It’s not every day you find the owner of a Michelin-recognized restaurant recommending Tater Tots on the menu. However, when asked what I should have, it was the first thing Clay Nutting, the owner of Canon East Sacramento, suggested I have.
Nestled in a metal building on 34th street, locals quickly fell in love with the rustic, farmhouse-style restaurant, Canon, and its shareable plates concept.
“Our original item, the Tots, were created to communicate what we want to accomplish. It’s an approachable, elevated everyday dish that’s globally influenced.” Nutting said. The Canon Co-Owner is a Sacramento original by background, later moving to the east coast to pursue his undergraduate degree at Worcester State University. After moving back to his hometown, Nutting pursued his interest in the arts; where he eventually came to co-find Canon.
The restaurant experience is reminiscent of a modern style kitchen-theater hybrid with its abstract art paintings and Aretha Franklin’s “I Say A Little Prayer” in the background. The restaurant’s lighting is low (think small candles and geometric wall sconces), with the exception of the exposed kitchen; which is dazzled with bright white beams of light, furthering attention towards the chefs; much like an actor performing on stage.
“It’s a more creative spin on the Farm to Fork Movement…we have shareable plates and are designed with a worldwide view in mind.” Nutting said.
Clearly influenced by Latin cuisine, the “Tots” arrived rather quickly in an extravagantly shaped pyramid, topped with pickled onion, cotija and pepitas and of course, sat in a pool of their notorious mole. The vibrancy of the colors contrasted with the bed of mole and luminosity of the plate surely exhibited the simple yet flavor-wise complex dish.
The potato bites were less reminiscent of the fried breakfast items so many of us are familiar with, and more so of a denser and less crunchy potato. The onion, cheese and mole provide a level of acidity and cut the saltiness of the potato. The mole itself has so much depth of flavor I felt it complemented the potato and made the flavor stand out more than fully masking and becoming the flavor.
“The potatoes are all pressed in house, and our mole has over 30 ingredients and was made when we opened the restaurant… and every few weeks we turn it over.” Nutting said.
Next up, I tasted the Crispy Cauliflower. Clearly influenced by Southeast Asian cuisine, this dish is laid in a pool of red curry and served with quail egg. The cauliflower itself was cooked well without a bite, yet still a nice amount of structure and char. The quail egg tasted a bit sour, introducing some acidity to cut the creaminess of the curry.
Covered in our last issue Mulvaney’s B&L and The Slow Food Movement, Sacramento is notorious for its “Farm to Fork” movement, connecting local farming communities and businesses directly with the restaurant. While Canon doesn’t completely eliminate the middleman completely, they still make routine visits to their local farmers markets and have sustainability goals of their own.
“We use Produce Express, which provides produce only in about a 50- mile radius,” Nutting explained. “Every weekend we try to go to the local farmers markets and get some of our vegetables from there..the Southside farmers market has a lot more local farmers while the Midtown Farmers’ Market has more retail options.”
After receiving my check, it came out to $31.49, a comparably very small amount when likened to other Sacramento Michelin-recognized restaurants.
All in all, I appreciated the quick service, attentiveness of staff and approachable yet complex introduction to fine-dining. In the future I would like to see Canon building more relationships with local farming businesses and not outsourcing the ingredient sourcing to a third-party supplier. That being said, Canon East Sacramento would be a perfect affordable yet upscale option for anyone wanting to introduce themselves to the Sacramento fine-dining scene.
Final Rating: 8.5/10
