We’ve filled our wicker baskets with the best takeout en route to eight sonnet-worthy spots across the region for your alfresco dining pleasure. Whether you’re unpacking a gourmet BLT on toasted artisan bread while gazing upon a sweeping view of Gold Country or digging into a bucket of crispy fried chicken while smelling the roses at McKinley Park, we prove that life in the wake of a pandemic can be a picnic after all. (Just don’t forget the sunscreen.)
On the first day of spring, Ruhstaller Farm—our region’s only brewery designed in the spiritual mold of a soil-to-sip winery—officially opened, with a hop yard surrounding towering twin kilns inspired by 19th-century California pioneers and 20th-century Parisian postmodernism. The Farm, with its mission to produce beer defined by the Sacramento Valley’s rich agricultural heritage, is the fruition of a decade-long vision for J-E Paino—brewer, farmer, storyteller and a tenacious optimist who runs decidedly against the grain.
Restaurant Josephine—launched by two former chefs at Auburn’s acclaimed Carpe Vino—offers a culinary tour of France with a delicious detour to Eastern Europe (think smoked salmon crêpe gâteau topped with caviar). Bon appétit and bon voyage.
A developer with roots in Davis is building affordable mid-century-modern housing for a Palm Springs neighborhood, proving that equity and aesthetics can co-exist. Color us inspired.
