Welcome to the inaugural edition of 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.
Hello, friends! Thanks for joining me for the first edition of City of Treats, my new newsletter covering the Sacramento region’s dining and drinking scene for Abridged. Whether you read my writing at The Sacramento Bee or you’re finding me here for the first time, it’s a pleasure to be together. I’ll use this space every week to tell you what you need to know, do and eat around these parts. Let’s chow down!
Terra Madre Americas is coming this weekend, and it’s a big deal. Like, it might be the biggest moment in Sacramento’s modern culinary history, as I wrote last week. Three days of tastes, sips and talks from across the Americas, cooking demos from celebrity chefs, samples from 75-plus vendors — and it’s free to attend at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center. There’s lots to do, so here’s a guide on maximizing your time. If you see me there, come say hi — particularly at my “kitchen counter” chat from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Friday at the “A Taste of California” Pavilion.
We’ll talk more about that later. For now, here’s a look at how I’ve been eating, at an Elk Grove restaurant and at home.
Best thing I ate
Kajiken’s homura aburasoba includes minced pork, bamboo shoots and seaweed. (Benjy Egel)
I stopped by Kajiken in Elk Grove on a Sunday night drive back from Yosemite, craving a filling meal with flavors one won’t find camping. Kajiken specializes in aburasoba, Japanese “brothless ramen” that made its way to The Ridge shopping center via franchisee Alan Lin in August 2024. It’s one of only three locations in the U.S., and the San Francisco Chronicle named the San Mateo outpost No. 35 on its Top 100 Bay Area restaurants list in March.
Most bowls sprout from a noodle base to a raw egg yolk staring skyward – ask for it poached or ajitama if that freaks you out – and are meant to be mixed together, then rapidly eaten before they cool. Try the $16 saboro aburasoba (soy-marinated ground chicken, scallions, sesame seeds) for something sweet-savory, or the $17 homura aburasoba (minced pork, bamboo shoots, fish powder and seaweed) for a spicier take.
Kajiken | 7470 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 120, Elk Grove | (916) 829-3446 |
Egel’s Nest
I live, play and cook in this community just like you. This recurring section will be a window into my life outside of restaurants and bars, always with a food and/or drink angle.
My live-in dining companion Abbey has grown a great many delights in our garden this summer: cherry tomatoes out the wazoo, snackable lemon cucumbers, pimento peppers that I roasted and whipped into a Southern-style cheese dip. When our jalapeño plant erupted last week, I wanted to showcase her homegrown peppers beyond their straightforward spice.
Enter: Dawn Perry’s candied jalapeños, AKA “cowboy candy,” the recipe for which was published on Delish in 2022. Apple cider vinegar, sugar and a handful of relatively common spices quickly transformed the jalapeño slices into spicy-sweet toppers that were downright irresistible. We threw them on a Southwestern salad and quesadillas, but ate most of them straight out of the jar. Once the jalapeños were gone, we stretched the leftover liquid as a marinade for chicken in burrito bowls.
Terra Madre challenges — and benefits
The first full Terra Madre Americas (it will repeat every two years) comes with a major challenge. This festival is designed to link North and South America, spotlighting their food and people, but many would-be Latin American guests are afraid to come to the United States given the current immigration climate. Here’s the story on that.
Cuisines and eaters both benefit from exposure to others from across borders. Look at No Sabo Concheria, which opened in downtown Sacramento last week. Luis Rojas Sr. and Aire Hernandez immigrated from Mexico 20 years ago and ran a traditional panaderia on Northgate Boulevard with the help of their kids. Now the kids are driving the new family business, creating second-generation items such as Oreo conchas, brisket hash breakfast tacos and Danishes filled with Mexican vanilla custard.
Fall is here — technically
Summer has technically ended, but farmers markets are still full of the tomatoes needed for baked bruschetta dip, our first “Cooking In Season” recipe from social media superstar and area resident Zoe B. Soderstrom. Chris Woodard may not have Zoe’s following yet, but as a recent Sacramento State grad and local journalist, he was well-equipped to write a guide on where students ought to eat around the university.
And finally: I’ve been drinking Long Drink since 2022, first in San Luis Obispo and then at Sacramento dives such as Round Corner Tavern. The Finnish-inspired gin-and-grapefruit cocktails in sky blue cans go down easy, particularly at midtown favorite Kupros Craft House, which sells more Long Drink than any other California bar. Cheers!
Happening this week
- Terra Madre is the food main event this weekend, but there’s lots else out there as well. Saturday: Crawfish & Catfish Festival at KP International Market in Rancho Cordova, Taste of North Sacramento at Stoney’s Rockin’ Rodeo on Del Paso Boulevard, Oktoberfest celebration in the street outside Der Biergarten in midtown. Sunday: Seafood & Soul “Gumbolaya” Festival at Hagan Community Park in Rancho Cordova, A Taste of Davis and Yolo at the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge. Both days: “Weekend in Greece” Greek Culture and Food Festival at Saint Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Elk Grove.
- Genki Kitchen just opened at 855 57th St., Suite C in East Sacramento’s 57th Street Antique Mall. Owner Lynn Fu closed Kau Kau, the previous restaurant in that space, to open her new Japanese concept in its place.
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.