At Mezcalito Oaxacan Cuisine in Rocklin, the mole takes two days and nearly two dozen ingredients to complete. The recipe reads like a catalog of the Mexican state of Oaxaca’s agricultural bounty: plantains, green apples and raisins; warm spices and half a dozen kinds of chiles; a liberal dose of sparsely-sweetened chocolate.

In 1991, Gregory Perkins was a Sacramento corrections officer struck by a calling to make a difference. He realized that most greeting cards lacked representation of the African American community. Perkins worked with his cousin, an artist, to develop three Afrocentric greeting card designs in an effort to create what he calls an “uplifting product that African Americans can take pride in.”

Bill Wagman greets 25 guests at the front door of his Davis house, then sits quietly at a dining room table while his featured musician of the mid-September evening, Florida’s Grant Peeples, entertains in the living room with folk songs and reciting his offbeat poetry.

Suburban father Mike Polis makes an unlikely rancher, but he’s gained traction with his passion project, building a small family farm catering to a niche Capital Region market.

Under Vivek Ranadive’s ownership, the Kings have become a leading tech-savvy sports franchise, primarily by building the Golden 1 Center, which is considered one of the highest-tech sports stadiums in the world.

The Dad’s Kitchen owner signed a lease on a 1,000-square-foot property on 24th and K streets in Midtown Sacramento in August 2017. Julio Peix planned to convert the former dental office into Cider House — the city’s first cider bar — for an early 2018 debut, but construction delays stretched on for over a year.

Sacramento Republic FC has been in a celebratory mood all season honoring its five years as a United Soccer League franchise, and Klimenta has been part of the team since the start. He began this year with Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy before being released in June and returning to Sacramento.

Trail Coffee, a bustling café on an activated corner in downtown Stockton, has come a long way from its startup as a back-alley roaster. In the last four years, the business has moved twice, rebranded and expanded into a 3,500-square-foot roastery, café and test kitchen in the refurbished Owl Drug Store building on E. Main and California streets.

Rancho Cordova’s identity as one of the region’s best-kept secrets frustrates Marc Sapoznik. As executive director of Rancho Cordova Travel & Tourism, his job is to promote the city’s assets tor both out-of-towners and locals alike.

Comstock’s sat down with Tony Natsoulas to talk about creating and collecting in the Capital Region.