A Taste of Sacramento

 This past week I planned a snacking tour of Sacramento with my girlfriends. Our first stop, The Rind opened just four months ago. This fabulous cheese shop has a simple but chic decoration and offers a list of marvelous cheese boards and inspired dishes. Since it was our first of three stops we grudgingly stopped our order at a single “Diving Board”- a way to “dive into” your tasting experience. Following the kind waiter’s recommendation we ordered the Pierre Robert (a triple cream), a Gouda variation, and Morbière (a goat cheese with vegetable ash in the rind). They were served on a wooden board and accompanied by halved strawberries, stacks of crostini, and a small pot of honey. Our waiter encouraged us to spread the triple cream on a strawberry- a brilliant idea! Definitely going back and making this a single stop so I can indulge in the fancy grilled cheese and macaroni and cheese!

I had my first delightful sample from Zocalo at the Bastille Day festival. A carnitas taco smaller than a tea saucer but packed with flavor. When we went back this last time I ordered the carnitas tacos with cilantro-lime rice and black beans- superb! At the end of our meal, and just as we were starting to believe that we were perfectly full, the waiter brought us out a complimentary slice of chocolate ganache layer cake à la mode. Did I mention that we always have room for chocolate cake?

And finally, because my friends simply couldn’t wait to see the last stop on our agenda (and also because we are bottomless pits) we made it to Devine gelateria. The gelato counter here is a thing of beauty full of so many colorful and tasty choices- I was so pleased with my Honey Fig Ricotta gelato! Devine is proud to be a Slow Food establishment, sourcing local farmers for only the best in-season ingredients. If you wander down the back corridor you can peak in the kitchen to watch the gelato being made, and on the way you might meet Isabelle, the shop’s friendly dachshund mascot.