Independent Coffee Culture in Sacramento
Our Local Roots Food Tours guide team LOVE their “Cup of Joe” and always have their radar on Sacramento’s Independent Coffeehouses and… Read More
Local Sacramento
Appreciation Ticket Sale for Veterans & Active Duty Families
We want to thank all those veterans who have served and their families during our annual Veteran & Military Food Tour Ticket… Read More
Flavors of the Season Food Tour Ticket Sale
FLAVORS OF THE SEASON SALE Air is turning crisp, nights are short but simmering with wonderful flavors in our kitchens. Why not… Read More
Slow Food Sacramento: Thank You McDonalds
Thank You McDonalds (by Lisa Frank) Picture angry Italians protesting with bowls of penne at the base of the iconic and beautiful Spanish Steps in Rome shouting “We don’t want fast food… we want slow food! It’s not a scene from a Fellini movie, but how Carlo Petrini started Slow Food. He and his pasta-wielding compatriots were outraged that a McDonalds was going to open there (and it did.) His protest against the commercialization of a beloved landmark with the “Golden Arches” turned into an international organization founded in 1989 that today has over 150,000 members in more than 150 countries. Slow Food’s mantra is good, clean, fair food for all. They want you to eat what is seasonal and local; respect the farmer and the produce/product; nurture the earth. Sound familiar? They believe that food should taste like, well, food and eating should take some time. Slow Food calls it the “pleasures of the table.” And it is not possible when a clown is looking over your shoulder. Or a creepy looking king. Or in your car. Or at your keyboard. Slow Food opposes the homogenization of modern fast food and life. Life is diverse. Culture is diverse. Food is diverse. It should not all look or taste alike. Preservation of traditional or heritage foods, methods of preparation, and the culture associated with them is a worth while effort. That is the entire focus of the Center for Biodiversity. The premise is that if unique and tradition food products that are endangered can have an economic impact they can be saved from extinction. Enter the Presidia – local projects that devise a pathway for bringing a food or method of preparation back from the brink of being lost. The Ark of Taste is a catalog of foods worldwide being preserved through the efforts of Presidia. And these projects are not somewhere else. They are here: Blenheim Apricot, Charbono wine or Sebastopol Gravenstein Apple sound familiar? Clarksburg’s Chenin Blanc grape is close to be being listed. Petrini wanted to make the connection between the plate, the palate and the planet. He calles it an “eco-gastronomic” movement that connected environmental sustainability (eco) to the study of culture and food (gastronomy). He took this idea even further by creating the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy (full disclosure, I’m an alumni) to create a new type of food professional, one who understands the entire food-production spectrum, from agricultural origins through industrial transformation and distribution, with particular attention to environmental and sustainability issues. These leaders, or Gastronomes as he calls them (us?), understand how to connect food processes to economic as well as communication systems, and the relationships within food-and-wine tourism, marketing of high-quality products, and promoting of the rich value of regional food traditions. On the local front, California is now it’s own Slow Food Region. Our local chapter, Slow Food Sacramento bestows their annual “Snail of Approval” award upon local businesses that best represent the Slow Food Principles of good, clean, fair food for all. And to toot our own horn, Local Roots Food Tours has received the Slow Food Sacramento Snail of Approval because of our commitment to support business using fresh, local, organic, seasonal and sustainable, or as we say FLOSS! We congratulate our partners have also received a Snail of Approval for their use of seasonal, local and organically grown foods, including Centro, Café Bernardos, Hot Italian and Kupros. Click to continue!
Celebrating the American Cheese Plate in Sacramento!
