Break out your flannels and head to the nearest pumpkin patch. It’s fall, and the Sacramento region’s harvest season is in the air.

Producers have been rapidly pulling their fruit, from Capay Valley olives to West Sacramento tomatoes to backyard pomegranate trees throughout Sacramento County. Harvest festivals are popping up at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op, in Amador County and Fair Play’s wine countries.

No place around here smacks you with fall vibes like Apple Hill. Quaint in feel but expansive in reach, the 50+ affiliated farms in Placerville and Camino have become a local tourist destination, an outdoor escape to simpler times.

The Sacramento Bee’s service journalism editor and new-ish California resident Savanna Smith documented her first trip to Apple Hill in an article last week. And while Abel’s Apple Acres caramel-dipped treats and Rainbow Orchards apple cider doughnuts never really get old, I have a few recommendations for more seasoned visitors in and around the region.

These aren’t hidden gems, per se. They’re more like next-level spots, ones to seek out once you feel like you’ve already experienced the must-tries.

Hog Wild Barbeque (38 Main St., Placerville)

Full meals can be a bit hard to find in Apple Hill, so consider stopping off in downtown Placerville a couple of miles before driving up the back roads. Hog Wild cooks Texas-style barbecue low and slow over cherry wood in a 35-year-old smoker, though former customers Steve and Mary Fulmer only took over as owners in 2018.

Baby back ribs, smoked chicken and jalapeño-cheese sausages are well-covered here. If you’re getting food to go, though, consider the Angry Pit Master sandwich. Stacked with chopped brisket, pulled pork, sliced jalapeños, coleslaw, grilled onions and cheese, it’s not for the faint of heart.

Smokey Ridge Ranch (2160 Carson Road, Placerville)

When crowds descend on High Hill Ranch’s food trucks and petting zoos, barnyard wine and cider tasting can be a welcome antidote. Smokey Ridge Ranch was founded 98 years ago and has grown to produce grapes, persimmons, u-pick chestnuts and flowers, olives, figs and 17 varieties of apples (sold out for the season, alas).

Can you taste owner Kirk Taylor’s Ph.D in biochemistry in a glass of his syrah? Maybe, maybe not, but better check out a slew of jams, jellies and other condiments to make sure. Don’t forget to leave time to tour historical Native American sites, old mines and a scenic pond.

Joan’s Apple Bakery at Delfino Farms (3205 N. Canyon Road, Building 2, Camino)

Delfino Farms is basically the opposite of a hidden gem, in truth. The family co-founded Apple Hill in 1964, grew its popularity under the name “Kids Inc.” and now runs a winery, cider mill and farm overlooking some of the area’s most beautiful hillsides.

In all that commotion, though, one would be remiss to overlook a humble pastry from the bakery at the bottom of the property. Joan’s “walkin’ pie” is a warm ball of sliced n’ spiced apples, coated in pastry dough and made that much better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Remember, Apple Hill doesn’t shut down after October. Many vendors keep rolling into November as crowds dip, then stock their lots with Christmas trees far into the holiday season.

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What I’m eating

Half-starved after a long bike ride along the American River Parkway, I walked into Smile Market 2 in La Riviera on Sunday. Opened in February 2020 by Do Sool and Chae Kyung Kim, who founded the original Smile Market almost 25 years ago, it’s perhaps the Sacramento region’s only restaurant dedicated to Korean-Chinese food called junghwa yori.

Smile Market 2’s flagship dish is jajangmyeon ($13), a bowl of chewy noodles, diced pork and vegetables such as squash dyed inky black by a fermented black bean sauce called chunjang. It was pleasantly pungent and musky with a strong depth of flavor, an umami delight that’ll leave your teeth momentarily stained and your belly satiated.

Palbochae with rice ($22) had clear Chinese roots as well. Also known as babaocai or eight-treasure vegetables, it was an enormous plate of shrimp, squid, mussels, bok choy, bamboo shoots, baby corn, bell peppers, straw mushrooms, water chestnuts and more over glutinous rice, a hearty mishmash with enough leftovers for two additional meals.

You’ll find bibim-naengmyeon ($19, listed as “cold noodle with spicy chili sauce”) at many Korean restaurants around Rosemont and La Rivieria, and Smile Market 2’s is better balanced than many of its competitors. Served chilled in a metal bowl, the buckwheat noodles, sliced cucumber, half-moons of beef and gochujang-based sauce were a welcome relief after temperatures rose into the mid-80s on the bike trail.

Address: 9545 Folsom Blvd, Suite 8, Sacramento. Hours: 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Monday. Drinks: bottled teas and soft drinks. Meat-free options: few, though the jajangmyeon is available in vegan form as well. Accessibility: wheelchair-accessible restroom, two handicapped parking spots. Noise level: minimal, with ambient background music.

Openings & closings

• Smile Market 2 just got a new Vietnamese neighbor in its shopping center. Pho Momma began selling noodle soups, spring rolls and a wide range of tea and coffee drinks at 9555 Folsom Blvd., Suite A in Sacramento last week.
  
  
• Cerveceria at The Shack will open Friday, co-owner Peter Hoey confirmed in a text message to The Bee on Monday. Hoey and business partner Rob Archie also own Urban Roots Brewing & Smokehouse, Bawk and (in Archie’s case) Pangaea Bier Cafe; they’ll bring Cali-Mex dishes and brews to the former East Sacramento burger joint at 5201 Folsom Blvd.
• Célestin’s Restaurant’s anticipated closure has come to pass at 3610 McKinley Blvd., ending a 39-year run for the French Creole restaurant. A yet-to-be-unveiled replacement restaurant will be owned by “a longtime resident and member of the East Sacramento culinary community,” broker Matt Axford told the Sacramento Business Journal.