Tower Bridge photo by Mark Lilly, balloon illustrations by Daniel Fahlström

Photo by Andri Tambunan

Best Double-Decker for a Double Burger

Break out that bowling shirt, hop into your jalopy and head out to Lucky’s Drive-In, a classic-car-themed burger joint that opened in Curtis Park last October (and hosts frequent “cruise-in” nights). Yes, there’s indoor seating, but the patio is where it’s at. Covered for hot days and strung with lights for night, we guarantee that it’s the only diner patio around featuring a vintage red double-decker bus. A 1960 Bristol Lodekka, to be exact, which owners Mike Feagins and Willow Eskridge actually bought on Craigslist. And starting soon, it won’t just be sitting pretty. If all goes well, you can soon devour your burger, fries and oh-so-thick milkshake inside  the fully renovated and air-conditioned British bombshell. Be sure to top your perfectly grilled burger with delicious and decidedly non-retro house-made condiments, like the punchy Hot Mess sriracha ketchup or the signature Thousand Island-esque Lucky Fry Sauce. An Americana diner with a side of English panache? Cheerio, daddio! sacramentoburgers.com —Sean Timm

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Best Gridiron Giver

Arik Armstead’s hands may not be adorned with Super Bowl rings (at least not yet), but the Elk Grove-raised Jacksonville Jaguars star certainly has the heart of a champion, providing educational support to underserved youth through his Sacramento-based foundation, the Armstead Academic Project. And in February, the NFL recognized his efforts both on and off the field by bestowing him with the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, aka “the league’s highest honor.” During his speech at this year’s Super Bowl (pictured below), Armstead graciously said, “I owe thanks to a lot of people, especially my family and my community of Sacramento, California, where I’m from.” While this community appreciates the props, it’s safe to say that the debt of gratitude is ours. —Elyssa Lee

Photo courtesy of Karen Tsugawa

Best Way to Time Travel to Japantown in Sactown

Bulldozers may have razed Japantown out of physical existence in the 1950s to make way for I-5 and Capitol Mall, but the ineffable spirit of this vibrant community has persisted over the decades. The neighborhood is part of our collective memory and cultural DNA, whatever our ethnicity and background. To head back in time, head out to the corner of 4th Street and Capitol Mall and linger in front of Roseville muralist Karen Tsugawa’s epic graphic history that wraps around the corner in colorful manga-like panels that conjure up a vivid sense of nostalgia even if you’re too young to have visited the Sun Rise Laundry or Ouye’s Pharmacy. Commissioned by the group Reclaim Sacramento Japantown, this mural invitingly, urgently demands that we must never forget. —Hillary Louise Johnson

Photos courtesy of Shorty’s Gelato & Bakery

Best Over-the-Top Hot Chocolate

You already know the salt-rimmed margarita with a slice of lime. Now say hello to the toasted-marshmallow-rimmed hot chocolate with a dollop of chocolate mousse. Shorty’s Gelato & Bakery—which owner Morgan Hunter opened in Placerville in 2023—boasts an ever-revolving menu of sweet treats, from candied oranges dipped in Belgian Callebaut chocolate to chocolate flights with eight decadent varieties. But the offering that has our taste buds especially aflutter is the rich hot chocolate—house-brewed from that same Belgian Callebaut and topped with scratch-made marshmallow fluff and chocolate mousse, then brûléed to perfection for a velvety taste and texture bomb. While this addictive delight is only available seasonally, the good news is that it’ll be back on the menu starting in September. We highly recommend making a pilgrimage to Placerville as soon as the haute hot chocolate reappears, no matter how toasty it is outside. shortysgelatoandbakery.com —S.T.

Photo by Aiza Leon, courtesy of Made Studio

Best House-Made Shop

Ever wished your coffee cups could match your coasters? Thanks to Made Studio in Oak Park, a project of the group formerly known as Hacker Lab, you can design and make just about any precious object you can conceive of. Don’t know how? No problem—just sign up for a class in 3D printing, sublimation and laser etching, or even old-fashioned woodworking and jewelry crafting, then book time in the maker space to create your own mugs, earrings, tote bags, coasters, shirts, stickers and more, all while being part of a bustling hive of peers. And if you’d rather consume than produce, the group’s new retail space, SacMade Store, is chock-full of whimsical creations from both maker-space members and local community artists—think Etsy, but homegrown and IRL (with booths that spill into the street on Oak Park’s festive First Fridays). You might come for the Tower Bridge coffee mug and matching coaster, but you’ll leave with a pair of 3D-printed rubber chicken earrings too. sacmade.com —H.L.J.

