Jul 28, 2021
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.
Jul 28, 2021
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.
Jun 29, 2021
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.
May 28, 2021
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.
May 28, 2021
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.
