As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, 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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to deduce which local businesses have been getting a significant uptick in attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool, right now.
Frankenwaffle
Open since July, this beer bar and traditional American spot, which offers waffles and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp.
Citywide, traditional American spots saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Frankenwaffle saw a considerable 183.3% increase, maintaining an excellent five-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the traditional American category: The Other Side has seen a 7.8% increase in reviews, and Capital Hop Shop has seen a 7.4% bump.
Located at 1119 Alhambra Blvd. in East Sacramento, Frankenwaffle offers Belgian waffles with toppings like bacon cheddar, bananas foster, chili cheese, seasonal fruit and more.
Frankenwaffle is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Beast and Bounty
Midtown's Beast and Bounty is also making waves. Open since July at 1701 R St., the popular New American spot has seen a 5.8% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Sacramento's New American category: Crawdads On The River has seen a 0.9% increase in reviews, and Jimboy's Tacos has seen a 2.7% bump.
Beast and Bounty offers a brunch, lunch and dinner menu. Early morning eats include charred avocado toast with Peruvian shrimp ceviche, popcorn and a soft boiled egg, as well as a parfait with house-cultured coconut yogurt.
When it comes to lunch and dinner, look for the beet poke bowl, the oven-roasted bone marrow and the pan-seared okra with dried tomato sofrito.
Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
Beast and Bounty is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
El Novillero
North City Farms's El Novillero is the city's buzziest Mexican spot by the numbers.
The well-established Mexican spot, at 4216 Franklin Blvd., has been open for 49 years. It saw a 1.5% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses for the Yelp business category "Mexican" — but saw visits almost double over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
El Novillero offers traditional Mexican fare — burritos, enchiladas, tamales, chimichangas, tacos, quesadillas and more.
El Novillero is open from 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.–9 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.–7 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.) According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Wednesdays.
Allora
East Sacramento's popular Allora is currently on the upswing in the seafood category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, this wine bar and Italian spot, which offers seafood and more, increased its new reviews by 6.6% — with its Yelp rating improving from four stars to 4.5 stars.
Open for business at 5215 Folsom Blvd. since February 2018, Allora offers Italian-inspired cuisine, with a menu that consists of heirloom gazpacho, lobster fettuccine, sea scallops and more.
Its vegetarian and vegan menu features bucatini with tomato, sweet peppers and summer squash, as well as mushroom risotto with sweet corn and arugula.
Allora is open from 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 5 p.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
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.
