Last week, we had the opportunity to try organic, vegan-friendly wines from Clavey Vineyards & Winery. Located in the Sierra Foothills, Clavey is a family-owned boutique winery that prides themselves on sustainable growth practices and offer a wine-making “Custom Crush” experience at their vineyard.
We got to sample the Rosé, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon in our recent tasting, held at the SacFoodies Content Kitchen. Tasting notes and pairing suggestions below!
The 2016 Rosé had a fragrant nose of strawberry and was slightly darker in color than the typical Rosé. The winery recommends that you pair this Rosé with lightly grilled vegetables, or a fresh pasta tossed lightly in olive oil.
Our next choice, the 2013 Clavey Syrah, was medium-bodied with a dried plum and blackberry aroma – perfect to pair with a hearty braised lamb or a bittersweet dark chocolate.
We rounded out the evening with the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, a non-traditional light-bodied varietal with notes of cherry and blackberry. Pair this wine with a goat cheese spread, or a sharp cheddar and salami.
Named after an epic experience down Clavey Falls near Yosemite, Clavey Vineyards & Winery is run by a second-generation winemaker devoted to old-world techniques and tradition. If you’d like to visit the winery, or learn more about their methods, visit here for more details.
Mendocino Farms: It Feels Like We're Coming Home
by Laurel Harrison
The long-awaited Mendocino Farms is finally making its appearance at the R Street Ice Blocks on December 6th, and we could not be more excited! They already have a cult-like following in SoCal and the Bay Area, and the SacFoodies are ready to drink the seasonal, locally-sourced Kool-Aid.
For those who aren’t familiar, Mendocino Farms is a popular sandwich and salad restaurant that emphasizes premium, locally-sourced ingredients in creative and seasonal dishes. Mendo (as the fans call it) is devoted to partnering with local farmers and food artisans to create tasty food while supporting the local food economy.
Co-founders Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen (a dynamic husband-and-wife team) wanted to come back to their roots with a Midtown location, inspired by Del Pero’s own childhood experiences with Sacramento’s rich food scene.
Del Pero spent his youth in Sacramento, eating peanut noodles from the now-closed David Berkley Fine Wines & Specialty Foods and taking inspiration from Berkley’s commitment to high-quality, soul-satisfying food. In fact, Del Pero says that Berkley, and his dedication to the community, was a huge inspiration for the Mendocino Farms culture. It seems only fitting that Mendocino Farms is coming back to where it all began – right here, in Sacramento.
“I grew up less than an hour outside Sacramento in Yuba City, so this restaurant opening means a lot to me. It feel like we’re coming home. People here have such a great appreciation for the farm-to-table philosophy we’ve always embraced, and Midtown is such a sophisticated and vibrant community.”
What are the SacFoodies most excited for? Right now, it’s a toss-up between the Pork Belly Banh Mi and the Save Drake Farm’s Salad, but we’re sure we’ll find more to crave as we work through the menu.
Most of all, we’re happy to welcome Mario and Ellen home to Sacramento – we hope you stay a while!
Help Us Support Food Literacy Center!
Now that we’ve settled into September (raise your hand if you’ve already had a pumpkin spice latte . . .), we want to shine a spotlight on one of our favorite Sacramento institutions – Food Literacy Center. This month is Food Literacy Month, and we’re so excited to lend our support to our favorite foodie nonprofit.
Six years ago, Food Literacy Center worked with the California legislature to officially declare September as Food Literacy Month to raise awareness about the need for cooking and nutrition education for kids. Food Literacy Center brings essential food and nutrition programming to low-income elementary schools, teaching kids about how (any why) to love your veggies.
This September, help us support Food Literacy Center and their foodie mission by donating to our fundraising team, Team Carrot! The work Food Literacy Center does directly benefits our community and helps America’s Farm-to-Fork Capitol walk the walk and talk the talk. After all, what’s a foodie city without food literacy?
To donate, visit the fundraising page or text VEGGIES to 71777!
Something New at Bella Bru
By Cheyenne Cameron-Pruitt
Bella Bru is a classic in the Sacramento area, we love their bread and we really love their desserts. Great news, we found, even more, to love during our recent trip to Bella Bru!
We visited the Carmichael Bella Bru with a few of our foodie friends To say we were impressed with the new items that Chef Tony has created, would be a massive understatement. Each bite was absolutely delicious, the flavors clearly put together with care and experience and you just can’t beat the presentation! Chef Tony has spent quite a bit of time traveling and flavor inspiration from all over is evident in each bite. We’re excited to head back to Carmichael location for this AMAZING menu, and we suggest you come right along with us.
Just a few of our favorite bites below, head over to our Instagram (@sacfoodies) to see more!
Tower Bridge Dinner Menu Preview
It’s that time of year again, when we all get a little green with envy at the thought of the ever exclusive Tower Bridge Dinner. This year, the envy is at an all-time high because the one and only Jeremiah Towers is hosting! I know, hold the applause. Traditionally, each chef chosen from the community brings one dish to the table that is specially created, cooked and plated. But this year, the Tower Bridge Dinner is celebrating community and the dinner will be a totally collaborative effort by all chefs, for a menu that is as cohesive as it is inspired. Oh, you’re gluten-free and dairy-free, you say? No worries, the chefs have made sure this dinner is inclusive for all.
Although we didn’t make the guest list, we were lucky enough to partake in the next best thing, the menu preview event! Five courses of beautiful, local, inspired and above all, delicious food. P.s. for more photos head to our Instagram.
So let’s start with the bread. Delicious, flavorful, sesame encrusted bread. Called Epi Bread, this really should have been called EpiC bread because let me tell you, that’s what it was. Served with olive oil and cultured butter, because, of course.
Course 1: Roasted fresh local veggies. Oh boy, why doesn’t every meal start with an overflowing bounty of summer squash, cherry tomatoes, roasted eggplant and blistered peppers? I think we should all, as a society decide to start all meals this way from now on. Especially when it comes with a side of sesame seed gremolata.
Course 2: Sturgeon. This dish was my favorite dish we sampled. Smoked sturgeon with sturgeon skin chicharon, a lightly pickled lemon cucumber salad, and of course, caviar. The deep flavor of the fish paired amazingly with the briny caviar and rich Russian dressing. Spy that pink sauce in the background? Remoulade. Fantastic.
Course 3: Duck. Confit leg of duck and roasted breast was served with cardamom and black pepper roasted figs, mahgoney and black rice, and charred grapes in late harvest zinfandel. Chef Brad Checci described this dish as duck served with everything a duck would eat. I’m sold.
Course 4: Lamb. Braised shoulder of lamb with roasted cipollini onions, tomato confit, heirloom been gratin and salsa verde. I will admit, I’m not the biggest fan of lamb, but this dish might have converted me. The lamb was so tender and flavorful, and the roasted onions were the perfect counterpart.
Course 5: Cheese. Ricottage cheese with preserved peaches and lemon verbena, chicories and baked pears, preserved Meyer lemon vinaigrette, and tomato oil crackers. The Chef’s inspiration for this dish is the man himself, Jeremiah Towers. Jeremiah ate canned peaches and cottage cheese when he was a kid, so the chefs of the Tower Bridge dinner stepped it up a notch with a local ricotta and cottage cheese blend paired with preserved summer peaches. The best part, the cheese maker from Orland Farmstead Creamery will be on the bridge serving this iconic dessert.
And now for the main event…the chefs!
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- …
- 231
- Next Page »