Tucos

STARTERS
Miyagi Oysters, Tomales Bay, CA $3 each/ $18 for 7
Marinated Olives fresh herbs, lemon, garlic  $7
Oven Roasted Almonds & Golden Raisins olive oil, rosemary, crushed red pepper  $7
Bacon-Wrapped Medjool Dates, house-made chevre, pink lady apple  $9
Warmed Herb Goat Cheese Crostinis house-made chevre, fresh herbs, garlic toast $8
Dungeness Crab & Cheese Bruschetta aioli, fresh herbs, cheese, garlic toast $12
Grass-Fed Lamb Meatballs cuban mojo sauce  $12
Japanese Tobiko Caviar with Buckwheat Blinis crème fraiche, sieved eggs, sweet onion $10
Smoked Fish Spread acme bread $9    
Roasted Vegetable Platter with Eggplant Hummus (served at room temp) $10
Chilled Cucumber-Melon Gazpacho Soup  shot $4 / bowl $8
Black Bean Soup, tomatoes, sweet onion, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, crème fraiche  shot $4 / bowl $8
French Onion Soup cheese, garlic toast (vegetarian) $8
Cheese Plate with acme bread $5.5 per oz
Selection of cheeses- France: D'Affinois Double Cream Brie, Bucherondin de Chevre, Bleu D'Auvergne, Holland: Truffle Gouda, Goat Gouda, Sheep Gouda, Italy:  Taleggio, Wisconsin: Cheddar (8 yr.), Portugal: Topo

SALADS
Farmer's Market Green Salad fresh fruit, roasted almonds, goat cheese, herbed citrus dressing  $8
Roasted Beet Salad watercress, fresh goat cheese, walnuts $9
Bread Salad lettuce, poached egg, bacon, garlic croutons, citrus dressing  $12
Nicoise Salad imported tuna, potato, onion, parsley, seasonal vegetables, lettuce, black olive dressing  $12
Grass-Fed Beef Carpaccio Salad beef tenderloin, watercress, caper dressing, grana cheese $15
Caesar Salad romaine lettuce, garlic bread $10 (add chicken $4) (add shellfish $6)
Roasted, Spicy Monterey Sardine Salad lettuce, tomato, onions, citrus dressing  $12

PIZZETTAS
Grass-fed beef flank steak, chimichurri sauce,  fresh mozarella, lettuce, tomato, onions $16
Bacon, Spinach, Apple & Blue Cheese, fresh mozarella, olive oil, blue cheese dressing $14
Prosciutto, Arugula, Tomato & Nicoise Olive, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, citrus dressing $14
Fresh Goat Cheese & Apple, lettuce, tomato, sweet onion, citrus dressing $14
Eggplant Hummus, Sweet Pepper & Watercress, black olive dressing (vegan) $14

BURGERS & SANDWICHES
Grass-Fed Burger with bacon & cheese, house-made bun Beef $10, or Bison $12 (add fried egg $2)
Salami-Caprese Sandwich, salami, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil (vegetarian available) $12
Sandwich Cubano (roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickle) $12
Rustic Tuna Sandwich (Pan Bagna) imported tuna, hard-cooked egg, arugula, onions $12
Fried Egg Sandwich, bacon, collard greens, mozzarella, hollandaise sauce $10
Dungeness Crab Melt hand-picked crab, aioli, fresh herbs, cheese, cocktail sauce, green salad $14
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Sandwich, mozzarella, fresh tomato, ketchup, green salad $8
House-Made Goat Cheese & Apple, lettuce, tomato, sweet onion, citrus dressing $10

PASTAS
Build-Your-Own Macaroni & Cheese Select your favorite cheese from our cheese list $9
Vegetarian Lasagna collard greens, caramelized onions, hard-cooked eggs, bechamel $14
Twice-Cooked Cheese Raviolis dungeness crab, butter, lemon juice  $25
Braised Rabbit & Peaches house-made pasta $25
Grass-Fed Bison Stroganoff house-made pappardelle pasta  $25    

