![Lodi Airport Cafe chef and owner Jennifer Kupka, whose father owns the airport, says the salmon bowl is her best seller. (Photo by Gabriel Teague)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/gtp_9348.png?1719513359)
Savor the Layover
These local airport restaurants are worth the trip
If you’re in the Capital Region, there are plenty of interesting options — and not only at Sacramento International Airport, which is set to have a major refresh of its dining program by 2025. Whether you’re flying a jumbo jet or a crop duster, you’ll find something to nosh on when you land in and around Sacramento.
![Amador & Dry Diggings is a family-owned craft distillery in El Dorado Hills. Their spirits are inspired by California agriculture. (Photo by Rachel Valley)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/850_0119.png?1718983395)
Luscious Libations
Distilleries use local, natural flavors to enhance their creations
Whether in Sacramento or the upper climbs of the Gold Country, craft distillers are ready to give the drinking public a taste of all of the possibilities within libation.
![Afternoon tea at Smic’s Sip & Quip in downtown Sacramento might be accompanied with tea-infused cocktails along with the traditional cuppa. (Photos by Katy Karns)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/final_tea_article-2.png?1715304024)
Is Tea the New Happy Hour?
These Capital Region tea rooms bring a California twist to an English tradition
Afternoon tea evokes something people have always sought — “a feeling of rarely experienced elegance and class,” Mueller says.
![Comfort food like cheesesteaks are among the most popular items at Jet’s. (Photos by Gabriel Teague)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/gtp_7257.png?1714493594)
Jet’s Sets Off
This Midtown hotspot started out as a college student’s pandemic project
When Jet Bonanno started his shoestring home-based food operation, he never dreamed it would morph into a thriving brick-and-mortar restaurant. But that’s exactly what happened when Bonanno opened Jet’s American Grill & Bar at the ripe old age of 22.
![For her pop-up Pastry Cat, Nariya Charoensupaya sells classic French-style pastries with an Asian twist, like this Danish filled with kimchi and gruyere cheese. (Photos by Debbie Cunningham)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/dsc_1402.png?1712157960)
Pop-Up Popularity
Female chefs and bakers find success outside the traditional restaurant model
These nomadic eateries, which surged in popularity around the Great Recession, came in vogue again during the COVID-19 pandemic, often as the only option for cooks in lockdown.
![The focal point of Brissa & Co. is an oven shaped like a giant concha. (Photos by Gabriel Teague)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/gtp_1525.png?1708982460)
La Dulce Vida
Meet the Capital Region panaderos bringing creative flavors and techniques to Mexican bakery classics
Pan dulce (in English, sweet bread) is being reimagined by intrepid bakers across the Capital Region. Comstock’s recently spoke with three local panaderos who are taking pan dulce to new heights while simultaneously paying tribute to the cultural traditions and food memories that shaped them.
![The beet poke bowl at Sun & Soil Health Company, designed to be both tasty and nutritionally balanced, includes brown rice, beets and other vegetables in garlic-ginger dressing. (Photos by Debbie Cunningham)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/altlead_dsc_0851.png?1708564226)
Reset and Drink Up
These Capital Region cafes offer food and drink with a side of health care
Across the region, health food businesses are branching beyond acai bowls and chia-seed puddings to offer customers a broader spectrum of health programs and treatments. From juice cleanses to lattes with a side of ionic detoxification, the spread of these businesses demonstrates that customers are willing to invest in their health — and are looking beyond the traditional health care system to do so.
![The Instagrammable pies at Sacramento’s Pizza Supreme Being helped the pizzeria gain 13,500 followers. (Photos by Gabriel Teague)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/gtp_3904_copy.png?1704941508)
Reeling Them In
Local restaurants use Instagram Reels and TikTok to attract customers
Your experience of social media may be as a fun time-waster, an angst-producing FOMO (fear of missing out) machine or the reason you know your Uncle Dennis believes in ancient aliens. But to many restaurant owners, social media is a necessity.
![Kelly McCown is executive chef of The Kitchen, the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Sacramento.
(Photos by Katy Karns)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/the_kitchen-4_f.png?1698874606)
Star Power
The Michelin guide helps put Sacramento restaurants on the map
Winning a Michelin star is something ambitious chefs spend a lifetime dreaming of and working toward. A star from the world-famous Michelin Guide promises life-changing benefits: Money. Customers. Fame. There’s even a term for it: the Michelin effect.
![Dogs may soon be California vineyards’ first line of defense against leafroll virus, an insidious agricultural infection. (Photos courtesy of Lodi Winegrape Commission)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/150a0592_final.png?1697835394)
Going to the Dogs
Lodi vineyards and nurseries test canine pest detection
The solution to one of the wine industry’s most costly and threatening problems may be coming soon from Lodi — and it will trot out on four feet, tails a-wagging, with noses keener than even advanced scientific equipment.