Curious where Sacramento's in-the-know crowd is eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which local businesses have been getting outsized notice this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Sacramento businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool this autumn.
Beast And Bounty
Open since July, it's not exactly a surprise that this hotly anticipated and well-reviewed New American spot in Midtown's Ice Blocks development is trending compared to other New American restaurants on Yelp, as reviewers get around to going for the first time.
Citywide, other places for modern American cuisine saw review counts increase by a median of 1.7 percent over the past month, but Beast and Bounty saw a 60.4 percent increase, maintaining a solid four-star rating throughout.
Located at 1701 R St. in Midtown, the vegan-friendly establishment offers fare like charred octopus with pickled potatoes and Calabrian aioli, or vegan ramen with mushroom sofrito. It's open for both lunch and dinner, and you'd be well-advised to make a reservation.
The farm-to-table hotspot is not the only trending outlier in the New American category, however: Selland's Market-Café has seen a 6.2 percent increase in reviews, and Localis and Punch Bowl Social Sacramento have seen 3.8 and 5 percent increases, respectively — unusual for established businesses.
Burger Lounge
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Downtown's new outpost of San Diego-based fast-casual joint Burger Lounge, it's a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While other burger businesses increased their review count by a median of 3.3 percent over the past month, Burger Lounge bagged a 57.9 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating.
Open at 405 K St., Suite 230 since August, the upscale beef berth offers its signature one-third and quarter-pound, grass-fed beef patties with fresh or grilled onion, pickles, Thousand Island dressing and more. It also has turkey, veggie and gluten-free options. (You can check out the full menu here.)
Zocalo
The new University Village location of Zocalo is also making waves. Open since January at 466 Howe Ave., the Mexican restaurant and brunch bar has seen a 14 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
There's more than one hotspot trending in Sacramento's breakfast and brunch category: Echo & Rig, another bar with a side of brunch, has seen a 10.4 percent increase in reviews, and Wild Flour Cafe and Hot Off The Griddle have seen 7.1 and 7 percent increases, respectively.
Zocalo offers brunch options like chilaquiles sauteed in chipotle sauce, huevos rancheros with slow-cooked beef in a pepper and tomato sauce, and cocktails like a Bloody Agave (a tequila-based Bloody Mary). Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
Burgerim
North Natomas's recently opened Burgerim is the city's buzziest American fast-food spot by the numbers. This outpost of the rapidly growing small-burger franchise has been in operation at 2731 Del Paso Road, Suite 110, since June, and increased its review count by 21.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 1.6 percent.
Burgerim offers its slightly-bigger-than-slider size burgers with dozens of customizable menu options, so customers can ask for lamb with feta, wagyu beef with avocado and bacon, and chicken with jalapeños all in the same meal. Although it's been busy, its rating has stayed at a middling 3.5 stars.
Maya
Finally, the River District's Maya is currently on the upswing in the Mexican category on Yelp. While the category increased review counts by a median of 2.5 percent over the past month, this restaurant and sports bar increased its numbers by 31.8 percent—and kept its rating consistent at four stars.
Open for business at 455 Bercut Drive (off Richards Blvd.) since July, the business offers plates like skirt steak with beans and freshly house-made corn tortillas, red pozole (pork, hominy and pepper stew), and churros with a scoop of Gunther's ice cream.
