Husick’s by Forester: Where the Sacramento Culinary Scene Meets Delta Agriculture

Updated: July 9, 2025 by Michael Kahn. Published: May 27, 2025.

In the heart of California’s Sacramento River Delta, where century old levees protect fertile farmland and historic buildings stand as monuments to agricultural prosperity, Husick’s by Forester, Matt Brown, brings together Sacramento restaurant and food history, the Clarksburg community, and modern Californian cuisine, in true farm to table fashion.

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Situated in the small Delta town of Clarksburg just 15 minutes south of Sacramento, pays homage to the region’s agricultural heritage and the enduring bonds that connect Sacramento’s culinary community across generations.

I stolled into the restaurant on a sunny Tuesday, where I met with Ross Dreizler, front of the house and friend of owner and chef, Matt, since they were about five. Also in the kitchen was Adam Saake, who is the owner and winemaker of Perch Wine Company out of Lodi.

This trio, along with several other members of the staff, have stayed lifelong friends throughout their childhoods and life in Sacramento. As Adam put it, they were now reunited at Husicks, only smarter, older, wiser, and fatter. His words, not mine.

Husick’s by Forester occupies a building that first served as a Hardware & General Store over a century ago, breathing new life into a structure that has witnessed the dramatic transformation of Clarksburg from a riverside agricultural community to a recognized wine region and AVA (Clarksburg AVA).

Matt began this endeavor in September of 2024, after buying the restaurant, formerly known as Husick’s Taphouse, from the Kress family, who owned it since 2018.

The restaurant, located at 36510 Riverview Drive, sits strategically positioned along South River Road at a stop sign, surrounded by the wineries and agricultural operations that define this unique corner of California.

Chef and owner Matt Brown was drawn to this location not only for its proximity to Sacramento, but also for the building’s history and its position within the Clarksburg agricultural community. He slyly admitted while talking to me in the kitchen, that the price point was just right, too.

The structure itself tells the story of California’s agricultural evolution, having served various purposes throughout the decades as the region adapted to changing economic conditions and crop preferences.

The restaurant’s interior reflects this historical connection through thoughtful design choices made by Matt’s mother, who personally selected paint colors and hung artwork that honors both the building’s past and the family’s vision for its future.

The space maintains the character of its origins while providing a comfortable, cozy dining environment both inside and on the outside patio that welcomes both locals and visitors exploring the region’s burgeoning wine scene. The outdoor patio makes this one of the restaurants featured on my list of Sacramento River Restaurants for waterfront dining.

Matt Brown’s path to restaurant ownership follows a trajectory familiar to many Sacramento chefs. One which began with humble dishwashing duties and evolved through dedication, creativity, and community connections.

His culinary journey took him through several of Sacramento’s most respected establishments, including The Golden Bear, Jungle Bird, and Bodega Kitchen & Cocktails, where he developed his reputation for diverse and innovative cooking.

He mentioned Golden Bear taught him how to work in small kitchen spaces and equipment constraints and challenges, a skill he was now putting to use with a kitchen providing a innovative changing menu based on produce locals bring in, delightful pizzas, all without a hood or oven. His current dishes come out of inherited pizza stoves and a small induction cooktop.

His work at The Jungle Bird demonstrated his ability to master diverse culinary traditions, as co-owner Tyler Williams noted: “He was able to take Polynesian food and know that it means anything from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea. There are just a ton of different styles and flavors that he utilized”.

Matt’s approach at Husick’s reflects this accumulated experience, offering what he describes as “thoughtful seasonal dishes, casual fare like pizza and sandwiches featuring house made breads and dough, and a beer/wine selection showcasing some of our favorite purveyors from the region”.

The menu at Husick’s displays Matt’s commitment to showcasing both local ingredients and modern techniques, offering diners a carefully curated selection that balances approachable comfort food with sophisticated culinary execution.

The restaurant operates with separate lunch and dinner menus, each designed to accommodate different dining occasions while maintaining consistent quality and local sourcing principles.

