Taste: The region's latest food, drink & restaurant news for June 24
Sacramento's dining world is abuzz with openings, like a new ice cream sandwich parlor at Arden Fair mall and a new coffee bar in East Sacramento, and updates, like a celebrated chef joining the Fat's restaurant group and an expansion of a popular Rocklin eatery.
Bombolone Cafe
This new ice cream sandwich parlor is aiming for a July 1 opening at Arden Fair mall. Located on the first floor near the southwest entrance next to Starbucks and Jamba Juice, the desserterie will offer ice cream-filled donuts, ice cream sandwich cookies and other desserts like bread pudding. Bombolone Cafe, which is owned by Paramjit Singh and Aman Ullah (the latter of whom also owns Curry Corner, an Indian-Pakistani restaurant in Natomas), will allow guests to build their own confectionary creations using their choice of six different cookies, 16 flavors of Gunther’s ice cream, donuts and various toppings like sprinkles or crushed peppermint candies, and will also serve coffee and espresso drinks made with Temple Coffee. 1689 Arden Way. 832-1265. bombolonecafe.com
Fat Family Restaurant Group
The local culinary empire, whose locations stretch from Old Sacramento to Roseville, including the venerable Frank Fat's, has hired a new food and beverage director. Lin Chen, who joined Fat’s in April and takes over the role from family matriarch Lina Fat, has 30 years of culinary experience, most recently working as a master taster and chef judge at San Francisco’s food judging organization, ChefsBest. Chen has also held stints as an instructor at Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco, a consultant for celebrity chef Martin Yan and executive chef of Foster City’s French-Asian fusion restaurant Le Burgeon. In his new role, Chen will lead the culinary team with cuisine development, and patrons can expect to see new dishes or drinks at Fat’s locations in the near future, as Chen works with chefs and bartenders to experiment and revamp the menus. fatsrestaurants.com
Fish Face and Metro Kitchen + Drinkery
These two highly anticipated establishments will open Thurs., July 9, in the Warehouse Artist Lofts on R Street. Fish Face—from Kru's chef-owner Billy Ngo—will offer sushi and “build your own salad” style poke (a Hawaiian cousin to ceviche comprising raw fish, seaweed, soy sauce and onions) with an emphasis on local food. According to co-owner Phuong Tran, Fish Face will be working with such providers as Next Generation Foods for organic rice, Passmore Ranch for sturgeon and Roseville’s Silk Road Soda. The casual eatery will be open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and will feature four taps at the bar, which will include beer from Track 7 Brewing Co., Two Rivers Cider Co. and Kirin (a Japanese brewing company), as well as canned beers, ciders and sake. Meanwhile, Metro Kitchen + Drinkery is putting a new spin on the juice “bar” in their space by serving mimosas, hard ciders, kombucha and healthful cocktails like the Mary Verde (pictured above), made with Han Vodka and the drinkery's Leaves + Juice (which includes kale, spinach, bok choy, cucumber and lemon), as well as their cold-pressed juices. The health-conscious café, owned by Lisa and Keith Musilli Johnson, will start by serving toast in the morning, including a gluten-free option from Sugar Plum Vegan bakery, as well as parfaits and breakfast bowls, tapas throughout the day, and coffee drinks which will use locally roasted coffee from Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters. 1104 R St. fishfacepokebar.com. metrojuicecompany.com
Pachamama Coffee Cooperative
In August, the local coffee co-op will open a coffee bar in East Sacramento, at the former location of The Cultured and the Cured cheese shop. Similar to its Davis location, the new shop will serve pour-overs and espresso drinks, plus baked goods from Sugar Plum Vegan bakery. At its midtown roastery, the organic coffee company recently installed a new high-tech, eco-friendly coffee roaster, which began operating in early June thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised just over $50,000 at the end of 2014. To celebrate the roaster’s recent installation, Pachamama is hosting a launch party at its headquarters. on June 27 with workshops like coffee roasting and home brewing, plus free tacos, drinks and live music. New East Sacramento location: 3644 J St. Roaster launch party: free. 11 a.m.–midnight on June 27. 919 20th St. 530-204-7554. pacha.coop
The Chef’s Table
The Rocklin-based eatery is expanding. Earlier this month, it acquired the space next door that currently houses Kona Café, which owners Erick Johnson and Jon Irwin plan to turn into a new breakfast and bar area for the cozy eatery by fall. The Chef’s Table team has already changed the coffee at the cafe—which will be open for another couple of weeks before it closes for the renovation that will merge the two spaces into one—from Kona brand to the Rocklin-based Mast Coffee Co., which roasts its beans in small, five-pound batches. The cafe side will eventually serve a full farm-to-fork breakfast menu and will house a bar featuring 24 taps (a vast leap from the current six) pouring suds from local brewing companies like Knee Deep, Auburn Alehouse, Loomis Basin and Track 7, as well as cold-brewed Mast coffee. The added bar space will also allow the restaurant to add craft cocktails, such as Manhattans and negronis, to its menu for the first time, Select items from the Chef’s Table’s current menu will be available in the bar—like the pesto fries, fried chicken, burger and tacos—but Johnson is also developing a bar-only menu of gastropub fare with local, seasonal twists (think brined chicken wings or a play on fish and chips in which the chips are made from fish). 6843 Lonetree Blvd. Rocklin. 771-5656. thechefstablerocklin.com
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