Best NBA Team in the NCAA

Keep your friends close and your ex-enemies closer? This fall, Lakers icon Shaquille O’Neal surprisingly joins one of his former rivals, Kings great Mike Bibby, on the Sacramento State men’s basketball team. For Bibby, who has long aspired to lead a college team, his new head coaching gig is a dream job come true. For Shaq, who serves as the squad’s incoming GM, the move to forge ties with our city is both familiar (he was a Kings minority owner from 2013–2022) and familial (his son Shaqir is a nascent Hornet who will be playing under Coach Bibby as a transfer from Florida A&M). We’re excited to see what this unlikely pair can achieve as masterminds on the same side of the court. Heck, if these two can bury the 2002 Western Conference Finals hatchet, we can too (maybe). —E.L.

Best New Late-Night Slice of the Big Apple

We’ve always thought the perfect end to a nightclub crawl in midtown’s Lavender Heights would be to grab a great big crispy, cheesy slice of New York-style pizza after closing down the drag show or the disco. And now we can, since T.J. Bruce—who owns three of the neighborhood’s inclusive LGBTQ+ party spots, Badlands, The Depot and Roscoe’s Bar & Burgers—opened Marilyn’s Pizza Slice about a block away last October. The counter-service joint, which is open until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, boasts authentic NYC-style awning signage and even more authentic NYC-style slices. While you can’t go wrong with any of its pizza varieties (fan favorites include pepperoni, pesto and BBQ chicken), we love the classic cheese the best—the simple and simply delicious house-made red sauce is a perfect complement to the pound of mozzarella heaped on every 20-inch thin-crust pie. Fold your slice in half like a taco and polish it off right there on the sidewalk, just like a New Yorker would. marilynspizza.com —H.L.J.

Best Moody Page-Turner

Edited by John Freeman—a Sacramento-bred poet, novelist and executive editor at New York publishing house Alfred A. Knopf—the local entry in Akashic Books’ sweeping noir series, Sacramento Noir, joins other exotic locales, from Addis Ababa to East Jerusalem to Haiti to Baltimore in painting the world black. The contributors in the new collection, released in March, are a melting pot reflective of our region, with a mix of heavy hitters, such as National Book Award winner William T. Vollmann, and discoveries like Luis Avalos, who earned an MFA in creative writing from UC Davis last year. Vollmann’s masterful contribution, set among the houseless in Del Paso Heights, is an excerpt from his anticipated forthcoming novel, A Table for Fortune, while Avalos offers a ripped-from-the-headlines murder story set on the UCD campus that’s an anxiety-fueled meditation on contemporary identity politics. Then there are hidden gems like Jamil Jan Kochai’s The Former Detective, an intricately layered nesting of worlds within worlds set in the Afghan immigrant community that’s as dark as noir gets, yet somehow also incandescently brilliant. —H.L.J.

Photo courtesy of Modern Adventure

Best Culinary Tours That Are Global yet Local

You might have sat at the sushi counter at Kru while chef-owner Billy Ngo led you through a 10-course tasting menu. But what if the James Beard-nominated genius could lead you on an 11-day tasting trip  through his cultural homeland of Vietnam? Portland-based tour company Modern Adventure has tapped Ngo to do just that next January. You’ll follow him—sometimes astride a vintage Vespa—sampling everything from haute cuisine to street food between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Or if you’d rather head south of the border instead, sign up for a trip to Oaxaca this October and follow Patricio Wise and Cinthia Martinez, the married owners of Nixtaco—their Michelin-recognized restaurant that opened in Roseville nine years ago and expanded into Folsom in April—on a seven-day tour of Mexico’s culinary capital with colorful markets, cooking classes and mezcal-making on the menu. We love everything about this new flight-to-fork trend. modernadventure.com —H.L.J.

Photo courtesy of the City of Sacramento

Best Free Ride

If you’re a card-carrying patron of the Sacramento Public Library, then you can walk into one of four neighborhood branches and after signing a form and watching some helpful instructional videos, walk out with an adult-sized e-bike or e-trike that’s yours to keep for up to a week. (E-bikes are available at the North Natomas branch while e-trikes can be borrowed from the South Natomas, Belle Cooledge and Valley Hi-North Laguna libraries.) These first-come-first-serve fun machines make grown-up citizens’ faces light up like they’re 5 years old—the goofy grins are free too. Hot tip: Grab an e-trike at the Belle Cooledge Library in South Land Park, and you can double your fun by hopping right onto another of this year’s bests, the Del Rio Trail, less than a mile away, to bring that childlike wonder you’re feeling to the city’s new public art path. saclibrary.org/etrike  —H.L.J.

