Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right now?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been getting outsized attention 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, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots have the momentum heading into springtime.
Beast And Bounty
Open since July, this New American spot is trending compared to other New American restaurants on Yelp.
Citywide, businesses specializing in modern American cuisine saw review counts increase by a median of 1.9 percent over the past month, but Beast and Bounty saw a 16.7 percent increase, maintaining a superior four-star rating throughout.
Located at 1701 R St. in Capital Avenue, Beast and Bounty offers fare like charred octopus with pickled potatoes and Calabrian aioli, or vegan ramen with mushroom sofrito. Be sure to make a reservation: this place is popular for both lunch and dinner.
The Mimosa House
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about East Sacramento's brunch-happy The Mimosa House, the well-established all-day restaurant and wine bar is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 1.4 percent over the past month, this outpost of the small local chain bagged a 3.4 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.6 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 5641 J St. since August 2016, The Mimosa House offers traditional American breakfast fare such as omelets, skillets, classic breakfast platters with eggs, bacon, sausage and toast and bagels. Here's the menu.
Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar
Capital Avenue's Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar is also making waves. Open since August of 2015 at 1609 16th St., the well-established Thai place has seen a 3.5 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.8 percent for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp. However, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 210 percent.
There's more than one hotspot trending in Sacramento's bar category: Foundation Restaurant & Bar has seen a 2.8 percent increase in reviews.
Orchid Thai offers noodles, stir fries, fried rice, soup, curries and other Asian fare. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid four-star rating among Yelpers.
