What is your most underrated Sacramento-area restaurant? Tell us your hidden gem and unsung hero

Benjy Egel
·4 min read
2

Everyone knows at least one hidden gem, one unsung hero of the Sacramento-area restaurant scene. Here’s your chance to give them their deserved shine.

The Sacramento Bee wants to know: What is greater Sacramento’s most underrated restaurant? Submit your answer in the form at the bottom; your answers will be gathered for a future poll.

This question was first posed in a letter I wrote that was emailed to readers in late May. Here as a few of the responses so far.

  • Four Sisters Cafe (9050 Fairway Drive, Suite 165, Roseville): Sisters Gina Sanders, Lisa Lees, Tricia Cleland and Julie Gaffre have become known for their omelets and mango-stuffed French toast since opening their brunch spot in 2012.

  • Moxie Restaurant (2028 H St., Sacramento): This dark fine-dining restaurant has endured on the outskirts of midtown Sacramento since 1995, gathering loyalists thanks to its ever-rotating list of specials and impressive wine selection.

  • Pho House (6436 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael): You’ll find nourishing noodle soups, vermicelli salad bowls and even vegan ginger “fish” at this Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant in Carmichael Oaks shopping center.

  • La Rosa Blanca (2813 Fulton Ave., Suite 5103, Sacramento and 402 Natoma St., Folsom): Founded in Arden Arcade nearly 30 years ago, this local restaurant serves up a range of Mexican dishes, from homey staples such as machaca to sizzling prawn fajitas.

  • Rum Thai Bistro (880 Sterling Parkway, Suite 20, Lincoln): Dishes such as avocado green curry, pad kee mao and goong nam prik pao (stir-fried shrimp in chili jam) help make Rum Thai an appealing option when browsing for food in Sterling Point Center.

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What I’m Eating

A lineup of West Coast Taco Bar’s tacos.
A lineup of West Coast Taco Bar’s tacos.

West Coast Taco Bar is every bit as Cali-Mex as its name would imply. Ivan and Cynthia Garcia moved north from San Diego and opened their first food truck in 2019, mixing and melding flavors inside tortillas from across the culinary map.

The food truck still circles Sacramento hotspots, but West Coast Taco Bar now has a home base. The Garcias opened their turqoise-and-white taqueria in an Elk Grove shopping center in November, replete with a faux ivy wall and a neon pink sign reading “tacos up, pinkies out.”

Tacos are only available in sets of three ($10.75), four ($13.75) or five ($16.50), with more than half of the eight options an additional 50- to 75-cent surcharge. The sweet, ginger-marinated steak in the Korean Seoul taco was a hit; other highlights included chicharrón (pork belly) topped with chicharrones (fried pork rinds) and zesty salsa in the Anaheim pig, or the Sac Town fire’s terrific garlic shrimp in a mole rojo-dipped tortilla.

Many folks know West Coast for its bitchin’ Cali burrito ($15), a monstrous mass that was voted the region’s best burrito in a 2020 Sacramento Bee poll. Carne asada, garlic shrimp, fries, guacamole and shredded cheese piled inside an XL flour tortilla with a creamy chipotle sauce, creating a gut-buster that’s nearly as good the next day.

The well-executed cosecha salad ($8) was the lightest option on the menu. Crunchy Romaine lettuce formed the base for bright cherry tomatoes, avocado, roasted corn and Cajun-spiced pepitas, all topped by cilantro-lime ranch (and chicken, for $4 more).

West Coast Taco Bar

Address: 8791 Elk Grove Blvd., Elk Grove.

Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday.

Phone number: (916) 647-4542

Website: https://www.westcoasttacobar.com/

Drinks: Coconut horchata, watermelon agua fresca and sodas.

Animal-free options: A few, including the salad and multiple tacos.

Noise level: Medium.

Openings & Closings

  • Vietnamese restaurant Urban Rolls opened at 1525 Blue Oaks Blvd., Suite 130 in Roseville on June 2. While its original Rocklin location carries pho and banh mi, it’s best known for design-your-own spring rolls.

  • New York-based Shah’s Halal Food debuted at 3000 W. Capitol Ave. in West Sacramento. It’s the first brick-and-mortar location for the fast-casual Middle Eastern concept, which also slings affordable gyros and cheesesteaks from two food trucks in Davis.

  • Lupita’s Mexican Restaurant will close at 9353 Greenback Lane in Orangevale later this month, the owners announced on Facebook. It’ll attempt to reopen elsewhere, though no alternate location has been found so far.