As foodies, we are always on the lookout for cool new food trends. After lots of research, we’ve compiled our list of the top five 2011 food trends that are already making their Sacramento debuts.
•Food trucks and “pop up restaurants” will be cropping up in cities across the nation. Where to find one in Sacramento? As we mentioned yesterday, you can now find GoGi’s Korean BBQ, a pop-up-style cafe with a to-go window at 15th & L Streets (offering free tacos Jan18-21!), and starting January 31st, Mini Burger Truck (MBT) will be canvassing the city – you’ll be able to track its daily location online and via Twitter. Due to a city ordinance that limits MBT’s ability to stay in one location, the truck will be moving about a block every 30 minutes. MBT will feature a “slider of the month” made with seasonal ingredients and a variety of sides to pick from, such as fresh salads, hand-cut French fries, sweet potato tater tots, crispy onions and fresh chips cut daily. Two of MBT’s recommended burgers are the “Cowtown” (bbq bacon burger with bbq sauce, bacon, crispy onions and pepper jack cheese) and the “Ninja Burger” (burger with Asian coleslaw, pea shoots, a lotus chip and sriracha aioli). A fresh veggie burger with a mushroom-based patty will also be offered. MBT uses local ingredients whenever possible and will be donating a portion of the proceeds from their seasonal slider to a different local charity each month. (Source)
•Food Apps for smartphones will become much more popular and localized in 2011. Raley’s recently launched a phone app that lets you view sale items for all Raley’s Bel Air and Nob Hill Food stores. Simply select your neighborhood store location to browse weekly specials any time, save items to your shopping list and even send the shopping list to someone via email. National phone apps, like Urbanspoon, VegOut and OpenTable are also making it even easier to find local restaurants. Urbanspoon creates a slot machine effect that spins neighborhood, cuisine type, and price to help you find a restaurant, while VegOut helps you find a restaurant with plentiful vegetarian choices, and OpenTable locates restaurant choices using GPS technology, while letting you know if there are tables currently available. (Source)
•Move aside cupcakes, because pies will be the new dessert trend of 2011. Local restaurants are already adding them to their dessert menus: the Waterboy Restaurant currently offers Boston Cream Pie, Capitol Garage boasts Peach Cobbler Pie, and Esquire Grill and Cafeteria 15L both have good old Banana Cream Pies on their dessert menus. And, in East Sacramento, The Real Pie Company uses local ingredients to make both sweet and savory pies you’ll love, such as their Coconut Cream Pie, Jumbleberry Peek-a-Boo Pie, Butterscotch Banana Cream Pie, and Chicken Pot Pie. (Source)
•Restaurants will be making an extra effort to feature seasonal ingredients on their menus and to use local produce, meat and seafood. Slow Food Sacramento is a local organization that gives the “Snail of Approval” to local restaurants that plan their menus around seasonal, local and organically grown foods. Some of those Sacramento “snail-approved” restaurants are the Waterboy Restaurant, HOT ITALIAN, Taylor’s Kitchen, Grange Restaurant, and Spataro Restaurant and Bar. (Source)
•In 2010, San Francisco became the first Meatless Monday city, will Sacramento be next? Meatless Monday is a nationwide public health campaign to reduce Americans’ meat consumption by 15 percent. Sacramento-area schools, universities, and organizations are now beginning to follow the trend. For example, Roseville’s Woodcreek High School has a Meatless Monday cafeteria menu, Carmita Restaurant in Fair Oaks supports the movement with $5 falafels on Mondays, and UC Davis has officially established Meatless Mondays on campus. Visit Meatless Monday’s website for a full list of the 150+ celebrities, organizations, universities, and individuals that have pledged their support to the Meatless Monday campaign. (Source)
Archives for 2011
Tightwad Tuesday: Free tacos at GoGi’s Korean BBQ
Food trucks and pop-up restaurants are forecasted to be popular in 2011 and Sacramento is already following the trend! Starting at 11am today, GoGi’s Korean BBQ can be found at the corner of 15th & L Street in the former “Park to Go” kiosk at the Park Downtown. GoGi’s offers a new twist on the traditional taco—East meets South of the Border with Korean BBQ Beef, Spicy Pork, Chicken, and Tofu tacos, made to order with a little Korean flair. All tacos will cost just $2 and burritos will cost $5.
