Best restaurant meals I ate around Sacramento in September | Food reporter’s notebook
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Is it still summer? Is it fall yet? Sacramento’s weather gods couldn’t make up their minds in September, and my food choices fluctuated greatly as a result.
Nothing sounded better than light beer and German sausages when a heat wave thrust record high temperatures on the region early in the month. A few weeks later, cool rain had me scrambling down to south Sacramento for tasty Vietnamese soups.
The other best dishes I ate in September included fried fish from a Peruvian/Mexican spot, and a Thai lemongrass chicken and shrimp dish that got its best flavors from a surprise ingredient: bananas. Yes, really.
All of these reviews were first published in The Sacramento Bee’s free weekly food and drink newsletter. Visit https://t.news.sacbee.com/webApp/mccSignUp?newsletter=sacbee_food_drink_newsletter to sign up for future releases.
Kathrin’s Biergarten, Rocklin
Kathrin Grosse might miss her native Germany sometimes. But as Kathrin’s Biergarten’s menu states, “Durst ist schlimmer als Heimweh.”
Translation: “Thirst is worse than homesickness.”
No drinker should walk away thirsty from 4810 Granite Drive, Suite A1 in Rocklin, home to the area’s most German restaurant and bar. Half-liter steins and tasting flights are easy to spot across Grosse’s concept in Sierra Meadows Plaza. It has a festively decorated indoor space along with dual patios that feature shade structures and misters.
Kathrin’s has more than 30 beers on tap, mostly imported but some brewed in-house, plus bottled beer, wine, radlers and ciders. There’s also a trio of nonalcoholic beers along with coffee, soda and a nice tea selection for sober folks.
Sauerkraut balls ($12 for six or $30 for 16), relatively common throughout Bavaria and the United States’ Midwest but scarcely seen in these parts, made for a fun appetizer. Ground bratwurst is the main ingredient, mixed with sauerkraut and cream cheese then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried to create a sort of crispy handheld meatball.
Wiener schnitzel ($17), a Viennese cutlet not to be confused with the hot dog chain, came with the option of chicken or pork and fries or spätzle (small, savory dumplings). It was nicely done: lightly breaded, pounded flat and sprinkled with a herb mix that, along with a squeeze of lemon, kept the fried meat from tasting too heavy.
That schnitzel is included in Kathrin’s Oktoberfest sampler ($40), served over fries with braised red and cured green sauerkrauts and a choice of five flavorful sausages. A smoky-salty housemade brat known as “dirkat” is a must-try, and the Louisiana hot link lives up to the heat in its name.
Phở Le, South Sacramento
Some people mark the start of fall with pumpkin spice lattes or trips to Apple Hill. For me, it’s when I can finally comfortably dig into south Sacramento’s wealth of noodle soups that warm the belly and soul.
When the first substantial rain since April started falling on the weekend of Sept. 18, I made a beeline for Phở Le at 8785 Center Parkway, Suite B180 in Laguna Village shopping center near the Elk Grove border. I wasn’t alone, and waited 30 minutes for a table.
Phở was obviously a necessity, and the combination phở ($12 for a medium bowl, $13 for a large) was the best way to try every beef cut in a salty, umami broth. That meant paper-thin steak cuts, tendon and beef meatballs that were delicious, and brisket and tripe that seemed excessively fatty.
Shellfish lovers need to seek out the Northern Vietnamese soup bún riêu ($14). Its orange broth so assertively smacked the palate with tastes of crab and shrimp paste, buoyed by spiced ground crab meat and complemented by pork, tomatoes, tofu and extra-thin vermicelli.
Coagulated pig’s blood cubes are optional; if you’re curious but intimidated, Phở Le is a good place to try them, as these cubes didn’t have such a strong taste as some others.
Knowing Sacramento, we’re not done with hot, sunny days just yet. When the next one comes along, opt for Phở Le’s take on gỏi gà ($13), a refreshingly chilled chicken salad with shredded cabbage, daikon, carrots and white onion.
Jimmy’s Peruvian & Mexican Restaurant, Arden Arcade
Exit Capital City Freeway near Fulton Avenue, find parking among the mobile homes in Vickers Court RV Park and walk up to the oddly-shaped red building at 3032 Auburn Blvd. You’re about to enter Jimmy’s Peruvian & Mexican Restaurant, a culinary oasis in a region where lomos saltados, salchipapas and Inca Kola are hard to come by.
The Sacramento region has a glut of Jalisco-style taquerias but only one other Peruvian restaurant to speak of (Roseville’s excellent Chicha Peruvian Kitchen & Cafe), casting Jimmy’s South American options in a more attractive light.
Even though there’s not much overlap between Peruvian and Mexican menus at Jaime Gonzalez’s restaurant, don’t miss the creamy aji verde alongside pico de gallo and other classic salsa bar options. The house chicha morada ($4.75), a Peruvian purple corn drink, avoids the cloying sweetness some imitators fall into and makes for a nice pairing with just about any food.
Jalea de pescado ($19) is priced, listed and portioned as a dinner entree, yet a plate full of crispy fish nuggets over yucca fries seems an ideal starter for groups of four or so. The surprisingly airy pieces of swai played well with a little Peruvian corn and salsa criolla (pickled onion slaw), though the yucca fries came out a little overcooked.
Keep Jimmy’s earthy seco de carne ($19.75) in mind as temperatures cool. Stewed beef chunks and pinto beans provided the protein, but most of the standout flavor came from the deep green, cilantro-based broth.
The Christmas-colored Jimmy’s burrito ($15) grabbed me from the Mexican menu. Half covered with a tangy green enchilada sauce, half doused in a smoky red version, its lively coatings brightened up an otherwise ordinary core of chicken, rice, cheese and onions.
Thai Chili, Elk Grove
I love a Thai restaurant that goes outside of tried-and-true options, and Thai Chili in Elk Grove had enough of that to pique my interest (plus plenty of familiar options for those seeking comfort food).
New customers might have already eaten at owner Teerayut Phupong’s other places, Bangkok@12 Thai Restaurant in downtown Sacramento and Thai Spoon in Natomas, before getting to Thai Chili at 8696 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 5. There’s some overlap between the different concepts, but plenty of unique dishes as well.
I’ll probably never go back to this 18-year-old Thai restaurant without ordering the lemongrass chicken and shrimp with banana ($17.50), sautéed with mixed veggies in a chili sauce. Those perfectly-ripe banana slices embedded throughout are absolute game-changers — just the corner of one spread around the other ingredients adds a surprising yet welcome burst of fruity sweetness.
Thai Chili and Phupong’s other restaurants are among the few to offer po tak ($14) in the Sacramento area. A cloudy lemongrass soup with shrimp, scallops and squid rings as well as button mushrooms and cauliflower, it’d be super-soothing for someone nursing an illness. Described as “spicy” on the menu, it’s really quite mild — more tangy than anything, thanks to the lemongrass.
Ever had your drunken noodles with crab meat ($18) mixed in? The crustacean’s sweet, rich flesh (real stuff here, no imitation crab) cut through the substantive heat and earthy flat noodles to create a bougier take on a gut-stuffing classic.
