eating our way through east sac

I found a local food tour and bought tickets for Gus's birthday. One of the things we love best about Sacramento is all the great local food and fantastic produce available. This tour was a great way to try some new bites as well as get some Sacramento history. As you will see from my photodocumentation, I was more in it for the food.

We started at Cafe Bernardo. We had been here once on our scouting trip. They have a dog friendly patio, which is a plus. The chef came out and talked to us about where she gets her produce, protein, dairy, etc. Of everything, the only thing that isn't local is the salmon. Our tasting here was amaretto french toast. A good starter since the tour started at 10:15 am.

After Cafe Bernardo, we stopped at the Paragary Bakery. Paragary's is a restaurant group, of which Cafe Bernardo is a part, and this bakery sells almost exclusively to the restaurants in the group. They make all the bread from table bread to buns, as well as all the desserts for all the restaurants. We learned that their carrot cake has pecans and not walnuts because Lauren, the pastry chef, is allergic to walnuts - this was great news for Gus, who is also allergic to walnuts. Perhaps some carrot cake is in order for his actual birthday? I also learned they have a cupcake of the month, which I can definitely get behind! Our bite here was a salty peanut butter cookie.

Next we got a little history lesson - Sutter Fort and St. Francis church. Notice how I forgot to take pictures of these things. I was a bit chilly and was waiting for more food ...

Centro, was my favorite spot on the tour. We got a teeny tequila tasting, which was infused with several types of fruit that I cannot remember. It was very smooth and even someone who doesn't like tequila would probably like this. Chef Leo talked to us about how they make regional dishes and the executive chef goes to Mexico twice per year to develop dishes. He also said that if he can't find the right chile for a dish, he doesn't make it. There are some types of chiles that are only grown on private land and he said that people sneak on to "steal" them making them expensive and hard to come by. We had black beans, rice, and some really delicious carnitas. The tomatillo salsa was also amazing.

tequila!

After Centro, we got a bit of a break to walk off the food and ended up at La Bombe, which sells Gunther's ice cream, which is a local company. They gave us a gigantic scoop of ice cream that I couldn't even finish. FAIL. Gus had to finish it off. He had banana (not surprising) and I had chocolate chip cookie dough.

birthday boy!

We got another little history lesson on a water tower, that I had been trying to convince Gus was Sutter's Fort for months - but really it kind of looks like a fort and I honestly thought it was the fort because the sign at the fort reads "State Indian Museum." Anyway, I had to skip out on the last two stops because our babysitter needed to get to her next gig with 8 month old triplets. Luckily, the tour was through our neighborhood so I just walked home!

My next impressions are second hand based on my discussion with Gus ...

Formoli's is a little bistro in our neighborhood that I have driven by and wanted to try. After Gus's experience there I kind of think we won't be going there though. I do think it is cool that the owner goes to a farm in Napa twice per week to pick all the produce. The food ... "a shot of lamb chili in an espresso cup and shredded pork on a piece of bread that they call bruschetta." Direct quote from Gus. He wasn't impressed.

The last stop on the tour was Coffeeworks, which they said was only one of two local roasters. Gus explained to me there roasting process - hot air that kept all the beans suspended or something. He said the coffee was pretty good. As an aside, I do think that the other local roaster is Temple, which is actually my favorite favorite coffee shop - more of the tea than the coffee though.

I would definitely recommend Local Roots food tours. Gus and I agreed that we would want to try another one. It would also be a great thing to take visitors on ... in case any of you want to come visit! HINT HINT ...

Happy Birthday, Gus!