Best restaurant meals I ate around Sacramento in November | Food reporter’s notebook
In Sacramento, a central poke shop and Arden Arcade baseball-themed sandwich spot each make for excellent lunch options.
Seasonal change revamped a longtime Davis restaurant, which recently converted into a higher-end marriage of Middle Eastern and California flavors. Further east in Folsom, a boba and teriyaki joint also serves up inexpensive Filipino eats to those in the know.
These were the best restaurant meals that I, The Sacramento Bee’s food and drink reporter, ate in November.
All were first published in my free weekly food and drink newsletter, which hits inboxes at noon each Wednesday. Visit https://bit.ly/bee_food_drink_newsletter to sign up.
Fish Face Poke Bar
Fish Face Poke Bar is Billy Ngo’s least-heralded concept, an island-inspired oasis in the R Street Corridor’s WAL Public Market that doesn’t carry nearly the same clout as Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine or Kodaiko Ramen & Bar. Yet it’s probably the best poke in Sacramento, both for quality and the sheer volume of options.
What other poke joints sell sturgeon, Sacramento County’s flagship fish, along with scallops and albacore? When it comes to sauces, customers get a choice of kimchi ponzu, wasabi-inflected soy, coconut cream with lime juice or five other gluten-free options.
You can use that bevy of options to build a bowl from scratch, but I opted for the pre-curated standard Hawaiian (all poke bowls are $12/small, $17/medium and $21.50/large). Simple and straightforward, it merely featured mouthwatering tuna enhanced by flavorful seasonings — chile and sesame oils, housemade soy sauce and togarashi.
Do rain and cold not put you in the mood for poke? Try the tan tan miso udon ($14), a relatively spicy soup filled with thick slippery noodles, the funk of kimchi and crunchy fried garlic, topped by a delicious pork belly chashu.
There are semi-assembled hand rolls ($3.50-$5.75 apiece) and intriguing specials, such as the super musubi ($6). With a cheddar cheese skirt, grilled Spam and an orange aioli, it felt closer to a cheeseburger than a breakfast item.
Address: 1104 R St., Suite 100, Sacramento.
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m., seven days a week.
Phone number: (916) 706-0605.
Website: https://fishfacepokebar.com/
Drinks: Beer, wine, sake, cider and craft sodas. The refreshing Fish Face pilsner ($6) from Solid Ground Brewing is obvious choice for imbibers.
Vegetarian options: You can sub a tofu-cucumber mixture for your fish, but that’s about it.
Noise level: Most seating is outdoors, but the R Street Corridor isn’t at its busiest during Fish Face’s open hours.
Seasons Kitchen & Bar
The seasons are changing in Davis, where new chef Katerina Balagian has transformed Seasons Kitchen & Bar into a relaxed-upscale marriage of Middle Eastern flavors and California innovation.
Born in Armenia, Balagian kneaded dough as a pastry chef at fine dining restaurants Allora in East Sacramento, Dyafa in Oakland and three-Michelin-starred Coi in San Francisco (the latter two have since closed). She now offers a $65/person tasting menu every Thursday at Seasons, a 20-year-old, formerly New American restaurant at the ground floor of downtown Davis’ Hilton Garden Inn.
Balagian draws on family roots for dishes such as khachapuri ($28), a Georgian flatbread her grandmother used to make. Cooked in the same wood-burning oven as Seasons’ delectable pizzas, it’s filled with melted mozzarella, feta and goat cheese and topped with a bright orange Jidori egg. Tear from the sides, and dip the crust into the gooey middle.
Crispy halloumi fries ($16) make for a shareable starter akin to Mediterranean mozzarella sticks, with a piquant arrabbiata sauce offered a tad more heat than classic marinara. A fall fattoush salad ($18) mixed Japanese sweet potatoes, Hidden Rose apples and za’atar croutons amid greens from Fiddler’s Green Farm in rural Yolo County, its bitterness and acid contrasting nicely.
Balagian seems to have strengthened Seasons’ ties with local suppliers. Braising the short rib mujaddara ($48) in coffee and Sudwerk Brewing beer gave the Levantine lentil dish a delicious exterior, while the highlight of the tart, sweet herbivore pizza ($24) wasn’t the bok choy or beets or cherries but the crunchy, invasive radish seed pods Balagian herself foraged from UC Davis’ student farm.
Address: 102 F St., Davis.
Hours: 5-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.
Phone number: (530) 746-5500.
