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.
Abridged by PBS KVIE was designed as a local public media outlet — coverage for the people, by the people, about the people in the Sacramento region. When Jake Goodrick came aboard as our local news editor in May, he brought with him an idea that exemplified that approach.
Jake led our “Meet your neighbors” series, which began publishing last week. Each day in Abridged’s morning newsletter through Sept. 30, we’re publishing a short profile or vignette of a Sacramento-area resident, ordinary people who touch those around them.
Not all these “neighbors” have ties to Sacramento’s food scene. But several do, and I’ve highlighted the first few of them below, from a farmer to a baker to a catering chef.
Today’s City of Treats also includes recommendations for black truffle popcorn, schnitzel sandwiches at a German beer hall and noodles in a sauce that’s part Sacramentan, part Korean. Let’s dig in.
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Benjy’s Bites
Prost Beer Hall | 9085 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove | 916-829-5297
Prost Beer Hall took over Old Town Elk Grove’s historic Hasman Building in 2023, and channeled some of Europe’s deepest beer traditions in the brick-walled space. Jamie Dougherty and David Smith, owners of Old Town Pizza & Tap House nearby and Pizzasaurus Rex in Midtown Sacramento, kept a Bavarian spirit at their spacious bar while rolling out contemporary attractions like Jägermeister shot skis, $5 happy hour well cocktails and bottomless mimosas during weekend brunch.
Sidle up to a communal wooden table for a plate of currywurst ($15), hand-cut golden fries topped with sliced sausage (andouille, banger or bratwurst) and drizzled with curry ketchup and aioli. The schnitzel sandwich ($19) is Prost’s take on the fried chicken-and-bread staple dotting restaurant menus across the region, served in this case with tart slaw, thin-sliced pickles, crispy breading and your choice of fries, salad or smoky potato salad. Grab a pour of Delirium Tremens, Reissdorf Kölsch or Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock and let the good times roll.
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.
Nugget Market ensnared me with a register-adjacent discount earlier this summer: Regalis black truffle microwave popcorn, nearly half-off at $8 for a three-pack. I was recovering from a gum graft procedure at the time and under orders to avoid popcorn like no other food, so I squirreled away my impulse purchase until getting the all-clear.
That time has come, so into the microwave it went. Three minutes later, I was shaking up the best bag of microwave popcorn I’ve ever had. Regalis’ product is made with real, dehydrated black truffles and mushrooms, not synthetic truffle oil, and that inky goodness covered kernals in a rich, salty spread. My free hand turned on the TV and fired up “How to Get to Heaven from Belfast,” but really, I was already there.
In the news
Lisa Lin’s latest Cooking in Season recipe, noodles with red pepper-gochujang sauce, melds late-summer Sacramento nightshades with cashews and a savory-spicy Korean paste. She recommends using udon noodles, though other wide varieties work fine as well.
Abridged by PBS KVIE was founded a year ago to share the Sacramento area’s stories. To celebrate our first anniversary, we’re publishing one short profile per day focused on people who make life meaningful and interesting around here. Meet your neighbors, starting with New Roma Bakery owner and baker Tim Costa.
Lilian Ofoma put her culinary dreams on the backburner when she immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria. But Ofoma found her way back into the kitchen, and now makes West African dishes for groups of up to 700 under the branding of Lilyz Catering Service.
Raised in San Diego and Tijuana, Justin Miller made over $300,000 per year in the 2000s running a food equipment plant and was sitting courtside at Los Angeles Lakers games. He and his wife Camelia Enriquez Miller left that life behind to take over her grandfather’s farm in Newcastle. Today, the couple’s Twin Peaks Orchards is the largest fruit farm in Placer County.
Happening this week
- Celebrate North Highlands falls Saturday at Freedom Park, with a 10 a.m. start time and free swag bags for the first 200 attendees. There’ll be a food truck court, and SMUD is offering free food vouchers to people 16+ who learn about or test drive electric vehicles while supplies last.
- The 12th annual Taste of Davis & Yolo is Sunday evening at the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge. A fundraiser benefitting STEAC and Meals on Wheels Yolo County, it’ll include bites and sips from Buckhorn Meat Co., Curry Kabab Paradise, Great Bear Vineyards, Tommy J’s Grill & Catering and more. Admission is $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
