Visiting Apple Hill? Here’s some expert advice to get the most out your annual fall trip
Is Sacramento’s lingering summer heat ruining your autumn vibes? Head to the foothills, where less than an hour from the capital city U-Pick orchards, pumpkin patches and apple cider doughnuts are already drawing people to Apple Hill.
More than 50 local farms make up Apple Hill, an El Dorado County agricultural attraction full of family-friendly fall fun. As someone who’s been making the trek up Highway 50 to Abel’s Apple Acres and Rainbow Orchards since I was a kid, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to best navigate the scene.
Start early. I drove up to Apple Hill around noon a couple of years ago, stopped off for lunch, visited High Hill Ranch, then figured I’d have time for a short hike before coming back for wine tasting or a bite from a roadside barbecue stand. Little did I know that pretty much everything shuts down around 5 p.m. Get a relatively early start to fit in all the fun that can be had. And don’t wait until the end of the season to make your pilgrimage: U-Pick farms are mostly picked over by late October.
Go on a weekday, if at all possible. You’ll “practically have the place to yourself” if you visit High Hill Ranch between Monday and Friday, according to the central extravaganza’s recent Instagram post. It’s open during normal business hours, and even though several other attractions have more limited hours, Thursdays and Fridays are still good days to visit.
Some of the best eats are just outside. Apple Hill is a produce paradise with wineries to boot, but check out the impressive gaggle of surrounding restaurants around Placerville’s Main Street for a real meal. Timmy’s Brown Bag has the region’s (maybe the nation’s) most eclectic sandwiches, Hog Wild Barbeque specializes in slow-and-low, Cali-Tex smoked meats and Enchanted Forest Dining Experience combines fondue nights and housemade mead with fantasy novel decor.
Consider staying overnight. The Sierra Nevada foothills are beautiful this time of year, Airbnbs next week include a solar-powered tiny home on 13 acres in Somerset, a six-bed house with a soccer field and water slide in Placerville and a Camino guest suite that’s walking distance to Apple Hill.
More insights. Check out our newbie guide from last season by The Bee’s Savanna Smith.
What I’m Eating
Brazil Steakhouse is a new name in Elk Grove Crossing shopping center, but it’s been a favorite of city residents for years.
Known as Little Brazil Steakhouse until the threat of a copyright infringement lawsuit from a Florida-based company prompted a name change last month, the restaurant and market was founded by Ronan Defarias in 2019 and named California’s best steakhouse by Yelp earlier this year.
Much of my experience with Brazilian steakhouses centers around all-you-can-eat rodízios. Though Brazil Steakhouse has that option ($33 per person for lunch, $48 for dinner) it mostly operates as a “kilo restaurant” using a pay-by-weight system that runs $12-$24 per pound depending on time of day and food chosen.
The cheapest option is to pick exclusively from the hot and salad bars. Highlights from the former include pão de queijo (a puffy, chewy tapioca cheesy bread), juicy roasted chicken with potatoes, sweet maduros and punchy Brazilian pork sausages.
You might not expect much from a steakhouse’s salad bar, but that turned out to be a pleasant surprise: sweet chile pasta, marinated artichoke hearts, feta-cucumber salad and oven-roasted mushrooms in a balsamic vinaigrette all made for nice sides.
Yet most diners will want to pay a little extra for the “churrasco” section, where a cook shaves rotating meat skewers to customers’ specifications. Popular choices include chicken thighs, pincanha (sirloin cap) and a buttery top sirloin known as alcatra, all of which go great with a sprinkle of toasted yuca, some chimichurri or an acidic orange hot sauce. Don’t sleep on the rotisserie pineapple, either: dusted in cinnamon sugar, it was all the dessert I needed.
Address: 8698 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 3, Elk Grove.
Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-8:30 p.m. Monday and Wednesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday, closed Tuesday.
Phone number: (916) 647-3963.
Website: https://brazilsteakhouse95624.com.
Drinks: Beer and wine, plus interesting Brazilian beverages such as a sweet cashew juice called caju.
Vegetarian options: Surprisingly many, and surprisingly good.
Noise level: Medium.
Openings & Closings
Mother, the heralded vegetarian restaurant that drew people to downtown Sacramento throughout the 2010s, reopened Tuesday at 2319 K St., Suite B in midtown. Yes, the chicken-fried oyster mushroom po’boy is still on the menu, along with a horde of creative vegetable concoctions.
Clean Juice opened its first Sacramento-area organic juice bar on Aug. 25 at 4191 Thrive Drive, Suite 130 in Roseville. The national chain, which counts former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow among its franchisees, offers health-oriented items such as açaí bowls, panini and grain bowls.
Altos Cantina opened Friday at 1522 Jefferson Blvd. in West Sacramento, formerly home to Jefferson Bar & Grill. The Michoacán-influenced Mexican restaurant and bar serves up dishes such as nachos with carnitas, poblano-speckled cheese, jalapeños and roasted corn, as well as heartier steak and seafood plates.
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