Easy eats

Public living room: The newly opened Selland’s Market-Cafe (915 Broadway) may be one of the most accessible restaurants in the Sacramento region. Located a few blocks from the off-ramp of the area’s major freeway interchange, it’s a short drive from River Park, Pocket, Greenhaven, Davis, Natomas, West Sacramento and Midtown.

“You’re basically 10 minutes or less from everywhere,” said Josh Nelson, stepson of restaurateur Randall Selland.

After significant renovations to the roughly 7,000-square-foot building, the local family’s newest restaurant gleams with a full-service bakery, kitchen and cafe that can cater to pizza parties, date nights or lunchtime takeout. Since opening in late April, the location has seen lines out the door. Nelson likes the walk-up counter and ample indoor and outdoor seating space—shaded by 30 olive trees—because he wants to create a “living room,” meant literally.

“If you want to come here and hang out on the patio and sip a soda all day, that’s fine,” he said. “It’s all your terms. We’re not coming to your table bothering you.”

Rotating on a weekly basis, the dinner for two and bottle of wine is a good deal at $25. But with a menu of 120 items, ranging from a pizza with chicken, bacon and goat cheese ($16) to the vegan Super Greens salad ($7), their offerings run the gamut from healthful to gluttonous.

When the family opened their first restaurant in 1991, farm-to-fork wasn’t at the forefront of their vision. They just wanted to craft the tastiest food possible. But now, located only a couple of blocks from the under-the-freeway farmers market, that original vision aligns with eating local.

“If you’re seeking the best product, it’s going to come from right here,” he said. “And that’s because of our Mediterranean climate. From Bakersfield to Redding is the largest piece of class-one soil in the world.”

The recipes made from those ingredients mostly come from the family dinner table. And with 30 new dishes, Nelson looks to keep the menu fresh because, well, he’s often eating from it.

“My sister and I have kids,” he said. “And if it works for us, then we feel it’ll work for everybody else.”

Special delivery: The food-app revolution is vying for a slice of Sacramento. On May 18, UberEATS announced its foray into the area, partnering with 150 local restaurants to serve food on demand.