LATIN
Brazilian cheese bread (Pao de Queijo) with bacon, garlic, mushroom, or black truffle $4 (allow 20 min)
Venezuelan seafood cocktail (Vuelve la Vida)- wild shrimp, calamari $7
Savory Argentinean Corn Pudding (Humita) sweet biscuit, jalapeno, milk, butter $8
Sweet Potato Nachos black beans, cheese, tomato, onion, sour cream, avocado, jalapeno $12
Free-Range Chicken Tacos corn tortillas, bacon, collard greens (vegetarian available) $12
Puerto Rican Bistec Encebollado, flank steak, onions, vinegar, rice, beans, fried green plantains $19
Feijoada (brazilian stewed beef, pork, black beans) rice, collard greens, farofa (toasted yucca meal) $17
Paella, chicken, sausage, shrimp, calamari, vegetables $25
Grass-Fed Beef Empanadas or Sweet Corn, Cheese, & Jalapeno Empanadas $9
Sweet Corn Cachapas (venezuelan griddle cakes) $9
Arepas (shredded beef or avocado & fresh mozzarella) $9

ENTREES
Roasted Zucchini & Onion Pie $12
Pot Pie Chicken & Mushroom $15
Fish Fry with House-Made Tartar Sauce, local rock cod fillet, oven-roasted sweet potato fries $19
Seared Peking Duck Breast with Sangria Reduction, oven-roasted potatoes, veggies $25
Pot Roast grass-fed beef, red wine sauce, oven-roasted potatoes, veggies  $19
Grass-Fed Beef Tenderloin Steak chimichurri sauce, oven-roasted potatoes, veggies  $35

DESSERT MENU
All Desserts $8
Flan caramel custard
Strawberry Tres Leches Shortcake strawberries, crème fraiche, evaporated & condensed milk, whipped cream
Walnut Cream Puffs whipped cream, bourbon-caramel sauce, toasted walnuts
Strawberry Cobbler house-made ice cream (20min)
Sweet Potato Pie house-made ice cream
Peanut Butter Brownie house-made ice cream, peanut butter caramel
Cinnamon Crumb Bread Pudding house-made vanilla ice cream
Dark Chocolate Souffle 61% Venezuelan dark chocolate (20 min)
Affogato shot of espresso, house-made vanilla ice cream

Dessert Wine Flight (1/2 oz pours) $15
Prunier Pineau des Charentes, Cognac, France
Justino's Madeira Colheita 1997, Madeira Portugal
Quinta Infantado Tawny, Porto, Portugal
Vientos Alcyone Dessert Tannat NV, Atlantida, Uruguay

Tea
Cup of Organic Darjeeling or Green Tea $2
Cup of Herbal Tea $3
Lemon Verbena, Peppermint, or Linden Evening Tea 
Organic Coffee
We Proudly Serve Blue Bottle Coffee Company
Espresso $2
Cappuccino $3
Latte $3
Mocha $3.5
Americano $2
Hot Chocolate $3

STARTERS
Kumamoto, Sweetwater Oysters  $3 ea / $18 for 7
Marinated Olives fresh herbs, lemon, garlic  $7
Oven Roasted Almonds & Golden Raisins olive oil, rosemary, crushed red pepper  $7
Bacon-Wrapped Medjool Dates, house-made chevre, pink lady apple  $8
Warmed Herb Goat Cheese Crostinis house-made chevre, fresh herbs, garlic toast $8
Dungeness Crab & Cheese Bruschetta aioli, fresh herbs, cheese, garlic toast $12
Grass-Fed Lamb Meatballs cuban mojo sauce  $12
Crispy-Fried Smelt Fish with Spicy Cocktail Sauce $12
Japanese Tobiko Caviar with Buckwheat Blinis crème fraiche, sieved eggs, sweet onion $8
Smoked Trout Spread acme bread $9
Chilled Cherry Gazpacho Soup  shot $4 / bowl $8
French Onion Soup cheese, garlic toast (vegetarian) $8
Cheese Plate with acme bread $5.5 per oz
Selection of cheeses: CA: Brie (Triple Cream), Truffle Tremor Goat, France:  Comte, D'Affinois, Bucherondin de Chevre, Bleu D'Auvergne, Portugal: Sao Jorge, Spain: Manchego (3 Mo.), Holland: Truffle Gouda, Goat Gouda, Sheep Gouda, Italy:  Taleggio, Wisconsin: Cheddar (8 yr.), Colorado: Snowdrop Aged Bloomy Rind Goat Cheese   

