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.
I spent my Sunday eating, then digesting, more bagels than ever before. The first-ever Sacramento Bagel Battle, a subset of the Sacramento Jewish Food Faire, pitted a half-dozen of the region’s top dough rings against each other.
My fellow judges — content creator couple The Taste Duo (Ellie and Lupe Andrade), Fox40’s Eytan Wallace, Sysco’s Erick Matos and former Solomon’s Delicatessen co-owner Jami Goldstene – and I ranked for taste, texture, appearance and authenticity in a blind tasting of plain bagels. There were two clear winners, neither of which have storefronts.
Pop-up bakery Better Half Bagel garnered 143 total points, producing a bagel that was appropriately dense and chewy with a slight brown sheen. It scored one single point higher than Battin’s Bagel Bike’s offering, which owner Matthew Battin delivers on bike each Saturday to customers who place advance orders.
Yet Oak Park’s Forgotten Bakery walked away the event’s big winner, thanks to a truly impressive breakfast sandwich created for the bagel bash. Owners Paul Dollar and Robby Naim piled vaca frita (Cuban shredded flank steak), muhammara (Middle Eastern red pepper dip) and plantains between their bagels, with a side container of the Lebanese garlic sauce toum for dipping.
The audacious creation not only incorporated elements of both owners’ backgrounds, but hit all the marks for flavor and contrast, resulting in thoughtful fusion that won “Most Creative,” “Best Specialty” and “People’s Choice” awards. It will hopefully land on the menu at 4650 Stockton Blvd. one day, Naim said.
Sacramento’s bagel scene is notoriously thin, particularly compared to that which has risen out of the Bay Area. But there are a few worth their salt, some available occasionally and others more consistently. Organizers hope to have at least 10 contestants next year. In this case, the more competition, the better.
Benjy’s Bites
International Market | 1345 Fulton Ave., Sacramento | 916-487-0101
International Market’s kebab plates come with rice, hummus, tzatziki, salad and hot sauce. (Benjy Egel)
Nasr Masarweh is nearly a one-man band behind International Market. He’ll be on the phone trying to work out a tech issue at the front of his Arden Arcade store, then walk past rows of lentils, spices and Persian watermelon seeds to take orders at the back deli.
Masarweh’s Middle Eastern market offers just a few prepared foods: kebab plates, wraps, a couple of sides and tri-tip sandwiches, with the halal meats grilled out in front of the Fulton Square shopping center storefront. My top recommendation is the gamey, tender mixed beef and lamb kebabs ($14), served in a to-go box with rice, pita, salad, tzatziki, hummus and a pickle spear. Two hot sauces, a straightforward red and an herbaceous green, add some kick as desired.
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.
My partner and I hosted a couple of friends before the Crocker Art Museum’s ArtMix event last week, and decided to whip up some cocktails to get the “Spells and Spirits” theme rolling. A quick online search turned up this new apple cider mule recipe from the blog A Couple Cooks, which fit the stringent requirement of using ingredients we already had in the house.
Cider, lime juice, ginger beer and the last of my J.J. Pfister Distilling Co. vodka (the Rancho Cordova distillery closed almost a year ago) mixed together to create a delightfully autumnal drink — sweet first, with cinnamon spice, the bite of booze and a bit of citrus cutting through. Cups were empty before I knew it.
In The News
- Australian-style cafés have increasingly popped up in U.S. cities over the past decade, serving beachy vibes and avocado toasts to native Aussies and curious Americans alike. The Sacramento region has just one: Camp Cove, opened by Sydney native Jon Rubel near the Capitol last November. As Rubel said, it’s something you need to experience to fully understand.
- I asked a handful of local chefs and restaurateurs at Terra Madre Americas what ingredients they thought people should cook with more. Their answers included everything from harissa and honey to onion — even as a dessert. Video by Denis Akbari.
Happening This Week
- There’s no shortage of mouthwatering events happening this Saturday, including the 78th annual Sacramento Armenian Food Festival in Citrus Heights, harvest festivals in Auburn and Plymouth, the Day of the Dead Carnitas Festival in Elk Grove and Spirits, Brews & Bites in the Historic Folsom District.
- El Tapatio opened Monday at 3521 Truxel Road in Natomas Marketplace shopping center. It’s the local sit-down Mexican restaurant’s third location, joining others in Citrus Heights and Auburn.
- Indian fusion pizza will land in Downtown Commons on Wednesday, courtesy of Tandoori Pizza. The Bay Area-based chain will open its second regional location at 415 K St., Suite 240 in Downtown Sacramento, joining an existing outpost in Elk Grove.
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.