Thank you for a seat at the table covering the capital region’s food scene

After seven years of reporting on the capital region’s food and drink scene, my time at The Sacramento Bee is ending. This will be my final newsletter, with my last day on Tuesday.

People often ask how I ended up in this job, with a mix of curiosity and jealousy. The answer, mostly, is luck.

I was a 23-year-old breaking news reporter for The Bee, churning out stories about homicides and rainfall totals after rejoining the paper following my summer internship. I’m still not exactly certain why the editors thought that I — someone whose only culinary experience was the high school cooking club — might be the person to restart the food and drink beat.

And I hadn’t planned or even really thought about being a food writer. But as soon as the opportunity was raised, I saw it for what it was: the best job in the city.

What started as a one-month trial became a chance to spotlight the diversity and depth of Northern California’s food community. I had the privilege of chronicling stories that touched on immigration, climate, resilience and innovation — often centered around the people behind the plates.

I’m grateful to editors and colleagues who helped shape that coverage, and to the readers who showed up — in print, online and at events — to support it. Your enthusiasm helped fuel everything from my 2023 cookbook “Sacramento Eats: Recipes from the Capital Region’s Favorite Restaurants” to three iterations of the region’s Top 50 Restaurants list.

The job and this newsletter let me approach Sacramento’s restaurant scene like an all-you-can-eat buffet, and point readers to the best of the best. My short list of memorable dishes include: gumbo with a side of hot water cornbread from Tori’s Place in Del Paso Heights, rosy seabass nigiri at Hikari Sushi & Omakase in Davis, Célestin’s Restaurant’s riff on the Brazilian seafood stew moqueca (RIP), a banh mi special with pickled papaya and fennel at Adamo’s Kitchen and a banh mi chao skillet at Saigon Oi, chicken in pomegranate molasses at Rocklin gem Wally’s Cafe and wild Chinook salmon three ways (belly tartare, grilled loin and trim fried into a tater tot) at Localis.

Yet for all the incredible meals, the best part of this gig was telling the stories of people like Luo Rong “Sam” Sang Zhu, a former Tibetan monk who turns the menu over twice daily at his North Natomas vegan restaurant. Or hearing from Monica Guillen about how the fruit trees her father planted in the backyard of their West Sacramento home symbolized endurance through racism, and continues to feed Tree House Cafe customers today.

If you’ve followed my work, I’d love to stay in touch on Instagram @egeleats or at begel@sacbee.com through Tuesday. Maybe we’ll still bump into each other at a local farmers market or restaurant.

Thank you for your story pitches, kind words and honest feedback all these years. Most of all, thank you for reading — and caring about Sacramento’s food scene. It’s been an honor.

What I’m Eating

For my last review, I returned to a restaurant I’ve been enjoying for as long as I can remember. I can’t count how many Dos Coyotes Border Cafe burritos I scarfed down as a teenager in Davis. It was where my friends and family celebrated graduations, grabbed takeout for easy nights in and reconnected after time apart. And with 10 locations across the capital region plus another in San Ramon, we weren’t the only ones.

Bobby Coyote left Los Angeles restaurants behind in 1991 and moved north to open the first Dos Coyotes in Davis, where his sister was earning her Ph.D. He and longtime chef Mark Casale essentially spread Southwestern cuisine across Sacramento, introducing diners to the chiles and culinary mishmash that Coyote fell in love with on trips to Santa Fe.

“The City Different” is represented on Dos Coyotes’ menu in the Santa Fe nachos ($11), an A+ shareable built atop blue corn tortilla chips. Melted jack and aged cheddar cheese from Washington-based Darigold Creamery, black beans and globs of sour cream and guacamole are backed by a savory-sweet red chipotle sauce, plus your choice of smoky charbroiled chicken ($1) or steak ($4) marinated in citrus juices.

My go-to these days has been the paella burrito ($13.50). More is more with this assortment of mahi-mahi, shrimp, rice, cheese, tomato salsa, roasted red pepper aioli and smoked chicken sausage, the sneaky star wrapped in a flour tortilla. Made specifically for Dos Coyotes by Silva Sausage in Gilroy, they’re spiced with roasted red peppers, cumin, coriander and New Mexican green chiles.

Dos Coyotes Border Cafe

Locations: Arden Fair mall, Citrus Heights, Davis, East Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom, North Natomas, Roseville and Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln

Hours: Vary based on location

Website: doscoyotes.com

Drinks: Beer and soda, with margaritas available at all locations except Arden Fair

Vegetarian options: Several, including nachos, burritos and a stellar salad lineup

Noise level: Typically loud

Outdoor seating: All locations have patios except Arden Fair and Thunder Valley

Openings & Closings

▪ Moirae Brewing Co. will replace Camerado Brewing in mid-April at 2650 Cameron Park Drive, Suite 370, in Cameron Park, the closing brewery wrote in a Facebook post. Moirae’s name refers to the three-sister Fates of Greek mythology and winks to owners Zach and Ariela Grinnell’s three daughters.

▪ Greek Food Imports, once home to arguably the region’s best gyro, has closed its Arden Arcade restaurant and market at 650 Fulton Ave. A pair of former customers will open a coffee and sandwich chop called Chez Luc’s French Cafe in its stead, Greek Food Imports owner Kosta Panayotakopoulos announced on social media.