Sactown Magazine - February-March 2020

Choco Loco

Can’t decide between chocolate cheesecake and chocolate mousse? Chocolate truffle and a chocolate bar? Have your cake and eat all the other chocolaty treats too with this over-the-top torte at Rick’s Dessert Diner

Sacramento Public Library CEO Rivkah Sass

Since taking the helm of the Sacramento Public Library system in 2009, Rivkah Sass—who was named Librarian of the Year by the "Library Journal" in 2006 while serving as the executive director of the Omaha Public Library—has shepherded the 28-branch organization through the past decade with the introduction of services like digital access to more than 200,000 e-books and the ability to check out everything from an electric guitar to a GoPro camera. We spoke to the Manteca native about what’s new at the SPL, ways to keep the library relevant in 2020, and bringing big names—from best-selling author Neil Gaiman to rapper 50 Cent—to town.

Brain Powder

A pair of chocolatiers are marrying their love of cacao with the health benefits of ancient mushrooms to create tasty new ways to dissipate the morning fog

Love at First Sip

Whether you’re happily attached or blissfully single, this pair of seasonal hot chocolates will help make your Valentine’s Day sweet and steamy

Fowl Play

The boozy bird’s the word at Bawk, R Street’s new finger-licking-good restaurant. A bucket of vodka-battered fried chicken with a bottle of Dom Pérignon? Oui, please.

The Lights Fantastic

Look down when you walk around town and you might spot some beautiful relics beneath your feet. Behold the magic of “vault lights” and how some cities are bringing them back to life.

In the Name of the Father

After graduating from UC Davis in 1967, Stephen Kaltenbach headed east and thrived in the heady New York art world, exhibiting alongside future greats like Richard Serra and Bruce Nauman, and inhabiting provocative alter egos à la Sacha Baron Cohen before Sacha Baron Cohen was even born. But it was his return to Davis that resulted in one of Sacramento’s most beloved paintings: a hauntingly evocative portrait of his dying father. With the launch of his first solo American museum show in over 40 years, the artist reflects on the man who inspired his masterwork and his own starring role as both father and son.

The Sketch Artist

Carmichael native Ian Hecox, co-founder of the YouTube sketch-comedy smash Smosh, returns home during the group’s first-ever live tour. He has just one request: Try not to laugh.