These Sacramento firefighters are cooking up 5-star meals — and going viral on TikTok

If ever there were cooks that could take the heat of a kitchen ...

The Sacramento Fire Department has developed a somewhat unlikely social media following. More than 117,000 TikTok followers and 41,000 on Instagram followers tune in not just for PSAs and flame-filled featurettes, but for food prep videos that leave the mouth salivating like a fire hose.

Each meal follows a fairly set routine, though it can be interrupted by service calls. All firefighters at a station put in about $10 apiece, roll dice to see who the cook will be (“winners” take other jobs such as dishwasher or floor sweeper), then head to the grocery store together to shop for lunch and dinner by 10:30 a.m., SFD spokesman Capt. Keith Wade said.

Some old-school dishes have stood the test of time across Sacramento firehouses, such as a sandwich called a “made right” (ground beef, mayonnaise, mustard, cream of mushroom soup, relish, diced bacon and sliced cheese on a hoagie roll).

“Super unhealthy, but super delicious,” Wade said.

But as Sacramento’s culinary tastes have matured and people have become more health-conscious, station chefs have upped their games. Mexican American firefighters have wowed with their carnitas. Thai peanut salads are popular and Station 43’s organic garden grows tomatoes, peppers, watermelon and more to be used at the Natomas firehouse.

Premier chefs can dig into the station kitty for the occasional cioppino or surf-and-turf feast. One engineer used to work at Paesano’s as a line cook, and made the restaurant’s specialty fettucine arrostiti (blackened chicken, pasilla peppers and a cilantro-lime cream sauce) when it was his turn.

It’s a far cry from when Wade broke into the department 20 years ago. A a dish called a “roof burner” (canned tuna on an English muffin, covered in cheese and celery and heated in the oven) was standard.

Worse yet was “perpetual soup” or “perennial soup” (Wade couldn’t remember exactly), in which old-timers defrosted the communal bowl, ate some, added some more liquid and ingredients to it, then put it back in the freezer again and again over FIVE YEARS. Someone finally threw it out, to the veterans’ ire.

Nowadays, you’re more likely to see colorful gyro bowls or chicken burgers with fruit salad or bánh mì with sweet potato fries. And if someone’s not pulling their weight in the kitchen, they’ll have their stationmates telling them to “put some love into it.”

“When you’re at work, this the one thing everyone looks forward, to have time to eat. Because the rest of the day can be very taxing and stressful and trying,” Wade said. “When you have the opportunity to have some food and it’s good food, it makes the rest of the day wither away.”

What I’m Eating

Exit Capital City Freeway near Fulton Avenue, find parking among the mobile homes in Vickers Court RV Park and walk up to the oddly-shaped red building at 3032 Auburn Blvd. You’re about to enter Jimmy’s Peruvian & Mexican Restaurant, a culinary oasis in a region where lomos saltados, salchipapas and Inca Kola are hard to come by.

The Sacramento region has a glut of Jalisco-style taquerias but only one other Peruvian restaurant to speak of (Roseville’s excellent Chicha Peruvian Kitchen & Cafe), casting Jimmy’s South American options in a more attractive light.

Even though there’s not much overlap between Peruvian and Mexican menus at Jaime Gonzalez’s restaurant, don’t miss the creamy aji verde alongside pico de gallo and other classic salsa bar options. The house chicha morada ($4.75), a Peruvian purple corn drink, avoids the cloying sweetness some imitators fall into and makes for a nice pairing with just about any food.

Jalea de pescado ($19) is priced, listed and portioned as a dinner entree, yet a plate full of crispy fish nuggets over yucca fries seems an ideal starter for groups of four or so. The surprisingly airy pieces of swai played well with a little Peruvian corn and salsa criolla (pickled onion slaw), though the yucca fries came out a little overcooked.

Keep Jimmy’s earthy seco de carne ($19.75) in mind as temperatures cool. Stewed beef chunks and pinto beans provided the protein, but most of the standout flavor came from the deep green, cilantro-based broth.

The Christmas-colored Jimmy’s burrito ($15) grabbed me from the Mexican menu. Half covered with a tangy green enchilada sauce, half doused in a smoky red version, its lively coatings brightened up an otherwise ordinary core of chicken, rice, cheese and onions.

Openings & Closings

• Jeff “Fro” Davis’ new restaurant and bar Fro’s Midtown is in its soft opening phase at 1722 J St. in Sacramento. A dimly-lit sister concept to West Sacramento’s Tree House Cafe, its opening small plates menu taps into chef E.B. Shin’s Korean heritage with items such as a silken tofu salad or pork belly ssam (lettuce wraps).
• Casa East Sac’s soft opening is scheduled for Thursday at 5401 H St., formerly home to Joon Market. The New American restaurant — burgers are a point of emphasis, as are house-smoked meats such as pastrami — is brothers Steve and Theodore Gibanov’s first standalone concept after opening American River Provisions catering company five years ago.
  
  
• As Casa gets started, fellow East Sacramento eatery Célestin’s Restaurant is on its way out — for good this time. Patrick and Phoebe Célestin are retiring and closing their Creole spot at 3601 McKinley Blvd. after more than 30 years and three locations, they announced last week. Flagship dishes such as gumbo and griot will remain available until December, as I wrote in a detailed story.