The dinner menu emphasizes shared plates and substantial entrees that encourage leisurely dining experiences. Starters include house made focaccia served with olives, a nod to Mediterranean traditions which pairs beautifully with the restaurant’s wine program featuring Clarksburg winemakers and producers. The beer selection includes many local breweries from Greater Sacramento.

The charcuterie plate includes sopressata, speck, and mortadella alongside pickled vegetables, whole grain mustard, and crostini, creating a composition that highlights both imported specialty meats and house-made accompaniments.

The cheese platter rotates weekly, incorporating seasonal fruit compotes and seasoned nuts that reflect the agricultural rhythms of the surrounding Delta region.

Main courses demonstrate Brown’s versatility and commitment to local sourcing, particularly evident in the hangar steak preparation, which arrives cooked with garlic and rosemary, accompanied by pickled vegetables, fresh focaccia, and cambazola cheese.

The chicken cassoulet represents a more ambitious offering, featuring white bean cassoulet with fennel sausage and half-chicken confit, baked with herbed breadcrumbs and designed to serve two diners.

The mushroom risotto with four cheeses and roasted shallots particularly benefits from the restaurant’s proximity to local farms, as seasonal mushroom varieties can be incorporated based on availability and growing conditions throughout the Delta region.

Lunch service focuses primarily on fresh focaccia sandwiches, all served with choice of side dishes that include potato salad with red potatoes, celery, red onion, dill, and aioli; chilled white bean salad with caramelized onion, mint, and red wine vinaigrette; or mixed green salad with red wine vinaigrette.

The sandwich selection demonstrates range while maintaining consistent quality through house-made focaccia bread.

The veggie sandwich includes avocado, tomato, arugula, cucumber, provolone, red onion, and kalamata olives with aioli, creating a substantial vegetarian option that reflects California’s agricultural abundance.

Meat-focused sandwiches include the hangar steak preparation, which mirrors the dinner offering in a more casual format, and the muffaletta, featuring sopressata, mortadella, country pate, olive salad, and provolone.

The “El Pollo” sandwich, an original recipe from Cafe Milazzo, showcases roasted chicken breast with pepper jack cheese, avocado, jalapeño, cilantro, and aioli, with optional bacon addition, creating a California-influenced take on classic chicken sandwich preparations.

The “Ham n’ Jam”, my personal favorite, combines black forest ham with provolone and seasonal preserves, highlighting the restaurant’s commitment to incorporating seasonal ingredients even in simple preparations. This sandwich currently features figs, which Matt told me are about to run out – I was tempted to stock up.

The salad offerings include roasted beet with arugula, goat cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar, and citrus salad featuring winter citrus with avocado, toasted pine nuts, mixed greens, shaved parmesan, and tarragon vinaigrette.

Both salads can be enhanced with protein additions, making them suitable as light meals or substantial entrees.

The menu pricing reflects the restaurant’s positioning as a destination dining establishment rather than casual takeout, with dinner entrees ranging from $22 to $31 dollars and lunch sandwiches priced between $16 and $18 dollars.

This pricing structure supports the restaurant’s commitment to quality ingredients and house-made preparations while remaining accessible to both local diners and visitors exploring the Clarksburg wine region.

The emphasis on house-made bread, evident in both the focaccia for the sandwich preparations, and Matt’s own take on good pizza dough with a 24-48 hour proof, demonstrates the kitchen’s commitment to fundamental techniques that distinguish restaurant meals from home cooking.

Seasonal menu adaptations, evident in references to “winter citrus” and “seasonal preserves,” indicate the kitchen’s responsiveness to agricultural cycles and local ingredient availability.

Matt plans on an annual “80 days around the world” menu, with a rapidly changing menu from the first week of January to St. Patrick’s day. The first annual for 2025 was met with so much success he knew he had to continue.

Street Food days showcase different street foods from around the world.

The restaurant’s commitment to local sourcing extends beyond mere philosophy—Brown actively seeks to procure as much produce and meat as possible from Clarksburg and the surrounding Delta region, creating direct relationships with neighboring farms and producers.

He is excited to talk about this extensively, where his passion to uplift the community around him becomes quite obvious to anyone who will listen.

