{"id":203132,"date":"2026-03-04T02:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T02:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/203132\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T02:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T02:06:25","slug":"old-sacramento-beers-burger-snubs-and-new-elk-grove-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/203132\/","title":{"rendered":"Old Sacramento beers, burger snubs and new Elk Grove restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is from City of Treats, a food and drink newsletter by Abridged Senior Food Editor Benjy Egel. Want it sent directly to your inbox?\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My bike ride to PBS KVIE\u2019s offices takes me down the Old Sacramento Boardwalk. On the best days, I spy sea lions in the Sacramento River and overnight tourists boarding the\u00a0Delta King.<\/a>\u00a0On the worst days, it\u2019s easy to see why that waterfront corridor, the subject of revitalization dreams dating back to pre-pandemic days, is perhaps the city\u2019s greatest unrealized commercial potential.<\/p>\n

Kids come on field trips, the California State Railroad Museum is one of Sacramento\u2019s best and out-of-town guests may enjoy walking through the cobblestone streets. But as a colleague of mine said recently, there\u2019s little that attracts locals to spend time and money there, particularly given safety concerns as darkness falls. His recent visit was eerily quiet, he said, aside from the occasional scream from someone hanging out a car window.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I was so excited to hear the big reveal in Mayor Kevin McCarty\u2019s State of Downtown address last week:\u00a0Der Biergarten will open a second location<\/a>\u00a0along the waterfront, taking over an ancillary kitchen of the old Rio City Cafe. Another to-be-announced restaurant (I\u2019m told it\u2019s likely to be new to this market) and a retail shop will move into the main building following substantial repairs to the city-owned deck. And in more tucked-away news, the\u00a01920s Bookstore<\/a>\u00a0just revealed it\u2019ll open as a literally underground book shop and speakeasy on 2nd Street.<\/p>\n

\"OldThe Old Sacramento waterfront. (Martin Christian)<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t know\u00a0Der Biergarten<\/a>\u00a0(also known as Midtown Biergarten), you haven\u2019t spent much time bar-hopping in Sacramento. The communal tables, cornhole boards and shipping containers make up one of Midtown\u2019s favorite places to grab a beer, particularly on balmy days. It\u2019s not the most true-to-Bavaria beer garden this region has \u2014 that\u2019d be\u00a0Kathrin\u2019s Biergarten<\/a>\u00a0in Rocklin \u2014 but imports doppelbock and hefeweizens from Germany, makes a solid schnitzel and is nothing if not lively. That\u2019s what Old Sacramento needs.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t wait for Der Biergarten 2.0 to open? Grab a pint and a plate at a roomy British pub in Old Sacramento listed in the section below. Elsewhere in today\u2019s newsletter, I\u2019ve found a celebrity\u2019s cookbook, filled with family recipes from the Southeastern United States, to be my new favorite. And an Elk Grove restaurant opening Friday promises healthy, customizable options.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dig in.<\/p>\n

Benjy\u2019s Bites<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s my favorite item or two from a local restaurant this week. Send me yours at begel@kvie.org.<\/p>\n

Bear & Crown<\/a>\u00a0| 1022 2nd St., Sacramento | 916-497-9115<\/p>\n

\"fishBear & Crown\u2019s fish and chips. (Benjy Egel)<\/p>\n

One of Old Sacramento\u2019s more intriguing current options is Bear & Crown, opened by U.K. native Joe Wilson and his husband Jesse Ledin in 2023. The expansive British restaurant, bar and gift shop on the historic Orleans Hotel building\u2019s ground floor leans hard into the decor, with tartan booths and customized telephone booths backing modernized pub grub in Old Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Start your meal with\u00a0Scotch eggs\u00a0($16), a pair of eggs boiled for seven minutes, surrounded in herbaceous housemade sausage and encrusted in a thin, crispy outer layer. Served with a bright curry sauce, they\u2019re a pub staple done with a little extra care here.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0fish and chips\u00a0($25) rendition is an excellent one as well, centered around buttery, flaky Pacific cod and served with an outstanding housemade tartar sauce. It comes with triple-cooked chips, a British method that involves boiling the potatoes before frying them, but scraggly battered fries are available upon request.<\/p>\n