To celebrate GoGi’s grand opening, free “streetside” Korean beef tacos will be offered January 18-21 from 11am-2pm! GoGi’s will be open Monday-Friday from 11am-2pm and will also be open for late-night dining on Fridays and Saturdays (hours TBD). For more information, call (916) 442-7333.
And the winners are…
Congratulations to Stacy and Reese for each winning 2 tickets to the El Dorado Wineries’ “Bring Out the Barrel” weekend!
On January 29th and 30th, more than 25 El Dorado wineries will open their cellars giving wine lovers the unique opportunity to talk with local vintners and learn about the winemaking process from vine to barrel to bottle. The weekend will also feature sales on wine, light food pairings and demonstrations. To view details on participating wineries and purchase tickets, visit www.ElDoradoWines.org.
Upcoming Events in Sacramento
Thursday Night Jazz & Wine
Thursday, January 13, 2011
6-9pm
Arden Hills Resort Club & Spa
Get ready to celebrate the spirit of the season with an evening of live jazz music by the New World Jazz Project and wine tastings from the Chalone Vineyard Estates, the oldest producing vineyard in Monterey County. This is your chance to relax and enjoy an evening of musical entertainment while exploring award-winning wines and complimentary light appetizers provided by Arden Hills. Tickets are $20/person. Call (916) 482-6111 for more information.
Pizza Rock’s Grand Opening
Friday, January 14, 2011
11:30am (Fri)-3am (Sat)
Pizza Rock
Artisan pizza meets nightlife energy at Pizza Rock, located at 1020 K Street in downtown Sacramento. Pizza Rock is taking pizza to the next level with their creative gourmet pizzas paired with specialty cocktails and an extensive imported beer and wine menu. Pizza Rock will be open for late-night dining until 3am Wednesdays-Saturdays and until midnight Sundays-Tuesdays. Visit Pizza Rock’s website for more information, reservations and menus.
Wine 101 with Rick Kushman
Saturday, January 15, 2011
1-2:30pm
Lava Cap Winery (near Placerville)
Former Sacramento Bee columnist, Rick Kushman, is guiding another wine tasting class at Lava Cap Winery. It’s part of his series, “Why Wine is More Fun Than People Make it Sound,” and it will cover lots of basics about wine and winemaking, answer common questions, and use actual, understandable English sentences to decode some winespeak and to make wine tasting (and just buying and drinking wine) more fun. There will, of course, be wine to practice tasting with. It costs $25 and you can sign up at www.lavacap.com or call (530) 621-0175.
Dine Downtown Week (continues)
Now through Sunday, January 16, 2011
Don’t forget that Dine Downtown is happening for another four days! Enjoy three- course prix-fixe dinner menus at Sacramento’s top restaurants for only $30 per person. Click the link above for a complete list of participating restaurants and check out our Dine Downtown review of The Firehouse Restaurant.
Dive Bar Grand Opening
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
8pm, ages 21+
Dive Bar
The much talked about Dive Bar is finally opening its doors! Step off the streets of downtown Sacramento and into the tranquil ambiance of Dive Bar. In direct contrast to its name, Dive Bar is a haven of cool and class in the middle of one of the nation’s most eclectic cities. Dive Bar, at 1016 K St., will feature a 40-foot-long, 7,500-gallon saltwater tank with fish and costumed mermaids, both male and female, set over the bar in a room just 18 feet across. Admission is free.
