SacMoFo: The Mini Burger Truck

The last time Sacramento held a mobile food festival, I completely underestimated the popularity and demand of the people. I wasn't the only one to walk away empty-handed after hours of standing in line, but I determined not to let it happen again when the trucks converged today for another "SacMoFo".

My husband and I arrived early having already studied the list of vendors and decided that darn it, we were going for the mini-burgers again! We weren't the only ones.
While my husband waited in line, I snagged us some "hors d'ouevres" - BBQ sliders from Big John's truck, with pulled pork and tri tip. They were really tasty and at $5, didn't break the bank.

The whole experience at SacMoFo was fun and boisterous. The festival was held under the freeway. Now, I must mention that this is a very poor place to find yourself if you have any paranoid tendencies. Personally, I had to keep my eyes from looking up to avoid envisioning the freeway collapsing on oblivious festival goers. But lively music and holiday donation tables kept spirits up during long waits, and more than a few people were dancing while they waited.

When at last our order came up, we split 3 mini-burgers and an order of sweet potato tots. The sweet potato tots were out of this world, served with perfectly complimentary a honey ancho sauce. We couldn't even finish them all, so there weren't even any Napoleon Dynamite moments. ("Gimme some of your tots!" "No, get your own!")


We each enjoyed the Cowbell burgers (of which we ordered 2). They came with provolone, bacon, onion strings, and house BBQ sauce. We like a saucier burger and wish there had been more BBQ sauce, but this was a fine burger.

Our favorite, however, was surely the Ninja, a burger with supernatural flavors that blew our minds. This burger consisted of Korean short ribs, topped with pea shoots, sriracha aioli, and "Asian slaw". This flavor combination melded like magic in our mouths - this is one must-try for all Sacramento folk! If you like Korean tacos, try this Korean burger for a real treat.

When we left, the lines were starting to wind around to eternity, especially for the trucks that came up from San Francisco, like Bacon Bacon and Chairman Bao. I'm not sure if those folks at the end ever got the food they wanted, but I hope this isn't our last chance to have a festival like this. All of the trucks looked great and I hope to try them all eventually. And yes, I will be early every time from now on! It worked like a charm.

Light Salmon Burgers

We are always looking for tasty new fish recipes. Salmon burgers seemed retro to me at first, but this recipe from Eating Well magazine really revamped the idea. Gone is the canned salmon and the fishiness (much to my husband’s relief). Now it’s all about starting with wild-caught salmon fillets and processing them as little as possible. I have to admit, when I looked at the “patties” I thought something had gone wrong. “It’s just chunks of salmon! These are totally gonna fall apart!” I fretted. But miraculously, they stayed together pretty well, and came out simply delicious. We cooked them in garlic-infused olive oil and loved the results. Buns are optional, and the burgers would be wonderful paired with either the suggested green goddess dressing or ketchup. Without the bun and served with a dollop of the sauce, they are under 300 calories and a lovely light dinner.

Salmon Burgers

From Eating Well magazine

1 pound wild salmon fillet, skinned

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion, or scallion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, or canola oil

Optional: Green goddress dressing to serve Preparation: 1.With a large chef’s knife, chop salmon using quick, even, straight-up-and-down motions (do not rock the knife through the fish or it will turn mushy) until you have a mass of roughly 1/4-inch pieces. Transfer to large bowl and gently stir in onion (or scallion), cilantro, ginger, salt and pepper, being careful not to overmix. Divide the mixture into 4 patties, about 1 inch thick. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (or up to 2 hours) before cooking. 2.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the burgers and cook until browned on both sides and just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes total. Serve with 1 tablespoon Green Goddess Sauce each. Serves 4.

Restaurant Review: Gatsby's

A few weeks ago, my aunt who lives down in the LA area texted me and asked me if I had tried a local burger joint called Gatsby's. She had just seen it on Guy Fieri's popular Food Network show "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives". I personally have a hard time remembering the correct sequence of those words, and so I usually refer to it like Guy does, as DDD.

This weekend seemed like a perfect time to try the 1930's themed restaurant, so off we went. We had some trouble getting in because clearly my aunt wasn't the only one who had watched that particular episode, and the place was packed.

Besides neat vintage decorations, the restaurant features an open grill where you can watch your burgers being prepared. Before its current incarnation, this spot hosted a Japanese eatery featuring hibatchi-style grills, and the current owners decided to keep that element when they took over the location.
Almost everything on the menu is house-made, including the potato chips, mayonnaise, and pickles. The buns are baked by a local bakery.

This glorious gooey mess was mine, all mine. The Blood Orange Burger comes with the regular fixings, plus melted Gouda cheese and blood orange marmalade. The burger itself was a half-pound and very juicy.

Conclusion: You'll want a reservation (and make sure a real person takes note of it; I had a bad experience...) but Gatsby's is worth checking out when you're looking for a leisurely old-fashioned meal right out of an old 30's-era Hollywood film. And COME HUNGRY! You surely won't leave hungry.