Behind a candy shop, one of Placer County’s ritziest restaurant is a chef’s playground

There’s a secret hiding in Mikey & Madeline’s Candy Shoppe, past boxes of Cow Tales and Chick-O-Sticks in downtown Roseville. If an employee asks what kind of candy you’re looking for, that’s the cue to tell them the monthly password for Daniello’s , the multi-level speakeasy and steakhouse hidden behind the sweet storefront.

Opened at 229 Vernon St. at the end of 2022, Daniello’s is chef/owner Michael McDermott’s culinary playground, a more freewheeling effort than his neighboring Italian restaurant The Place . Named for his great-grandfather, it’s in a 100-year-old building replete with trap doors — relics, McDermott said, from a bootlegging past.

Give the right password listed online (October’s is “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”) and you’ll be handed an oversized key to access Daniello’s downstairs lounge, a seductive space with high ceilings, chandeliers and leather furniture. That’s where most people enjoy dinner or drinks; VIPs can access an even swankier upstairs room lined with fuzzy Damascus wallpaper.

Still feeling like a kid in a candy shop? “Dino-motz” are Daniello’s marriage of mozzarella sticks and dino nuggets, fresh mozzarella cut and breaded by hand that’s formed into dinosaur shapes and fried.

But most offerings are high-end at Daniello’s, where ripped jeans, hoodies and cellphone use are banned. There’s the Porterhouse, two pounds of shareable grass-fed beef torched and carved tableside. McDermott sat on a waiting list for two years to get BMS 12 beef, the highest marbling grade there is, from Stone Axe Wagyu in Australia.

McDermott primarily started Daniello’s to have a place for concepts like “Primal Indulgence,” a multi-course dining experience meant to trigger all five senses. Customers eat with their hands throughout, and in the main course, don headphones playing orchestral music as McDermott drops food onto the table with the beat.

The downstairs bar has cocktails classics as well as bespoke options with Willy Wonka-inspired names, such as the “fizzy lifting drink” (vodka, Chambord, elderflower liqueur, blueberry-lavender syrup and Prosecco). A lion’s tail made with Whistle Pig Boss Hog IX rye whiskey ($850 per bottle), allspice, lime juice and Peychaud’s bitters may well be the capital region’s most expensive cocktail at $140.

It’s a concept as much for the chef as the customer. McDermott began working in restaurants at 16 years old and ground his way to age 50. Daniello’s is his creative expression in full, from the moment customers walk into the candy shop until they sneak out a back door.

“I built this not to be a regular restaurant. I built this because I wanted to have fun,” McDermott said. “Honestly, I was just bored of what the industry calls ‘churn ‘em and burn ‘em. I wanted to give people an experience, and I wanted to be the artist that I am.”

What I’m Eating

If the Kings’ season gets off to a hot start Thursday, Monsoon Burger might deserve a shred of credit. One of star point guard De’Aaron Fox’s favorite Sacramento restaurants, it originally opened in Fairfield in 2001 before adding a second location 15 years later in North Natomas’ Park Place shopping center.

Visiting Monsoon Burger during last week’s windstorm felt appropriate, too. Safely inside, a mural of Sacramento history, tubs of Dreyer’s ice cream in a chest freezer and employee favorites written on a chalkboard help the locally-owned fast food joint create a welcoming environment.

The Natomas burger ($13 for a six-ounce patty/$14.19 for eight ounces, both served with fries, baby carrots or mixed greens) and all others are cooked to order on a custom grill resembling a giant rotating lampshade. Rubbed with Cajun seasoning and cayenne powder, topped with your choice of cheese and slid onto a buttered bun, it’s then left otherwise naked. A condiment bar with all the classics as well as pickled onions, chipotle aioli and kimchi made by owner Jim Hsu’s father gives the DIY burger construction a backyard barbecue feel.

The Monsoon burger ($18.50, eight-ounce patty) is an exception to that limited-topping rule, a fresh beef patty slathered with bright housemade guacamole, swirls of bacon and mushrooms. If a burger doesn’t seem right, quarter-pound hot dogs ($10) are split and flame-broiled to a crisp around the edges, then slid into XL toasted buns for maximum use of the condiment bar.

On the meatless side, the mushroom garden burger ($12.50) features a pale soy-grain-vegetable patty topped with sauteed creminis. It has a cleaner, fresher taste than its counterparts — you’re definitely aware that you’re not eating meat, but you’re not mad about it either.

Monsoon Burger

Address: 4740 Natomas Blvd., Suite 130, Sacramento

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Phone: 916-419-7970

Website: monsoonburger.com

Drinks: Eight taps pouring craft beer and other beverages

Vegetarian options: Veggie burgers, salads and fried sides

Noise level: Medium-loud

Outdoor seating: Patio with five tables

Openings & Closings

▪ Sunny Side began its soft opening Saturday at 1221 19th St. in midtown Sacramento. The breakfast-focused restaurant specializes in Asian fusion dishes, like grilled unagi omurice (Japanese omelet stuffed with fried rice) or chicken-and-waffles with housemade gochujang maple syrup.

▪ Shabu Shack opened its third area location (and fourth overall) Sunday at 606 L St. on the ground floor of the Frederic building in downtown Sacramento. It specializes in Japanese-style hot pot, the same as its Elk Grove and Davis outposts.

▪ Nico Wine will close at the end of the year, the natural wine bar and bottle shop announced on Instagram. Owned by Nico Corich, it originally opened in midtown’s Ice Blocks development at 1710 R St., Suite 180 in 2021.