SALADS
Farmer's Market Green Salad fresh fruit, roasted almonds, goat cheese, herbed citrus dressing  $8
Bread Salad lettuce, poached egg, bacon, garlic croutons, citrus dressing  $9
Roasted Asparagus Salad, poached egg, prosciutto, hollandaise sauce $12
Nicoise Salad imported tuna, potato, onion, parsley, seasonal vegetables, lettuce, black olive dressing  $12
Grass-Fed Beef Carpaccio Salad beef tenderloin, watercress, caper dressing, grana cheese $15
Caesar Salad romaine lettuce, garlic bread $8 (add chicken $4) (add shellfish $6)
Roasted, Spicy Monterey Sardine Salad lettuce, tomato, onions, citrus dressing  $12

PIZZETTAS
Grass-fed beef flank steak, chimichurri sauce,  fresh mozarerlla, lettuce, tomato, onions $16
Bacon, Spinach, Apple & Blue Cheese, fresh mozarerlla, olive oil, blue cheese dressing $14
Prosciutto, Arugula, Tomato & Nicoise Olive, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, citrus dressing $14
Fresh Goat Cheese & Apple, lettuce, tomato, sweet onion, citrus dressing $14

BURGERS & SANDWICHES
Grass-Fed Burger with bacon & cheese, house-made bun Beef $10, or Bison $12
Salami-Caprese Sandwich, salami, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil (vegetarian available) $9
Sandwich Cubano (roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickle) $12
Fried Egg Sandwich, bacon, collard greens, mozzarella, hollandaise sauce $10
Dungeness Crab Melt hand-picked crab, aioli, fresh herbs, cheese, cocktail sauce, green salad $14
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Sandwich, mozzarella, fresh tomato, ketchup, green salad $8
House-Made Goat Cheese & Apple, lettuce, tomato, sweet onion, citrus dressing $8 ‡

PASTAS
Build-Your-Own Macaroni & Cheese Select your favorite cheese from our cheese list $9
Vegetarian Lasagna $14
Twice-Cooked Cheese Raviolis dungeness crab, butter, lemon juice  $21
Grass-Fed Bison Stroganoff house-made pappardelle pasta  $25

LATIN
Brazilian cheese bread (Pao de Queijo)  $2, with bacon or black truffle $3 (allow 20 min)
Venezuelan seafood cocktail (Vuelve la Vida)- wild shrimp, calamari $8
Free-Range Chicken Tacos corn tortillas, bacon, collard greens (vegetarian available) $12
Puerto Rican Bistec Encebollado, flank steak, onions, vinegar, rice, beans, fried green plantains $19
Feijoada (brazilian stewed beef, pork, black beans) rice, collard greens, farofa (toasted yucca) $15
Grass-Fed Beef Empanadas $9
Sweet Potato Cachapas (venezuelan griddle cakes) $9
Arepas (shredded beef or avocado & fresh mozzarella) $9

ENTREES
Pot Pie Chicken & Mushroom $15
Fava Bean, Bacon, & Cheese Risotto $19
Fish Fry with House-Made Tartar Sauce, local rock cod fillet, oven-roasted sweet potato fries $19
Seared Peking Duck Breast with Sangria Reduction, oven-roasted potatoes, veggies $21
Pot Roast grass-fed beef, red wine sauce, oven-roasted potatoes, veggies  $19
Banana Chutney-Glazed Pork Chop oven-roasted potatoes, veggies  $17
Grass-Fed Beef Tenderloin Steak chimichurri sauce, oven-roasted potatoes, veggies  $35

