Oh, I don’t know about Hidden Dumpling. I tried a different branch of theirs and had some of the WORST soup dumplings and beef roll I’ve ever had. But that was a while ago. Maybe things have improved.
My goto for that sort of fair has a few good choices. Journey to the Dumpling isn’t bad, but the service down in the Elk Grove branch is always excruciatingly slow. Haven’t tried the midtown branch.
Tasty Dumpling in Crocker Village, Dumpling Yo! down by the Nugget on Florin are all excellent choices.
For an actual sitdown Mexican (as opposed to ‘fast casual’), Mezcal on Broadway down in my neighborhood is good value for $ and pretty delicious to boot. And free salsa and chips and beer/drinks available.
That’s great! You will become regulars there. If you didn’t know already, a few blocks down from there is Sac Co-Op, since you have kitchen access. Their cheese department is very good. Canon and Hawk’s are just on the east side of the freeway underpass from Hidden Dumpling.
Moonbelly Bakery. If you’re in the neighborhood on Fri-Sunday morning, get you some seriously delicious croissants. Pictured above, traditional, chocolate, and two flourless almond cakes that are a rich, moist, crunchy-topped delight.
The viennoserie at Moonbelly are better than the other contenders, I agree. The chocolate-chip shortbread cookies are even better. The only place with SF style lines out the door — partially because they are open just three days a week. (The breads are OK, but skip the baguette)
Their standard table loaf sourdough is quite good but I’ve been making my own for a while, and theirs are pretty pricey.
It’s a real real struggle as they are only a slightly long walk from my home, but neither my waistline nor wallet can afford more than the occasional treat. I always want to order one if everything. I don’t, but I want to.
Coffee left something to be desired, but lots of choices and my eggs Benedict was fine.
Husband liked the hot chocolate here better, but liked that Orphan had “lots of real maple syrup”, and felt the bacon and pancakes at Irohan had better flavor.
I was thinking after eating this kind of breakfast for awhile, folks might start to think I’m “unwell”!
That is really interesting, but “tiny suburb” makes it seem like a small town. Woodland has grown to over 61,000 residents!
@shrinkrap – if you liked Orphan, try Bacon and Butter. It is a little further away, but pretty tasty. That is another place that develops lines in the morning, so try during a workweek.
I live walking distance from this place. I’ve NEVER tried it. The menu seems fine but unremarkable and people queue up for HOURS on weekends, waiting for ridiculous lengths of time in Sac summer heat (or gross, wet winters) for…. eggs and pancakes? Really?
The lines gets longer the nicer the weather.
At this point my partner and I just dismiss it out of hand. It’s never looked worth the trouble.
For brunch, if we’re in that sort of mood, Fox and Goose does a nice one. They have scones and clotted cream, fantastic hasbrowns, and Irish coffee.
