A new restaurant has landed on the shores of Folsom Lake instead of just floating on it

Anchored Eats was so successful on the water, its owners brought it to land.

The “food boat” floated on Folsom Lake and Lake Natoma over the last couple of summers, to the delight of hungry boaters. Its new brick-and-mortar restaurant opened May 26 on Folsom Lake’s shore at Granite Bay Main Beach and has been an immediate hit.

“It’s been nuts. It’s been crazy. It’s been exactly what we would have hoped it would have turned into,” co-owner Ruby Shields said.

Anchored Eats’ octagonal, underwater-themed concession stand doesn’t just have burgers and soda. It also has a rental department for kayaks, paddleboards and inflatable “party floats” ($15-$25/hour) plus beach games such as volleyball, Spikeball and badminton ($10-$20/hour).

Owned by three roommates — Ben Shirley and married couple Rebecca and Ruby Shields — Anchored Eats opened in 2021 as a one-of-a-kind concept. The owners converted a 1969 houseboat to function as a commercial kitchen, then hauled it out to the shores or even into the water, where boaters could tie up while they waited for their food.

Nearly 2 million people came through the Folsom Lake gates leading to Granite Bay Main Beach, Beal’s Point, Folsom Point and Browns Ravine last year, Ruby Shields said. But the snack shack had been vacant since 2019, and hadn’t rented equipment since 2014.

Anchored Eats submitted a California State Parks bid to become the concession stand’s new operator last year, took over the space in April and immediately initiated a month-long face-lift. After painting the building, adding a to-go window and replacing the countertops, concrete and flat-top stove wiring, the owners opened in time for Memorial Day weekend.

Shirley is the most nautical of the bunch: He worked at the Browns Ravine marina for four years, and lived with his dad on a 60-foot trawler in San Francisco for a decade. Ruby Shields, who was once a lead line cook at Selland’s Market-Cafe in El Dorado Hills, oversees the kitchen.

Customers want to eat junk food by the water, Shields said, like the towering Yeehaw Burger (1/3 pound bacon cheeseburger with onion rings, barbecue sauce and pickled jalapeños).

Ceviche and fruit salad didn’t sell well from the boat, so they’re no longer on the menu. With Shields’ culinary background, though, she can’t resist making juicy carnitas in-house for tacos ($14 for three) and loaded fries ($16 for an enormous basket), using fresh beef for burgers ($14-$15) or ordering sesame seed buns from Grateful Bread in Arden Arcade.

The menu features nachos and sliders, popcorn shrimp and butterflied all-beef hot dogs, a veggie burger and more than 15 flavors of snow cones (1,500 cones were sold in the first three weeks of business, Shields said). One thing the shack lacks is alcohol, though it does stock nonalcoholic beers from Sausalito-based Best Day Brewing.

Anchored Eats hosts live music on Thursdays or Fridays outside the concession stand throughout the summer and change the menu to serve barbecued chicken or tri-tip on those nights.

Eight patio tables stare out at Anchored Eats’ original food boat, which continues to serve boaters on weekends but won’t move around as in years past. The concession stand is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, by contrast, and will stay open further into the winter than the boat.

What I’m Eating

Tower Cafe has one of Sacramento’s best (and best-known) patios. Across the street, a less-heralded patio combines Latin American thatched-roof beachy vibes with the greenery of a plant nursery.

You can eat indoors at Lola’s Lounge, Annette Serrano’s Puerto Rican/Spanish restaurant at 16th Street and Broadway. But it’s more fun to sip a glass of sangria ($11) made from a 90-year-old recipe in the comfort of “el jardín de elda,” the dinner-only restaurant and bar’s hummingbird-friendly outdoor garden.

Named for Serrano’s daughter, Lola’s Lounge first opened in Elk Grove before jumping to central Sacramento in 2019. It’s one of the few places around get dishes such as pastelón ($18), a sweet-savory layered dish made with plantains, ground turkey, tomato salsa and cheese and sometimes referred to as Puerto Rican lasagna.

More eye-catching was the paella ($50, serves two), a mixed-up pan of chicken, shrimp, chorizo, mussels and clams baked over saffron rice and topped with potato chips, of all things. A fun dish to share, but I could have done with a little less spice to better taste the delicate saffron.

Address: 2424 16th St., Sacramento.

Hours: 5-9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, 5-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday.

Phone number: (916) 389-0429.

Website: https://lolaslounge.net/

Drinks: Full bar.

Animal-free options: Not many, aside from an intriguing salad with beets, ricotta, pistachios and a guava vinaigrette.

Noise level: Low outside, slightly louder inside.

Openings & Closings

• Adoboink opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant Wednesday morning at 1450 Lead Hill Blvd., Suite 140 in Roseville. The Filipino catering company has served dishes such as sisig nachos, chicken inasal and turon to local customers since 2019.
• Davis’ newest Italian restaurant, Mamma Eatery, opened last Friday in Bistro 33’s former space at 226 F St.

  Michael Galyen and Arnaud Drouvillé’s place includes a cafe/market as well as pizza and pasta in the main restaurant.

• Peking Restaurant has closed after more than 30 years in the La Riviera area’s Butterfield Plaza. The dim sum-focused restaurant at 9529 Folsom Blvd., Suite A specialized in fan-favorite Chinese dishes such as Sichuan beef or shredded pork with vegetables, plus a handful of Korean items as well.