Taste: The region's latest food, drink & restaurant news for Nov. 2
Feast your eyes upon this news: a new pie shop launches in Auburn, a popular local bakery reopens, two new seafood places pop up in downtown, and one of our favorite new midtown restaurants has begun serving brunch.
An Honest Pie
This mobile bakery, celebrated for its addictive sweet and savory hand pies and one of our recent cravings of the week, is opening a permanent location mid-November at Auburn’s Home Depot inside a vintage camping trailer. With help from Harp’s RV Service in Lincoln, owner Brenda Janssen restored a 1957 canned ham travel trailer that will serve An Honest Pie’s full menu, pour over European roast coffee and ice cream in the summer months. Janssen will continue to operate her original mobile food truck, which makes regular stops throughout the region and at Sacto MoFo events. The new spot will be open at 11755 Willow Creek Drive in Auburn Mon.-Sat. from 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Opening updates will be posted to Facebook. anhonestpie.com
Pokeganda: Militant Poke
Its name may sound like some kind of strikingly unsavory political action, but it’s actually the name of a poke bar that held its grand opening Oct. 29 inside the Vampire Penguin shaved snow parlor on 9th and K streets in downtown Sacramento. Poke is a Hawaiian dish of raw fish served over rice or salad with an assortment of sauces and colorful condiments like edamame, ginger, cucumber, scallions and wakame, and it’s become a popular fast casual option with places like Fish Face on R Street and Make Fish in midtown and Elk Grove offering endlessly customizable bowls that can quickly approach $20 a plate with add-ons. Pokeganda’s version is a solid offering for the downtown lunch crowd at $11.95 per bowl, all toppings included. 907 K St. 553-4197. vampirepenguin.com
Saddle Rock
This new midtown restaurant, which we already love for its savory oyster bread, began serving brunch Sept. 24, with indulgent, creative dishes like breakfast poutine, hefty pancakes and the staff favorite Hangtown Fry (an omelet with oysters, V. Miller Meats’ coffee-rubbed bacon and goat cheese). Don’t miss the veggie skillet, presented in a cast-iron pan with a sunny-side up egg on top. Even the side of toast is irresistible for its accompaniment of sweet house-made pear jam. Wash down your entrées with bottomless mimosas or Saddle Rock’s take on Irish coffee, featuring bourbon, a custom roast by Rush Coffee and a dollop of fresh whipped cream on top. Brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 1801 L St. 706-2011. saddlerockrestaurant.com
Spinners Cinnamon Rolls
This local bakery, which closed its 28-year-old spot at Downtown Plaza in June 2015 to make way for Golden 1 Center’s construction, is reopening at a new South Land Park location Nov. 4. Jovial owners Larry and Sandy Taing say their new spot, located inside a 76 gas station along Sutterville Road, will carry their classic lineup of sticky and sweet cinnamon rolls, coffee and pastries, including ham and cheese breakfast croissants and assorted oversized muffins in flavors like chocolate and blueberry. Check Spinners’ Facebook page for grand opening details. 1400 Sutterville Rd. 452-2046
The Boiling Crab
This seafood-centric restaurant is slated to open its second location in Sacramento on Dec. 5, occupying the former Assembly Music Hall at 10th and K streets in downtown. The spot is currently under construction and will eventually seat 228 guests inside the restaurant—which will offer a warm, homey vibe by way of reclaimed wood finishes and cozy booths—with additional space on an outside patio. A small chain that originated in the modest fishing village of Seadrift, Texas, in 2004, the Boiling Crab offers shellfish like Southern king crab legs, crawfish and mussels, smothered in garlic butter, lemon pepper sauce or the restaurant’s signature “Rajun Cajun” seasoning. 1000 K St. 394-9166. theboilingcrab.com
You Might Also Like
First Look: The Newly Reopened Kru
Four new breweries bursting onto Sacramento’s craft beer scene
Craving of the Week: BarnBurner's Angel Food Cake French Toast
