The following is from City of Treats, a food and drink newsletter by Abridged Senior Food Editor Benjy Egel. Want it sent directly to your inbox? Sign up here.
Two things can be true: Abridged is short-staffed right now, and just published its most food and drink stories in one week since launching in September.
We’re a small but mighty team to start with, and have had a handful of staff members out of office as of late. But thanks to a community-oriented approach, we’ve been able to tell stories far and wide across the Sacramento region’s food scene.
I wrote about Alchemist Public Market, a $15.5 million project in the Railyards District, suddenly running into a cash flow issue that will torpedo the entire development without a quick solution. Abridged Community Reporter Natachi Mez focused on Jamaican pop-up Jerkies, a product of Alchemist CDC’s incubator program, which spent Sunday night serving food out of the former Empress Tavern space.
Local freelance writer Keyla Vasconcellos took us inside Midtown Sacramento’s hottest new bar and the region’s first Turkish café in Rocklin. PBS KVIE visual journalist Shelley Ho picked up the pen for her story on Hidden Dumpling House, which just opened its third area location. And Julia Perinovic’s first story for Abridged walked us through an ideal day where she lives in Fair Oaks, a few weeks after her sister Cassidy Myers-Sims did the same in Folsom.
This was the vision for Abridged’s food coverage. A seasoned local journalist at the helm, flanked by the diverse knowledge and perspectives of emerging writers from across the region. Thanks for supporting me, along with the next wave of food writers, in all that we do.
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Benjy’s Bites
The Hotdogger | 129 E St., Davis | 530-753-6291
If I’m craving a hot dog in Placer County, I go to Parker’s Hot Dogs of Santa Cruz. If I want one in Yolo County, I head to The Hotdogger. Ivan and Tad Franks’ (yes, that’s really their last name) 180-square-foot shoebox has been a downtown Davis fixture since 1984, supported by ancillary booths at the Davis and Midtown Sacramento farmers markets and Ruhstaller Farm in Dixon. Snappy all-beef Schwarz Meats dogs from Fairfield nestle into toasted Village Bakery buns, with LightLife veggie dogs available as substitutes. As the store motto says: “It’s your wiener, do what you want.”
Guy Fieri dubbed the Thai chicken ($13) sausage the “Best Bite In Town” when his short-lived Food Network show came to Davis in 2023. Inspired by a Franks family trip to Thailand, it’s stuffed with herbs (lemongrass and Thai basil are definitely involved) and finished with spicy-sweet tomato relish. The Dogfather ($11) is an older flagship; while an employee compared the flavors to a pizza, I found the marinara, roasted red peppers, melted mozzarella and Italian sausage to taste more like a meatball sub. For a classic done well, try the chili dog ($10-$11 depending on the amount of chili).
Egel’s Nest
I live, play and cook in this community just like you. This recurring section is a window into my life outside of restaurants and bars, always with a food and/or drink angle.
Our landlords are selling the house, which means my partner Abbey and I are saying goodbye to Southside Park, a neighborhood we’ve grown to love over the past year. We hosted 15 or so friends for a farewell bash on a recent evening, getting in some backyard cornhole and basement ping-pong while we still could.
I filled up the backyard sink with ice and loose fridge beers and seltzers, while Abbey harvested our mint plant and finished a rum bottle to make a pitcher of mojitos. Dos Coyotes Border Cafe’s generous chicken taco platter fed most guests, along with bowls of grapes, Cheez-Its and potato chips. We’re sad to leave, but it made for a lovely send-off.
In the news
Alchemist Public Market, a $15.5 million project planned in the River District, will collapse without a bridge loan by June 2. Project organizers Alchemist CDC have state and federal grant funding, and were anticipating a $3 million loan from the city of Sacramento, which currently faces a $66.2 million budget deficit.
Midtown Sacramento’s hottest new cocktail lounge is Day Tripper, a tropical escape (but don’t call it a tiki bar) behind the Ice Blocks development. It’s owned by Irish Hospitality Group, which also owns The Butterscotch Den, Ro Sham Beaux and The Snug.
The Sacramento region is growing rich with Yemeni cafés, but just got its first Turkish one. Antalya Delights & Cafe, opened in February in Rocklin, serves strong cups of Turkish coffee along with simit, sesame bread rings similar to bagels.
When Julia Perinovic moved back to the Sacramento area after years in Los Angeles and San Francisco, she wanted to live somewhere with some charm and quirks. Fair Oaks, with its roaming chickens and unique architecture, proved to be the right fit. She outlined what to do for a great day in Fair Oaks, from morning pastries and paddleboarding to a late-night dive bar.
Hidden Dumpling House owner Danni Kan grew up making dumplings with her grandparents in Northeast China. She’s now founded four restaurants (three of them specializing in dumplings) over the past four years. The latest one, opened in Land Park on May 18, offers outdoor seating and coloring pages for kids.
Najeary Bennett, a native of Jamaica, who now lives in Grass Valley, hosted his second Jerkies pop-up at the former Empress Tavern on Sunday. He views his cooking as a way of connecting with his ancestors, natives and escaped slaves who pioneered Jamaican cuisine.
Happening this week
- The River City Food & Collectibles Festival will take over Fremont Park in Downtown Sacramento on Saturday. Look for easy-to-grab street bites in addition to Labubus, Pokémon, Pop Marts and more.
- The annual Orangevale Summer Palooza falls this Friday-Sunday at Orangevale Community Park. Thousands of people typically come out to the carnival and parade, with a gaggle of food vendors there to feed them.
- Oak Park Bardega opened last week at 3326 Broadway, taking over KC Kombucha’s former space in North Oak Park. A deli by day and a wine bar by night, it’s owned by the people behind The Flamingo House in Midtown Sacramento and Darling Aviary in Downtown.
Benjy Egel is the senior food editor at Abridged. Born and raised in the Sacramento region, he has covered its local restaurants and bars since 2018. He also writes and edits Abridged’s weekly food and drink newsletter, City of Treats.