Ficelle is now open on Saturday evenings for Tapas, as well as Fridays. If you are looking for a Saturday afternoon and evening itinerary that includes food and wine (and maybe music), here you go:

Head west on I-80 to Rominger West Winery in Davis.

Next, continue to Purple Pearl Winery in Dixon.

For a final wine tasting, visit Berryessa Gap in Winters.

From here, continue to Ficelle for fun tapas! If you are up for music after dinner, check in advance to see who is playing at The Palms.

Read on for my original review of Ficelle.

Continue reading "Ficelle Update" »

Posted by Lynn Gowdy at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Got dinner plans tonight? If not, make sure to drop in to Masullo on Riverside Blvd. Through the end of April, all bottles of wine on their list are 50% off on Mondays and Tuesdays. We went last week and got the Sac-based Revolution Wines Pinot Grigio, which ended up being only $9. It was crisp and citrusy and perfect for the suddenly warm weather. It means you can get even more of their crisp-crust pizza, baked in the wood-burning oven. We shared one with blue cheese, onions, and potatoes and another with chorizo and tomato sauce.

Hawks in Granite Bay is also offering a special deal. They started Sunday Suppers in February, where the chefs create a set menu of four inventive courses of comfort food full of seasonal produce. I recently enjoyed spring onion and green garlic soup, housemade gnocchi with nettle purée and black trumpet mushrooms, Maine monkfish and Delta asparagus, and pineapple upside-down cake with toffee sauce. The gnocchi and fish courses were served family style, in large platters for the whole table. The whole wine list is also discounted 25% for these dinners, which are just $35 to $40 per adult and $20 per child.

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The newest white-tablecloth restaurant on the scene is Grange, at the Citizen Hotel on Cesar Chavez Plaza. They're starting the year right with some great meal deals. If you haven't been yet, Blair Robertson gave Grange a great review in the Bee recently. I interviewed Chef Michael Tuohy for the News & Review and asked about his three favorite food finds since moving to Sacramento. Don't miss this great opportunity to eat well for cheap!

Daily two-course lunch $17.00
Includes salad or soup selection

Monday-Grilled Cheese & Soup
Tuesday-Cioppino
Wednesday-Porchetta
Thursday-Fried Chicken
Friday-Fish Tacos

Daily three-course dinner for two $45.00
Includes salad or soup selection and dessert

Monday-Cassoulet
Tuesday-Cioppino
Wednesday-Porchetta
Thursday-Fried Chicken
Friday-Whole Fish
Saturday-Smoke Roasted Prime Rib
Sunday Supper: Everything from within 100 miles (this is the chef's specialty--working with local farmers and producers!)

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, I know this isn't in the capital area, but you really ought to know about it. Just in case you're one of those crazy "I must surf, no matter the water temperature" type of people, then you might as well plan a delicious hot lunch for afterwards. Or, if you know one of those people but you wouldn't be caught in subzero surf even with a wetsuit, then you should keep Nona's Kitchen in Pacifica in mind.

My sister-in-law and her husband moved there recently, and being those crazy surf types, they know where to find good, hot, post-surfing food. While we weren't plunging in the icy depths ourselves last Monday, we stopped by to have a little lunch. In the same small shopping center as Norcal Surf Shop, Nona's might be easy to miss. It's got a colorfully painted exterior, but you'd never guess by looking at it that the food inside is top-rate.

There were no less than twelve specials on the chalkboard by the counter and maybe eight tables. The waiter immediately brought a plate of steaming hot biscuits with honey butter, which were easily some of the best I've had in California. With three adults and two toddlers (and frozen toes), we ordered a bowl of French onion soup ($5); a mixed green salad with Gorgonzola, walnuts, and apples ($7); a spicy pork sandwich ($8); and a 10-oz., all-natural beef burger with fries ($8).

