BEYOND FARM-TO-FORK.
If dining is analogous to discovery, then Sacramento’s mosaic of ethnic diversity represents a transcontinental culinary safari. Earlier this year, the city was ranked the country’s 15th most diverse city of 300,000 people or more — landing ahead of Oakland and just behind Fresno — by financial social network WalletHub. The cultural melting pot makes for a fascinating assortment of cuisines.
Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa are all well represented in restaurants big and small, simple and sophisticated. What they have in common is that they’re usually family affairs offering traditional homestyle cooking based on recipes handed down through generations. Supporting the culinary ecosystem is a solid base of momand-pop ethnic markets throughout the city.
In 2012, then-Mayor Kevin Johnson branded the city Farm-to-Fork capital of the country — and with good reason. Sacramento is surrounded by 1.5 million acres of farmland and ranches, and the Sacramento Valley supplies the nation with much of its produce, from almonds and garlic to tomatoes and plums. Increasingly, that bounty is flowing directly into the kitchens of local restaurants. That trifecta — local meat and produce, scores of ethnic markets, and hundreds of independently run dining rooms — makes Sacramento an ideal hunting ground for foodies in search of the pleasingly unpredictable.