The Most Confusing Restaurant in Sacramento

On Fulton Avenue is a restaurant suffering from and extreme case of multiple personality disorder. From the street, you might think it a breakfast spot, from the side you might think it a Mexican restaurant, from the other side you might confuse it with one of those ubiquitous Ukrainian “European Food” stores dotting the burbs, and from the inside you give up all hope of trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I, of course, am speaking of Daniels/Waffle King/Koricancha. Yes, that’s right, everyone’s favorite breakfast cum American cum Peruvian food purveyor. Beyond category, beyond explanation, beyond most people’s comprehension.

From the street, you can see the 3,000 twinkle lights that decorate the exterior and the sign on the window stating “Daniel’s Waffle King.” So, you might mistakenly stumble into this joint thinking it’s just another waffle joint, but it’s so much more. The people who come here on purpose come for the Peruvian food, which is prepared lovingly in the traditional Peruvian style. The majority of dishes are much milder takes on South American cooking–meats simmered in sauces, rice, chimmichurri, and above all, ceviche. Most of the dishes we tried were very mild in flavor and rather one dimensional. They lacked what we in the food eating business refer to as “depth.” Mrs. Eats’ shrimp dish was well cooked but overwhelmingly shrimpy, the same could be said of my chickeny chicken dish. Both dishes followed the same flavor profile: X cooked in X juice, simmered in X sauce, and finished with a bit of X flavored X gravy, wherein X always stands for the same ingredient.

The same cannot be said for the ceviche, which was the tits! It was, by far, the best ceviche I’ve ever had–tender, flavorful, pungent with citrus and spices, and definitely fresh as you can get. It alone was worth the trip.

So, if you’re in for a genre-bending experience for dinner, or you haven’t chosen where to go for Easter (they already have the decorations up), or you simply like mash-ups of all kinds, you may want to check this place out. When seated by the hostess, ask for the Peruvian menu; be warned though, they do not give the Entertainment book discount on Peruvian food, only the “American” menu. (And yes those quotation marks are meant to be ironic). If, however, you like more straightforward dining experiences where the theme, the flavors, and the environs are a little bit more comprehendible, read on.

Daniel’s Waffle King-Koricancha– 2751 Fulton Ave (across from Mel Rapton Honda), Sacramento
Food** Atmosphere* Service***