Brisket, couscous and hot chicken: These 10 Sacramento-area restaurants opened in March

Spring, the time of renewal, brings new life in the Sacramento-area food scene. As indoor dining restrictions gradually lift and balmy weather makes patio dinners palatable, a handful of restaurants are welcoming customers for the first time.

These 10 local restaurants opened in March 2021:

• California Express Pizza (4261 Truxel Rd., Suite A6, Sacramento): Natomas marks the third location for this area fusion pizzeria, following stores in Roseville and south Sacramento.
• Casablanca (640 W. Covell Blvd., Suite A, Davis): Unattached to a Sacramento restaurant by the same name, Casablanca founders Ibrahim and Maoida Zabad — natives of Lebanon and Morocco, respectively — make dishes like zaalouk, tagine and couscous.
• Davis Barbecue Pit (640 W. Covell Blvd., Suite D., Davis): Casablanca’s neighbor in Anderson Plaza takes over an old Dickey’s Barbecue Pit location with ribs, brisket, burgers and more, all coated in housemade rubs and sauces.
• Halal West Pizza (4100 Manzanita Ave., Suite B, Carmichael): You’ll still find sausage and pepperoni at Halal West. But this by-the-slice pizzeria also carries items like the Afghani Pizza (halal meat of choice, mushrooms, black olives, onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, garlic and marinara sauce).
• Little Brazil Steakhouse (8698 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 3, Elk Grove): Little Brazil has no menu; rather, customers choose items like farofa, salpicão and picanha from an ever-changing hot food bar and pay depending on weight.
  
  

• Mr. Crab (3581 Truxel Rd., Suite 5, Sacramento): You might need a bib at Natomas Marketplace’s newest addition, which sells market-price crab as well as seafood sandwiches and fry baskets.

• Taqueria La Nueva Vallarata (10305 Fairway Dr., Roseville): Seafood is the star at this Placer County taqueria, featured in dishes like ceviche, caldo de pescado and camarones a la kora.

• The Angry Chickz (5801 Folsom Blvd., Suite 130, Sacramento): Choose how hot you want your Nashville-style fried chicken, from “country” (no spice) to “angry” (made with Carolina Reaper peppers and requires signing a waiver), at this Southern California chain’s first outpost north of Fresno.

• Tres Calaveras (3300 Coach Ln., Cameron Park): Brightly-painted skulls hang from the walls around Tres Calaveras, watching customers dig into dishes like fish tacos, spinach-mushroom tamales and “Los Compadres” — a burrito filled half with chile colorado and half with chile verde.

• Wow Wow Lemonade Stand (3373 Bass Lake Rd., Suite 100, El Dorado Hills): Wow Wow’s lemonade first became popular at Hawaiian night and farmers markets in the 2010s, and the ensuing brick-and-mortar concepts expanded to include açaí bowls, toasts and “superfood smoothies.”

This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 5:00 AM.