Photo Credit: @Beastandbounty916 on Instagram

For my sixth birthday, my dad and I started an ongoing tradition of dress shopping and dinner. Every year my dad chooses a special restaurant for us to try together. It’s our special thing. Even when I went away to college last year, we managed to still hold up our tradition. During the craziness that is 2020, we weren’t sure what we were going to do, but Beast and Bounty saved the day!

So, Beast and Bounty is a small business located in Sacramento whose goal is to exhibit a woodfire kitchen to bring meat-eaters and vegetarians together around the table without any compromise. Of course, having never been there, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but when my dad said it was a place for foodies, I believed him.

Photo Credit: @Beastandbounty916 on Instagram

Experience

Like many restaurants downtown, Beast and Bounty offers outdoor seating. Menus are scanned on phones and all tables are socially distanced from each other. The menu is extremely limited and all orders are made at the front kiosk. The staff wears masks and all food is delivered to the table in disposable carriers. We felt extremely safe and enjoyed being able to continue with our tradition.

The Summer Salad

Photo Credit: Grace Davis

Since the menu was very limited, my dad and I decided that we needed to order a salad to fully appreciate what Beast and Bounty had to offer. Let’s just say we were so glad we did! Three slices of heirloom tomatoes topped with compressed watermelon, mint oil, and black pepper dressed by a basil aioli made our tastebuds dance with joy. The watermelon was vibrant and juicy. All the seeds had been taken out by hand in order to fully use the juice. The heirlooms were tender and sweet, their flavor extremely enhanced by the black pepper. The aioli coated each item and brought out the best flavor in each bite. With a sprinkle of mint oil, this was a hit among the father-daughter foodies.

Twin Peaks Pizza

Photo Credit: Grace Davis

Described on the menu as white peaches with prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula, chili oil, and parmesan, I knew this would be a winner. My dad and I were amazed at the amount of flavor packed into this pizza. The peaches were sweet and soft while the prosciutto was salty and chewy. The mozzarella cheese was strong, but not too overpowering as it paired well with the shredded parmesan. The chili oil was very intense. While the flavor did not overpower the pie, it did burn my tongue, leaving me wishing there had been slightly less of it. Luckily, the raw flavor of the arugula calmed the overall spice and helped my tongue cool down. Both my dad and I were very impressed by this vegetarian pizza.

The Beast Burger

Photo Credit: Grace Davis

Our final item on the menu was the Beast Burger. Described as a house grind on a brioche bun with ODB (Old Dirty Biker) seed mix, white American cheese, aioli, Ash onions, and butter lettuce, this burger was straight up fantastic! And the meat was cooked to perfection and was fresh just from one bite. The char was the perfect seasoning and allowed for an extremely satisfying bite. The cheese was gooey and overflowed in my hands. My dad and I loved the addition of the thick pickle as it added a sour component that we never knew we needed. While I felt the brioche was too heavy, my dad did not see a problem with it. For our side, we picked the sweet potato wedges. The wedges were fork-tender and came dusted with parmesan. The bites were hot and very fresh. This left us very happy and content.

Overall

While dining is nowhere near what it used to be, Beast and Bounty offer an experience that brought us extremely close to what life used to be. The food was fresh, the staff was friendly, the service was safe, and the company was fabulous. Although it was not what we were expecting for our 13th year of dinner and dress shopping, my dad and I had a lovely time and a memorable night.