DESSERT MENU

All Desserts $8

Flan caramel custard
Sweet Potato Pie house-made ice cream
Peanut Butter Brownie house-made ice cream, peanut butter caramel
Strawberry Tres Leches Shortcake strawberries, crème fraiche, evaporated & condensed milk, whipped cream
Walnut Cream Puffs whipped cream, bourbon-caramel sauce, toasted walnuts
Cinnamon Crumb Bread Pudding house-made vanilla ice cream
Dark Chocolate Souffle 61% Venezuelan dark chocolate (20 min)
Affogato shot of espresso, house-made vanilla ice cream

UC Davis Graduation 2010 Menu

Soup:
Shot of Bing Cherry Gazpacho

Salad:
Market Salad lettuce, fresh fruit, roasted almonds, warm herbed goat cheese, herbed citrus dressing

Entrée (Choice of):
Fish Fry with Atlantic Pollack, Home-made Tartar Sauce
Pot Roast grass-fed beef, red wine sauce
Fava Bean Risotto local rice, bacon, cheese 

Dessert (Choice of):
Bing Cherry Cream Puffs sweet whipped cream
Dark Chocolate Souffle

$40pp

This salad was created to use the yummy black olive dressing that we created for the green bean salad that went out of season. It's inspired by the very simple, traditional dinners I've seen my relatives eat- boiled potatoes, hard cooked egg, some sort of fish, and a very good olive oil.  It's a very popular salad at Tucos and we're presenting it on Sacramento's Fox 40 News, today at 11am. 

It's super easy to make at home, delicious, and nutritious.  Perfect for a fast weeknight dinner, a picnic or a  potluck.  The secret of this salad is the dressing and the quality of the ingredients.


Tucos' Tuna Nicoise (serves 2-3)

1C Yukon Gold Potatoes (Boiled, large dice)
1C Cooked Seasonal Veggie (roasted at 400F with olive oil usually tastiest)
1/3C Canned Tuna (our favorite is As do Mar tuna)
1/3C Sweet Onion (shaved)
1/3C Nicoise olives- pitted (or kalamata)
1/4C Fresh Parsley (fine chopped)
1/4C Black Olive Dressing
Salt & Pepper to taste

Toss ingredients and serve on top of lightly dressed lettuce greens (oil & vinegar). Top with a sliced,  hard-cooked egg (12 min. make effort to find fresh eggs from a farmers market).

Black Olive Dressing

1/2C Olive Oil (a mild, fruity one- we use Saloio)
6 Cloves Garlic- peeled
2 TBS Nicoise Olives- pitted
1/3C Orange Juice (freshly squeezed- don't use store-bought)
1/3C Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed- don't use store-bought)
1 tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
½ tsp ground cumin

Blend until smooth.

I Finally finalized my Valentine's Day Menu.... and I can't wait to serve it.  There's still a few seats available for those of you who waited until the last minute. 

Recently, some friends of Tucos were here entertaining a visitor from Rwanda.  They sat, opened the menus, and began the small talk.   Quickly they noticed something was wrong with their visitor.  A certain expression, a certain quiet, a certain smirk.  They asked.  He politely responded nothing is wrong.  They asked again, and he confessed.  The first item of the menu is our Kumamoto Oysters, from Hog Island- perhaps the best oysters on the North American Pacific coast, translate to "Flaming Vagina" in his country.  In honor of this coincidence, I ordered him a batch of Kumamoto oytsers, which he loved.  But he did recommend changing the name if we ever open a Tucos in Rwanada.

