Tucos Wine Market & Café

It’s true! I actually went to a restaurant in Davis. I know this is SACAtomato, but we would like to be inclusive of our nearby towns—especially one with as many eating places as Davis.
So lunch on Tuesday was a tasty meal with Brendon of Something in Season. Tuco’s (the editor in me wants to add the apostrophe, although their menu doesn’t use it) is a little place on 1st Street, right by the train tracks. They have a counter where you can order food to go, or you can sit at one of the 8 or so little tables in the small, sunny room lined with shelves of wine.
The paper menu changes with the season, using lots of local, organic produce from farms like Riverdog, Good Humus, and Sun Valley, which are listed on the menu. You can order a shot ($1.50) or bowl ($6) of the soup of the day, a serving of Trebbiano Balsamic Vinegar, and oysters on the half shell (there were 3 offered the day we were there). There are also salads, sandwiches, small plates, and “special” plates, not to mention a nice selection of wines by the glass or flight. You can even order a tasting flight of sakes or sparkling wines.

I started with a special plate of Roasted Butternut Squash Float ($5; see the picture at the beginning of the post). It was an espresso-sized cup of satiny smooth butternut with a little cheese soufflé floating on top and a dollop of crème fraîche. It was wonderfully silky, with a fresh butternut flavor not muddied by too much cream or spice. Next up was a Niman Ranch Pulled Pork Sandwich with House-Made Bun ($9). I’m a sucker for pulled pork, since I went to school in North Carolina. It wasn’t exactly what you’d get in the South, but the meat was tender and flavorful, with bits of diced onion scattered throughout and the bun was soft without being chewy, and shiny with an egg glaze. In the tradition of NC, I could have stood a little pickled something on the sandwich, like coleslaw, but I have no complaints about the flavor of the meat. A few leaves of lightly dressed mixed lettuces sat on the side, topped with well toasted, rosemary-flavored blanched almonds. Delicious!
Brendon got the Steak Sandwich with Pickled Red Onions, Cheese Fondue, & Dijon Mustard ($12). It was a bit larger than my sandwich, with a small bowl of fondue for dipping. The cheese was tasty, but not as smooth as I expected. Maybe I should have stolen a few of those onions for my pork? Oh, and we each had a glass of wine with lunch (ah the life of the self-employed!).
Then we indulgently ordered the Valrhona Chocolate Soufflé ($6.50), which took 20 minutes because it was made to order. We also got the Pomegranate Crème Brulée Cream Puffs ($6.50), which were 3 to a plate, dusted with confectioners’ sugar. The soufflé was divine—softly puffy and not too dense. You could taste the floral characteristics that make Valrhona such good chocolate, without too much sweetness. It came with freshly whipped cream but we didn’t need it. The cream puffs were bite-sized and filled with a loose pomegranate custard. The name was a bit misleading, since the custard was pourable, but the flavor was fantastic. It occurred to me later that the pomegranate custard sauce would have been good with the soufflé. I’ll have to go back and try that. I might have liked the cream puffs to be a bit less baked so they retained more of the soft eggy interior that I like in that kind of pastry.
But overall, lunch was really satisfying, with pure, uncomplicated flavors. Nothing was overdone or too fancied up. It was a great way to enjoy the best of local produce in a laid-back atmosphere.
130 G Street, Davis
530-757-6600
Mon-Thu 11:30 to 9; Fri/Sat 11:30 to 10