Is there a place for you at the Farm to Fork table? Certainly any person will be able to participate in the activities planned for throughout the year. There are the farmers markets and farm tours as well as many upcomng food events. Yet there are those who are more interested in taking an active part in the food community, in their own way.  Sacramento has several of these individuals who have successfully taken ideas and created their own place at Sacramento's table. How is that Sacramento's food scene is so easy to get involved in versus other cities? A big part of it has to do with size. If we lived in San Francisco or Los Angeles we would be lost in the noise. Sacramento, while a siz

Say goodbye to Mongo Mongo and say hello to the new Thai restaurant, “Sawasdee,” which also means “hello,” in Thai. The family-run restaurant held its cold opening last week at 1830 J Street, the location of the short lived mongolian barbeque place, Mongo Mongo, which recently closed in March. There have been two restaurants at this location over the past two years, but this hasn’t deterred the new owners who say they’re ready to be there for the long haul. Sawasdee will be entirely family-run by the Chaipants, who are new to owning a restaurant but aren’t rookies to running one. “We’ve all had lots of experience working at various Thai restaurants in the area,”, said 27-year-old Amm Cha

On any given weekday, how often do you see a food truck in downtown or midtown? Think about it. While it's true that there will be about 27 street food vendors under the freeway on Saturday for SactoMoFo 6, the question must be asked: Why do we rarely see food trucks in the city? Two years to the day after SactoMoFo 1, nothing has changed with city ordinances and this has, in fact, caused most of the regions food trucks to give up on the city altogether Ordinances have been at an absolute stand still since last September when the City of Sacramento's Law and Legislation Committee put a kibosh on those pertaining to food trucks on the street. Nevermind that a group of food truck owners, r

You don't have to be on a legendary quest, nor a hero to dive into the depths of Zelda’s. I travel around California regularly and am always on the lookout for a unique pizzeria; and throughout my travels one place keeps calling me home. Zelda's Pizza in downtown Sacramento conquers all. Zelda's has long been a unique gourmet pizzeria specializing in Chicago-style pizza harkening back to the famous Pizzeria Uno established in 1943 in the heart of Chicago. I arrived at Zelda's a little over a decade ago amidst a bar-hopping evening and the quality experience has been burned into my memory ever since. For those of you who enjoy things that find their niche and don't change, Zelda's i

As the farm to fork movement has gained momentum in Sacramento, we've been thinking about how The Sacramento Press could play a role, what our focus should be, and what kind of voices we can bring to the table. Some of our most popular stories tend to be about the openings and closings of restaurants on the grid, but this clearly called for a different approach. "Farm to Fork" is, as the name suggests, about the food system from top to bottom. There's lots of good food and restaurant coverage in Sacramento (Edible magazine is one of my favorites) but not enough about the food system as a whole, or about the food movement, and all its individual players, organizations and interconnected pa

I've been having a lot of conversations lately about the farm-to-fork movement, especially now that it seems to have become the It Girl of the food world. While eating lunch in my backyard earlier today, a friend and I found ourselves discussing the topic once again. "Everybody's jumping on the bandwagon," he laughed. I smiled and replied, "Good." And it is. In my humble opinion, the more people come to appreciate the wonders of farm-fresh food, simply prepared, the better. Which brings me to the subject of this article: Japanese Farm Food, a cookbook written by California-born Nancy Singleton Hachisu, the featured author at next week's Tasty Books event here in Sacramento. The event pair

Victory for the small Sacramento doughnut shop, Doughbot Donuts! Last night Donut Showdown aired on Food Network Canada where Chief Doughnaut Bryan Widener and Dannah O'Donnell competed against two other artisan doughnut makers. After making it through the first elimination round, Widener won the final round was a trio of imaginative raised doughnuts that impressed the judges. For the rest of this post I'll be using "donut" instead of "doughnut" in keeping with the show. Last fall Doughbot got a phone call and was being invited to compete on Donut Showdown, the Canadian version of Cupcake Wars. The week after Thanksgiving, Widener and O'Donnell closed up shop to fly to Toronto for filmin