Continue reading "Day Trip to Pacifica: Just for the Fries?" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Carmen, whom I work with, is from Granada, Spain. We were recently talking about tapas and she asked whether I’d been to Ficelle. …Ficelle??? (For those wondering what tapas are, here is a fun little write up.)

This cute little café is tucked off a side street in Winters. The food du jour on Friday nights is tapas and Carmen gave it two thumbs up for the tapas, the wine by the glass selection, and her favorite, sangria.

We headed to Winters last Friday to see what Ficelle was all about. Arriving at 7:15, the place was humming. Ficelle is an ‘order at the counter then find a seat’ cafe. This came about because the owners (fun loving sisters) Joanne Martin and Marianne Washabaugh wanted a food-to-go establishment where they prepared dishes ahead of time. But what happened was they woke up one morning and realized they’d opened a restaurant (opened on St. Patrick’s day 2005).

Continue reading "A Little Gem in Winters" »

Posted by Lynn Gowdy at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

We've been a little sheltered here, in our rapidly growing city, from the realities of the bad economy. I hear of new restaurants opening or being planned all the time. But there are a few out there that just aren't making it. I heard of three that closed in the last week alone. 55 Degrees, on Capitol Mall is apparently closing due to rising costs of doing business (ingredients, primarily) and the fact that many of the high-rise housing units near them haven't opened yet or are abandoned. Angel's Taqueria on 16th St. closed because allegedly a customer fell out of a chair and threatened to sue them. Being a small business, they couldn't afford that, so they closed shop and left town. Then just the other day, I noticed that Central Valley Coffee Co. on Riverside had closed suddenly. The weekend before, their patio was packed with people enjoying the sun and breakfast. What happened there? I'd be surprised if it was lack of business, but profit margins are slim for restaurants even in the best of times.

What other places have shuttered recently? Let me know if you hear of others. If I've reviewed a place that is now closed, I'd like to update my posts for anyone who looks them up in the future.

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

[photo courtesy Shawnehalldesigns.com]

Looking for a fancy birthday dinner and blessed with a babysitter the other night, we hightailed it up to Granite Bay to visit Hawks Restaurant, open now for almost a year. And boy are we glad we did! It's one of the best places I've eaten in the Sac area.

Because it was a celebration meal and an upscale restaurant, I didn't feel comfortable taking photos. So I apologize for a lack of pics on the beautiful presentations. You can, however, get an idea of their style by visiting their Web site, which has a slide show of food and restaurant photos. The photo above, from the restaurant's designer, gives you a sense of the calming grey, white, and brown color scheme that surrounds you as you eat. Large black-and-white photos of fields and landscapes emphasize the connection to local produce reflected on the menu. We sat in an uphostered booth that was initimate but still afforded a nice view of the inside and outside dining areas. The restaurant is in the Quarry Ponds retail center, along with Pizza Antica and Toast. The patio tables face south and look over the pond.

The first indication that this meal would be memorable was the attention to detail showed by our server. My husband asked for a sazerac to drink, and the waiter noted that they were out of the Sazerac brand rye but he would check with the bartender if they had other ryes to substitute. Usually, we get quizzical looks when we order sazeracs, which are a New Orleans cocktail of rye, Peychaud's bitters, and Pernod. So the server's knowledge of the cocktail as and that they were out of a particular brand of alcohol impressed me. He also offered a choice of bottled still or sparkling water or filtered tap. The bread station was near our table, and we noticed that each of the bus people kept the station free of crumbs and well stocked throughout the night. But even more impressive was the food.

Continue reading "Hie Thee to Hawks!" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

There's a hidden jewel of a new restaurant in Land Park these days and I finally discovered it last night. It's simply called Masullo, after owner and chef Robert Masullo, and the theme is Wood Oven Individual-Sized Neapolitan Pizzas. It's easy to miss right now, in an old strip mall on Riverside Boulevard, but once you've found it, you won't easily forget.

