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Eat It: The Cultured & The Cured

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The Cultured & The Cured, an East Sac cheese shop and charcuterie shop, opened its doors in November 2013. Despite all the buzz about the place, I didn't have a chance to check it out until several weekends ago.

I'm sorry I waited so long.

Now, first a little background. My wife and I were lucky to go on a vacation to Europe last Fall, which included a couple days in Lyon and Bonne, France. Neither of us speak much French, so a lot of our meals consisted of going into a store, pointing at something and hoping I gave them enough Euros to cover whatever we ate. We also tried to avoid anything marked "chavel," which we knew meant horse meat.

But besides that, we were game to order randomly, bring it to a park, and enjoy a meal of wine, cheese, cured meats and bread.

So when I went to The Cultured and The Cured, I thought I was all set. All the signs would be in English, and I'd be able to find a pate, cheese and bread for dinner that night.

I was wrong, but in the end, that was part of the fun. A friendly woman (a grad student at Davis) greeted me and asked me if I knew what I wanted. I told her that I didn't. She asked me if I preferred a country-style pate. I told her I didn't even know what that meant. So I decided to choose randomly.

When it was time to choose a cheese, the scene repeated. Do I want a cow's milk cheese or goat milk cheese? I had no idea. But she gave me a couple samples and I chose one that I liked.

I also grabbed an epi to pair with the meat and the cheese.

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All in, it was about $13. Not cheap, but it didn't break the bank.

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When I got it home, I opened a bottle of $12 Bordeaux from Costco, and it was a great meal.

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So maybe I enjoyed this meal because it reminded me of my vacation, but I like to think of it as I discovered something that I liked while on vacation, and it's something I should do more of while I'm here in Sacramento.

If you have a couple minutes and find yourself in East Sac, head on into The Cultured & The Cured, taste a couple of their pates, cured meats and cheeses and buy something for dinner. Instead of dinner and a show, for me, it was dinner and an adventure. They didn't steer me wrong, and I'm sure they'll take care of you too.

The Cultured & The Cured is located at 3644 J Street, and can be found online at CulturedandCured.com.

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