About a month ago I handed the Tucos menus to my 18 year old son and 7 year old daughter.  I got wonderful feedback and ideas from them.  One of the ideas (from my daughter) was to serve some sort of peanut butter dessert.  And so began the month long process of developing the dish.  Peanut butter cookies? Boring. PB pudding? Yuk.  I came across a recipe for a super-gooey brownie and tried it substituting peanut butter for the chocolate.  The first try was baked in a 9 inch square pan and resulted in a delicious tasting brownie, but way too gooey in the center.  The idea had potential but we needed to come up with a way to dail in the goo so it's just right.  The solution came after several tries in different pans and we found a sort of square cupcake pan that produced an ideal, gooey brownie. 

Then came the challenge of how to turn a $2 brownie into an $8 dessert. A frosting?  Too predictable.  Stacking it with some sort of sauce?  Yawn.  Then I tried it with a scoop of our vanilla ice cream.  Yum....  Now we had two moving parts decided on.  What else do we do with it to take it over the top? 

Everything fell into place when I thought about the combination of the brownie and ice cream and imagined it as a flavor at Ben & Jerry's.  What's missing?  A caramel sauce - a peanut butter caramel sauce.  And some suger cone for crunch.  Yes, that's right.  Our dessert is basically a warped execution of a Ben & Jerry's ice cream on a sugar cone. 

And it's delicious!

The Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Fresh Goat Cheese and Apple are back on the menu!  A quick story about the dates-  a few years back I sampled one of Katie's Medjool dates.  The texture and balanced sweetness blew my mind and I was determined to put them on the menu somehow.  I remembered a simple bacon-wrapped water chestnut dish that I loved at a restaurant that I worked at years ago and thought this might be the thing to do.  After tasting the bacon-date combo, I felt it was wanting something stuffed into the center,  I tired arugula and I tried goat cheese.  The cheese was the staff favorite so we went with it.  The apple slice went into the dish to give a little crunch to the mushy texture.  These dates have become a runaway hit- they've been picked as one of the best dishes in the region in Sacramento Magazine and Katie seems to sell out faster and faster each year as customers fall in love with her dates at Tucos then flock to her booth at the Farmers' Market.

Welcome back Katie!  We're delighted to see you.

Recipe:

Wrap pitted date and secure with tooth pick.  Bake at 400F until bacon is fully cooked.  Remove tootpick, stuff with fresh goat cheese and a wedge of a crisp apple like a Pink Lady and serve.

Starters

Kumamoto & Sweetwater Oysters hog island oyster co., tomales bay, ca  $3 ea / $18 for 7 ‡

Marinated Olives fresh herbs, lemon, garlic  $7 ‡

Oven Roasted Almonds & Golden Raisins olive oil, rosemary, crushed red pepper  $7 ‡

Bacon-Wrapped Medjool Dates, house-made chevre, pink lady apple  $8

Warmed Herb Goat Cheese Crostinis house-made chevre, fresh herbs, garlic toast $7 ‡

Dungeness Crab & Cheese Bruschetta aioli, fresh herbs, cheese, garlic toast $12

Grass-Fed Lamb Meatballs cuban mojo sauce  $12 ‡

Scallops Benedict day boat scallops, prosciutto, hollandaise sauce, toast $12 ‡

Japanese Tobiko Caviar with Buckwheat Blinis crème Fraiche, sieved eggs, sweet onion $8 ‡

Smoked Trout Spread acme bread $9 ‡

Chilled Cucumber-Melon Gazpacho Soup shot $4 / bowl $8 ‡

French Onion Soup cheese, garlic toast (vegetarian) $8 ‡

Cheese Plate with acme bread $5.5 per oz ‡

Selection of cheeses: CA: Brie (Triple Cream), France:  Comte, D'Affinois, Bucherondin de Chevre, Bleu D'Auvergne, Spain: Manchego (3 Mo.), Holland: Sheep Gouda, Aged Gouda, Italy:  Taleggio, Red Cow Parmigiano Reggiano,  Portugal:  Queijo Sao Jorge, Vermont: Cheddar (2 yr.)                     