José Montoya’s Pachuco (Art by José Montoya, Rudy O. Cuellar and Luis C. González, Courtesy of the Crocker Art Museum and Collection of Luis C. González)

Best Royal Procession

Formed in 1970 by three artists affiliated with Sacramento State—Ricardo Favela, José Montoya and Esteban Villa—the colorful, whimsically named Royal Chicano Air Force quickly became one of the most influential art collectives in California, splashing murals, posters and even sound recordings across the state, while also bringing arts education to schools and prisons. Now, over 50 years later, that powerful legacy is being honored with a regionwide celebration, spanning more than a dozen venues and organized by the RCAF’s legacy organization La Raza Galeria Posada. Starting this fall with the opening of Sacramento History Museum’s RCAF in Mictlán: 50th Anniversary of Día de los Muertos  on Sept. 26, the string of exhibits focused on the influential local art collective continues in 2026 with shows like the Crocker Art Museum’s Rebels with La Causa: Royal Chicano Air Force Art and Activism, 1970–1990  launching on Feb. 22 and the CSUS University Library Gallery’s Painting la Comuniversidad: The Sacramento Murals of the Royal Chicano Air Force beginning on Feb. 12. Viva la RCAF! —S.T.

The east end of the UC Davis Arboretum before (top) and after (bottom) the dynamic reimagining of its waterway (Courtesy of UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden)

Best Place to Go with the (New) Flow

You’d never know it as you wander from one blissful, Edenic environment to another along the path that encircles UC Davis’ Arboretum, but the waterway around which it was built in the 1960s was not exactly pristine. “It was a challenge to manage, because it was a warm, stagnant pond,” says the Arboretum’s waterway steward Nina Suzuki. Lined mostly with concrete or rock gabions, it had actually always been the school’s stormwater detention basin. That is, until this campus landmark finally found its flow state. The university completed a nearly $10 million overhaul of the waterway’s infrastructure last November—a full year ahead of schedule—replacing concrete with natural banks brimming with riparian flora, planting new trees like willows and cottonwoods, with new islands for small critters and birds to call home. Sophisticated pumps cycle the water, transforming this once-stagnant pond into a rippling aquatic oasis. arboretum.ucdavis.edu —S.T.

Best Yelp-Worthy Shawarma Spot

The next time you’re in Rocklin, follow the sweet, spicy scent of pomegranate-glazed shawarma to Wally’s Cafe, the Lebanese eatery that landed at the No. 6 spot on Yelp’s list of the Top 100 Places to Eat in 2025. Wally Matar, a dentist turned eponymous crowd-pleasing restaurateur, is no stranger to Yelp fame, having first made the annual list in 2014 and again in 2016 with the original Wally’s in Emeryville—at No. 66 and No. 77, respectively. Shortly after moving to the Sacramento region in 2017, Mater opened his second Wally’s in Rocklin, which earned him his third Yelp Top 100 spot in 2019 (jumping up to No. 16) and where in-the-know locals line up daily, drawn in by little touches like the bowl of swoon-worthy, aromatic lentil soup that comes with every order. We also scream for the culty, craveable baklava ice cream, but don’t worry if you didn’t save room for a full dessert: Your check comes with a complimentary bite-sized square of not-too-sweet, just-nutty-enough house-made baklava from a family recipe. Five stars, we say. wallys.cafe —S.T.

Best Aria-versary

When the Sacramento Philharmonic and the Sacramento Opera merged in 2013 to better position each company financially, the move felt more like a shotgun wedding than a purely harmonious union. But after going dark for a season, the reborn Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera roared back in 2015 with the brash, smart choice of Mahler’s Resurrection. The mellifluous melding of violins and sopranos proved that the pairing infused both entities with vigor, as did the decision to feature a series of rock-star-level guest conductors and unconventional concerts like those featuring the music of Prince or David Bowie. In May, the company celebrated the end of their 10th season with a fittingly symbolic performance of Mahler’s Titan symphony, and now often sells out its new home, the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center, where it has been breaking attendance records year after year. And they’re building a passionate new audience base too, in part with singular events like the upcoming live-scored Harry Potter  movie concerts on Oct. 17 and 18. To which we say, “Expecto Bravissimo!” sacphilopera.org —S.T.

