Nevada County Mead Company is one of the few places in the Capital Region that produces and serves mead, which the ancient Greeks called “nectar of the gods.”

From Japanese, omakase translates roughly to “I leave it up to you.” It is a covenant in which the diner cedes all decision-making power to the chef.

Using Internet-of-Things devices and sensors, the Sacramento-based startup analyzes real-time plant data to monitor the health and performance of crops and water soil saturation.

With Good Things to Eat, Delcy and Elinor Steffy explore the cuisines of their heritage, including African American, Armenian, German, Hungarian and Jewish roots. 

The Capital Region is home to the country’s densest concentration of Iu Mien people, part of a Southeast Asian nomadic tribe with roots in Southern China. Immigrant and American-born members of the community come together to celebrate the holiday and support each other.

The two entrepreneurs have tapped an experienced mixologist to work with them on developing their cocktail menu, and have relied on some of the most experienced non-alcoholic distilleries in the nation to help create an experience.

Though quality breweries are cropping up between Donner’s Pass and South Lake Tahoe, the first to drive its stakes in the snow — and the one that’s now shipping beer across the world — is FiftyFifty.

These days, Lake Tahoe’s south shore has enough breweries for a full tasting tour, giving explorers more reason to drive into the mountains.

The olive oil produced by Seka Hills is used by more than 300 restaurants, from the famed Chez Panisse in Berkeley to Mulvaney’s Building & Loan in Sacramento, and sold in 700 specialty markets.

Combining grazing with large-scale solar is one version of the new field of agrivoltaics, which combines panels with farming and ranching. Advocates say it could help farmers adapt to the state’s driest weather in 1,200 years while making space for the thousands more panels needed to hit California’s ambitious zero-carbon targets.