Watch local chefs face off in “Plate It, Sacramento!,” a new cooking competition that debuted Thursday on Very Local, a free online streaming service.

Each of the eight episodes pairs two area chefs against each other, challenging them to race through a farmers market or specialty foods shop for the ingredients to compose a three-course meal.

They then head back to the kitchen, where they have 45 minutes to whip up a meal that will be judged on taste, creativity and presentation, with bonus points for incorporating the spirit of Sacramento into the meal. Bragging rights and a donation to the winning chef’s charity of choice are on the line.

It’s essentially a hyper-local take on “Guy’s Grocery Games,” the hit Food Network show from American River College culinary school alumnus/celebrity chef Guy Fieri.

Participating chefs include:

• Chris Barnum-Dann of Localis
• Sara Arbabian of The Rind
• Greg Desmangles of Urban Roots Brewery & Smokehouse
• Dennis Sydnor, Jr. of Renegade Dining

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• Aziz Bellarbi-Salah of Brasserie du Monde
• Janine Villalobos of Midtown Spirits
• Sal Gutierrez of The Shady Lady Saloon
• Brett Bohlmann of Boulevard Bistro
• Allyson Harvie of Notre Ferme
• Wong Jankheun of THAI
• Ravin Patel of The Seventh Street Standard
• Polo Adamo of Adamo’s

Fellow food experts such as UC Davis Health chef Santana Diaz, N’Gina Guyton of yet-to-open Miss N’Gina (formerly of South), Q1227 Restaurant chef/owner Quentin “Chef Q” Bennett and Corti Bros. store director Rick Mindermann will serve as judges.

Local real estate agent, nutritionist and former Sacramento Kings emcee Katerina Kountouris hosts the show.

“Plate It, Sacramento!” is free to watch, but you’ll have to download the Very Local app to your Roku, Fire TV or smartphone, then select “Sacramento” from the list of cities. The Hearst-owned streaming service also produces a handful of other Sacramento-specific travel and entertainment shows.

What I’m Eating

Sacramento restaurants and bars faced the same problems as residents from the last week’s storms, including power and internet outages. The Hawaiian-inspired Kau Kau’s lights were on, but the staff was scrambling to take orders and write bills by hand when I showed up to the restaurant on Sunday morning.

Opened by Amanda Bridger and Chris Tocchini in May, Kau Kau replaced Evan’s Kitchen & Catering in East Sacramento’s 57th Street Antique Mall after popping up in midtown for about a year prior.

Bridger’s grandmother grew up in Hawaii, and the couple enjoys vacationing there when possible. But Kau Kau’s food isn’t straight from the islands, exactly. It’s Hawaiian food with a good amount of contemporary California influence; coupled with Bridger’s creativity, that makes it stand out in Sacramento’s dining scene during lunch, dinner and especially brunch.

Take the Kau Kau Benedict ($16), a uniquely Hawaiian twist on a mainland brunch staple. A pair of fried, soft purple taro cakes were the base for perfectly-poached eggs, a miso hollandaise sauce and housemade “Spam,” which was a little lighter than the commercial product but still flavorful.

It’s easy enough to find chicken-and-waffles around Sacramento. Where else will you find a macadamia nut waffle with chicken katsu ($17)? Nut fragments studded the waffle with bits of crunch, and the thin sriricha-mango syrup was a delight.

Feeling the next-day effects of a neighbor’s birthday party the night prior, I ordered chicken long rice ($13), a reported hangover-busting soup with cellophane noodles, roasted chicken, garlic, ginger and shiitake mushrooms. Rich and slightly sour, it did the trick on my symptoms, though a hair-of-the-dog POG mimosa ($5/glass, $13/half carafe, $20/carafe) probably didn’t hurt either.

Address: 855 57th St., Suite C, Sacramento

Hours: 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday

Phone Number: (916) 431-7043

Website: https://www.kaukau916.com.

Drinks: Locally-sourced beer and wine

Animal-free options: Several dishes have vegan or vegetarian options, such as Omni Foods’ faux Spam or shiitake mushroom broth for saimin

Accessibility: Disability-designated parking spots in front, wood floors

Noise level: Moderate

Openings & Closings

• Darbar Halal Restaurant has moved in where Boon Boon Cafe once was at 3022 Stockton Blvd., Suite 5 in Oak Park. It’s mostly Indian with a handful of Afghan and Chinese dishes; biryani is a specialty.
• There’s a new, homey Chinese spot in South Land Park: Taste of Original, which can be found at 4940 Freeport Blvd. Look for congee, steamed rice dishes in clay pots and specialties such as salted egg yolk pumpkin and shrimp.
• One of Old Sacramento’s marquee restaurants, Hoppy’s Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden, shut its doors for good on Jan. 2 after more than four years. Hoppy Brewing owner Troy Paski served burgers, brick-oven pizzas, sandwiches and salads at his expansive brewpub, The Bee’s Brianna Taylor reported.

This story was originally published January 13, 2023 at 5:00 AM.