\t\tSign Up for the City of Treats Newsletter<\/p>\n

Get the latest Sacramento food news from Benjy Egel in City of Treats \u2014 delivered every Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Egel\u2019s Nest<\/p>\n

I live, play and cook in this community just like you. This recurring section is a window into my life outside of restaurants and bars, always with a food and\/or drink angle.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been cooking my way through a surprisingly strong cookbook over the last couple of weeks:\u00a0\u201cDoes This Taste Funny?\u201d<\/a>\u00a0by late-night TV host Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie McGee Colbert. The couple spends much of their time in Charleston, South Carolina, and many of the book\u2019s recipes are from their lives in the Lowcountry. There are the cheeky photos and clever quips Colbert\u2019s fans have come to expect, along with heartwarming family stories and genuinely scrumptious recipes.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve made quick-pickled apple-onion slaw, curried chicken salad, glazed farmers market parsnips and \u201cThe Colbert Bump\u201d (Heering Cherry Liqueur, gin, lemon juice and soda water) to pregame Cardi B\u2019s concert at Golden 1 Center. Yet the first recipe I tried remains my favorite: McGee Colbert\u2019s father\u2019s deviled eggs, which disappeared rapidly off my family\u2019s Passover table last spring. It\u2019s a stellar addition to a home cook\u2019s bookshelf, and having been released in 2024, there are secondhand copies floating around for those who want to save.<\/p>\n

In the news<\/p>\n

\"BurgersBurgers & Brew\u2019s pastrami burger with curly fries. (Benjy Egel)<\/p>\n

More than 100 readers wrote in<\/a> with local burgers they said should\u2019ve made my \u201cbest of\u201d list. The most common answers included a Carmichael roadside stand, a longtime bakery favorite and a local chain that uses Niman Ranch beef.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"sign\"Der Biergarten recently announced plans to expand to Old Sacramento. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Popular Midtown watering hole\u00a0Der Biergarten<\/a>\u00a0will open its second location, this one in Old Sacramento overlooking the Sacramento River. Owners Sean and Erika Derfield also own\u00a0Sean Finnegan\u2019s Pub<\/a>\u00a0in Old Sacramento. Read more here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Happening this week<\/p>\n

The 16th annual\u00a0Capitol Beer Fest<\/a>\u00a0returns Saturday afternoon along Capitol Mall. GA tickets are $55 to taste nearly 100 stands\u2019 beverages, with proceeds going toward local nonprofit\u00a0Runnin\u2019 For Rhett.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do\u00f1a Mari Cocinita<\/a>\u00a0held its grand opening Feb. 27 at 4204 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in South Oak Park. It became known for its quesabirria tacos and pambazos (sandwiches dipped in a guajillo chile sauce) while operating out of a red truck in South Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Bohl<\/a>, a health-focused restaurant from local\u00a0Dutch Bros<\/a>\u00a0franchisees Hailey and Kyle Garrett, will open Friday at 9257 Laguna Springs Drive, Suite 100 in Elk Grove. Signature bowls include the Ranch Hand salad (grilled steak, roasted sweet potatoes, avocado and garlic-herb cottage cheese over spring mix) and Feta Late Than Neva (two types of feta, fried chickpeas, Kalamata olives, and tzatziki over rice).<\/p>\n

Benjy Egel\u00a0is the senior food editor at Abridged. Born and raised in the Sacramento region, he has covered its local restaurants and bars since 2018. He also writes and edits Abridged\u2019s weekly\u00a0food and drink newsletter,\u00a0City of Treats.<\/a><\/p>\n