TASTE
Street food vendor Mak & Grille specializes in a fusion of Chinese , Vietnamese and Iu Mien cuisine ; the latter was previously unrepresented among Midtown Sacramento restaurants .
tradition with influences from Pueblo and Spanish cuisines as well as later infusions from the American South . A welder by trade , he began building barbecue pits and honing his pitmaster skills as a hobby . Later , he was accepted to the Alchemist Kitchen , a food business training and accelerator program operated by the nonprofit Alchemist CDC , and applied to the grant through the organization .
Rios and Escobar dream of opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Franklin Boulevard , the historic core of Sacramento ’ s Mexican community and home to some of its oldest Latino-owned businesses . Street Food Sacramento connections may help ; the Franklin Neighborhood Development Corporation is one of the program ’ s technical assistance partners . “ There ’ s a lot of Mexican food there , but nothing really quite like ours ,” Escobar says . “ I think it ’ d be a good addition to the area , and everybody around would like it .”
Rethinking the framework of street food
Steady Smokin ’ BBQ ’ s tacos are topped with salsas pounded in a stone molcajete , but those who prefer more spice may want to stop by Celine Callejon ’ s nearby tent to pick up a bottle of her Puerto Rican-style hot sauce , Épicée . Callejon was a member of the first cohort of Street Food Sacramento
grantees last year , when the program was only open to graduates of the Alchemist Kitchen . Her free year at the market ended in April , but she decided to pay to stay on .
Among the three 2021 grantees , only one , Boone ’ s Red Onions , is no longer in business due to its owner ’ s move East . The third , La Minerva , is still serving its birria with consomme and sauce-drowned tortas ahogadas at the Midtown Farmers Market every Saturday . Callejon says her support from Street Food Sacramento and Alchemist CDC was essential to her success , though she recognizes that these competitive programs can only serve a tiny fraction of the Capital Region ’ s diverse aspiring entrepreneurs .
But Michaels of the Midtown Association says that the three grantees per year aren ’ t the only beneficiaries of Street Food Sacramento . The program can serve as a sandbox for the city to rethink the regulatory framework for street food and its place in the region ’ s economy and identity .
“ Sacramento needs to recognize what treasures these small businesses are and how unique it is what they ’ re offering to us ,” Michaels says . She adds the city should consider ways for vendors to sell outside of events without impacting surrounding businesses or creating safety issues , and that local grocers should become more open to stocking vendors ’ packaged items , a move that could contribute to vendors ’ long term success .
The Midtown Farmers Market is the right place for this kind of supportive sandbox , Ashlee of Mak & Grille says . “ Music in the air , people are happy , it ’ s their Saturday morning ; there ’ s just not a negative feel when you ’ re out in the market ,” she says . “ And it aligns so well with what we want to do with our business .”
Jennifer Fergesen is senior editor for Comstock ’ s magazine . She writes about food for publications around the world and has received awards for her reporting on the restaurants of the global Filipino diaspora . See her work at jcfrgsn . journoportfolio . com and globalcarinderia . com .
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38 comstocksmag . com | July 2022