Sacramento Hails The Big Cheese by Lisa Frank Move over Cheese Whiz and Velveeta, for the first time in over 10 years the American Cheese Society (ACS) is coming to Sacramento with over 1700 craft cheeses. Whey to go Sacramento! It’s quite a Feta in our cap. (By Lisa Frank) Celebrating the American Cheese Plate! will highlight the growth of the artisan and specialty cheese community throughout North America. Nearly 1,000 industry leaders are expected to participate in the four-day event. Tuesday, July 29 – Friday, August 1. The conference also includes: a cheese competition to be “Best In Show” from over 1700 cheeses entered in 20 categories like Cheese Curds, Rindless Blue-Veined Cheese, Cheese Spreads or Butters along with the usuals like Cheddar, Fetas, and Soft-Ripened Cheese; the Certified Cheese Professional Exam – if you think you know enough to be a cheese sommelier; Educational seminars from how to build a cheese cave to improving industry standards, to cheese spider grafts explained. While most of the conference is for those in the cheese industry, the public is invited to several events: Festival of Cheese, will feature the cheeses entered in the cheese competition, highlighting the winners. In addition to a staggering number of cheeses, the Festival will have artisan producers and local purveyors of cheese accessories, such as crackers, charcuterie, preserves, honeys, and craft beer. It’s a Muenster cheese tasting. Friday August 1, 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm at the Sacramento Convention Center. Tickets for the general public are $60 via Brown Paper Tickets. Cheese Sale, this is your opportunity to buy the best cheeses made in North America at a great price. Feeling adventurous, buy a $25 cheese grab bag and see what you snagged. Proceeds from the Cheese Sale benefit the American Cheese Education Foundation. Cash is king, but credit cards are accepted. Edam while you can, it’s a ewe-nique opportunity. Saturday, August 2nd, 11:00 – 2:00 at the Sacramento Convention Center, admission is free. Brie there or brie square. Okay I’ll stop. And if you think Sacramento is curd-less, think again. While specialty grocery stores usually carry a nice variety of cheeses, we have several cheese-centric locations that bring you craft cheese every day! The Rind, 1801 L Street, opened 11 am until at least 10 everyday. 916.441.RIND (7463) The Rind is a cheese bar where you can taste unique artisanal cheeses paired with interesting wines and beers. Cheese-heads can sample everything, from buttery to blue, nutty to stinky. And if you need more than a taste, try their grown-up grilled cheese sandwiches or mac & cheese. Definitely not a blue and yellow box with electric-orange powdered cheese. The Cultured & The Cured, 3644 J Street opened Tuesday – Sunday, 11am until 9 pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday; 10pm on Friday and Saturday; 5pm on Sunday; Closed Monday. (916) 732-3600 This East Sac shop focuses on local and west coast cheeses and charcuterie, bringing to Sacramento the tradition of a cheese monger who will help guide you to find exactly what you’re looking for even when you don’t know what you’re looking for! Soups, salads, charcuterie plates, grilled cheese, mac & cheese, sandwiches, and pantry items, this shop takes their cheese seriously and so will you. The Block Butcher, 1050 20th Street, 916.476.6306 11AM to 12AM every day. Block Butcher Bar is a boutique salumi, spirits and wine bar. The menu features charcuterie, fine artisanal cheeses and seasonal bites. Choose from the “pickled, cured, fermented and marinated” selections; make your own charcuterie boards or cheese slabs; or salads and sandwiches. With over 30 cheeses (cow, sheep, goat and blues) to choose from it’s hard to limit it to 3/5/7 choices. But they are there to help. And over 100 different whiskeys – it’s kind of hard to leave. Click for more cheesy details!
