By Michael P Coleman
Since moving to Sacramento a few years ago, I’d gotten comfortable at the same weekend breakfast spot. It’s walking distance from my home and the food is great, but I realized that by settling on my neighborhood diner, I’d been missing out on other great restaurants around town…
…like Selland’s Market – Cafe.
I’d stopped in to sample the carrot cake, which a friend had told me about, with a hot cup of coffee.
Oooooooh, no. One look at that menu, and after a realization that it was almost Noon and I’d not had breakfast, plans had to be changed!
Selland’s menu is expansive, and they serve both traditional breakfast fare and lunch. The decision-making process alone at Selland’s is an exercise in discipline and self-control: all of the items look delicious. After several soul-searching minutes, I decided on the Smoked Salmon Tartine, the Spicy Moroccan Chicken Burger, the Cheesy Potatoes Au Gratin, the Roasted Beets, and the Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpeas.
(NOW do you understand why I didn’t have room for dessert?)
The Smoked Salmon Tartine was very good, but the Spicy Moroccan Chicken Burger outshined it by a mile. It was quite honestly the best chicken burger I’ve ever had that I didn’t grill myself, and one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten. It was topped with crispy red cabbage along with savory carrot slaw and feta cheese. “Spicy” is a bit misleading, as I was expecting a little more heat, but I’m not complaining: that burger was incredible.
I wound up with three sides as I just could not choose between them. Order small sizes of a few of them so you can graze. I was really happy that I only got a small portion of the au gratin potatoes — they were so good I’d have eaten a bucket of it. Beets are never the first thing I’d go for, but they tasted as good as they looked.
But the star of the side-show was the cauliflower and chickpeas: slightly spicy and perfectly firm (I can’t stand over cooked veggies). If it had not been for that damned chicken burger, I could have made a meal of the cauliflower and my coffee.
Oh, yeah: the coffee that brought me to Selland’s in the first place was rich, piping hot, and full bodied. My experience, generally, is that restaurants with really good food serve only serviceable java. Selland’s bucks that trend. The coffee was a perfect compliment to a meal that was so filling I couldn’t sample the desserts.
But that cloud has a silver lining: my birthday’s right around the corner, and carrot cake can double for birthday cake. Stay turned for Part 2 of my Selland’s Market – Cafe experience!
Selland’s Market – Cafe has two Sacramento locations (5340 H Street and 915 Broadway) and one in El Dorado Hills. Information is at Selland’s.com.
Connect with recovering foodie and freelancer Michael P Coleman at michaelpcoleman.com or follow him on Twitter: @ColemanMichaelP.
