West Sacramento’s beloved peach milkshakes are back at this 61-year-old burger joint

Greater Sacramento reached a summer milestone this week. No, not the record heat.

Whitey’s Jolly Kone, a West Sacramento fixture since 1963, began serving its beloved peach milkshakes to hordes of customers on Tuesday. This time, they’re coming from the new generation of operators, who left careers in other cities behind to take over the family business.

For those who haven’t been blessed with a Whitey’s peach shake, they’re a delicious, old-fashioned blend of stone fruit and Crystal Creamery soft serve mix that transports one to quainter times. Whitey’s only begins serving the shakes around July 4, when it can get free-stone peaches from J&J Ramos Farms, a Stanislaus County grower that also serves Sacramento-area farmers markets.

Customers begin calling in mid-June to ask when peach shakes ($7.50/$9/$10.50 depending on size) will join flavors such as blackberry, mocha and butterscotch on Whitey’s menu, co-owner Jen Havson said. While peach shakes are only available for about two months, they’re part of Whitey’s brand at this point, on t-shirts and neon signs by the order window.

“It’s a huge item. I think it’s a nostalgic thing, right?” Havson said. “It definitely makes Whitey’s during the summer what Whitey’s is during the summer, so I can’t imagine ever getting rid of the peach shake.”

Emile “Whitey” Boisclair founded his eponymous yellow-and-white burger shack in 1963 near the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and 15th Street, then passed it to Paula and Steve Ericson (his daughter and son-in-law) in the 1980s. The Ericsons had kids of their own, who grew up somewhat in the family business but were encouraged to spread their wings.

Jen Ericson ended up a physician assistant in Salt Lake City along with University of Utah skiing coach Miles Havlick — the two combined their last names to “Havson” when they tied the knot last year. Her brother Kevin Ericson became a red carpet stylist in Santa Monica, where his spouse Josh Thurston worked in film production.

All four largely left their careers behind to take over Whitey’s in late 2023, keeping the 61-year-old restaurant alive and within the family. Though the owners are between 32 and 37 years old, they’re committed to preserving nearly everything the same as it’s been for decades. Substituting paper cups for Styrofoam has been one of the only changes thus far.

They’ll save the innovation for Emile’s Cafe, the siblings’ other ode to their grandfather that’s set to open this fall in the middle of West Sacramento’s new Heritage Oaks Park. Emile “Whitey” Bosclair Park is a half-mile down the same road.

Coffee and seasonal sandwiches and salads will be the focus at the cafe at 1300 Lake Washington Blvd., “an extension of the brand” for Whitey’s, Jen Havson said. Soft-serve will be the common thread between both businesses.

“We didn’t want to create a second Whitey’s,” Havson said. “We want to create something that meets the needs of high schoolers and elementary school kids after school (and) families walking through the park.”

Whitey’s Jolly Kone’s summer hours are 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, closed Sunday and Monday at 1300 Jefferson Blvd. in West Sacramento. There’s no indoor seating, but some of the patio picnic tables are shaded.

What I’m Eating

Intel employees in Folsom don’t have to go far to find meatless marvels. Just around the corner from the tech giant’s Sacramento County campus in Folsom Corners shopping center, Mylapore South Indian Vegetarian is nearly always open and affordable.

Come by at 8 a.m. for puffy rice cakes called idly, stop in from 3-7 p.m. for dosa happy hour on weekdays or stay until 10 p.m. sipping on masala chai. Jay Jayaraman’s restaurant, which has several South Bay sister concepts under the name Idly Express, unassumingly greets customers throughout the day with copious natural light, plastic cutlery and sides of sambar, tomato chutney and and coconut curry with nearly every meal.

South Indian cuisine leans more on vegetables than that of the North anyway, and Mylapore goes a step further by making the entire restaurant vegetarian. A mini tiffin ($12), traditionally eaten as breakfast or with afternoon tea, is perhaps the best way to sample regional standouts including idly, a miniature masala dosa (thin chickpea flour crêpe), a scoop of pongal (rice porridge with cashews) and rava kesari (sweet semolina-saffron cake).

Few, if any, other Sacramento-area restaurants make bisi bele bath ($11), a rice porridge from the state of Karnataka. A slow hum of spice permeated the cashews, green beans, carrots and peas dispersed throughout the bowl, served with a bag of classic Lay’s potato chips meant for scooping.

Mylapore also offers a range of uthappam, thick and spongy dosas comprised of lentil and rice flours. Podi uthappam ($12) may be the most flavorful of the bunch thanks to its namesake spice; also known as “gunpowder,” the orange podi dusted over the uthappam has a tangy, slightly cheesy flavor.

Mylapore South Indian Vegetarian

Address: 1760 Prairie City Road, Suite 100, Folsom.

Hours: 8 a.m.-10 p.m. seven days a week.

Phone: (916) 985-3500

Website: https://www.facebook.com/MylaporeRestaurant

Drinks: Mango lassi, masala chai, spiced buttermilk and other nonalcoholic options.

Vegetarian options: Everything.

Noise level: Relatively quiet.

Outdoor seating: Several patio tables.

Openings & Closings

▪ Brody’s Restaurant opened for dine-in service on July 6 at 8140 Freeport Blvd. in south Sacramento along the Sacramento River. The barbecue joint with a planned beer garden has been whipping up tri-tip, cornbread, ribs and more for takeout customer over the past month.

▪ 8-Track opened Monday at 2030 P St. in midtown Sacramento, formerly home to The Press Club. Owned by Bret and Karen Bair, the couple behind B-Side with additional stakes in The Cabin and Goldfield Trading Post, the music-themed watering hole is colored by its neon bar and fluorescent murals.

▪ Soi Alley Eats is in its soft opening phase at 2722 X St. in Curtis Park’s north end. A outdoor Thai and Laotian food truck with a plant-shaded patio, the street food-inspired concept whips out dishes such as papaya salad, spring rolls or garlic pork with sticky rice.