Sacramento Road Trip Adventures in July
Summer Is In Full Swing! (by Lisa Frank) Go out and EXPLORE your own backyard w/ these fun & tasty July events in & around Sacramento: Bonjour Bastille Day. If your vacation is now a “staycation” July is the time to get your French on and storm Midtown! The Sacramento Chapter of the Alliance Francaise will be celebrating Bastille Day, when the peasants stormed the Bastille Prison and started the French Revolution, with their Annual Waiters’ Race & Bastille Day Street Festival. July 13th 12 – 3pm at 18th & L Streets, Sacramento Don’t lose your head at the 12th Annual “Let Them Eat Cake!” Fundraising Event. Sample Sacramento’s finest French foods and outstanding local wines and coffees, enjoy live music, and feast your eyes on magnificent and mouth-watering cakes created by talented local bakeries and chefs. There will be a cake raffle and a silent auction as well. July 14th 5:00 pm until 9:00 pm at The Grand Ballroom 1215 J Street $40 in advance; $50 at door Are the Islands calling? Grab a lei or make a grass skirt and head to the Summer Luau Beer & Wine Tasting at New Glory Brewing. Celebrate summer in Hawaiian style at this fun wine and beer sampling event! The evening will offer tours of the brewery, and playing beer and wine trivia for prizes. Food trucks will be on site selling delicious food. July 13th, 1 pm at New Glory Craft Brewing, 8251 Alpine Ave $20 Feeling more local? GATHER is a unique event that takes place in the Oak Park neighborhood. It is a social experiment based around the idea that a neighborhood that eats together, stays together and strengthens the community. Outdoor communal tables encourage a sense of community while you enjoy the warm (hot?) summer nights. The event offers a craft beer area, artisanal food vendors, designers, food demos interactive are, live music and a modular kids park. July 10th 5 – 9pm or August 14th 5 – 9pm in Oak Park at Broadway & 3rd Avenue Something edgier? SactoMoFo’s Food Truck Mania will be at McKinley Park. It’s great music, lots of kid fun, a beer garden, and all your favorite food trucks! July 11th or August 8th from 5 pm - 9 pm at McKinley Park on Alhambra Blvd. This camp has more than s’mores! Mad Food Science Fun Camp makes food and science in fun and educational. Campers learn nutritional concepts and explore the scientific properties of food through a series of fun hands-on experiments, including magical floating eggs, color changing milk, ice cream making and more. The week of July 21 through July 25 1pm – 4pm at Fairytale Town, 3901 Land Park Drive $130 Click Here For More Events!
Donut Dreams in Sacramento – Drool Worthy!
Dreaming of Donuts in Sacramento? (by Lisa Frank) Raised, glazed or crazed, donuts in their many forms are once again glamorous. The lowly fried hunk of dough has recently been elevated to the ranks of the highfalutin croissant with a bastardization called the cronut (trademarked name FYI) or the dosant or doughssant. The buttery goodness of a flakey croissant with the deep fried crunch of a donut, it might be what has been missing in your life. It could be another fad like the donut hole craze (there are cronut holes too) or the ill-fated expansion of the South’s beloved Krispy Kreme franchise (there are still a few around), but then again, donuts have been around in one form or another since at least the 1800’s so they clearly have staying power. Sacramento’s donut scene is clearly keeping up with players in the big cities. So here is where to fill the need for all that yummy, fried goodness, whatever country it originated in. Donut meet Happy Hour: Ella’s has a Fried Brioche, with Bourbon Butterscotch Glaze and Candied Almond Dust. How can that not be good? And for only $5 during their award-winning happy hour menu - order me up 2 batches, please! Okay while not technically a donut, it is fried dough so counts in my book. Ella Dining Room, 1131 K Street (Corner of 12th & K Street, Valet parking available), Sacramento. Happy Hour Monday thru Friday 3pm to 6pm. Estelle’s Patisserie supports TGIF. Check out their Doughnut Fridays with a filled brioche donut, or Croixnut Tuesdays AND Sundays. With flavors like Vanilla Earl Grey, Salted Caramel or Cinnamon Sugar, your taste buds will thank you. If you want to dream donuts all day, visit their mouth-watering Facebook page where they post their amazing croixnut and donut "fresh out of the oven" photos. This is where you can keep up to date what their flavors of the week are! Estelle’s Patisserie, 901 K Street (9th and K Streets), Sacramento. Click For More Donut Options!
