Jazzy cantina

Alley makers: Midtown’s Cantina Alley (2320 Jazz Alley) strives to recreate the laid-back vibe of a Mexican hole-in-the-wall. So much so, they’ll even take pesos. With decades of restaurant and nightlife experience between them, owners Art Aguilar and Max Archuleta drew inspiration from our southern neighbor for their addition to Sacramento’s growing alley scene.

“A lot of alleys might be considered blight,” Archuleta said. “But the next step that I would love to see Sacramento do is—in Mexico, you’ll go down an alley, you won’t think there’s anything there, [but] then you have different types of businesses, not just a cantina.”

The mural-laden Jazz Alley seems ripe for further development after the Cantina’s soft but well-received opening on March 16. They’ve made a splash with their small menu, featuring Baja fish tacos ($3.75) and green pozole made with chicken ($8), a twist based on Aguilar’s grandmother’s recipe. To offer something new to suds connoisseurs, they’ve sourced their drafts from Mexican craft breweries like Agua Mala and Border Psycho.

At the moment, Archuleta wants to let the business “grow on its own,” letting demand dictate if there will be weekend brunches or “3 a.m.” late-night eats. In the coming months, they plan to spotlight street food from different regions of Mexico, like Puebla during Cinco de Mayo and Oaxaca during Dia de los Muertos.

But ambiance-wise, they’ve got it down. The cantina’s weathered doors might as well be a portal. Around the bar, knickknacks surround a photo by local artist Ruben Reveles of a skull-faced woman wearing a bottle-cap-covered sombrero. The sun-drenched patio walls have murals depicting Mexican beer brands. And the intricately carved wooden tables and chairs seem like they’ve been there forever.

“For two hours out of their week, people can come here and get lost,” Archuleta said. “And hopefully, they feel like they got lost in Mexico.”

Spring sweets: Temple Coffee just released its spring dessert-and-coffee-pairing menu, available exclusively at its 2200 K Street location. All desserts are $7.

The tempting options include a chocolate-ganache cherry white cake with a Zambia Kateshi pour-over and a “mojito cake” with Kyoto slow-drip coffee.