Photo by Karen Lewis, courtesy of Moon Travel Guides

Best Inclusive Trail Angel

The Great Outdoors is by rights our shared, universal, ancestral home—so why does it sometimes feel like an exclusive club? When Elk Grove attorney Felicia Leo Kemp started blogging about her multiracial, differently abled family’s passion for hiking, her inclusive approach found an eager audience. Her prodigious talents as a wayfinder also inspired Moon Travel Guides to tap Kemp to co-author its 2024 Northern California Hiking  guidebook. For a gentle introduction, Sacramentans can follow this hometown outdoor leader in person, via a family-friendly nature excursion along Effie Yeaw Nature Center’s wheel-friendly trails in Carmichael on Aug. 10. Then on your own—once you’ve learned not to forget the water or the bug spray—Kemp recommends tackling longer loops like those through the shady oaks of Hidden Falls Regional Park in Auburn, where there are benches along the way for rest breaks and the waterfall view makes a rewarding destination. @familytrailtime on Instagram —H.L.J.

Photo courtesy of B Street Theatre

Best Regional Recognition on a National Stage

“B Street is a local gem in Sacramento, and a treasure to the American theater.” So went the glowing introduction when the venerated National Theatre Conference presented midtown’s beloved B Street Theatre—founded by brothers Buck and Timothy Busfield—with its Outstanding Theatre Award in January. Just how big is this award? Past winners have included iconic playhouses like the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and The Public Theater in New York. The honor was accepted by B Street executive artistic director and CEO Lyndsay Burch, and as tradition dictates, the troupe was allowed to choose the recipient of the Emerging Professional Award. Their pick: James Ellison III, artistic director of local stage group Celebration Arts. (In another twist of kismet, Celebration Arts’ current home at 2727 B Street was the old B Street children’s theater space.) The takeaway for the theater world this year: Sacramento is here to play. bstreettheatre.org and celebrationarts.net —S.T.

Photo courtesy of the California State Railroad Museum

Best Unexpected Oasis of Calm

Maybe you’re on the autism spectrum, or living with PTSD, or recently realized there’s an acronym—HSP for Highly Sensitive Person—to describe why certain immersive environments make you want to bolt. This year, those reasons and more will make you want to run to the California State Railroad Museum. In April, the Old Sacramento institution earned its sensory inclusivity certification from KultureCity, a leading nonprofit focused on sensory accessibility, so everyone can experience the majesty and power of trains in peace. Just ask for a KultureCity sensory bag upon arrival, and trained personnel will furnish you with a backpack holding an assortment of fidget gadgets, glasses to dim the flashing lights and noise-canceling headphones, while helpful signage lets you know where to don protection, and where to go for quiet should you need to take a beat. To which we say, all  aboard! californiarailroad.museum —H.L.J.

Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

Best Colorful Commentator

We’d like to give a full-throated shout-out to Sacramento Kings play-by-play announcer Mark Jones for his  shout-outs that hit nothing but net. Herewith, a few of his delicious gems: “In his bag—deep, like the fries are at the bottom!” (for long-range scorers who are in the zone), “Oh, he took his cornbread!” (for steals), and his signature one-liner for a player on a heater, “He’s hotter than fish grease!” Hungry for more, we can’t wait to hear what new sound bites Jones will be cooking up when the new NBA season starts this fall. —E.L.

Photo by Bshootz, courtesy of Another Planet Entertainment

Best New “In” Spot to Rock Out

Sacramento’s newest musical hot spot has hit a sweet spot—in between the intimate clubs where we love to discover up-and-comers and the large arenas where we can watch headliners like Cake and say we knew them when. In other words, with its 2,150-person capacity, Channel 24 feels just right. (Fun fact: The venue’s name is a clever reference to its location on 24th Street, the River City’s waterways, and the minimum number of channels that concert sound mixers typically have.) Where else could you catch country sensation Tucker Wetmore, or genre-bending bluegrassy songstress Sierra Ferrell, both of whom packed the house after Sacramento’s own Tycho (Scott Hansen) helped kick off opening weekend? Since then, it’s been a dizzying whirlwind of can’t-miss favorites, from Jack White (who popped into Hook & Ladder for a pre-show nosh) to Death Cab for Cutie. Upcoming acts include Grammy-winning R&B star and former Sacramentan Raphael Saadiq on Sept. 7 and The Psychedelic Furs on Sept. 19. Lose the remote—we’re going to stay on this channel. channel24sac.com —S.T.

