Sara arbabian, owner of The Rind in Sacramento, admits to sneaking food from the refrigerator as a child. When her parents found bite marks on the family’s stock of butter and cheese, she knew they were on to her.
Arbabian, however, was one step ahead. To avoid getting caught again, she used a knife to lop off decadent morsels of her favorite late-night snacks, and then quickly wiped off any evidence of the remnants. Still wise to her ways, Arbabian’s parents didn’t reprimand “their little mouse,” as they referred to her in Farsi.
“In truth, I was kind of a picky eater,” she says. “They’d say, ‘Oh no, what are we going to feed her?’ So if I ate butter and cheese at night, they’d realize that’s why I didn’t have much of an appetite during the day. I wasn’t getting in trouble; they were lovingly mocking me.”
Taking the leap
Although the first-generation Persian American is less of a selective eater these days, she admits to still reaching for the bread and butter—especially if “it’s good bread and butter.”
A former human resources director with an impressive resume to boot, Arbabian says she was “feeling an itch to do something meaningful…and not just for someone else.” When a contract she was working on was nearing the end, it gave her that push to leap in a new direction.
Enamored as a child of opening a candy shop, she toyed with the idea of a more grown-up concept. “I thought, ‘What is a candy bar to an adult?’ A wine bar, of course,” she chuckles.
But after walking into a local cheese shop, fond memories of sneaking food from the refrigerator— especially the mozzarella—awakened her taste buds. “That’s what I wanted to do. Not just a shop, but an experience,” she says.
Arbabian enlisted the help of a friend, who was also a cheese monger. “We bought a ton of cheese, sat on her patio, and drank and ate,” she says, recalling that, at that moment, she had an epiphany. “I clearly understood how complementing the cheese with the wine equated to an overall elevation because every pairing is unique.”
Arbabian was sold and began to move forward in making her dream a reality. In 2013, she opened The Rind. Since then, the artisan cheese and wine bar has garnered attention from first-timers and a loyal following from long-time regulars.
More than a restaurant
“The Rind is really meant to be an experience to taste and explore the world,” says Arbabian. She has dedicated herself to promoting a relaxed environment at her shop, regardless of her customers’ level of expertise with various cheeses and wine selections.
“We’re exposing people to countless varieties of cheeses. We don’t want it to be intimidating because you can’t pronounce the name. We want to make it a relaxed environment,” she continues. “We’re not trying to be bougie. We want to make it simple, enjoyable and approachable.”
With more than 50 different cheeses and charcuteries to choose from, The Rind’s menu also includes snacks, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages—many of them local. The menu is seasonal, farm-to-fork and accommodates customers with allergies. Gluten-free and vegan breads from an all-natural, local bakery are available, while cheese board selections change regularly. There are also special occasion cheese wheel cakes.
“We’re a cheese-focused establishment. Everything we do is curated with cheese as the star,” Arbabian says.
Best of the best
Recently, the cheese-centric bar was featured in “Sacramento Eats: Recipes from the Capital Region’s Favorite Restaurants” by Benjy Egel, food and beverage reporter for The Sacramento Bee.
The book highlights dishes from some of the city’s most popular eateries including The Rind’s Not Your Mom’s Mac. Made with aged Parmigiano-Reggiano gruyere, Black Diamond cheddar aged for five years, and breadcrumbs, the dish is a customer favorite.
Another popular menu item is the T-Brie-D grilled cheese, which consists of Marin French triple crème brie, Fuji apple, prosciutto meat, salted caramel sauce, rosemary, a hint of cayenne and guajillo on sourdough. Restaurant Hospitality named it the “Best Sandwich in America” in 2016.
According to the judges, “This sandwich was a revelation. It did offer the gooey quality level Arbabian sought and, too, the sweetness from caramel and Fuji slices. But the salt from the prosciutto and the caramel sauce elevated the flavors beyond the expected. What sealed the deal for us, though, was the just-right heat from the guajillo and cayenne. T-Brie is a brilliantly constructed sandwich.”
Arbabian says this “weird composition of an exploration of the senses” came to her in a dream. “It’s one of my favorites…you get the crunch, the brie. It’s to die for,” she exclaims.
You don’t have to take her word for it. Cheese and wine gourmands are invited to get the full experience by attending one of the restaurant’s events, which have included cheese and charcuterie board-building classes, an exploration of various butters from around the world with local French baguettes and champagne, and a cheese and cider pairing.
“I love teaching people to experience what the nose and mouth can do with cheese,” Arbabian laughs.