The story of Husick’s by Forester cannot be told without acknowledging the profound influence of the Farragher family on Sacramento’s restaurant scene. For twenty years, the Farragers operated Cafe Milazzo, a beloved Sacramento establishment that served as a training ground for many of the city’s current culinary professionals.

Amy Farragher, along with her husband Pat, created not just a restaurant but a community institution that fostered the careers of numerous chefs and restaurant workers.

The connection between Cafe Milazzo and Husick’s runs deeper than mere professional networking. Many of the staff members at Husick’s previously worked at the Farragher family restaurant, creating a sense of continuity that extends the legacy of Sacramento’s tight-knit culinary community.

Both Matt and Ross Dreizler, who handles front-of-house operations at Husick’s, began his restaurant career at Cafe Milazzo, illustrating how professional relationships in Sacramento’s dining scene often span multiple establishments and decades.

Ross told me his commute from Carmichael, over 45 minutes, was well worth it to work alongside Matt and be a part of what the restaurant provided. Ross originally trained Matt at Cafe Milazzo when they were teenagers as a dishwasher. He went on to brag they were roomates for 5 years and only had one fight.

This interconnectedness reflects a broader characteristic of Sacramento’s culinary landscape, where established restaurateurs often mentor emerging talent, creating networks of mutual support that strengthen the entire dining community.

The Farragher family’s influence extends to other Sacramento institutions as well, with rumors circulating that Rick Mahan of The Waterboy Restaurant was involved in discussions about taking over the Cafe Milazzo location when it closed.

Clarksburg’s transformation from agricultural outpost to recognized wine region provides crucial context for understanding Husick’s by Forester’s place in the local food system.

The town’s history reflects California’s broader agricultural evolution, beginning with dairy operations that supplied urban markets in Sacramento and San Francisco. More than ten dairies operated in the area during the early twentieth century, taking advantage of the rich delta soils and proximity to transportation networks.

The 1920s brought significant change when the Holland Land Company gained control of the reclamation district and subdivided 15,000 acres into smaller agricultural units. This development included careful screening of buyers for their “agricultural ability” and “civic responsibility,” creating what developers envisioned as a “model town”.

Sugar beets became the area’s primary crop after 1920, with a sugar refinery built in 1933 that processed local and shipped beets for sixty years.

The closure of the sugar refinery in the 1990s coincided with the expansion of vineyard plantings throughout the region. The abandoned factory found new life as “The Old Sugar Mill,” a winery facility that now serves as an important agritourism destination.

This transformation from sugar production to wine making exemplifies the region’s ability to adapt to changing agricultural markets while maintaining its rural character.

Today, the Clarksburg American Viticultural Area encompasses almost 57,000 acres across portions of Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento Counties.

The region’s unique position in the Sacramento River Delta creates distinctive growing conditions—cool ocean breezes reach this inland location, resulting in a coastal-influenced climate with warm days and cool nights.

These conditions have proven particularly favorable for white wine varieties, with the appellation achieving notable success with Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Chenin Blanc, and Petite Sirah.

The quality of Clarksburg grapes has attracted attention from prestigious Napa and Sonoma wineries, including Vinum Cellars, Pine Ridge, Saddleback Cellars, and Dry Creek Vineyard, which source grapes from the region.

This recognition has elevated Clarksburg’s profile within California’s wine industry while maintaining the area’s agricultural character and small-town atmosphere.

The philosophy behind Husick’s by Forester extends beyond serving quality food to actively supporting the local agricultural community that surrounds the restaurant.

This commitment manifests in various ways, from sourcing ingredients from neighboring farms to fostering relationships with local producers who share similar values about sustainable agriculture and community support.

One example of these community connections involves the Becker family, local residents who recently delivered a box of fresh loquats to the restaurant. Adam Saake, slowly stirring a large pot full of these simmering loquats while I talked to Matt, told me how they were developing a special menu item featuring this seasonal fruit, demonstrating the restaurant’s responsiveness to local agricultural cycles and availability.

The Becker family also supplies honey to Husick’s, illustrating how multiple products can flow from single producer relationships. Photo: Michael Kahn.

