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.
The first full Terra Madre Americas blew past expectations. An estimated crowd of 140,000 showed up throughout the three-day festival in downtown Sacramento, which was orchestrated by Slow Food International and showcased foods from across North and South America.
Yet arriving hungry this food festival might have been a mistake. Outside the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center, local food trucks were slammed with lines no matter the time of day; inside, pop-up dinners sold out more than a week in advance and booths in the Terra Madre Americas Marketplace had few of the free tastes promised to attendees. It was the biggest issue organizers will need to remedy before the next Terra Madre Americas in 2027, Visit Sacramento CEO and president Mike Testa told me.
I didn’t end up including The Rind owner Sara Arbabian in my article, but her story helps explain the lack of free food. A booth in the Marketplace cost $1,000 for the weekend, Arbabian said. While she got Fiscalini Cheese (Modesto) and Olympia Provisions (Portland) to take on some of that cost by selling their products, someone covering their own bill might want to recoup some of that rather than hand out thousands of free samples.
Arbabian had hoped to serve The Rind’s famous macaroni and cheese, but couldn’t hook up to the necessary power source, she said. She started off selling cheese and charcuterie boxes along with T-shirts and other branded merchandise. By Sunday, she was dishing out free cheese samples while pushing the boxes along with The Rind’s subscriptions and loyalty programs.
“We had a lot of people coming to us after they had walked around the venue for their samples, and then they realized they were hungry and they wanted cheese,” Arbabian said.
Even with the issues, Arbabian said she’d happily return for Terra Madre in 2027 if invited. It was still a crowning food event for Sacramento, one with a few kinks to work out in Round 2.
Benjy’s Bites
Here’s my favorite item or two from a local restaurant this week. Send me yours at begel@kvie.org.
Engawa Fusion | 7301 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento | 916-476-5266
Engawa Fusion’s main ramen includes chili oil, miso-braised ground pork and peanut butter. (Benjy Egel)
Traditionalists, look away: Engawa Fusion is here to tinker. Alvin Zhang’s homey, 18-month-old restaurant on Stockton Boulevard reimagines Japanese flavors in a contemporarily Californian lens. Sushi tacos ($10-$12) are the flagship, marinated unagi or salmon stuffed in squared-off nori shells crusted with tempura batter.
But I preferred the main ramen ($15) with chili oil, miso-braised ground pork and peanut butter, of all things. That nutty-spicy flavor elicited memories of PB-Sriracha toasts from my youth, with some extra crunch from cashews and cabbage.
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 backyard plants continue to spit out cherry tomatoes as fast as my partner and I can eat them. After picking a container’s worth Sunday, I looked in our fridge and saw eggs and leftover boiled potatoes, with canned tuna and olives in the pantry.
A quick jaunt to the store yielded some lettuce, and I was back prepping a rough salade Niçoise, brightened throughout by my Sungolds and Super Sweet 100s. I’ll make a tomato confit after the next harvest later this week, keeping with the French theme.
In the news
You’ve seen Mi Rancho tortillas on grocery store shelves, but did you know they’re made in Elk Grove? Mi Rancho makes up to 8 million tortillas per day at its 155,000-square foot factory on Iron Rock Way, with bespoke products for local Mexican restaurants. Abridged contributor Keyla Vasconcellos has the skinny on the 86-year-old business, which remains owned by its original family to this day.
You can have a great day anywhere in the Sacramento region – including Rocklin, as contributor Becky Grunewald did in a new Abridged series. Becky’s recommended spots include dueling record stores, award-winning microbreweries and one of the region’s only Oaxacan restaurants.
These sundaes are best with a mix of firm, tart and sweet apples. (Zoe B. Soderstrom)
We’re into apple season now, but outdoor temperatures are hanging around the mid-80s. Try making these apple crisp sundaes, created for Abridged by local recipe developer Zoe B. Soderstrom.
Finally, I stopped by Rice Bites, the first Sacramento restaurant to specialize in Taiwanese rolls known as fan tuan. Check ‘em out in this video from visual journalist Denis Akbari.
Happening this week
- The 48th annual Sacramento Jewish Food Faire is happening Sunday at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center. I’ll be judging its bagel competition alongside Mayor Kevin McCarty, TV’s Mark S. Allen and local influencers The Taste Duo at 1p.m. Swing by and say chai!
- Other major food events this weekend include Sacramento’s biggest Oktoberfest at Turn Verein in East Sac (Friday), the Serbian Food & Culture Festival in Fair Oaks (Saturday) and the Village Feast in Davis (Sunday).
- Fourscore Coffee House has filled Faria Bakery’s former spot in the Historic Folsom District (604 Sutter St.). The new café serves Verve Coffee and baked goods, as at Fourscore’s original Roseville location.
- MiDoDo Café began its soft opening Oct. 3 at The Vineyard in Madeira shopping center in Elk Grove (10043 Bruceville Road, Suite 100). Its crispy fried chicken and boba drinks are sure to entice nearby Franklin High School students.
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.