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
Wordless Wednesday: Fruit Tart from Ettore’s
Surprisingly, the photo of this mouth-watering fruit tart from Ettore’s was taken with my iPhone, under the guidance of the über-talented Sacramento food photographer Jessica Nicosia Nadler (I could only muster a couple photos before I surrendered to eating the tart in practically one bite).
Pica Pica Maize Kitchen in Napa and San Francisco: A SacFoodies Day Trip and Arepa Recipe
Dan Stevens, a member of the Fleishman-Hillard San Francisco office, shared a fun food spot with us that he recommends checking out if you happen to be in the Napa or San Francisco area.
Venezuelans eat arepas 24/7. This pita-like, corn-based bread is grilled, sliced horizontally and stuffed with a variety of fillings—meat, cheese, plantains, beans, veggies or even tofu.
This Venezuelan staple is now available right here in California, at the Pica Pica Maize Kitchen in Napa and San Francisco. Pica Pica is co-owned by Caracas, Venezuela natives and father/daughter team Leopoldo Lopez Gil and Adriana Lopez Vermut. They serve a variety of arepas, as well as sides such as Yuca fries, empanadas, soups and salads. If you enjoy Latin-style fare, it’s a great change from a burrito or taco. Plus, since arepas are corn-based, Pica Pica is also naturally 100 percent gluten-free.
If you’re looking to bring a taste of Venezuela into your own kitchen, here is an arepa recipe from Pica Pica that’s relatively easy and fun to make with kids, too:
Arepas
Yields: 9-10 servings
Ingredients
2 cups corn flour (Masa AREPA or Harina PAN, found in specialty Latin stores)
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups water, heated to a boil
Directions
Combine flour and salt in large mixing bowl. Add water and mix to form a soft dough. Let dough rest for 5 minutes, then knead for 5-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Shape dough into arepas (about the shape and size of an English muffin). Cover to keep from drying until ready to grill.
Cook arepas on a hot grill (tap center of an arepa to determine doneness; it is ready when it sounds hollow), approximately 5 minutes on each side. Take warm arepa, cut in half lengthwise and insert desired fillings.
Pica Pica Maize Kitchen
401 Valencia Street (@ 15th Street)
San Francisco, CA
(415) 400-5453
610 First Street (Oxbow Public Market)
Napa, CA
(707) 251-3757
Dine Downtown: Ten22 in Old Sacramento
Today begins Dine Downtown Restaurant Week, put on annually by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. From January 9-18, you can enjoy some of the best dining experiences that Sacramento has to offer. During these 10 days only, local chefs will create special three-course dinner menus for only $30 per person.
One of the participating restaurants is Old Sac’s Ten22, and a guest and I were lucky enough to get a sneak peek of its Dine Downtown menu this past weekend. I love that Ten22 has roomy booths and tables with plenty of space between them, so you don’t feel like you’re in on the conversation at the next table over. Its atmosphere feels upscale and classy, yet comfortable at the same time – we sat at a stylish booth near the bar, which had the football game on and an array of beers on tap.
For drinks, I opted for a glass of Fumé Blanc, while my guest sipped on a smoked porter from Stone Brewing Co. I’m usually a red wine gal, but this glass was crisp and mild, the perfect companion for everything on the menu. The beer was smoky and smooth – yum!
For our first course, we tried both options, the Sliced Ahi Sashimi and Roasted Pecan-Smoked Bacon “Chop.” The chop was my favorite – it was like two high-quality, crispy pieces of bacon that coupled well with the smoked porter beer.
Next up was the main course. We tried the Pan-Roasted Salmon and Petit New York Strip Steak Diane. Both were fabulous and flavorful! The salmon was crunchy on the outside and cooked to perfection on the inside – this was hands-down my favorite item of the night. Both dishes came with roasted potatoes, which had a pleasant, simple flavor that didn’t take away from the main courses.
Of course, the evening wouldn’t be complete without dessert! Ten22 has a new pastry chef, so all of its desserts are baked in house. We tried both the Citrus-Scented Crème Brûlée and Chocolate Mousse Cake, and both were a sweet finish to a perfect dinner. The caramelized sugar atop the crème brûlée was delicious and not too rich – just the way I like it. And the chocolate crust on the mousse cake was nothing short of mouth-watering.
I highly recommend you check out Ten22 for its quality food and enjoyable atmosphere. You can view its Dine Downtown menu here, and for a list of all participating restaurants for Dine Downtown, click here.
Ten22
1022 Second Street
Old Sacramento
(916) 441-2211
Last-Minute Gift Idea: Local Roots Food Tour
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