Taste: The region's latest food, drink & restaurant news for Aug. 10
This week in dining news: a bakery with over-the-top doughnuts opens in Roseville, a bar specializing in Moscow Mules launches in West Sacramento, and a riverside restaurant swings open its doors in Courtland. Plus, Off the Grid extends its stay at the Barn, and downtown Sacramento is about to get a new retro cocktail lounge.
BAD Bakers
Co-owners Vincent and Katelyn Tiuseco, who opened this new one-stop baked goods shop in Roseville on Aug. 5, also run the Natomas location of their family's Filipino bakery, Starbread, known for its gooey señorita bread. At BAD Bakers (which stands for "bread and doughnuts"), the couple's specialty doughnuts and bright pink color scheme strike a notable contrast to their humble bakery beginnings. Take the Unicorn Clouds doughnut, for instance: a cake doughnut with cotton candy icing, rainbow sprinkles and a pouf of pink spun sugar on top. It occupies a spot inside the bakery case next to the 135-layer Bananarama cronut with chopped peanuts, Nutella and sliced bananas, and the Breakfast of Champions doughnut with bacon, Rice Krispies cereal and maple coffee icing. For even more of a sweet kick, customers can order a “shot,” aka a syringe filled with chocolate, strawberry, banana and dulce de leche custard, stuck into a doughnut of their choice. 1420 E. Roseville Pkwy. Roseville. 883-2253
Kick N Mule
Kick N Mule, a new West Sacramento sports bar that soft opened along West Capitol Ave. at the end of June, celebrates the popular Moscow Mule cocktail. At its rustic bar lined with flat-screen TVs, Kick N Mule slings 25 varieties of the drink, like the Lavender Mule made with elderflower liqueur and lavender syrup or the Big Ass Mule, served in a colossal 95-ounce mug with pomegranate liqueur, lime juice, ginger beer and half a bottle of Elijah Craig bourbon. Luis Gomez, formerly the executive chef at Rio City Cafe, dishes out small plates—like ahi poke nachos on wonton chips, pork potstickers, and prawn poppers with blue cheese dipping sauce—and eclectic entrées like steak Madeira, jambalaya and shiitake mushroom ravioli. For dessert, pair your Moscow Mule (or one of Kick N Mule’s home-brewed double IPAs) with mango bread pudding, a brownie sundae or a slice of house-made cheesecake. 2901 W. Capitol Ave. West Sacramento. 572-0264. kicknmule.com
Off the Grid
West Sacramento’s weekly Saturday evening party under the stars at the Barn has extended its stay through Sept. 30, bringing more food trucks and live music to the burgeoning riverside neighborhood. The event series was slated to finish at the end of August, but its popularity prompted organizers to keep it going through the final days of summer. On Sept. 9, beer lovers can attend a tasting to sample Drake’s Brewing Company’s suds during Meet the Brewers night (Drake's will begin operating a permanent concession at the Barn sometime this year) and chow down on food truck fare from the likes of Slightly Skewed and Frenchy's Waffles. Foodies can also check out the latest purveyors to the Off the Grid lineup, like Ash and Oil, which dishes out lettuce wraps and rice bowls, or Post Oak Barbecue with Texas-style brisket, spare ribs, peanut slaw and potato salad. Saturdays through Sept. 30. 5-10 p.m. 985 Riverfront St. West Sacramento. offthegrid.com
Steamboat Landing
This new restaurant, deli and bakery adjacent to the 169 year-old Steamboat Acres pear farm soft-opened along the shores of the Sacramento River and Steamboat Slough in Courtland on July 4, and its owners are planning a grand opening sometime soon after Labor Day. This is the third incarnation of the Steamboat Landing restaurant, which originally opened in 1920 on the eastern side of the river. Serving as a stopping point and grab-and-go eatery for wayfarers along the Delta, Steamboat Landing offers dishes like a Havarti cheeseburger with chimichurri aioli and bacon pear jam, and a pulled pork sandwich with pear bourbon barbecue sauce and goat cheese jicama slaw. Guests can sit on the expansive back deck with a pear freeze, a glass of Hemly pear cider or wine from local vineyards like Heringer Estates, or pick up baked goods like croissants, muffins and cinnamon rolls, as well as pear jam, cherry jelly and fresh pickles. 12414 State Hwy. 160. Courtland. 775-1121. thesteamboatlanding.com
Ten Ten Room
Tyler and Melissa Williams, who run Tank House and The Jungle Bird are aiming to open their latest venture, the Ten Ten Room, in downtown Sacramento at 1010 10th Street by the end of August. In the 1950s, the location was a bar and restaurant called Tan Tan where politicos gathered over cigars and martinis. In that spirit, Tyler Williams says he’s aiming to create a Mad Men-era cocktail lounge with dark wood finishes and modern touches like flat-screens showing Giants games. He has brought on Jason Withrow, formerly of Bottle & Barlow and Empress Tavern, to manage the Ten Ten Room’s bar, which will offer period drinks like cosmos, grasshoppers and Harvey Wallbangers, as well as a lineup of champagne cocktails. Greg Pilapil, formerly of Hook & Ladder, will be creating a menu of lunch, dinner and happy hour bites in line with the vintage theme, including Scotch deviled eggs, grape jelly meatballs and a hearty garlic steak sandwich. 1010 10th St. 431-7199. facebook.com/tentenroom
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