Explore Sacramento! Fun Activites & Things To Do
Exploring Sacramento Has Never Been Better Than Spring! And once the pollen has died down, there will be no end to the fun just waiting for you! So get out and get going ‘cause spring will be summer in no time at all. It is the beginning of festival season in the Sacramento Region. Calendars ready? Adventure out to the colorful and educational Pacific Rim Street Fest in Old Sac & Downtown Plaza May 18th from 10am to 5pm - great food, amazing costumes and family-friendly! If you are looking for something fun, energetic and different check out Spanglish Arte’s unique Pinata Festival at Southside Park in Sacramento May 24th from 11am to 6pm. Have you ever been to a pinata-hitting contest? Guaranteed laughs....and of course lots of candy! Ready to get down and dirty? Kick it up a notch with crawfish and blues? Cajun and Blues in Isleton, the grand daddy of jazz festivals will be June 14th and 15th (Father’s Day Weekend). You are probably asking....but where is the FOOD DRIVEN EVENTS and FESTIVALS? Good point....we got you covered! If you want to spend A Day on The Farm you can visit American River Ranch on May 18th for a day of learning, eating, music and celebrating the local farms bounty.....even cooking classes will be offered. Two great events to consider on Saturday June 7th - Sacramento VegFest - a food event celebrating plant-based foods and products with some world-class speakers. All takes place at the Red Lion Hotel - 11am to 6pm. Wanting more that weekend...head on over to Cesar Chavez Plaza for Sacramento Region’s Premier Wine & Food Festival - Grape Escape. Over 60 of the region’s wineries and 40 local restaurants - you won’t walk away hungry or dehydrated for sure! Advanced ticketing required for this event. If you are looking for a more Intimate Affair with food and smooth tequila then reserve your seats for a Pre-Father’s Day Tequila Pairing 4 Course Dinner at Mayahuel Tequila Museo Friday June 13th at 7pm. You can book your tickets thru Local Roots Food Tours who is sponsoring the event! Buy Tickets Here. Futbol is here, fellow soccer fans! Say hello to the Sacramento Republic FC. Now that we have a team, let’s join the rest of the world and call it futbol. The Republics are currently tied for third place in the USL Pro standing. A great match up against LA Galaxy II should be your next sporting event in Sacramento - Saturday May 17th at Hughes Stadium. A few pointers: It is a match, not a game. It is a pitch, not a field. There are no time outs. The boys of summer are back! The Sacramento River Cats are well into the swing of their season. And home games abound. Forget about Fix50, pull into Raley Field and take in American’s pastime on June 13th and 14th when they vs. Iowa. And for the second year, fireworks after every Friday night home game and Saturday game. If it's good food and good beer you are after then you have come to the right place! Sure there are peanuts and cracker jacks, but also An Honest Pie - a food truck featuring sweet and savory pies, as well as an expanded menu from Broderick Roadhouse in the Jack Daniels Solon Club. There are gluten-free and vegetarian dining options. And don’t forget the beer garden. Going to a game has never been this delicious before. You might not need a pig, but you definitely need to go to a market and ALL of our local Certified Farmer’s Markets are open. Over 11 to choose from in the area!! Find a market near you: CLICK HERE If you are looking to learn about the farm before you pick up your fork you should check out Sierra Foothills Farm & Wine Tour in Placer County on Saturday, May 31st or Friday, June 6th. Meet farmers, vintners and a pig named Gordo! Buy Tickets Here Local Roots Food Tours will be going strong all summer long offering farm to fork walking food tours! What better time to learn about Sacramento and the hidden neighborhood eateries. They have Sacramento covered: Downtown, Midtown and East Sac all have delicious and interesting tours. Want a day trip? How about the charming town of Murphy’s in the foothills or a farm to fork tour in Placer County? Check out their food tour menu and dates to go: Local Roots Food Tours Click To Continue!
Special Culinary Events in Sacramento
Local Roots Food Tours Partners with Local Venues for Exclusive Culinary Events We are thrilled to announce our first quarterly series of special culinary venues… Read More
Agriculture Days Spreading Nationwide in March
It’s time to celebrate all about agriculture in the month of March. Taking time to appreciate how food and fiber are… Read More