Excerpted from Birds of the California Delta by Aaron N. K. Haiman, reproduced with permission from Heyday © 2025

Best Proof That the Bird Is Still the Word

We mean this as the highest compliment: There’s no nerd nerdier than a bird nerd. And West Sacramento naturalist Aaron N. K. Haiman is the ultimate example of a passionate, geeky scientist. The lively writing and cool hometown facts in his authorial debut, Birds of the California Delta—which was released in March by Berkeley-based publisher Heyday—will have you looking at the sky over the Yolo Bypass with fresh, wide eyes. Did you know, for instance, that certain places in our region, including Bridgeway Island Pond, host the largest population of blue-winged teals in the state? And we’re on the edge of our seat when Haiman describes a “goose blizzard” as “giant, whirling, churning, cacophonous masses of birds.” After all, as he reminds us, “Birds. Are. Dinosaurs.” —H.L.J.

Photo by Janis Lott, courtesy of Newsbeat

Best Place to Browse Without a Browser

Newsbeat in downtown Davis is one standout newsstand. That’s what folks at The New York Times thought too when they gifted this beloved institution with a rare commemorative neon clock in the mid-1990s—now displayed in the window—for being one of their top West Coast retailers. Perusing the shelves’ analog offerings, we inevitably discover something esoteric we never knew we needed—like issue No. 6 of Serviette, a gorgeous, velvety-paged foodie journal from Toronto, or Sloft, “a magazine dedicated to compact interiors” from Europe where you can find the Paris jewel box apartment of your dreams. Owners Janis and Terence Lott encourage leisurely browsing, so go ahead, spend hours flipping and reading, but we dare you to resist taking home a copy of Mildew: The Secondhand Fashion Magazine, after a septuagenarian cover girl in an extraordinary hat gives you a “come hither” glance. thenewsbeat.com —H.L.J.

Photo courtesy of Vertical

Best Star Turns

From Sacramento State alum Ryan Coogler penning and helming this year’s Sinners, which became the highest-grossing original horror movie of all time, to native daughter Greta Gerwig getting tapped to write and direct at least two cinematic adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia, Sacramento is having quite the Hollywood moment. Not to mention, we saw our city’s name up in lights this past spring in the dramedy Sacramento, which was partially filmed here and features local landmarks like Gunther’s Ice Cream and the Tower Bridge (pictured above, with actors Michael Cera and Michael Angarano crossing the span). Then in June came Pixar’s Elio, co-directed and conceived by Grass Valley’s Adrian Molina, who co-wrote and co-directed Coco  and is working on its sequel. Next up is September’s One Battle After Another, the eagerly anticipated film by Paul Thomas Anderson starring Leonardo DiCaprio, whose shoots took over the streets of downtown Sacramento last year. Is this the start of a Sactown invasion of Tinseltown? Let’s hope so, because Mr. DeMille, we’re definitely ready for our close-up. —E.L.

Photo by Clemente Ruiz, courtesy of the Golden 1 Center

Best Rockers for the Ages

Some things never change (in the house of flies), and if you get that reference, chances are you’ve been a Deftones fan for decades. And while the Sacramento-born, McClatchy High-raised band never really left the music scene, the rockers’ angsty lyrics and down-tuned guitars are seeing a massive resurgence right now. “Deftones are bigger than they’ve ever been,” the Chicago Tribune reported in April after the group sold out Chicago’s United Center, the NBA’s largest arena. Deftones also sold out their March concert at the Golden 1 Center too (their first-ever hometown sold-out arena show, pictured below), and buzz is building around their new album Private Music, dropping on Aug. 22. If you missed the Grammy winners earlier this year, you can still catch them headlining the Friday lineup at Sacramento’s Aftershock festival on Oct. 3. Rock on (and on and on), guys. —S.T.

Photo by Roderick Cooney Photography, courtesy of the Sacramento Office of Arts & Culture

Best Open-Air Museum

Last year, we celebrated how the Del Rio Trail, the new multiuse corridor between Land Park and Meadowview, opened new areas of the city to safe—and scenic—human-powered transportation. This year, we’re enchanted by the addition of public art pieces that turn this long, paved path into nothing short of an outdoor museum filled with inspiring works. You can download a map in the “about” section of the trail’s website, but we recommend treating it like a treasure hunt and discovering all 18 installations serendipitously as you ride or walk the trail’s 4.8 miles, from can’t-miss monuments like Matthew Mazzotta’s Uplifting Experience  (pictured above), a bright-colored, wind-driven steel, wood and polypropylene kinetic sculpture you can actually sit in, to Stephen Glassman’s two sculptures—one a boulder, one a feather—that bookend the corridor. Winters-based sculptor Gerald Heffernon’s whimsical bronzes around Charlie Jensen Park, including Life on Planet Teddy Bear  (a giant teddy bear walking a dog) and Cork and Snakescrew  (a surrealist corkscrew that is also a snake), are among the other fun discoveries to be found on this wild and artful ride. delriotrailart.org —H.L.J.