Popfest 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
7pm-12am
The Sterling Hotel
Popfest 2011 is an event to bring together the Sacramento community and the region’s best restaurants, wineries, beverage purveyors, artisans and more in a true grassroots effort to raise money to help with Poppy Watson’s medical expenses. Sacramento resident, Poppy Watson, suffered a severe dog attack to her face on November 25, 2010, which has required major reconstructive surgery with many follow up visits to come. Popfest 2011 promises to be an exciting evening of food, drinks, live music, and an impressive line-up of live and silent auction items. You won’t want to miss food from restaurants including Selland’s, Grange, Kru, Red Lotus, Waterboy, Mulvaney’s, Shady Lady and more! Tickets are $50/person in advance or $60 at the door. For more information, a list of auction items or to purchase tickets, click here.
Tour, Taste, Talk: The Art of Tea
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Crocker Art Museum
Explore the connections between art and tea. Tour the galleries with docents to view tea-related objects from Japan and China. Then, enjoy an Asian-inspired menu and tea tasting from the Crocker Café (a SacFoodie favorite!), and hear from Peter Luong of the Red Blossom Tea Company, who will discuss teas found around the world. Tickets are $15 for members and $24 for non-members. Click here for tickets or more information.
Ten22 Event Promotion Offer
January 2011
Ten22 Restaurant
Ten22 Restaurant in Old Sac is excited to announce that throughout 2011, Sacramento event ticket holders will a receive 50% discount on food items when dining at Ten22 prior to selected shows and Kings games. Discounts will be applied to a maximum of two guests per table. Just show your tickets to your server to receive the offer. Offer applies to all Sacramento Kings home games for the 2011 season and to the following shows: Professional Bull Riders (Jan 14-15), Monster Jam (Jan 21-23) and Bill Gaither Presents Gaither Homecoming 2011 (Jan 30). For reservations and menus, visit Ten22’s website.
Folsom’s Sutter Street Steakhouse
Nestled in a beautiful new brick building in historic Folsom, you’ll find Sutter Street Steakhouse, a gem of a restaurant with an awesome menu and terrific wine list. My sister, Katie, had been extolling its virtues, so a group of us descended upon their beautiful dining room a few weeks ago to try it for ourselves.
I love dining with a large group of women – no one’s afraid to share and practically everything on the menu is not just considered but actually ordered. Such was the case here, and so we began our feast by starting with practically everything on the appetizer menu: Marinated Tomato Bruschetta with Burrata Cheese and Grilled Ciabatta, Calamari with basil aioli and House-made Cocktail Sauce, Blackened Jumbo Prawns with Creole BBQ Sauce, as well as their Caesar Salad, Iceberg Wedge with Bleu Cheese (always a favorite!) and their Heirloom Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Arugula Pesto and Balsamic Reduction.
I knew before I even walked in the door that I wanted to try their Filet Mignon, a 6 oz. portion of U.S.D.A Certified Black Angus Tenderloin (they also offer it in a 12 oz. portion). The filet was perfectly cooked and paired beautifully with the Pinot Noir I’d ordered. My only wish is that I hadn’t agreed to share it with Melyssa! I could have very easily eaten the entire portion. The filet was accompanied by Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, which were flavorful and light. I would also recommend trying their Cheddar Potato Cakes if you’re in the mood for a decadent potato side dish. Carrie ordered these and very selflessly shared them with the table.
In addition to steak, they also offer seafood and poultry – many of which were ordered and devoured. We would like to have tried their dessert menu (which includes a Vanilla Bean Crème Brulee – another favorite), but as it was we rolled out the door. I think of this – and their happy hour menu which, according to reliable rumor, boasts $1 sliders – as yet another reason to visit Sutter Street Steakhouse again. Very soon.
Sutter Street Steakhouse
604 Sutter Street
Folsom, CA 95630
(916) 351-9100
Sutterstreetsteakhouse.com
Hours:
Tuesday – Thursday: 4:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday – Saturday: 4:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Sunday: 4:30 p.m. – 9 p.m.
(Closed on Monday)