Formerly the home of the New Tin Wah Noodle Company (which, alas, I never visited), the 4-week-old restaurant has been under construction for quite a while. The new space is sleek and minimalist, with gorgeous wood-slab communal tables and a few small two-tops along one wall. The wood-fired oven is the focal point of the open kitchen in the back.

When I emailed with the chef last winter, he had this to say about his plans: "It will be a pizzeria in the Neapolitan fashion/tradition, like what you see throughout Europe. This means individual-sized pizzas, much lighter topped than the typical American pie, wood oven, quality over quantity. Typically American pizza is baked in gas ovens that get no higher than 650 degrees rather than the 800 degrees needed to achieve a proper Neapolitan crust. The higher temperature (with the wood oven) makes for an airy crumb and chewy crust with the little blistering spots that are a hallmark of Neapolitan pizza."

In fact, the pizza crust was fantastic--flavorful and with a good chew. It was sprinkled lightly with salt before going in the oven, which added to the rich, yeasty taste. The pizzas were 10 or 11 inches in diameter, and light enough that one made a nice meal without seeming overwhelming. My husband and I tried the Eggplant ($11), with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella, onion, eggplant, pine nuts, and chili flakes; and the Jacqueline ($12), with potato, fontina, Niman Ranch bacon, and oregano. I preferred the Eggplant, with its uncooked tomato sauce (less sweet than usual) and roasted eggplant slices. The sauce had made the bottom crust just a bit soggy, but the flavors worked very well together. The potato pizza crust fared better and the rich potatoey flavor of the vegetables was notable. I often think that potato on pizzas is bland, but these were thinly sliced and well complemented by the salty bacon and zingy cheese. Other offerings included Margerita (tomato, mozz, basil), 4 Cheese, 4 Quarters (separate quarters of roasted peppers, artichoke, Italian sausage, and prosciutto), and Sophie (potato, sausage, fontina, corn, rosemary).

Continue reading "A Wood-Fired Jewel" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

You might think chicken and waffles sounds like an odd combo, but it's no weirder than pancakes and bacon. The essence of both duets is the interplay of salty and sweet. Oni's Chicken & Waffles on Stockton Boulevard has the pairing down pat, with jazz on the sound system and a friendly atmosphere to boot. Some friends and I went a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't stopped thinking about their macaroni and cheese since. That's what brought me to Oni's in the first place.

A couple of months ago at a birthday party, I tasted some of the best mac and cheese I've had outside of my mother's kitchen. It wasn't fancified with blue cheese, brie, or black truffles--it just had great savory flavor, good texture to the noodles, and plenty of real cheese. I had to have more, so I planned a trip to Oni's to get it and try their chicken and waffles while I was at it.

I first discovered the concept of chicken and waffles in Oakland, I think, but I've since read about it in John T. Edge's great book Fried Chicken: An American Story. In it he says (and Oni's Web site quotes), "My guess is that it comes from the days when someone would go out in the morning and wring a chicken's neck and fry it for breakfast. Preparing breakfast bread with whatever meat you have on the hoof, so to speak, comes out of the rural tradition." The Wells Supper Club in Harlem lays claim to the commercial birthplace of the combo, where late-night jazz patrons in the 1930s often wanted both dinner and breakfast foods at the same time. More famous now is Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in L.A. But whatever the origins, it's a food pairing that you often see in more Southern or African-American neighborhoods. Stockton Boulevard being the United Nations of Sacramento, it's not surprising to find Oni's there and doing a brisk business.

Continue reading "Oni's Chicken & Waffles" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the things I like best about trying a variety of restaurants is learning about the culinary history of different countries. The cuisine of any country is made up of local foodstuffs mixed with the imported tastes of settlers. That's how we ended up with things like deep-dish pizza and chop suey as distinctly American foods. And the Central Valley is one of the most culturally diverse areas of the U.S. (see my article from Edible Sacramento magazine two years ago). So Sacramento is a great place to learn about other cultures through their food.