You can tell a lot about a person by their hands. Randii MacNear’s hands have touched a lot of California produce since first shopping at the Davis Farmers Market in 1976. One of the most recent projects she has touched has gained national recognition — The Davis Farmers Market Cookbook: Tasting California’s Small Farms. It is difficult to choose a favorite recipe, MacNear says. “The concept of the cookbook is really that you don’t have to change the types of things you eat…you just have to change what you put in them,” she said.  MacNear's favorite recipe in the cookbook is the heirloom tomato watermelon salad, though the barbeque short ribs and berry pie recipes are also very deliciou

The second annual Sacramento Food Film Festival was held last weekend at the Guild Theater. Presented by Slow Food Sacramento and supported by a slew of local sponsors, this year's festival was better than ever. Founder and event organizer Catherine Enfield – who also blogs at Munchie Musings and was one of the originators of SactoMoFo – did a stellar job with both the planning and execution of the festival. In addition to lining up two films on Friday night and a whopping five films Saturday, Enfield organized a series of fun events to complement the films: discussions with filmmakers, a sushi tasting and a scavenger hunt, among others. Below are some scenes from Friday night at the festi

Chef Adam Pechal is a busy man, between his duties as the chef/owner of both Tuli Bistro and Restaurant THIR13EN, his recent stint as Sacramento's culinary ambassador on ABC's The Taste, and his recent launch of a  “Smoked Out” food trailer (a mobile pizza oven with dual smokers). But lucky for us, Chef Pechal has somehow also found time to teach cooking classes. Every month on Second Saturday, Chef Pechal will be partnering with Feeding Crane Farms at Lulu's Kitchen, teaching classes featuring some of his favorite Northern California farms, food and beverage producers. The first in the series of classes will be held this Saturday, March 9 from 4-6 p.m. The theme will be "Beer, Beer, Bee

As we previously reported, Sacramento's "Tasty Books" cookbook event series launched last week. Mulvaney's B&L hosted the dinner, featuring author Cheryl Sternman Rule. Pictured below are scenes from the event, including some of the outstanding courses inspired by the author's cookbook, Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables. Cheryl Sternman Rule is currently working on her next book, Yogurt Culture. You can read more about this award-winning author by visiting CherylSternmanRule.com. Dawn Balzarano is a local freelance food photographer, blogging at KitchenTravels.com.

Dawson's Restaurant at the Hyatt recently hosted a "Wine Dinner" - the first in a series of monthly events featuring some of Northern California's finest winemakers. A limited number of guests at the first dinner had the opportunity to meet Chris O'Hearn of Robert Sinskey Vineyards and sample a variety of organic wines paired with regionally-inspired recipes that were developed to complement the wines. Executive chef Jason Poole also mingled with guests and provided insight into the night's menu. Below, a visual sampling of the evening. The next Wine Dinner is on March 20, with winemaker Sarah Quider from Ferrari Carano. On April 17, Eponymous winemaker Robert Pepi will be featured.

Nicole Ix was more than just the lady at the cafe serving downtown customers coffee and pastries. The co-owner of Cafe Soleil at Cesar Chavez Park knew her customers by name, had no qualms about yelling at non-customers who’d sit at the outside tables, and would yodel when calling out orders. She’d yell out orders like, “Fish tacos to Mike, hurry it up!” Or “Tri-tip salad, and make good this time!” At 46, and nearly 14 months after being diagnosed with colon and liver cancer, Nicole Ix died this past Saturday. A sign posted on the cafe's open doors informed customers of the news, and asked that tears not be shed in her memory. "Nicole would not want anyone to cry over her, she asked for

