Get tickets now for Taste of East Sac

June 26, 11:35 AMSacramento Restaurant ExaminerEli Roth

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    A variety of wines will pair up with excellent food from local restaurants.

More than 15 local restaurants will be participating in a new event this year: Taste of East Sac. The event will be held at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center on Sunday, July 12, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. as a benefit for Pops in the Park.

Pops in the Park is a free public concert series held every Saturday evening in June in a different East Sacramento park. The concerts were well-attended this year, with the largest crowds I have seen in my many years of attendance. Perhaps, the sagging economy is pushing more people toward free entertainment. Whatever the reason, the community has turned out in force for these concerts. Let’s hope as many buy tickets for the Taste of East Sac event, so that the concerts can continue next year, with the same high-quality musical groups.

Tickets for Taste of East Sac are $25 in advance and available at Selland’s Market Café @ 5340 H Street, one of the sponsors of the event. If it is a hot day when you pick up tickets, check out Selland’s great selection of bottled lemonades and specialty sodas. If you cannot make it to Selland’s, call 916-452-8011 for tickets.

In addition to Selland’s Market Café, other participating East Sac restaurants include Opa! Opa!, our local Greek café; Sweetwater Restaurant and Bar, which will be moving to midtown July 1; and 33rd Street Bistro, the flagship location of a growing local restaurant empire. Event chair Celeste Burke is quoted in Inside East Sacramento as saying that participants “Hoppy Brewing Company and Evan’s Kitchen offered to help before we even had a chance to ask them.”  We expect that kind of community involvement in East Sac and are not surprised. 

I understand from Evan Elsberry, chef at Evan’s Kitchen (and, for purposes of full disclosure, my ex-husband and former business partner), that he will be serving his house-smoked salmon and bacon-wrapped scallops, both popular favorites among his followers. Gonul Blum, Chef and owner of Gonul's J Street Cafe says she will be serving baked goat cheese with polenta , lime-marinated chiken skewers with spicy cucumber dipping sauce, and bread with hummus dip.  The diversity of dining possibilities at this event is sure to provide something for everybody to love.

Some not-so-East-Sac restaurants will also participate, including Bistro Biagio, the café at the midtown Courtyard by Marriott, where event chair, Celeste Burke, works as director of sales and marketing. Freeport Bakery, a Land Park neighborhood landmark and treasure, is a welcome participant also, because, correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that East Sac does not have an independent bakery of its own since Philips closed.

In addition to the food, there will be wine, although I have yet to confirm the various wineries that are participating. Local artists and live music will complete the event. And, if you have never been to the Shepard Garden and Arts Center, it’s beautifully-landscaped courtyard is worth a visit on a summer evening. See you there!

For more info: Check out Pops in the Park and the East Sacramento Chamber of Commerce