Taste: The region's latest food, drink & restaurant news for June 12
This week we've got the lowdown on a new gastropub in Arden-Arcade and the new location of a favorite Nevada City ice cream shop. Plus, find out where to get your fix of Armenian coffee and Vietnamese noodles.
Hi Coffee
According to Ana Hovakimyan, who co-owns this new Armenian coffee shop in Rancho Cordova with her husband Ara, the first thing you offer a guest in Armenia is always coffee. Finely ground to a powder and simmered in a copper pot, called a jazva, over heated sand, Armenian coffee comes out piping hot, encouraging patrons to sit and visit with friends as the drink cools. The comfy, high-backed booths and soft lighting at Hi Coffee create that communal atmosphere, and the coffee arrives to your table in a small cup on a saucer with a packet of sugar and a piece of chocolate (like Hershey’s Kisses), plus a jazva with extra coffee on the side. Hi Coffee also serves loose-leaf teas in varieties like peach mango green tea, black rose and Bombay chai, as well as other pick-me-ups like iced coffee and a large selection of European desserts—think Armenian éclairs, German chocolate cake, truffles and baklava—sourced from local bakeries. The shop will also soon be adding salads and pirozhki to its menu. 10923 Olson Dr. Rancho Cordova. 877-8844. facebook.com/sactohicoffee
Nubo & Moo Moo
Moo Moo, a coffee, shaved ice and bubble tea shop that has been operating in Elk Grove for the last three years has expanded with a new location in South Sacramento that also offers build-your-own noodle dishes. Nubo & Moo Moo (Nubo is short for “noodle box”) opened May 19 with a menu that allows patrons to choose a protein option—choices include pork, chicken, kalbi (short rib), shrimp, or all for the most carnivorous eaters—served over jasmine rice, Vietnamese vermicelli, or both. Pair that with your choice of house-made vinaigrette or soy sauce and sides like fried eggs and chicken egg rolls. The noodle house also serves up snacks like barbecue spring rolls, shrimp-cheese wontons, fried calamari and popcorn chicken. Wash those down with one of Moo Moo’s traditional milk teas in flavors like taro coconut or one of its signature drinks, like the Sunrise with passion fruit green tea, fresh strawberries and lychee, and the Red Moon with raspberry jasmine tea, fresh strawberries and boba pearls. 8250 Calvine Rd. 682-8122. moomootea.com
Serpentine Fox Prohibition Grille
This new gastropub, owned by Sacramento native Diego Peralta, opened May 29 on the corner of El Camino and Fulton avenues in Arden-Arcade in a building that once housed an upholstery shop. The menu at Serpentine Fox pays homage to Peralta’s parents—like the lamb burger that’s served with minty cucumber-Greek yogurt spread, arugula and smoked Gouda cheese on a grilled brioche bun, inspired by his Fijian mother; as well as his Colombian father’s classic empanadas, made with chicken, pork or vegetables and served with sofrito dipping sauce. Customers can also order from the bar’s 14 beers on tap, including some prominent local labels like Track 7 and Sactown Union Brewery, or taste the popular spicy watermelon cocktail that includes Rayu mezcal, habanero syrup and fresh melon and lime juices. Peralta says he wants the 3,000-square-foot space to have a neighborhood atmosphere a la Cheers, so he installed a large rectangular bar in its center, surrounded by tables and booths made from locally reclaimed wood. 2645 El Camino Ave. 913-1159. serpentinefox.com
Treats Ice Cream
This cheery, closet-sized ice cream shop tucked down a side street in downtown Nevada City will be moving into the renovated historic Tinnery building just a hop down York Street, more than doubling its size and available seating. Peggy Wright, who co-owns Treats with her husband Bob, hopes the move will be complete by early July without any interruption in serving up the shop’s two dozen rotating flavors of decadent ice cream, sorbet, vegan ice cream and gelato at the start of summer. The interior, which Wright calls “rustic elegant” will complement the original corrugated metal exterior of the Tinnery, which also houses a local architecture firm and two studio apartments. The transition will allow the Wrights to produce their ice cream in-house—a process that now takes place at a plant adjacent to their home—meaning less footwork for them and plenty of scoops of creative flavors like bourbon breakfast and vegan lavender for their customers. 205 York St. Nevada City. 530-913-5819. treatsnevadacity.com
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