Well, I live here. I can give you some of my favorites. I can also tell you the trendy places. I don't do trendy. If you want good food, it's here. If you want to posture, you can do that, too. Susan's List: 1) Scott's at Fair Oaks and Fulton. Consistently top quality food, competently prepared, nicely presented, non-obnoxious wait staff, and moderate prices. Example, a marinated skirt steak with garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables for 16$. Scott's is a chain but this is not chain food. Ask for a booth if there are 4 or fewer of you. 2) Mortons at 5th and L Streets in the Downtown Plaza. Yep, another chain, but the best meat in town. Not cheap but well-worth it. 3) The 6th floor cafeteria at the State Capitol. Don't eat in the basement cafeteria - it's expensive college dormitory food. Breakfast is the best meal here. Go about 10 a.m. The last time I ate there, eggs were 27 cents each fixed anyway. It's not haute cuisine but interesting. 4) Mr. Perry's at Mack Road and Hwy 99. Quintessential diner fare. Incredible waffles and pancakes. Reasonable prices and heaps of food. I want to try one of their dinner specials. About 6$ with classics, prime rib, meat loaf, chicken, etc. 5) New Station at 18th and Broadway. Incredible Chinese seafood. Always filled with Chinese families ordering big plates of shrimp, crab in ginger sauce, steamed fish with black bean sauce, casseroles. This used to be the Golden Wok. Same menu but new owners, much better decor, and same chefs. Very reasonably priced. 6) Sushi Sei on Fair Oaks Boulevard just past Howe Avenue. Excellent Japanese food. Homey sort of place. Not the cheapest, but not over-priced. There are a number of good Japanese restaurants in Sacramento. There's Fuji's on Broadway. I've been eating there for 27 years. Fuji's is top-notch. Cheaper and rougher is Megami Bento Ya on 10th Street between "j" and "K" Streets. They're open noon to 8. The sushi is very reasonable and their chicken with hot peppers over rice is enough food for two. There's now even an udon house on Broadway near 5th Ave. It was good and inexpensive, but then I'm a noodle freak. 7) Lunch stops. Sam's at El Camino and Watt. Sam's used to rule Sacramento, but times change. They're a hof brau and had that meat in bondage in the window cooking under the hot lights. This is the only one left. Classic hof brau fare at reasonable prices. Bud's Buffet at 10th Street between J and K. Bud makes his own lunch meats and then carves it all up. Great roast beef, awesome corned beef. If you didn't get enough to eat, well, better see a doctor. Go for the "sky room" seats, the two tables set up in the windows. No ambiance but a great sandwich. First Emigrant Cafe on 57th Street (?) between H and J streets. Get there when they open at 11 am or be prepared to stand on line. Scrumptious, perfect sandwiches, soups, salads, and a hot lunch entree. One of the owners is Roxanne O'Brien, one of Sacramento's best chefs. The last time I was there, I didn't finish the carrots in my soup; she noticed. This is not precious food; it's not light either. I don't understand why I don't see more men eating there. If I could make chicken salad like Roxanne does, I would consider my life as having been fulfilled. The prices are not rock bottom, but reasonable considering the top quality of the ingredients. I always have to take home most of my lunch. Roxanne caters and my goal is to be able to afford to hire her for our last big shindig here. I trust her cooking. She knows from food. The Broiler Room on J street near 10th. Yep, they have dinner here, too. My last dinner there I ordered a porterhouse medium rare. It was well done. Uccchh. However lunch is great - get the steak salad. 8)Mexican restaurants: Vallejo's at 14th and O streets. Cheap and good. Real Mexican, not yuppie crud. Very funky place. Michoacana on Franklin near Fruitridge (nr Hwy 99 S). Lots of choices, generous amounts. Very Mexican. Not fancy in the least but top notch. 524 on 12th at about E. Been there a thousand years, red-flocked wall paper. Solid fare, maybe not the best, but I like the place. Taco Loco. 2 locations - one on J near 24th and the other at 11th Street near L street (right across from the capitol). Great burritos, big servings, no complaints. Fresh ingredients. 9) Sorn Daeng on Howe Avenue near Arden. Thai place, best one in Sacramento. There are n't tons of Thai restaurants in Sacto as there are in SF. This is better than the other two (Siam Palace and that one on Howe near Fair oaks). Actually very good. I can go on. I haven't told you which places to avoid. Hopefully Anne Bourget will see this and jump in. She's nicer and kinder and won't slam the places I'll put down. To be continued..... I mean, hey, this ought to get you through the week. :)
Sacramento, CA
List of restaurants in Sacramento???
