Appetizers: Vietnamese soup merits a pho pause at Tamarind

As the chilly days of fall and winter approach, Perry Yuen is getting ready to help his fellow Sacramentans stay warmly nurtured.

But he's neither knitting comforters nor chopping wood.

Yuen's specialty is food. In fall and winter, nothing is much more invigorating, saturating and comforting than a bowl of the aromatic Vietnamese noodle soup called pho, generally rich with assorted cuts of beef.

Yuen, who two years ago opened the Chinese bakery and cafe Plum Blossom at 19th and J streets, is about to increase his presence in midtown with Tamarind, a Vietnamese restaurant with an emphasis on pho.

Tamarind, to be at 2502 J St. -- quarters most recently occupied by a Birkenstock shoe store that has moved next door -- is expected to open around mid-October, Yuen says.

The kitchen should be completed this week, to be followed by construction of the dining area, Yuen says.

Yuen's brother-in-law, New York chef Michael Li, is moving to Sacramento to run Tamarind.

More Taka's

Taka Watanabe is going home again. More than eight years after he opened Taka's Sushi at 18th and S streets in Sacramento, he's returning to that midtown corner, which has been vacant since earlier this summer.

Though Watanabe sold his interest in the 18th and S branch of Taka's Sushi three years ago, he's signed a lease to resurrect a restaurant on the site. He's tentatively planning to call it Taka's Sushi Midtown.

In the meantime, he will continue to operate another branch of Taka's Sushi in Fair Oaks, as well as remain a partner in the midtown Japanese restaurant Kru along J Street.

Benny Hom, who'd purchased Watanabe's stake in the 18th and S cafe and who'd continued to operate it as Taka's until a few months ago, is to move into quarters currently occupied by Zen Toro Japanese Bistro and Sushi Bar at 15th and I streets.

Masa Nishiyama, who's owned Zen Toro the past five years, is closing the restaurant soon to concentrate on the branch he opened in Davis in January.

Jason Hom, Benny's brother, said the Hom family expects to call the restaurant at the former Zen Toro site Taka's Sushi or Taka's Japanese Cuisine, even though Watanabe isn't affiliated with the place.

In short, barring any change of heart, or litigation, midtown Sacramento will be getting two unrelated restaurants named Taka's over the next few months.

Watanabe said he hopes to re- open at 18th and S in December.

A basket full of ooh-la-la

Christian and Jennifer Masse are making it easier for visitors to wineries in El Dorado County this harvest to pack a picnic lunch. The Masses, former longtime owners of the French restaurant Zachary Jacques in Diamond Springs, have opened a takeout specialty market just down Pleasant Valley Road.

The place is Allez! -- French for "let's go" -- and it's stocked with savory tarts (onion jam with goat cheese, wild mushroom), rillettes of braised pork and duck, sandwiches (Louisiana po'boy, niçoise, pâté), lamb stew, ratatouille, roast chicken, sausages, cheeses, cookies and breads.

They make much of the charcuterie themselves. They also stock French as well as foothill wines, though as a matter of courtesy, wine tasters who plan to take advantage of a winery picnic site might want to wait until they get to their destination before ordering a bottle.

Allez! is at 6180 Pleasant Valley Road, El Dorado, across from the historic rib-and-steak joint Poor Red's. It is open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays; (530) 621-1160.

Last call

The Golden Tee Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge, a Sacramento dining landmark since 1964, will serve its last meals Sept. 11. The Auburn Boulevard structure has been sold and is to be razed for a car dealership.

A.W. "Bob" Yates was the original owner. His son, Ron Yates, continues to operate the restaurant. He says he has no plans at this time to open another restaurant.

About the writer:

• Reach The Bee's Mike Dunne at (916) 321-1143 or mdunne@sacbee.com. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/dunne.