Inside the new ‘globally-inspired’ menu and nightlife program at K Street’s Tiger
The carts are out, as is tableside guacamole prep. “Globally-inspired food” has replaced tacos, which replaced New American bar bites.
Tiger, the two-story restaurant and bar at 722 K St. in downtown Sacramento, is revamping its image for the third time since opening in November 2018. Owned by The Golden Group, which also owns The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar and co-owns Solomon’s Delicatessen, Tiger rolled out a mostly-new menu last Tuesday with a clear message: the broader, the better.
The third iteration of Tiger is focused on pulling people from all walks of life, particular those headed to or leaving the neighboring Golden 1 Center. That includes Kings fans, yes, but also the crowds that come from around the region for Celine Dion and Justin Bieber concerts, Disney on Ice or Professional Bull Riding competitions.
Tiger was initially modeled after State Bird Provisions, the Michelin-starred San Francisco restaurant whose servers roll small plates around on carts dim sum-style. Tacos replaced dishes such as harissa chicken wings and Thai fried peanuts in August, but that meant Tiger wasn’t exactly a date night destination, chef Barton Roberts said.
“The concept was more food-oriented. We were going to be a restaurant first,” Roberts said. “While we are still a restaurant, we’re a social space. And so those carts work great when you’re at a restaurant, and everyone’s got very much assigned seating and people are going to be sitting down at their tables.
“Somebody’s going to do it someday here in town, and it’s going to be great because they’re going to have the space for it and that’ll be the space that’ll work for it. But we’ve found that this is a more social space and a more social experience, and the carts don’t allow for that movement.”
Dinner’s original focus on small plates is now split between hearty mains (chimichurri New York strip steak, truffle cream bucatini) and shareable appetizers (fried portobello slices with orange chipotle mayonnaise, salmon wonton tostadas). A pork belly taco trio and vegan taco platter nod to Tiger 2.0, where three tacos with beans and achiote rice went for $12.
The first version of Tiger was nearly as carnivorous as the restaurant’s namesake; the new lunch and dinner menus have seven and 10 vegan or vegetarian options respectively, including beet tartare crostini, plant-based penne bolognese and Beyond Meat sloppy Joes on Grateful Bread ciabatta.
“You see all these very diverse groups of people come through, and we’re just trying to evolve or adapt to what we think they want,” said John Bays, executive chef over Tiger and The Red Rabbit. “I’m not a big vegetarian or vegan at all, but you know what? A lot of people are changing to that. There is a definite change going toward eating better, cleaner food.”
Speed is now a heightened focus as well. Most dishes on the new lunch menu can be prepared quickly, and staff now wheel an outdoor bar out to the front patio on weekends and during Golden 1 Center event nights in hopes of enticing passersby with a shot or quick beer.
Tiger’s entertainment, meanwhile, has been handed off to Robbie Metcalf and Tony Christ, co-founders of a Sacramento-based nightlife company called Hall of Fame, or HOF. They’ve brought in local DJs such as My Cousin Vinny and Shaun Slaughter for weekly night shows, and plan to install quarterly “activations” decking the bar out in seasonal decorations similar to the Miracle pop-ups that emerge around Christmas.
Monthly Zodiac parties will riff on the current sign, with an upcoming Aquarius bash to feature 12 vendors including henna tattoo artists and crystal jewelers, Christ said. Tiger was already planning to turn over its entertainment options frequently when the taco menu was introduced in August, but HOF will treat the 8,000 square foot space like “a chameleon,” Bays said.
“We’re always going to be incorporating people that we feel like represent the city and different subcultures,” said Christ, who lives above Tiger in The Hardin. “We try to stay away from the gimmicky stuff and focus on the full-on experience.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.