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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![Catherine Brinkley, Grace Perry, Deema Tamimi and Ann Evans co-authored the “Food and Economic Development (FED) in Davis” report.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0320_dept_taste_debbiecunningham_lead.jpg?1584053904)
Repackaging Food Ideas
Davis sets ambitious goals for the future of its food system
In May 2019, the Davis City Council approved the “Food and Economic Development (FED) in Davis” report that urges the city to rethink its relationship with food.
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0320_feat_leadership_kasirye_rachelvalley_lead.jpg?1583858715)
Follow Her Lead: Olivia Kasirye
As the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, we profile 19 leaders in the Capital Region
Olivia Kasirye, public health officer of Sacramento County, is often called on to be a stable figure at the center of a crisis.
Sponsored
![Out of Bounds Brewing Co. in Rocklin is one of the more than 20 breweries and taprooms in Placer County.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0320_placervalley_breweries_debbiecunningham_lead_0.jpg?1583793691)
Liquid Gold
Placer Valley is home to awarding-winning craft beer breweries — and goat yoga
Placer Valley is classic Gold Country, named for the gold-bearing deposits that run beneath its rivers. Today, there’s another kind of gold flowing through the Valley: craft beer.
![Molly Hawks founded the restaurant Hawks with her husband Mike Fagnoni on the precipice of the Great Recession. (Photo by Rachel Valley)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/00320_feat_leadership_hawks_rachelvalley_lead.jpg?1583271388)
Follow Her Lead: Molly Hawks
As the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, we profile 19 leaders in the Capital Region
Molly Hawks, chef and co-owner of Hawks and Hawks Provisions and Public House, led a high-end restaurant to success in the midst of the Great Recession.
![Karen Bond founded Cedaron with her husband, Malcolm Bond, in 1990. (Photo by Rachel Valley)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0320_feat_leadership_bond_rachelvalley_lead_1.jpg?1582846212)
Follow Her Lead: Karen Bond
As the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, we profile 19 leaders in the Capital Region
“If customers believe that you’re passionate about what you’re doing, they feel it,” says Karen Bond, CEO and cofounder of the medical technology company Cedaron.
![California Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, here shown with the flag of the women's suffrage movement, has authored or co-authored 49 bills. (Photo by Rachel Valley)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0320_feat_leadership_aguiar-curry_rachelvalley_lead_0.jpg?1582856687)
Follow Her Lead: Cecilia Aguiar-Curry
As the country celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, we profile 19 leaders in the Capital Region
“I do bills that are tough, and I’m not doing the ones that you see on the front page of the papers,” says California Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, who has authored or co-authored 49 bills.
![Christian Salisbury of Christian Allen Luthiery works at his 900-square-foot shop on the grounds of the spiritual community Ananda Village just outside Nevada City.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0120_feat_entrepreneurship_wesdavis_lead.jpg?1579295561)
Young Entrepreneurs Are Staking Claims in the Countryside
Since the Industrial Revolution, the myth of the American Dream has centered around cities. As the story goes, the most promising rural youth leave their hinterland homes to seek their fortunes in the metropolis, perhaps never to return.
Part of this month’s Rural Living series
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![Illustration: Shutterstock](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1219_ss_seniors_estateplanning_shutterstock.png?1577874530)
Five Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Estate
“No estate plan is bulletproof,” says Michael Hackard, founder of the Mather- based firm Hackard Law, which specializes in estate, trust and probate litigation. In more than 40 years of practice, he’s seen the gamut of gaps in plans: Some are big enough for self-servers to worm through, while others let assets bleed out.
![The founder of Boone’s Red Onions graduated from the Alchemist Microenterprise Academy.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1219_dept_taste_debbiecunningham_embed1.jpg?1577874530)
Incubating Ideas, Hatching Success
Alchemist Microenterprise Academy graduates its first cohort of food entrepreneurs
Operated by a local nonprofit, the Alchemist Microenterprise Academy is a business training course geared toward food entrepreneurs from underserved communities.
Sponsored
![Photo By: Mike Graff](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1119_ss_mentalhealth_mikegraff_lead.jpg?1577874530)
It’s OK to Be Not OK
How employers can support mental health at work
At some point in their lives, about half of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental health disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And those issues don’t go away just because they have to clock in at work.
![](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1119_dept_buzzword_marissalewis.png?1577874530)
Buzzwords: Disruptor
A company, technology, good or service that is so innovative and widely adopted it disrupts an existing market
In ordinary English, “disruptor” might conjure up images of a kid acting out in class, or someone holding up traffic. Among the startup set, though, disruptor has become one of the highest compliments one can receive — or give to oneself.
![Santiago and Summer Gonzalez opened the first Kiki’s Chicken Place in 2015. Nine branches now exist in the greater Sacramento region. (Photo by Nicolette Lovell)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1019_dept_taste_nicolettelovell_lead.jpg?1577874530)
Growing Up, Not Selling Out
Even the founders of Kiki’s Chicken Place, Sacramento’s latest temple to the twin gods of tenders and wings, are surprised by how fast their chain has spread.
