Killer Tomatoes
Tomatoes are so in this season.
Summer has arrived and farmers markets are bursting with freshly picked produce. Blackberries and apricots drip with juice. Cucumbers and corn are dressed in bright greens and yellows. To top it all off are tomatoes: cherry, beefsteak, green zebras, even Mr. Stripey heirlooms.
Many local farmers are vendors at neighborhood farmers markets and sell their tomato varieties throughout the year. The popularity of tomatoes runs deep in local history. For decades over the past century, at least five canneries operated in Sacramento.
Market Movers
With a filled stamp card from The Upper Crust Baking Company, I happily make my way to the Certified Farmers Market under the W/X Freeway. It’s a bright Sunday morning and I’m eager for a fresh loaf of birdseed bread. But when I turn the corner along Southside Park, I don’t see the cars, vendor umbrellas or usual market bustle. It’s empty. Confused, disappointed and breadless, I turn around to walk home.
Had I ventured further under the Highway 50 overpass, I would have found the answer: Posters taped to concrete pillars explained where the market went. A 10-month construction project forced the weekly Certified Farmers Market to temporarily relocate. The market will be in the parking lot of Arden Fair Mall behind Sears until December.
Oasis Rediscovered
Since normal life stopped last year, we’ve all coped in different ways. We’ve hurt in different ways and changed in different ways. Few people have had more difficult times than my friends in the restaurant business.
As restrictions lift for restaurants, the demand for dining out is palpable. Restaurant owners scramble to find staff. Reservations are a must at many joints. I’ve seen dining rooms run out of food before dinner service ends.
Clear Conscious
Conscious Creamery has been mixing up scrumptious, small-batch gelato by hand since 2016. The business operated out of a commercial kitchen, but now the vegan treat shop has a storefront in Oak Park.
For owners Andrea and Kevin Seppinni, choosing the location at 3400 Broadway was like waiting for the perfect pint of cookies and cream. Says Andrea, “We’re thrilled to be opening there specifically. It just feels right and we’ve been welcomed so far. It feels like home to me.”
Follow The Smoke
James Lee’s friends call him “Panda.” As far as I can tell, everyone is his friend.
But if you forget Lee’s nickname, reminders are everywhere: on his panda-themed shirts and the panda mural painted on the side of the barbecue joint he owns with Julio Peix.
You’ll find Lee at the smoker most days. He smokes brisket, ribs or pork belly. He throws a little smoke onto his signature meatloaf or even tofu. If the smoker is going, he’s there.