Sacramento's food renaissance continues with the launching of "Tasty Books," a new series of cookbook events produced by local food writer, cookbook author, and editor Ann Martin Rolke. Rolke was inspired to create the series when she realized there were very few events of this type in the Sacramento area. Says Rolke, “I wanted to organize events like those I love to attend in other cities – author talks, signings, tastings, and dinners.” Tasty Books will host quarterly meet-the-author dinners with Mulvaney's B&L, in addition to smaller talks and tastings throughout the Sacramento area. The inaugural event will be held on Wednesday, February 27. Cookbook author Cheryl Sternman Rule will

Sacramento-based nonprofit California Food Literacy Center is launching its inaugural Food Literacy Academy in February. The call for applications is now open and the deadline is Monday, Jan. 28, at noon. The Food Literacy Academy is an intensive 10-week training program that will prepare community volunteers to become certified Food Literacy Advocates, equipping them with the skills needed to teach food literacy in their community. “Right now, demand for food literacy classes outpaces the number of trained teachers,” said Amber Stott, founder of California Food Literacy Center. “We created the Food Literacy Academy to build an army of certified advocates to be critical players in our re

The Mexican Consulate of Sacramento is hosting a Posada party at Splash Bar on the evening of Dec. 13. This event is going to be a fantastic party as well as a fundraising opportunity for a great cause. All proceeds from this event will go to the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, a local nonprofit that has been working to improve socio-economic conditions for California’s rural poor for over 30 years. With doors opening at 7 p.m., guests will be treated to hors d'oeuvres provided by Zocalo, music courtesy of Mariachi Los Gallos, the wonderful folk dancing of Folklorico Aztlan de Sacramento and all kinds of other Posada treats! Additionally, there will be a silent auction with

Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture & Education Project has become Sacramento's newest and fastest growing way of urban farming locally. This program has been designed to focus on promoting good health and providing experiential learning opportunities for the residents of Sacramento to produce healthy food, improve access to healthy food for all, and to model land and environmental care and protection. Not only does this program provide healthy, certified organic produce for over 80 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members and local stores, restaurants, and farm stands, Soil Born Farms has also created several educational and food access programs in partnerships with local schools and a

From the handwritten posters on the wall, to the familiar faces greeting you as you walk in, Hagen’s Orange Freeze gives off the feeling of home. The place brings one back to years ago, having the charm of an “old-school” diner with homemade comfort food and a welcoming atmosphere that is rare now. The restaurant has been there for years, since it replaced Merlino’s Freeze, another well-known restaurant and name in Sacramento. It is owned by the Hagen family, the parents, along with their five sons, who all attended school around the area. They’re known for having an “extended” family, one that includes their workers, who are students and friends from around the Sacramento area. The rest

Coyote Tap House and Big Bowl Noodle bar, a new bar and restaurant serving Asian cuisine complemented by around 50 beers on tap, held its soft opening Friday afternoon, Nov. 16, at the spot on the corner of 14th and H streets vacated by Brew it Up! last year. The owners, brothers Ken and Ming Le, own and have run Oshima Sushi and Fugu Lounge in Natomas since 2004. The staff was busy getting the place ready for their grand opening next week and wasn't available for comment – but they did allow me to shoot a few photos and take a look at their menu.  Noodle bowls range in price from $10 to $12, and daily specials include items like "Spicy Red Rock Shrimp" and "Pineapple Chicken." The men

Lowbrau owners Michael Hargis and Clay Nutting say they expect to open their German-style beer hall and sausage restaurant in the first few weeks of December, if construction stays on track. The restaurant will take the 20th and K streets location of the former Lounge on 20, which closed earlier this year after an extensive redesign failed to draw fine-dining customers in the numbers needed to make it succeed. Hargis and Nutting say they have a markedly different concept, with the communal tables, larger square bar and decor that’s a cross between modern and Bavarian styling designed to foster a sense of community at affordable prices. “We were really lucky,” Hargis said Tuesday. “We’ve