Website: https://www.seasonskitchenandbar.com/
Drinks: Full bar with a deep wine list.
Vegetarian options: Many, from sunchoke vichyssoise to tofu steak to pear and blue cheese pizza.
Noise level: Relatively quiet.
Dugout Deli
Dugout Deli is the lunchtime spot for the baseball (or sandwich) lover in your life. Founded by Mark Galisatus in 2006, it now has two locations less than a mile apart, one next to Arden Middle School and the other by Fulton Avenue’s intersection with Cottage Way.
Galisatus can still be found manning Dugout Deli’s sandwich counters with all the charisma and fervor of your favorite Little League coach. Framed photos around the restaurants recognize local ballers, from 10-year-old shortstops to former Jesuit High School and San Francisco Giants catcher Andrew Susac, and the menu is listed by players (sandwich or salad name), substitutes (main ingredients) and positions (prices).
A more famous Giant, Willie Mays, is immortalized in the Say Hey Kid ($11) sandwich. Ruby red pastrami and melted Swiss cheese warm the soul from the inside out, and while marble rye isn’t a bad bread choice, I couldn’t pass up a fresh-baked sourdough roll right out of Dugout Deli’s oven.
Crackly, crumbling Dutch crunch was another house-baked specialty, which I enjoyed around the Wild Pitch ($11). The “wild” comes from the mostly-mild spicy ranch sauce weaving its way around chicken breast cubes, melted pepper jack cheese and the standard sandwich veggies (lettuce, tomato, pickles, pepperoncinis and onions).
You can add fixings to the Triple Play ($11) if desired, but the triple-decker BLAT is best ordered “original” — I’d call it “unassisted” — with only bacon, lettuce, mashed avocado, tomatoes and mayonnaise sandwiched between slices of golden-toasted wheat bread. Salads are straightforward but nicely executed; I appreciated the fresh crunch of Romaine lettuce in the chicken Caesar ($11).
Address: 2552 Cottage Way, Sacramento, and 3355 Arden Way, Sacramento.
Hours: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday (Cottage Way); 10 a.m.-4 p.m., seven days a week (Arden Way).
Phone number: (916) 486-8766 (Cottage Way); (916) 891-5944 (Arden Way).
Website: https://www.dugout-deli.com/
Drinks: Canned and bottled sodas.
Vegetarian options: The only pre-selected menu items are the Hall of Fame sandwich (choice of cheese, cucumber and avocado), Caesar salad and sides of potato or macaroni salad, but more salads and sandwiches can be altered to be meatless.
Noise level: Bustling, but not actually that loud.
Teriyaki Station
All aboard for Teriyaki Station, Miguel and Kate Deocampo’s fast-casual Filipino outpost near Folsom Premium Outlets. The first stop is an array of breakfast silogs (fried rice and egg dishes) from 8-11 a.m. five days a week, before the track veers toward dairy-free boba drinks and hearty pork entrees in the afternoon.
It’s a place to taste Filipino menudo ($10.48 à la carte, or $12.90 for a combo plate with pancit and rice), a vastly different soup than its tripe-packed, hangover-curing Mexican cousin. Teriyaki Station’s version is based around an umami-loaded tomato broth, and stuffed with carrots and potatoes in addition to pork chunks.
The name comes from simple teriyaki rice bowls ($11.89-$16.15) topped with salmon, pork, chicken, beef or vegetarian options. Fine options, but I preferred the messy, tender chicken adobo ($10.48 à la carte or $12.90 for a combo plate), which fell off the bone right into its soy-garlic sauce.
Try the fragrant, fishy grilled bangus ($19.89), also known as milkfish, if you’re in the mood for something more sea-based. Flattened and served whole, minus the head, it’s salty enough to necessitate a side of rice.
Address: 141 Iron Point Road, Suite 9000, Folsom.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday.
Phone number: (916) 985-0312.
Website: https://www.teriyakiatbp.com/
Drinks: Boba beverages and Filipino dessert drinks such as halo-halo, sago’t gulaman and mais con yelo.
Vegetarian options: Veggie lumpia ($2/piece) and teriyaki bowls topped with grilled tofu or steamed broccoli, zucchini and carrots. If opting for the latter, get both tofu and vegetables to avoid a rather plain meal.
Noise level: Medium-high.
Sacramento Eats: Recipes from the Capital Region’s Favorite Restaurants and Bars
Order your cookbook here to get recipes from 60 of the Sacramento region’s top restaurants and bars, plus photos and descriptions of what makes each business so exceptional.
