Both Memorial Day weekend and the St. Anna Greek Food and Wine Festival in Roseville have officially marked the start of summer for me two years running. It’s never too early to mark your calendar for 2018 and plan to spend a day kicking off your summer, Greek-style.
When I think Greek festival, I think amazing, authentic Greek food – of course, custom and culture, too, but if I’m being honest, the food is top of mind for me. From Moussaka, to spanakopita, and a plethora of salads in between, you have to come hungry and try a little of everything.
But even better than the food this year was the special sampling of five imported Greek wines from vines throughout Greece. Didn’t know Greece was a wine producer, did ya? Well, Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world, but Greek wine is not widely available here in the U.S. Well, until now that is, thanks to a local importer, Shaji Mathew, who is introducing Greek wines to festival-goers across the region. Now in their second year serving up the Greek Festival in Roseville, his imports are catching on and selling out by the glass.
Shaji and his wife, Vijna, have a belief in sharing the wines “from people who want to swim against the current,” Shaji says. They travel throughout the world to visit wineries and to meet winemakers, mostly those who produce 30,000 bottles or less from Greece, France, Spain, Italy, and Argentina, with plans for introducing some Mexican wines soon.
“I travel to meet the winemakers, get an understanding what the wines are about, to know what they’re doing in their vineyards, so I know what to expect in the wine. Authenticity is key. These wines are not mass produced and there’s a story behind each one.”
With each taste, I was instantly transported to the islands of Crete and Evia, with their blue waters and white rooftops. The white and light red blends were refreshing for a hot summer day: Pop Art, a dry white blend of Athiri and Malagousia varietals from Lykos Winery reflected subtle stone fruit flavors, and my fruit-forward favorite, a Grenache Rouge by Idaia Winery, was very pleasing to the palate.
All the vineyards Shaji works with grow their grapes sustainably, and many also practice organic and bio-dynamic farming. He brings the fruits of that meticulous labor here through his website Terra Vigna, wine club and at festivals, re-distributing throughout the U.S. (where possible), for all to try.
Visit Terra Vigna’s website to learn more about Greek wines, or consider visiting one of these two upcoming festivals to experiences the wines first-hand:
San Jose Greek Festival: June 2, 3 & 4
Reno Greek Festival: August 18, 19, 20
And, cheers! Or, in Greek, ΥΓΕΙΑ (phonetic pronunciation: Yamas)!
Saucy in San Francisco
By Cheyenne Cameron-Pruitt
It’s the last week of National Sauce Month (*cue sad music*), but as they say, don’t cry because it’s over – smile because it happened! We’ve been getting saucy every single week, and this week is no exception.
We took our adventure on the road this weekend to San Francisco. Nestled in a small space on Polk and Eddy Streets is Brenda’s French Soul Food. If not for the huge crowd gathered outside, it would be pretty easy to miss. Brenda’s boasts a large menu that blends French, Creole and soul food influences into creative takes on everyone’s favorites. You can taste the soul in the food and feel it in the atmosphere, making it well worth the 45 minute wait!
Even though everything looked fantastic, it was really easy to figure out what I wanted. Since it was breakfast time, and I was there for research purposes, I ordered the Eggs Benedict.
Eggs Benedict sounds like a classic breakfast. Poached eggs, English muffins and hollandaise sauce. Pretty straightforward, right? In any other case the Eggs Benedict wouldn’t be all that special, but at Brenda’s, I swear I heard a choir of angels sing when I saw my plate. When I took a bite, somewhere far away a butterfly shed a tear of happiness.
In all seriousness, this was best Eggs Benedict I have ever had. I think this dish represented the French, Creole and soul food influences so perfectly. Instead of the classic English muffin, the base of this dish was a fluffy and huge cream biscuit. Now for the exciting part: Brenda’s offers up the classic ham option, but also offers fried chicken and catfish as toppings. I opted for the fried chicken, but it wasn’t an easy decision.
Let’s talk about the hollandaise sauce – which is what I was really interested in – and how it upped my eggcellent experience by 1,000 percent. The usual slight citrus flavor of the hollandaise was replaced with a kick of Creole spices, but still managed not to overwhelm the flavors of the fried chicken and the biscuit. I have not stopped thinking about that sauce, I’m seriously worried I will never be able to enjoy Eggs Benedict the same way again!
I finished off my meal with an order of beignets. Brenda’s offers the classic flavor with simple powdered sugar, but also changes it up with chocolate filled, granny smith apple filled, and even a savory crawfish option. The crawfish option is filled with a mix of crawfish and cheese and is spiced like the hollandaise sauce. I was able to get a taste of all four options, and they were just as good as they sound, if not better. 10/10 I would them eat again.
Brenda’s is a great little spot for a weekend brunch or anytime. They’re very popular, so be prepared to wait awhile, but I promise it will be worth it!
Beervana: Achieved
A wise person once said, “Beervana isn’t a place. It’s a state of mind, a sense of pure bliss and knowledge. It also happens to be held on the 5th St. Bridge.”
We here at SacFoodies had a great time getting to know more about local breweries and brewers in the month leading up to Sac Beer Week and Capitol Beer Fest, and on Sunday, March 12, we pulled into the final stop on “The Road to Beervana.” We slathered on our sunscreen, grabbed our tickets and made our way CBF!
