delicious dining options. To get even more of the inside scoop, including mouth-watering photos of some of the featured meals, visit the event Facebook page.
How Green Does Your Garden Grow, Sacramento?
One of my strongest memories involving food is from the vegetable garden my parents used to grow every summer in our backyard. The tomato plants would grow to tree-like proportions, the green beans were practically small shrubs, and the strawberries would peek like ruby gems from underneath their leaves. It was a veritable jungle with edible treasures – at least in my mind’s eye as a kid!
This is my first year planting a vegetable garden in my own backyard. While it is mostly hard work, a lot of experimentation and some mighty big “FAILS,” there is still a feeling of magic and appreciation as you watch the seeds sprout into plants and, ultimately, edibles.
Our first “harvest” – radishes straight from the ground (so good served raw with some butter and sea salt) and some miniature strawberries, eaten as is.
I have made some pretty big mistakes – I over planted the tomatoes (no one really needs eight plants), and I forgot to harvest the micro greens, so they were terribly bitter and the entire garden is going to be over crowded as I was a little ambitious. I am not sure if all of my plants will make it, but thank goodness for the good people at the Green Acres Nursery and the local Sacramento Vegetable Gardening Blog who have been invaluable resources for my little plot of land.
Overwhelmingly, I am gaining a deeper appreciation of where my food is coming from and the hard work it takes to produce it – whether it is from the farmers’ market or from my backyard. I am re-learning that food that comes straight out of the dirt and into your kitchen is incredibly tasty. I am excited to see that vegetable gardening is becoming rather chic, where anyone with a window and a pot can make something grow for their kitchen.
As the growing season continues, I will write frequently on how the garden is growing and what new ways I discover to incorporate my fresh produce into my meals and into summer entertaining. I will also write about individuals here in Sacramento who are growing and incorporating local and seasonal produce in their kitchens – big and small.
I want to know from you – are you backyard gardener? What are you harvesting right now and how are you preparing it? Do you know of Sacramento restaurants or individuals who are doing cool things with local grown food? Drop me a line – I might blog about you too!