Movement

Illustration by Mark Stivers

Update with the Patriot: Chef Allyson Harvie is joining the Kitchen as chef de cuisine, which means more changes are underway for Chris Jarosz’s upcoming, much-buzzed restaurant the Patriot.

There are no hard feelings, though.

“The Kitchen is the highest level of restaurant opportunity you can get in this town,” Jarosz said, adding that Harvie had been getting heavily recruited by area restaurants for a while now. “It’s a great move for her.”

Fortunately, Jarosz had already been courting another chef to join his mini-empire but didn’t have a place to put him. Now, the Patriot’s executive chef will be Jeremy Zimmerman, formerly chef de cuisine at the girl & the fig, the popular Sonoma restaurant known for rustic French fare.

“We’re super-excited to get him on board and super-excited for Allyson’s career,” Jarosz said.

The Patriot was first announced nearly a year-and-a-half ago as a main attraction for the Milagro Centre in Carmichael. The food hall remains largely empty still, but it’s coming along. Jarosz hopes to start previewing the Patriot in November, opening the lounge space first to show off bar food before unveiling the entire restaurant about a month later. Though Zimmerman will surely bring a fresh perspective to the Patriot, the root of the concept will remain the same: Americana with an East Coast flair, including New York-style pizzas and seafood. Zimmerman will also lead the cooking at Milagro’s events center.

Settling in: At long last, Kru is serving dinner at 3135 Folsom Boulevard.

The new Kru is far more spacious, with a gorgeous interior designed by Whitney Johnson (Shady Lady Saloon, Bottle & Barlow) and bar stocked with rare Japanese whiskeys.

Chef Billy Ngo opened the restaurant with the team behind Hook & Ladder Manufacturing Co. with the bar in mind. In addition to premium sake and whiskey, there’s a selection of food-friendly craft cocktails utilizing ingredients such as chamomile honey, ginger and spiced coconut cream.

Cheap eats: The owner of B Banh Mi (7501 W. Stockton Boulevard in Elk Grove) is Vietnamese but just moved here from Europe. That means, in addition to its namesake dish, B Banh Mi also serves French and Greek variations ($4.75-$5.75) on baguettes baked daily. The shop also serves a variety of Americanized Chinese and Japanese dishes, including egg rolls, chicken teriyaki and chow mein. Nothing costs more than $6.75.