Laurel: “I had a SUPERB time at Capitol Beer Fest. I was really excited to try a few of my favorite breweries, enjoy the warm weather, and explore new beers with the other SacFoodies. The fact that I could do this all within 10 minutes of my house was a huge plus for me, and my wallet!”
Favorite Beer: 21st Amendment – Blood Orange Brew Free! Or Die IPA
“I like blood orange in most beers (Anderson Valley Blood Orange Gose is also a favorite) because it’s refreshing and adds a nice tanginess. This IPA was refreshing but maintained its hoppiness, and I really enjoyed it.”
Favorite Food Truck: Bacon Mania
“To be fair, this was the only food truck I tried, BUT it was after careful consideration of all menus. We had the Bacon Mac n’ Cheese Loaded Fries – the perfect pre-beer food.”
Cheyenne: “Capitol Beer Fest was a blast! We’ve been excited about attending Capitol Beer Fest since we got our tickets in January, so going into it I wondered if I had built it up too much in my mind. Once we got there, though, it was just as fun as I imagined it would be! I’m not a huge beer drinker, so I was very happy that there were so many cider options. I had a great time!”
Favorite Cider: 2 Towns Ciderhouse– Made Marion
“I loved this cider so much! I’m very into ciders that stray away from the classic apple flavor, so this was a great experience. It is made from marionberries, which are basically an ultra-classy member of the blackberry family. It was light and crisp, and the sweetness came through without being overpowering.”
Favorite Food Truck: Bacon Mania
“As Laurel said, we only tried one food spot after a decent amount of menu research. I think that even if we had tried multiple places this still would have been my favorite. Bacon, mac n’ cheese, AND french fries! What’s not to love? This dish was seriously delicious and very filling. We could not finish the order between the two of us and it kept us going throughout the whole event!”
The food trucks were delish, the beer was blissful, and there were even cider options for the non-beer enthusiasts in the group. What more could you ask for?
This year’s Capitol Beer Fest hosted 120 craft brewers and saw a crowd of over 6,500 people. The funds from this event benefited the Runnin’ for Rhett Youth Fitness Program, and will allow over 5,770 children to participate in the program. We love drinking great beer, but nothing beats drinking great beer for a good cause. We absolutely plan on returning to CBF next year, and we hope we see you there!
2017 Sacramento Food Film Festival – Tickets Now on Sale!
We’re almost a week away from one of the Sacfoodies’ favorite events of the year, the Sacramento Food Film Festival. From thought-provoking food films, to the small bites and delicious dishes that accompany them, there is just too much to love about this annual festival.
Created in 2012, the Sacramento Food Film Festival was born from the idea that we need to educate the public about our food system, and work together to create positive change. The event brings educational films to Sacramento that are otherwise ignored by traditional theaters – and creates a community dialog to improve food literacy and inspire action to improve our food system.
Here is a taste of what’s in store:
April 1: Festival Premiere feat. Short Film Contest winners
April 4: Featured Film: Sustainable
April 5: Featured Film: City of Gold
April 8: Bourbon & Bites feat: short films about bourbon!
For more information, tickets or even to donate, visit the FLC website at: http://www.foodliteracycenter.org/film-festival
Slice of Sauce
“When the moon in the sky is a Bella Familia pizza pie, that’s amore.”
This week in Sauce News, the SacFoodies decided to keep it #saucy with Sac’s new food truck on the scene, Bella Familia Wood Fired Pizza. Bella Familia has a wood-fired pizza oven inside of their truck and invited the SacFoodies out to give it a try! We stopped by when they were parked at Track 7 Natomas – if you couldn’t guess it, beer and pizza are one of our favorite combos.
This truck is one of the few who happens to be gastronomically and aesthetically pleasing. Instead of the usual food truck structure, it has floor to ceiling windows along one side, allowing the customer to get an inside look at the wood-fired oven and the cooking process. We were surprised at how beautiful the truck was, and how fun it was to watch everything going on!
It was really hard to decide what we wanted to eat because all of the options sounded delicious! Since we knew we would be having a beer, Bella Familia recommended the “Marco.” We were truly grateful for that recommendation because it was absolutely delicious! The pizza was loaded with house-made roasted garlic ricotta, mozzarella, sausage and roasted red pepper. We’re not sure if it was the hands-on chef, the premium ingredients, or the wood fired oven, but this pizza was out-of-this-world good. One might even say it was “pizza pie in the sky” good.
You could taste the garlic in the ricotta, and the sausage had the perfect amount of spice. Pro-tip: If there are multiple people eating, order more than one pizza. Since the crust and ingredients are light and the pizza is on the smaller side, it’s easy to finish one by yourself. Since we were looking for a lighter meal, one was perfect for the two of us! Overall, our experience was amazing, and we definitely recommend checking out Bella Familia.
It’s a pretty great night when, at an industrial park in Natomas, you can enjoy Grade-A craft beer and wood-fired pizza. Nothing makes the SacFoodies happier than watching local restaurants and breweries thrive! The Bella Familia Wood-Fired Pizza Truck is a welcome addition to the Sac food scene and we’re happy to have them on our home turf. Ciao for now!
You can track down Bella Familia through their “Find Us” feature here!
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