Heirloom tomato salad from Centro Cocina Mexicana. Photo courtesy of Callista Wengler

I used to think I hated raw tomatoes. They were too often mushy, too often flavorless, too often imported or out of season. Then I bit into my first zebra tomato at the Davis Farmers Market. Oh my.

It’s still the only tomato I prefer to eat completely unadorned like an apple. Regardless, Sacramento’s tomatoes are definitely special.

Naturally, we’re getting a whole week devoted to our favorite fruit-treated-as-a-vegetable. Restaurants and bars in the Sutter District are collaborating for the first-ever Sacratomato Week starting Monday, July 21 through Sunday, July 27.

On the Facebook event page, there are enticing photos of tomato salads, like the one from Centro pictured above as well as a panzanella from Biba. A fried green tomato slider from Red Rabbit Kitchen + Bar looks epic, as does a fried green tomato and bacon grilled cheese from Ink Eats and Drinks. And there will be special cocktails—not just bloody marys—such as Ink’s vodka-tomato-watermelon-cucumber-lime concoction.

Organizers are optimistic and already thinking ahead to 2015, when they say Sacratomato Week will conclude with a family-friendly festival.