Can’t afford a Mercedes-Benz? In Sacramento, you can still leave the dealership with a pizza
“Mercedes-Benz of Sacramento” reads the sign over a reflective black Arden Arcade business complex. Head right for a convertible, or left for the region’s hottest new pizzeria.
La Porta Restaurant & Bar is somewhat obscured at 1860 Howe Ave., Suite 160, both by the connected Mercedes-Benz dealership and the sea of chain restaurants in surrounding shopping centers. Yet the three-month-old Italian restaurant is worth seeking out, particularly for chef and general manager Juan Ramazzini’s range of pizzas.
Born to an Italian family in Guatemala, Ramazzini graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and cooked in Italy before resettling in Sacramento. He’s been a manager and/or chef at a slew of now-closed (but fondly remembered) Northern California pizzerias: Build Pizzeria Roma in Berkeley, On Fire Pizza in San Ramon and Hot Italian and Pizza Rock in downtown Sacramento.
He was Chris Jarosz’s managing partner at Anonimo Pizza in Alkali Flat, and the two had planned to open another Bones Craft Kitchen, Jarosz’ now-closed Davis restaurant, in La Porta’s space. Those plans were sidelined after Jarosz died in a car crash last May, Ramazzini said.
Aaron Parker, who owns the Mercedes-Benz building, eventually stepped in as the restaurant’s new primary investor, and Ramazzini shifted his focus from Bones Craft Kitchen’s New American offerings back to pizzas.
La Porta translates to “the door,” and serves a gateaway to a variety of pizza styles: New York, Detroit, Sicilian and Tuscan, with Grandma pies eventually to come. That’s similar to the new Slice House in Folsom, owned by celebrity chef and Ramazzini’s former mentor Tony Gemignani.
Pizzas are named after Italian cities and are also identifiable by the letter “A” followed by a number, which correlates to the Italian highway running by said municipality (A30 for the Salerno pie with smoked mozzarella, Calabrian sausage and chilis, pepperoni and hot honey, for example).
Ramazzini eventually plans to introduce happy hour bites and cocktails once La Porta’s liquor license is approved, with hopes of attracting Mercedes-Benz employees and workers from the office park sandwiched between the restaurant and dealership.
What I’m Eating
Esmail “Essy” Tork worked in his father’s extravagant restaurant, first opened in the 1950s, when he was a teenager in Iran. Tork then swapped cotton tablecloths for butcher paper at Essy’s Kabob, his comparatively casual Persian restaurant in Old Foothill Farms, but still pays homage to his father’s restaurant with photos on the walls.
There are photos of Tork, too, catering halal feasts for northeastern Sacramento County’s sizable Middle Eastern population. The slogan of “Best Kabab in the World” might be a stretch, but Essy’s Kabob has a strong fan base near around the Madison Avenue-Auburn Boulevard intersection.
An order of joojeh sultani ($20.50) offers a chance to try gamey ground beef and chicken breast kebabs, the latter dyed yellow from a saffron-yogurt mixture, atop an hulking plate of basmati rice. You can elevate further with barg ($30.50), twists of salty filet mignon cooked medium-well.
Outside of kebabs, Essy’s tart fesenjoon ($19.50) stood out. A deep green stew of grilled chicken cooked in a mixture of ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses and served over rice, it formed a fruit-forward counterbalance to the heavier meat platters for which Essy’s is known.
Essy’s Kabob
Address: 5207 Madison Ave., Suite A, Sacramento.
Hours: 11 a.m.- 9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, closed Monday.
Phone: (916) 331-1194.
Website: https://essy-kabob.com/
Drinks: Sodas, yogurt drinks and bottled water.
Vegetarian options: Appetizers and desserts.
Noise level: Quiet.
Outdoor seating: None.
Openings & Closings
▪ Octopus Peru recently debuted at 980 9th St., Suite 170 across from Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown Sacramento. Owned by Ernesto Delgado Hospitality Group, the force behind neighboring restaurants La Cosecha and Mayahuel as well as Sal’s Tacos in West Sacramento and Mesa Mercado in Carmichael, it’s the sister concept to Octopus Baja in midtown and focuses on ceviche, oysters and other seafood dishes.
▪ Cali-Mex concept Masa Masa opened Monday at 2310 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Suite 130 in west Roseville’s Village Westpark shopping center. Proceeds from each taco are donated to specific charities, such as a Korean rib-eye benefiting the Placer LGBTQ+ Center and adobo cauliflower linked to Only Sunshine Sanctuary.
▪ Sacramento County’s lone Cracker Barrel location has closed at 1000 Howe Ave. in Arden Arcade, according to a sign taped to the front door. The Tennessee-based Americana diner chain has one remaining area restaurant in Rocklin Crossings shopping center.
