New York Times raves about Sacramento food scene. It credits Bay Area for boom
Love for Sacramento’s food scene extends to the East Coast, according to a recent New York Times article.
In a story titled “How Sacramento Turned Into a Great Restaurant City,” published on Tuesday, food writer Ella Quittner takes a look at the evolution of the capital city’s burgeoning culinary scene and highlights restaurants worth exploring.
It also gives credit to the Bay Area for luring cooking talent to Sacramento.
“For years, Sacramento had the makings of a great restaurant town,” Quittner writes. “It consistently ranks among the three most ethnically diverse cities in America — with all the variety of cuisines that brings — and it sits near the middle of California’s Central Valley, with its 12-month growing season of vast agricultural wealth.”
Although the region’s farm-to-fork movement produced “a handful of culinary stalwarts,” Quittner writes, “It took a cadre of young chefs returning or relocating to Sacramento, and a flock of new residents fleeing from punishing Bay Area housing prices, to fully flip the switch.”
According to Quittner, the number of people relocating from San Francisco to Sacramento County increased by 70% in 2020.
The Times article spotlights Kru in East Sacramento for its sushi chefs’ expertise and buttery fish, reminiscent of dishes served in Ginza, a shopping area in Tokyo.
“Growing up in Sacramento, I had a chip on my shoulder,” Kru owner and chef Billy Ngo told the Times. “After high school, all my friends wanted to get the hell out; I stayed behind and worked, like, ‘No, Sacramento is cool — or it’s going to be cool.’ And it’s been really great to be part of that change.”
The Times also mentions bakeries Moonbelly in East Sacramento and Faria in Folsom and Oak Park, alongside local pizzerias Pizza Supreme Being, Pizzasaurus Rex and Majka.
In addition, the publication puts Sacramento’s diverse palate on display, giving shoutouts to Japanese cuisine from Binchoyaki — named The Sacramento Bee’s top five dining destinations in downtown — as well as modern California dishes at Jim Denny’s, authentic Mexican food at Bib Gourmand taqueria Nixtaco and New American fare at Michelin-starred Localis.
The article also recognizes Sacramento’s proximity to wine country and its full-bodied coffee culture and specialty cocktail bars.
The Times’ findings came as no surprise to some.
“There’s always that mundane article that’s like ‘Sacramento is the next this,’“ Ben Roberts, Pizza Supreme Being owner, told the Time. “It doesn’t need to be Portland, or Oakland. It doesn’t need to be Berkeley.”
“Sacramento is just Sacramento. It doesn’t need to be anything else.”
Read more about Sacramento’s dining culture online.
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