![LPAS Architecture + Design won Best in Show and Crowd Favorite for this design at the Merge Fashion Show. Modeled by interior designer Isabel Ramirez, this cocktail dress made from interior design materials includes a detachable skirt that transforms into a peacock-like frill.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0819_dept_sustainability_debbiecunningham_lead_cropped.jpg?1577874530)
Designing the Future
Sacramento designers transform architectural materials into future-forward fashion at the International Interior Design Association Northern California Chapter Merge Fashion Show
Outside the Hyatt Regency in downtown Sacramento, tower cranes rise above the skyline, harbingers of the city’s burgeoning building boom. Inside, the designers who are determining the new face of our city took to the runway to envision our future through fashion.
![From left: Yvette Rincon, Charmaine Magale, Christy Decelle and Hola Motuapuaka toast with a drink of Legado Whiskey at Revival at The Sawyer in Sacramento.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0819_dept_taste_embed3_debbiecunningham.jpg?1577874530)
Riding Their Rye
How four women are turning the Legado Whiskey passion project into an international brand
Though Legado Whiskey is a dark American rye, the company is as unaged as moonshine. The owners have leveraged their story — homegrown, women-owned — to reach consumers around the Capital Region, a key strategy in the crowded craft beverage market.
![Customers dine at Culinerdy Kitchen during the restaurant’s opening week in June.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0719_dept_taste_embed3_debbiecunningham.jpg?1577874530)
For Food Trucks, a Road to Success
Sacramento food truck owners graduate from nomadic life to traditional brick-and-mortar dwellings
Across the Sacramento region, food truck owners are riding their mobile success into more stationary ventures, from sit-down restaurants like Culinerdy Kitchen to food-court outposts and drive-through kiosks.
![A “sammich” from the Nash & Proper food truck. (Photo courtesy Nash & Proper)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0619_blog_food1.jpg?1577874530)
Nash & Proper Puts a Sacramento Spin on Nashville Hot Chicken
A “sammich” from the Nash & Proper food truck is not merely a sandwich; it’s a feat of engineering. There’s intent behind every stratum of the structure, from the coarse-cut slaw that props up the top bun to the pickles laid carefully on the bottom so they hit your tongue first.
![The Pambazo is a decadent sandwich on the menu at Chilangolandia in Carmichael. (Photo courtesy Chilangolandia)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0319_blog_food_cuisine1-crop.jpg?1577874530)
Three New Restaurants Reach Back to Owners’ Roots
Sacramento is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the country, and the metropolitan area’s dining scene is just as varied, due to local chefs and restaurateurs who recognize the connective power of the table.
![A mural by local street artist Anthony Padilla outside the building that will become The Food Factory in Sacramento. (Photo courtesy Andrea Lepore)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1119_blog_food_factory1_1.jpg?1577874530)
Foodie Incubator Coming to Sacramento
The Food Factory founders aim to set up shop in Alkali Flat by 2020
Sacramento is on track to get a dedicated makerspace for food entrepreneurs who want to launch and scale their brands.
![Grass-fed beef bone marrow with sourdough baquettes served at Backbone Café. Bottom: vegan cauliflower topped with thyme sauce and grilled onions.](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1218_dept_taste_lead_debbiecunningham.jpg?1577874530)
The Best of Both Worlds
Sacramento restaurants look to capture meat-loving and vegan diners with one menu
How are Sacramento’s restaurateurs appealing to new diet preferences?
![Tlayudas are on the menu at Mezcalito Oaxacan Cuisine in Rocklin. (Photos by Jennifer Fergesen)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1118_blog_food_oaxacan2.jpg?1577874530)
A Taste of Oaxaca
Mezcalito Oaxacan Cuisine shares regional Mexican culture with Sacramento diners
At Mezcalito Oaxacan Cuisine in Rocklin, the mole takes two days and nearly two dozen ingredients to complete. The recipe reads like a catalog of the Mexican state of Oaxaca’s agricultural bounty: plantains, green apples and raisins; warm spices and half a dozen kinds of chiles; a liberal dose of sparsely-sweetened chocolate.
![Koreen and Johan van Ravenhorst’s Dutchman’s Stroopwafels business helped get food bikes legal in Sacramento. (Photo by Jennifer Fergesen)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/1018_blog_food_bikes3.jpg?1577874530)
How Stroopwafels Helped Sacramento Legalize Food Bikes
Dutchman’s Stroopwafels may be the first business to cook on a bicycle in Sacramento, but local entrepreneurs have been finding creative ways to combine the area’s twin passions for cuisine and cycles for decades.
![Sidewalk vendors sell food outside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Midtown Sacramento. Photo: Jennifer Fergesen](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0818_blog_food_street1.jpg?1577874530)
Sacramento Looks to Expand Mobile Food Codes to Support Sidewalk Vendors
Sacramento’s effort to expand mobile food codes is part of a statewide push to legitimize California’s long tradition of sidewalk vending.
![Cru founders Karla McNeil-Rueda and Eddie Houston in their Roseville kitchen. (Photos courtesy Rachelle Lerude)](https://www.comstocksmag.com/sites/main/files/imagecache/tile/main-images/0718_blog_food_chocolate2.jpg?1577874530)
How the Entrepreneurs Behind Cru Chocolate Built their Cottage Food Business
While a cottage food career comes with plenty of challenges, Karla McNeil-Rueda has leveraged it as an opportunity to create her own vision of success.
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