Salads

Market Salad lettuce, fresh fruit, roasted almonds, warm herbed goat cheese, herbed citrus dressing  $7 ‡

Green Bean & Tuna Salad hard-cooked egg, sweet onion, black olive dressing  $9 ‡

Bread Salad lettuce, poached egg, bacon, garlic croutons, citrus dressing  $9 ‡

Roasted Beet Salad watercress, walnuts, goat cheese $9 ‡

Grass-Fed Beef Carpaccio Salad beef tenderloin, watercress, caper dressing, grana cheese $15 ‡

Caesar Salad romaine lettuce, garlic bread $8 (add chicken $4) (add shellfish $6) ‡

Roasted, Spicy Monterey Sardine Salad lettuce, tomato, onions, citrus dressing  $12

Pizzettas

Grass-fed beef flank steak, chimichurri sauce,  fresh mozarerlla, lettuce, tomato, onions $16

Bacon, Spinach, Apple & Blue Cheese, fresh mozarerlla, olive oil, blue cheese dressing $14

Prosciutto, Arugula, Tomato & Nicoise Olive, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, citrus dressing $14

Roasted Zucchini & Onion, fresh mozzarella, olive oil, mojo dressing $14

Burgers & Sandwiches

Grass-Fed Burger with bacon & cheese, house-made bun Beef $8, or Bison $12

Salami-Caprese Sandwich, salami, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil (vegetarian available) $9 ‡

Sandwich Cubano $12

Fried Egg Sandwich, bacon, collard greens, mozzarella, hollandaise sauce $10

Dungeness Crab Melt hand-picked crab, aioli, fresh herbs, cheese, cocktail sauce, green salad $14

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Sandwich, mozzarella, fresh tomato, ketchup, green salad $8 ‡

Pastas

Build-Your-Own Macaroni & Cheese Select your favorite cheese from our cheese list $9

Cheese Raviolis dungeness crab, butter, lemon juice  $21

Grass-Fed Bison Stroganoff pappardelle pasta  $25

Latin

Brazilian cheese bread (Pao de Queijo)  $2, with black truffle $3 (allow 20 min)

Venezuelan seafood cocktail (Vuelve la Vida)- wild shrimp, clams, calamari $8 ‡

Free-Range Chicken Tacos corn tortillas, bacon, collard greens (vegetarian available) $12

Feijoada (brazilian stewed beef, pork, black beans) rice, collard greens, farofa (toasted yucca) $19 ‡

Empanadas (beef or butternut & collard greens) $9

Butternut Cachapas (venezuelan griddle cakes) $9

Arepas (shredded beef or avocado & fresh mozzarella) $9

Entrees

Seared Peking Duck Breast with Sangria Reduction, mashed root vegetable-potatoes, veggies $21

Pot Roast grass-fed beef, red wine sauce, mashed butternut-potatoes, seasonal veggies  $19 ‡

Nectarine Chutney-Glazed Pork Chop mashed butternut-potatoes, seasonal veggies  $17

Paella with Sausage, Chicken, & Shellfish $25

Grass-Fed NY Beef Steak mashed butternut-potatoes, seasonal veggies  $30

Tucos Wine Market & CafE

Dessert Menu

All Desserts $8

Panna Cotta house-made summer fruit compote

Strawberry Tres Leches Shortcake strawberries, crème fraiche, evaporated & condensed milk, whipped cream

Walnut Cake Roll  fresh-ground walnuts, whipped cream, bourbon-caramel sauce

Cinnamon Crumb Bread Pudding house-made vanilla ice cream

Chocolate Pudding Cream Puffs bourbon-caramel sauce, hot fudge, toasted walnuts

Affogato shot of espresso, house-made vanilla ice cream

Dessert Wine Flight (1/2 oz pours) $15

Prunier Pineau des Charentes, Cognac, France

Radee Passionfruit Wine, Thailand

Vientos Alcyone Dessert Tannat NV, Atlantida, Uruguay

Quinta Infantado Tawny, Porto, Portugal

Tea for Two

Pot of Loose Leaf Rare Tea $6

Chinese Oolong Tea Monkey-Picked

Pot of Herbal Tea $4