Another Clarksburg local, Janet, brings in fresh cut flowers for the most beautiful bouquets throughout the restaurant.

These local sourcing practices connect directly to the restaurant’s location within California’s most productive agricultural region. The Sacramento River Delta’s fertile soils and favorable climate support diverse crop production, from traditional row crops to specialty fruits and vegetables.

By sourcing locally, Husick’s reduces transportation costs and environmental impact while ensuring peak freshness and supporting the regional economy that has sustained Clarksburg for generations.

The restaurant’s beverage program also reflects this local focus, featuring wines from regional producers alongside carefully selected beers that represent the best of California’s craft brewing scene.

Adam Saake’s involvement brings additional wine expertise to the operation through his own label, Perch Wine Company, which has collaborated with Husick’s on special dinner events that showcase wine and food pairings.

Live music programming adds another dimension to the restaurant’s community engagement. Thursday and Friday evenings feature performances by local musicians, including Anthony Coleman, previously of Sacramento speakeasy, Shady Lady.

This regular programming creates a gathering place for both residents and visitors, reinforcing Husick’s role as a community hub rather than merely a dining destination.

The development of Husick’s by Forester represents a deeply personal investment for Matt and his family, extending far beyond typical restaurant ownership arrangements.

Matt serves as the sole owner of the establishment, funding the project through a combination of personal investment and substantial support from family members who contributed not only financially but through hands-on involvement in the restaurant’s development.

Matt’s parents played crucial roles in bringing the restaurant to life. His mother’s artistic vision shaped the restaurant’s interior design, while his 80 year old dad worked on various tasks all around. Together, they helped in creating a space that honors both the building’s history and the family’s connection to the region.

Quinn’s own father, Pat, a general contractor, repaired and improved upon the building, making sure the restaurant was structurally intact and ready for reopening.

These personal touches distinguish Husick’s from corporate dining establishments and reflect the kind of family investment that characterizes many successful independent restaurants.

The family’s connection to the region extends through Brown’s parents’ vineyard operation on Mt. Veeder in Napa Valley, where they privately produce their own wine and beer. Mt. Veeder represents one of Napa Valley’s most challenging and distinctive growing regions, characterized by ancient uplifted seabed soils and extreme growing conditions that limit production to just 1.3% of Napa Valley’s annual output.

The high elevation vineyards, reaching nearly 2,400 feet, experience cooler temperatures and longer growing seasons than valley floor operations, producing wines with exceptional concentration and distinctive character.

This family wine operation provides additional context for understanding the restaurant’s name and its commitment to showcasing regional wine producers.

The connection between the Mt. Veeder vineyard and the Clarksburg restaurant illustrates how California’s wine regions interconnect through family relationships and shared commitments to agricultural excellence.

Husick’s by Forester represents more than the latest addition to Sacramento’s dining scene, it embodies the convergence of agricultural heritage, family tradition, and culinary innovation that defines the best of California’s food culture.

The restaurant’s success reflects broader trends in California dining, where consumers increasingly value local sourcing, family ownership, and authentic connections to agricultural communities.

Husick’s achieves these goals while maintaining the high culinary standards that Matt developed throughout his career in Sacramento’s competitive restaurant market.

Matt talks about future plans for Husicks, from chickens in the back to provide eggs, to a beehive on site for visitors to see what a hive looks like, as an example of where honey comes from. He wants to expand the outdoor area with an outside kitchen and pizza oven. The structure outside potentially supports an elevated dining scene, offering gorgeous views of the river.

I tried to talk him into a dock for dining on the river, which he apparently owns usage rights to make happen, but for some reason the $200,000 price tag and logistics had him balking.

As Clarksburg continues its transformation from agricultural outpost to wine country destination, Husick’s provides a model for how restaurants can serve as bridges between past and present, connecting urban diners with rural producers while maintaining the authentic character that makes small agricultural communities special.

The restaurant’s emphasis on local sourcing, family investment, and community engagement ensures its role as both a dining destination and a vital component of Clarksburg’s continuing agricultural story.

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