Baking sourdough bread is not just for professionals and pandemics. For many Sacramento home bakers, making sourdough is therapy, even a necessity.
It’s a cool October day. A fresh loaf of sourdough with golden crust cools in the kitchen as the aroma of warm baked bread and melting butter swirls in the air. As Alison Clevenger says, “Nothing beats fresh bread with some homemade jam on it and some salted butter.”
Twenty years ago, I wrote, “Tower Café is the kind of place you take your out-of-town friends to show them Sacramento is cool.” Today the restaurant scene shines much brighter, with culinary gems in every neighborhood.
But there’s still something magical about dining at Tower Café, one of the city’s great outdoor spaces, sheltered by palm fronds and lit by neon from The Tower Theatre’s majestic marquee.
When Tower Café opened in 1990, the “world cuisine” concept was novel. Going to a single restaurant and choosing among curries, tacos and jerk chicken made one feel like Carmen San Diego with a fork and knife.
Last year at this time, I was writing about the “squashed” Farm-to-Fork Festival due to the pandemic. Now it’s back and blooming and better than ever.
Sacramento’s beloved music and food street festival returns to the Capitol Mall Friday and Saturday, Sept. 17–18. Attendees will find local foods, wines, craft beer, cooking demonstrations and more, all within view of the Tower Bridge and state Capitol.
The family legacy runs between a village restaurant in Thailand and Midtown, where customers feast on tasty dishes created from farmers market produce with spices grown around the world.
Suleka Sun-Lindley is owner and chef of Veg Café, which sits atop Thai Basil, her other restaurant at 25th and J streets. She grew up in Northeastern Thailand, watching her mother and aunts pick fresh produce from an outdoor market for their restaurant nearby.
Sun-Lingley recalls getting up at 4 a.m. to visit the market, buy vegetables and fruit, and return to the kitchen before 8 a.m. to cook for the morning crowd. In the afternoon, they would hit the market again for fresh dinner ingredients.
I’m happy to report Plan B, the California-meets-France restaurant in Arden Town Center, hasn’t lost a step. When my mother called and asked if I’d like to go for dinner, it delighted me to learn the food and service are still on point. Plan B’s resilience makes a visit that much more joyful.
If you are not familiar with Plan B, I understand. The restaurant sits in the back section of the center, facing neither Watt Avenue nor Fair Oaks Boulevard, the two main cross-streets. Plan B is a little tricky to find on La Sierra Drive but worth the search.
During many visits, I’ve sampled most dishes and found them consistent reminders as to why French cuisine still sets culinary standards.
