{"id":246003,"date":"2026-04-01T01:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/246003\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T01:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:55:10","slug":"city-of-treats-food-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/246003\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Treats food, events"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following is from the March 31 edition of 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

\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

Happy Tuesday, friends! It\u2019s Benjy with Abridged.<\/p>\n

You may or may not know the name \u201cJoanne Neft\u201d \u2014 I didn\u2019t until I saw a concrete square in Auburn with her name on it. But if you\u2019ve eaten seasonally in Placer County, you know her work.<\/p>\n

Neft, 90, moved to Placer County 50 years ago and saw there was no farmers market. So she started the first one, then launched Placer Grown, an organization that supports the county\u2019s 14 farmers markets today. Neft tasted a Placer County mandarin when only six farms were growing them, and became so enamored with the citrus that she launched the Mountain Mandarin Festival, which draws more than 50,000 people each November. Along the way, she wrote two locavore cookbooks (more than 40,000 copies sold) and helped conserve land for future farming.<\/p>\n

Neft is the subject of Rob Stewart\u2019s latest profile<\/a>, told with his usual dose of respect, celebration and heart. It\u2019s a slightly longer read (roughly 12 minutes) but worth the time of anyone interested in Placer County and\/or the history of the farm-to-table movement in this area.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s City of Treats also has a guide for a great day in Roseville, from a \u201cfancy pants\u201d breakfast sandwich to the Chinese soup dumplings know as xiaolongbao. I popped by a neighborhood cafe for Brazilian pastries and rooftop views, and spent the weekend eating well in San Diego. Plus, a South American corn beverage gets its own festival, and a sushi burrito concept makes its return to Midtown Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s go!<\/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

Brazilian pastries at a central Sacramento cafe<\/p>\n

Tupi Coffee<\/a> | 1901 8th St., Sacramento | 916-692-5258<\/p>\n

\"ClockwiseClockwise from left: coxinha, p\u00e3o de queijo and rissoles. (Benjy Egel)<\/p>\n

Sacramento\u2019s short list of Brazilian restaurants includes churrascerias, all-you-can-eat steakhouses, as well as the quaint Tupi Coffee in Southside Park. A\u00e7a\u00ed bowls and Brazilian pastries dot the caf\u00e9\u2019s menu, along with more classic American toasts and sandwiches.<\/p>\n

You can enjoy coxinha ($6), teardrop-shaped fritters filled with a chicken-and-cream cheese mixture, in the verdant dining room or on the rooftop patio. Rissoles ($6), tacky oblong bites somewhat reminiscent of mozzarella sticks, come stuffed with beef, corn, ham or heart of palm in addition to melted cheese. But the p\u00e3o de queijo ($5) is the one to try above all else, gluten-free tapioca-and-cheese bread that\u2019s ubiquitous throughout Brazilian dining. Wash it down with a Moreno ($7), a sweet mix of milk, chocolate, honey and an espresso shot finished with a cinnamon dusting. It\u2019s delightful iced, particularly as the weather heats up.<\/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

San Diego pizza, seafood and Cutwater Spirits<\/p>\n

\"\"Pizza at Wheat + Water in San Diego. (Benjy Egel)<\/p>\n

I spent last weekend visiting college friends in San Diego, and I\u2019m still not sure what exactly we did besides paintballing (my first time), sitting on the sand and eating and drinking our way through \u201cAmerica\u2019s Finest City.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oscar\u2019s Mexican Seafood<\/a> is always our stop for beach-adjacent fish tacos and ceviche, though the lines have gotten pretty close to unbearable. We had a lovely dinner at La Jolla Boulevard pizzeria Wheat + Water<\/a>, where my wood-fired pie included potatoes, b\u00e9chamel, prosciutto, bacon and jalape\u00f1o cr\u00e8me fraiche. And a sore, sweaty party of 11 followed Sunday paintball with a trip to Cutwater Spirits<\/a>, makers of California\u2019s most popular canned cocktails. The distillery fresh-made seasonal cocktails such as a dark rum slushy with cherry and pomegranate syrups or woodsy bourbon mixed with porcini mushroom liquid, truffle oil and demerara syrup.<\/p>\n

IN THE NEWS<\/p>\n

How to spend a great day in Roseville<\/p>\n

\"RosevilleWestfield Galleria in Roseville. (Courtesy Visit Placer)<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had writers author guides to great days in Rocklin<\/a>, Rancho Cordova<\/a>, Lodi<\/a> and Woodland<\/a>. Now, Roseville gets its moment. Placer County native Bailey Snow\u2019s ideal day includes a fancy pants breakfast sandwich from Four Sisters Cafe<\/a>, a walk along Miner\u2019s Ravine Trail and a trip to the Westfield Galleria mall.<\/p>\n

How Joanne Neft shaped what people eat in Placer County<\/p>\n

\"JoannePlacer Grown founder Joanne Neft holding fresh peaches in her Auburn kitchen in 2021. (Rob Stewart)<\/p>\n

Joanne Neft knows Roseville \u2014 and Auburn, Newcastle, Loomis and more. The \u201cMother of Placer County,\u201d now 90, has dedicated her life to land conservation and promoting local agriculture. She started Placer County\u2019s first farmers market, launched Placer Grown<\/a>, founded the Mountain Mandarin Festival<\/a>, and wrote two cookbooks espousing the local produce, as PBS KVIE\u2019s Rob Stewart wrote for Abridged last week.<\/p>\n

HAPPENING THIS WEEK<\/p>\n

Chicha Fest, pizza and the return of sushi burritos<\/p>\n

The third annual Chicha Fest<\/a> lands at the Latino Center of Arts and Culture (2700 Front St., Sacramento) on Saturday evening. It\u2019s a celebration of chicha de ma\u00edz, an Indigenous fermented corn drink enjoyed by people in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. Tickets start at $10.<\/p>\n

Make Fish Market<\/a> is back in its Midtown Sacramento space after nearly six years away, having re-launched with a soft opening on March 26. Owned by Mymy Nguyen and Jimmy Voong, who also count neighboring Saigon Alley Kitchen + Bar<\/a> among their restaurants, it previously served people at 1801 L St., Suite 70 from 2013-2020. Nigiri, poke and uramaki (inside-out rolls) are available now, with Make Fish\u2019s much-loved sushi burritos on their way.<\/p>\n

Slice House by Tony Gemignani<\/a> will open Saturday at 4060 Douglas Blvd., Suite 101 in Granite Bay\u2019s Sierra Oaks Plaza. It\u2019s the pizza parlor\u2019s second area location following Folsom, and a homecoming of sorts \u2014 while Gemignani (a former partner in Downtown Sacramento\u2019s Pizza Rock) grew up and became a celebrity chef in the Bay Area, his parents moved to Roseville more than 20 years ago and his father Frank coached soccer at Granite Bay High School. Look for New York-, Sicilian-, Detroit- and Grandma-style pies as well as slices.<\/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