Where you can find the dining touch of Sacramento’s award-winning Localis in Auburn
The Pour Choice is an all-day dining concept designed for Auburn locals to soak up the foothill sun with a beer or coffee on three separate patios.
It is also an extension of Chris Barnum-Dann, who is synonymous with Localis, his Michelin-starred midtown Sacramento restaurant. Barnum-Dann also brings elements of Localis to The Pour Choice, a much more casual Auburn cafe where he’s a partner.
Barnum-Dann writes the Pour Choice’s food and cocktail menus, trains the staff and orders all ingredients. Cookies, croissants, scones, muffins and banana bread are all baked at Localis, at least until the Pour Choice finishes expanding its kitchen to better serve its hundreds of customers per weekend day.
The influence of Barnum-Dann’s culinary expertise shines through in the details. For example, the spiciness level was perfectly varied for the pickled cucumber salad ($5), deviled eggs ($2.25 apiece) filled with a harissa-lemon mixture and Thai mule ($10), a copper-mug cocktail with soju, ginger beer and lime leaf/Thai chili syrup.
The Pour Choice’s menu turns over, but the mo betta muffaletta ($14) is a constant. Mortadella, soppressata, hot coppa and serrano jamon from San Francisco’s Molinari Delicatessen piles into airy, crackly ciabatta alongside a housemade olive tapenade, sharp cheese and Dijon aioli.
The New York toast ($12) is more of a breakfast item. Silky-smooth cream cheese from Sierra Nevada Cheese Co., pickled onions and several generous swaths of smoked salmon decorate a a dense slice of Localis-baked bread that is listed as marble rye but seems to take inspiration from Irish soda bread as well.
The Pour Choice
Address: 177 Sacramento St., Auburn.
Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Phone number: (530) 820-3451.
Website: https://thepourchoice.com.
Drinks: Beer, wine, tea, low-ABV cocktails and Remedy Supply Co. (Auburn) coffee.
Animal-free options: Several, from salads to pastries.
Noise level: Medium inside, low outside.
Openings & Closings
- Greek Food Imports, Kostas Panayotakopoulos’ beloved deli and mini-mart at 650 Fulton Ave. in Arden Arcade, has remodeled and reopened as Buck’s Fizz Restaurant & Tap. It will still serve some Greek food, but highlight other European food and beer options in the new taproom.
- Hot Bunz Burger Joint opened its second location on May 26 at 8251 Bruceville Road, Suite 150, near Sacramento’s southern border. The smashburger spot uses fresh, not frozen beef and first opened in Rancho Cordova in September.
- Frank’s Diner will close July 4 after more than five years of serving burgers, pancakes and salads to hungry patrons in the Mosquito community near Placerville. The last day business will feature a “Texas-style” barbecue with live music, according to a Facebook post.
This story was originally published June 1, 2023 at 5:00 AM.