Wondering where Sacramento's insiders are 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 most discussed 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are on a hot streak, right now.
Cajun Madness
Open since spring 2019, this Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.
Citywide, seafood spots saw a median 2.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Cajun Madness saw a 47.8 percent increase, maintaining a solid 4.0-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the seafood category: Rockin Crawfish - Sacramento has seen a 7.7 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 6035 Stockton Blvd. in Fruitridge Manor, Cajun Madness offers authentic cuisine — the menu includes crawfish and Maine lobster, as well as additions like sausage and corn.
Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Old Sacramento's Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden, the brewpub and New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.4 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden bagged a 30 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a mixed three-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Sacramento's New American scene: Beast and Bounty has seen a 9.9 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 1022 Second St. since 2018, Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden offers salads, sandwiches, brick-oven pizzas and burrata ravioli.
Saigon Corner
South Natomas's Saigon Corner is also making waves. Open since April at 1589 W. El Camino Ave., Suite 101, the Vietnamese spot, which offers sandwiches and bubble tea, has seen a 40 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 3.2 percent for all businesses tagged "Sandwiches" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Sacramento's sandwich category: Sampino's Kitchen at Joe Marty's has seen a 4.7 percent increase in reviews.
Saigon Corner offers a variety of dishes, including dac biet, Saigon chicken wings and shrimp spring rolls. Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
THAI - The House Of Authentic Ingredients
East Sacramento's THAI - The House Of Authentic Ingredients is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.
The bar, Thai and vegan spot, which opened at 4701 H St. in 2018, increased its new review count by 11.5 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.9 percent for the Yelp category "Bars."
It's not the only trending outlier in the bar category: Mas Taco Bar has seen a 5.4 percent increase in reviews.
THAI - The House Of Authentic Ingredients imports its ingredients from Thailand and offers such menu items as green papaya salad and pad kra prow.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
