Food reporter’s notebook: The best Sacramento-area restaurant meals I ate in May

May saw Sacramento’s balmy spring turn to 100-degree heat, the prelude of a summer heat that can only be crushed with the help of Merlino’s Freezes, Osaka-Ya shave ice and the region’s best ice cream.

The state of flux is clear as I look back on memorable meals over the last month. I escaped a blustery Thursday evening in a Natomas ramen shop, soaked up the sun outside a new-school Afghan restaurant and resorted to a burger and cold beer after a sweaty foothill expedition.

All of these reviews were first published in The Sacramento Bee’s free weekly food and drink newsletter, which lands in followers’ inboxes around noon each Wednesday.

Solid Ground Brewing

Morel mushrooms are sprouting across Northern California right now, but my last foraging excursion came up dry. I quenched my sorrows instead at Solid Ground Brewing (552 Pleasant Valley Road) in the El Dorado County town of Diamond Springs.

KC Sare and Scott Johnson, both Sierra Nevada foothills natives, founded Solid Ground in June 2017 as a 30-barrel brewpub that goes above and beyond the typical options. While Sare oversees an excellent brewing program, Johnson makes wine in house. He’s also the winemaker for Element 79 Vineyards in Somerset, and both co-owners contribute to Solid Ground’s cidermaking program as well.

Five-glass, $14 flights allow customers to try a little bit of everything, including the deliciously refreshing Kyburz kolsch (5.4% ABV). I can see more people ordering the easy-drinking, sessionable beer as temperatures continue to rise, especially with Solid Ground’s house burger ($15).

Made with beef from Kings Meats, a butcher shop less than a mile down Pleasant Valley Road, the six-ounce hamburger patty is mustard-grilled before sliding between a soft brioche bun alongside sliced red onion, oven-roasted tomato sauce, iceberg lettuce and the customer’s choice of cheese. Hand-cut shoestring fries were decent, if a little inconsistent; that’s what you get without automation, I guess.

Ugly nugz ($12), as Solid Ground’s fried chicken bites are known, sure tasted pretty. Cut into rough cubes and dredged in buttermilk, they came with a choice of seasoning: salt and pepper, buffalo sauce, bleu cheese, or a smoky/sweet chipotle dip that tasted a bit like a guajillo chili-based barbecue sauce.

Koshi Ramen Bar

A few local gems poke out through Natomas Marketplace’s sprawling kingdom of chain restaurants. Residential neighbors are particularly partial to Koshi Ramen Bar, John Tran’s Japanese spot at 3581 Truxel Road., Suite 2. (A sister restaurant with sushi and bento boxes, Koshi Eats, can be found in South Sacramento’s Delta Shores shopping center.)

I went for the chicken tan tan ramen ($13), with its milky red broth, mild spice and baby bok choy poking through a sea of ground meat. It was pleasant and filling, slightly better than the classic tonkotsu ramen ($13), where wood ear mushrooms gave the broth lots of flavor but came out slightly rubbery on their own.

Ramen’s in the name, but a simple unagi rice bowl ($11) stood out as much as anything at Koshi. The teriyaki glaze over a super-tender grilled eel filet mixed with cabbage and white rice was well-executed comfort food on a windy May evening. The succulent meat in Koshi’s chicken karaage ($10) made for a nice appetizer as well, with a mayonnaise-based orange sauce for dipping.

Avatar’s Indian Bistro

I had a really nice solo feast at Avatar’s Indian Bistro, which opened in January at 8657 Auburn Folsom Rd. in Granite Bay. Brightly decorated with umbrellas hanging from the ceiling, it’s part of an ownership family that also claims Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas and Aabha Indian Cuisine in Sonoma.

Avatar’s has a creative streak rarely seen at the region’s suburban North Indian restaurants, as shown in apricot fig salads and racks of lamb marinated in papaya and pineapple juice. Vegetarian options are plentiful and nuanced, like the tangy chickpea-yellow pigeon pea soup ($6) full of South Asia’s familiar combination of lemongrass and coconut milk.

The black gram dal ($14) was a highlight, its namesake legumes cooked with kidney beans overnight over a low flame. A deep smokiness from a house spice blend deftly cut through the stew’s creamy taste and consistency.

The seekh kebab ($20) was just as flavorful, its gamey pink meat grilled in a tandoor and marked with Mughlai (Indo-Persian) herbs and spices. Served naked and off-skewer, it was tasty enough on its own but also a great vessel to sample Avatar’s trio of tableside chutneys: tamarind, cilantro and red capsicum.

House of Shah Afghan Urban Eats

Craving a sit-down meal while in Woodland? Check out House of Shah Afghan Urban Eats, Juliana Garcia and Selymon Shahsamand’s modern halal restaurant at 538 Main St.

House of Shah leaves some of Shasamand’s family recipes intact and zhuzhes up others with contemporary inflections, though the Bay Area native’s mother and grandmother still have to sign off on the final product.

That approach shows up in the chapli kebab burger ($12), a mix of ground beef with cumin, coriander, red pepper and other spices. Fried crispy and served with garlic yogurt, your choice of cheese and traditional burger accoutrements on an excellent brioche bun from Woodland-based Zest Fresh Pastry West, it was the best item I tried.

More traditional was the tandoori chicken kebab plate ($14) with cumin-spiked pulao rice. I found the five cubes of chicken breast somewhat dry, but they woke up well with help from a vibrant green chutney and yogurt sauce.

Hot summer days must feel better with jala ($7), an Afghan sundae with a base layer of snow cone ice, two scoops of vanilla ice cream, and a hearty pour of rose water and chewy rice noodles — yes, really. Topped with crumbled pistachios and cardamom, it was both refreshing and refreshingly different.