By Jessica Gunn
California State Fair
Celebrate the California State Fair’s 164th anniversary with a ton of foodie fun. The fair has FREE (yes, you read that right…free) samples of honey from Sola Bee Farms, cheese tastings from Point Reyes Farmstead, cornbread and bbq sauce from Burgess Brothers and ice cream samples from Gunther’s Ice Cream. The CA State Fair has everything your fair-going heart could desire, including the highly-anticipated wiener dog races. End your State Fair experience with a cooking demo from official fair chef, Keith Breedlove. He will be showcasing all the best farm-to-fork ingredients available. Nothing says summer like the State Fair!
July 14-20, 2017
1600 Exposition Blvd Sacramento, CA, 95815
Tickets are $10.00 for adults and $6.00 for children if you purchase in advance.
Off the Grid @ The Barn
Do food trucks, live music, interactive art and dancing pique your interest? If so, you should head over to West Sac for this week’s Off the Grid at The Barn, where food trucks from Sacramento and San Francisco gather to share their delicious bites. This Saturday, the Drake’s Brewing Co. crew will be in attendance to host an interactive beer brewing (and tasting) experience. This event is held every Saturday through the end of August, so you have plenty of time to get your foodie groove on!
July 15, 2017
5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
The Barn 985 Riverfront St.
West Sacramento, CA, 95691
More information here.
Rio Linda Farmers Market
Get out of the city and take a drive into the country for Rio Linda Farmers Market. They have everything foodies need to make fresh & healthy meals for the week. This week’s market features berries, cage-free eggs, local honey, and fresh Central Valley tomatoes from local vendors. Don’t forget to stop by the High 5 Homemade Pet Treats booth for healthy treats for your 4-legged friends. Fresh country air and fresh produce? Sounds good to us!
Every Saturday through September 30, 2017 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Dry Creek Ranch House 6852 Dry Creek Rd Rio Linda, CA 95673
More information here.
Soil Born Farms – Field Days
Experience a day in the life of a farmer with Field Days at Soil Born Farms. Help the farm staff weed, harvest, and care for their fruit and vegetable farm. Pre-registration is necessary to participate. If farming isn’t your style, hang out and listen to music from Millington Strings, taste pastries from Magpie Cafe, or experience a veggie centric cooking demo. Before you leave, don’t forget to purchase some of the fresh produce you helped harvest! Working hard has never tasted so good.
Every Saturday through November 18, 2017 8:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
2140 Chase Drive Drive Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
More information here.
Midtown Farmers Market
For those who want to stay a little closer to home, stroll on over to the weekly Midtown Farmers Market. Venders flock to midtown every Saturday morning to show off the best of the best products from California, including Dragon Gourmet Mushrooms, Wheel Lemonade, and The Pasta Queen. The Midtown Farmers Market is the ideal place to shop, gather as a community, and explore the neighborhood.
Saturdays all year 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
20th St between J and L streets Midtown Sacramento, CA 95816
More information here.
Sacramento Cocktail Week 2016
by Brandon Smith
Bathrobe-clad bartenders, a hole-in-one, rum punch, Caribbean jerk chicken, a race against time and brandied cherries. What do all these things have in common? You probably experienced at least one of these things if you attended a Sacramento Cocktail Week event.
As we previously mentioned, Sacramento Cocktail Week is a week-long celebration uniting local bartenders, fine spirits, fresh products and artisan cocktails. Restaurants, bars, bartenders and patrons from around the greater Sacramento area came together to create, celebrate and of course, drink cocktails.
I jumped at the chance to be a part of the action. I had been looking for an excuse to get out and experience more of the incredible bar and craft cocktail scene in Sacramento and cocktail week seemed like the perfect opportunity. I made it a goal to attend at least five Sacramento Cocktail Week events to make the most out of the experience.
Day 1: The Dude Imbibes at Bottle & Barlow
Cocktail week kicked off on Sunday with its first featured event, The Dude Imbibes. The event featured a number of cocktails and food inspired by the Coen Brothers cult classic, The Big Lebowski. White Russians and Sioux City Sarsaparillas (yeah…that’s a good one) were being poured up by two bartenders dressed as The Dude and Walter Sobchak. The Wandering Chef was serving up bowling alley themed classics like bacon burgers, specialty hot dogs and nachos with scratch made cheddar beer sauce. Everything was well thought out and played off the Lebowski theme. If you’ve never seem the film, you’ll just have to take my word for it, man.
Check out the full beverage menu below!
Day 2: Tavern on the Green at Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co.
Hook & Ladder hosted the second featured event of the week, The Tavern on the Green. Fellow SacFoodie Harrison and I decided to check this one out after leaving the office Monday afternoon.
[Read more…]
Wordless Wednesday: Magpie Café
The Natural Pulled Pork Sandwich, a Winter Squash Panini and the Duck Confit Salad at Magpie, one of my favorite restaurants in Sacramento.
Magpie Café
1409 R Street
Sacramento, CA
(916) 452-7594
Magpie Café
Last week I visited one of my favorite restaurants in Sacramento, Magpie Café, for a quick alfresco dinner on a warm summer evening – my favorite kind of dining! My dining companions and I knew immediately that we would be ordering one of the appetizer specials: the Crispy Pork Belly with Black Mission Figs sounded to-die-for, and it was! Drizzled with a coriander infused honey and topped with pickled onions and frisee, we hit a home run with this appetizer.
I also elected for another seasonal special for my main course: the Heirloom Tomato Pappardelle. I can never pass up Heirloom Tomato anything during the summer and this special was worth it – it was a “clean plate club” kind of dish, that’s for sure. The housemade pappardelle noodles were served with local heirloom tomatoes, house cured pork, aged jack cheese, olive oil, chili and micro basil. I loved the unique flavor that the jack cheese added to the dish, especially because it’s not typically a cheese used to top a pasta dish.
Another great meal at Magpie Café! I’m looking forward to visiting their new location at 16th & P this fall.
Magpie Café
1409 R Street
Sacramento, CA
(916) 452-7594
Wordless Wednesday: Brunch… It’s kind of my thing.
By: Tricia Juanitas
Where:
Magpie Café
1409 R Street, Suite 102
Sacramento, CA 95811
What:
Magpie Breakfast Plate