Looking for a manicure and a margarita? This Sacramento nail salon has you covered

A glitzy central bar, dark green curtains, arched doorways, potted Monstera plants — Moonshine & Co. already looks like Sacramento’s newest hot cocktail lounge. Peek past the bottles, though, and you’ll see why there’s nothing else in the region like it.

Opened in March at 2905 30th St., Moonshine & Co. is Lien Glankler’s cocktail bar/nail salon, a pampering place where one can sip a paloma while enjoying a pedicure.

“We’re a social space,” Glankler said. “I’ve always wanted a place where I can have a good cocktail, hang out with my girlfriends and get a service all at the same time.”

Moonshine & Co.’s name refers more to celestial bodies than rough “white lightning,” an ethos underscored by tarot cards and crystals throughout the shop. Specialty cocktails such as the Spring Dragon (blanco tequila, jasmine green tea, dragonfruit, ginger, lime and passionfruit juice) were crafted by Julia Hadlina Hadas, author of “WitchCraft Cocktails” and “Moon, Magic, Mixology,” and carry menu descriptions like “soothing, self love (and) peace of mind.”

While Glankler wasn’t much of a drinker in her 20s, her West Sacramento neighbors later came to know her “Lien’s Linen,” a take on Sacramento’s famous White Linen cocktail using Bombay gin, elderflower liqueur, lemon juice and fresh cucumber purée.

The natural nail salon (no acryllics or UV gel polishes) has a strong selection of wine and mocktails, with hard kombucha and cider on tap and wellness shots and Cameilla Coffee to be added in the near future. Zoning restrictions require Moonshine & Co. customers to receive some sort of cosmetology service with their drinks, from $2 hot or chilled towels infused with essential oils to $45 manicures and $65 pedicures.

Glanker’s mother Neth Nguyen was one of many Vietnamese immigrants to adopt post-war lives as nail technicians in the United States, a phenomenon sparked by actress Tippi Hedren while she was volunteering at a refugee camp in 1975.

The women Hedren helped resettle at Hope Village, a camp in the Placer County town of Weimar, became enamored with the starlet’s nails, so she flew in her personal manicurist and eventually sent 20 immigrants to Citrus Heights Beauty College, unknowingly catalyzing an industry.

Nguyen graduated from CHBC as well, and worked in nail salons before she and Glanker — a hairdresser for 23 years who rents out Moonshine & Co.’s back space to other stylists — opened Thai/Vietnamese spot Lotus Restaurant in downtown Sacramento in 2001.

They kept it going for 12 years but aren’t responsible for Moonshine & Co.’s food service now. Matt Brown, the former chef of Bodega Kitchen & Cocktails and The Golden Bear, organizes 10-person, $150-a-head rotating chef’s dinners every other Sunday night in Moonshine & Co.’s back room.

Moonshine & Co. is otherwise open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. on Wednesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. The nail salon and bar are closed Monday and Tuesday.

What I’m Eating

Southside Super is as tasty as it is cute, and that’s saying something.

Phuong Tran and Seoyeon Oh’s year-old Southside Park restaurant makes excellent use of the minuscule space formerly home to Lo/Fi, a popular deli that The Sacramento Bee’s readers said made the region’s best sandwiches before it closed in 2022. Cartoon sheep, chickens and rice bowls sketched by local artist Benjamin Della Rosa surround the eight green counter seats and two tables, along with knickknacks and bags of chips.

At Southside Super, Tran and Oh prepare large batches of the comforting Vietnamese and Korean food they’d cook for hungry guests in their homes. About 2/3 of the menu goes in hot or refrigerated grab-and-go cases; come at the end of lunch, as I did, and your options will be limited to the selection of made-to-order dishes — and maybe some silky, veggie-adorned potato salad ($5) if you’re lucky.

Southside Super’s simplicity shines in the unassuming kimchi fried rice ($13.50). Studded with Spam chunks and topped with a furikake-dusted fried egg, the rice bowl was light on actual kimchi but dyed orange by its juices, crescendoing in a homey, savory delight that feels like the product of a skilled chef’s leftovers.

Braised short ribs ($20) were by far the most expensive menu item, and worth every penny. The juicy, tender stewed beef seemed to explode with rich flavors, soaked up only somewhat by the surrounding chewy rice cakes, new potatoes, roast carrots and rice.

For a lighter, summer-friendly option, try Southside Super’s bun ga nuong sa ($15). Chilled, slippery rice noodles formed the base for grilled lemongrass chicken thighs, bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber slices and do chua (the pickled carrots and daikon frequently seen in Vietnamese dishes), with a hearty splash of garlic fish sauce to tie the salad together.

Southside Super

Address: 921 V St., Sacramento.

Hours: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday-Monday, closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

Phone: (916) 822-4275

Website: https://www.southsidesuper.com/

Drinks: Asian and American sodas, teas and other nonalcoholic drinks.

Vegetarian options: Japchae made from sweet potato noodles, vegan kimbap with burdock root and pickled radish, egg salad sandwiches and more.

Noise level: Truly depends on busyness — the small space feels mellow during down times, but hectic amid a rush.

Outdoor seating: None.

Openings & Closings

▪ Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea is in the soft opening phase for its first Sacramento-area location at 8460 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 300 in Elk Grove. The boba shop with lattes, Yakult teas and seasonal drinks has a dozen Bay Area stores and 47 nationwide.

▪ Another cafe just made its debut: Nameless Tea & Coffee, which opened at 813 16th St. in midtown Sacramento. Boba drinks are a main attraction here as well, along with Vietnamese coffee, fruit slushees and a variety of macarons.

▪ Downtown Sacramento restaurant Solomon’s, a Jewish delicatessen-turned-modern-diner, closed Tuesday at 730 K St. on the ground floor of The Hardin building, along with its attached music venue called the Russ Room. While the owners are billing it as a temporary closure, they’re also seeking a buyer for the business and have laid off all employees.