Say, hey, y'all! And now for the trendy places: 1) Chinois East-West. The food is very good but it's Chinese fusion cooking. Don't expect to see tables of Chinese families. I can't see the point, personally, but it's a very popular place and not undeserving of its accolades. 2) Piatti's. Italian lightened up and with an open kitchen. Waitresses with three carat diamond rings. Lots of attitude. Food is so-so. I'm not going back. Spare me the pretense. 3) Mace's. Haven't been here in a while. I thought it was a nice place and not outrageously overpriced. I haven't been able to eat there since one of their kitchen helpers shot up, yes, with a gun and bullets and all, the apartment building I lived in downtown while trying to kill his wife. The bullet hit the wall of my apartment and was absorbed by the thick redwood planks. The wife (with baby in arms) was pulled into the apartment across from me by the girl who lived there and her boyfriend. The wife did prefer charges and the Housing Authority helped her find section 8 housing. He did come back, though. So, it's not relevant to their food but just an unpleasant persoal memory that keeps me away. Silly, I know but we all have our thing. 4) Frank Fats. A Sacramento institution. If you go, save room for their banana cream pie. I'd call it Chinese fusion at this point, but all of the chefs are Chinese. It's a legislative hang-out and that can always be entertaining. 5) Biba's. Everyone raves. Went there for lunch once with my heiress girlfriend. Place was very quiet. Empty. Lunch rush was done. There were tables to spare and the dining rooms were open. Where were we seated? At a table for two squeezed next to the bar with a view of the bar prep area. Unless you're an MD who Biba knows, or a "name", don't expect quality of service or interest here. I've never been back and I don't give a damn how good her food is supposed to be. It's very pricey for rustic style stuff. 6) Paragary etc. Very popular. I don't care for them because I remember how they got started. There are 3 Paragary's in Sacramento; they also own the Capitol Grill and El Centro. The Capitol Grill is a legislative hangout, especially at lunch. El Centro is mexican food for yupoids. Tortured little burritos, served on huge plates. It's supposed to be regional Mexican cooking but 8$ for a 1/2 inch thick burrito filled only with a bit of meat is just ridiculous. You want regional Mexican, go to Michaocana on Franklin and order a torta. Less than 1/2 the cost and muy tipico. I mean, really, El Centro has a motorcycle parked in the front window. Any sensible Mexican would ride the bike not park it in the window. Mexicans do not patronize this place. The wait creatures are all white and nary a one speaks Spanish. Paragary etc wait trons are all equipped with a tape which plays back how the food is made and describing the dish. It is rare, no it's never happened, that I've been served by a waiter anywhere in Sacramento who has the least concept of food, its preparation, etc. so, you'll get a breathy recitation about the whatever and that's it. 7)Tapas the World and Aioli. Two new "Spanish" restauarants. I've been to Tapas. I thought it was way overpriced and not super exciting. I haven't been to Aioli but my friend, Anne, likes it. I don't think I will. 8) Harlow's (or Harlot's). Yup place big time. This is the place, Ms. Young Realtor wears her bright blue beaded shift to. A scene. Legislative hangout. Food's okay. I know they use real garlic because I live less than 2 blocks away and call smell it sauteeing. I've resisted the siren call. If you're hungry for more than just spaghetti, this is a good place to look, I guess. Let's see, who haven't I massacred. Ah, yes... 9) Slocum House. Supposed to be the best white tablecloth place in Sacto. Chef is fond of phyllo dough. They have a respectable wine cellar. Too many happy birthdays being sung. Sort of slack floor management, or at least it was the night we went there. By that, I mean that we were seated at a table next to 2 men, one of whom either still worked there or had worked there previously. The wait staff and others kept coming up and chit chatting with him. I don't think even his date liked it, and I thought it was very "unprofessional" of them. So there's pretense here but fairly competent cooking. My husband ordered the venison loin. Restaurant venison comes from farm reared critters whose meat is very mild and tender. Waiter starts in with the "gamey" bit. Sheer bs and lack of knowledge of food. I politely cut him off as his ignorance was disturbing my experience. "Here we go again", I thought. For the price, I'd go to Scott's. Most people wouldn't notice but that's me. As they say, your mileage etc....
In article , [email removed] (Susan Hattie Steinsapir) wrote: > And now for the trendy places: > > 5) Biba's. Everyone raves. Unless you're an MD who Biba knows, or a "name", don't > expect quality of service or interest here. I've never been back and I > don't give a damn how good her food is supposed to be. It's very pricey > for rustic style stuff. Been there twice for dinner and twice for lunch. Don't have an MD, Biba doesn't know me, and my name is equally unknown, but the service each time was competent and cordial, and the food was quite good. > 9) Slocum House. Supposed to be the best white tablecloth place in > Sacto. Haven't been there, but my wife reported that she liked the ambience and service, the ingredients used seemed uniformly fresh and good, but the saucing was inferior. Bill Rohwer From X Tue Jan 24 16:43:46 EST 1995 Article: 13276 of rec.food.restaurants
Every time this question comes up, I mention Celestin's, a "French Caribbean" restaurant on 2516 J Street. It's in an old house, the atmosphere is relaxed, the service is friendly, and the food is very good. Haven't been there in a while, so I can't remember the specific dishes.