Someone at the Portuguese Historical Society had told me awhile ago about Macau Cafe in South Land Park as an example of Portuguese food. (I was hoping for baked goods, but I'll take what I can get.) Macau is a peninsula just off mainland China that was settled by Portuguese traders in the 16th century and just received semi-autonomy in 1999. So it was one of the longest held colonies in the extensive Portuguese empire. Other Portuguese colonies like Brazil and Sao Tome have similarly interesting culinary and cultural mash-ups.

Anyway, I finally made it to Macau Cafe recently and am now kicking myself for not going sooner. Part of the restaurant group Culinary Wonderland, Inc., that also runs New Canton and New Lai Wah here, Macau Cafe is in the same semi-dumpy shopping center as Prime Supermarket. So I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Luckily, though, it was better than I had hoped.

We went on a Tuesday night and the place was packed the whole time we ate, with our table being the only Caucasian people there. I may be wrong about this, and I don't want to make assumptions, but I always think it bodes well when there are lots of people present of the same ethnicity as the restaurant. Makes you think it might be authentic, or at least pretty decent. The booklike menus have over 230 dishes you can order and the walls were plastered with photos of additional dishes, with titles in English and Chinese. Some were only in Chinese, which made me even more curious about what they were. So we could only taste a fraction of the offerings, but decided to try a combination of Chinese and Portuguese dishes.

Continue reading "Macau Cafe: Portunese Food!" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been hearing a lot about Tuli Bistro over the last few months, since it opened in December 07. Overall, the reviews have been glowing, so when I had the chance to go for lunch recently, I was definitely looking forward to it. But I have to say, it was one of the more confusing experiences I've had in a Sacramento restaurant.

The chef, locally raised Adam Pechal, graduated from the esteemed Culinary Institute of America and has worked for many well-respected chefs since. He did a stint at Red Sage (interestingly, one of the places I worked as well, but earlier) in DC, Thomas Keller's Bouchon in Napa Valley, and at the Seattle restaurant Fandango, owned by a James Beard award-winning chef. And Chef Pechal's food was hands down the best aspect of our lunch. He has a wood-fired pizza oven, an open galley kitchen, and a casually attractive collection of jars of ingredients and well-thumbed cookbooks out on view to set the stage.

The bistro, on the corner of 21st and S oddly has no sign--not even a chalkboard set up on the sidewalk, which seems either intentionally exclusive or oddly disinterested in bringing in customers. But the decor on the inside is lovely. Tiny, colorful glass tiles form the backsplash of the bar seating area and distinctive ceiling fixtures cast flattering light on the premises. The seats inside are few, but there is a larger sidewalk dining area covered by an awning, with heat lamps for chilly spring afternoons and evenings. We stopped in on a Monday at the end of lunch (although a phone call beforehand confirmed that they actually stay open straight through from lunch until dinner). No less than four people asked us how many were in our party, even though the first asker had already begun clearing a table for us. So the service staff seemed quite attentive, if not a bit unsure who was in charge of greeting guests.

After that, though, the service went disastrously downhill, even while we enjoyed some of the tastiest food next to a table that included the Bistro's manager!

Continue reading "Tuli Bistro: A Confusing Time Was Had By All" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

It's not enough anymore to say you're having "Indian" for dinner, just as you can't just eat "American" food or "Mexican." You've got to know whether the cuisine you're trying is from the south, a particular state, or by the ocean. If you went to Maine, you wouldn't expect hush puppies and if you go to Udupi Cafe, you shouldn't expect all of the dishes you find in most Indian restaurants.

Udupi, in Rancho Cordova, has a sign listing it as "Healthy Indian Vegetarian." I had never heard of the word udupi, so I looked it up and found that it is the name of a town in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The cuisine there is vegetarian and traditionally also uses no onions or garlic. Coconut, jackfruit, mango chutney, and grain-based dishes are common, while the filled crepes called masala dosa originated there. (You can find a fascinating summary of different styles of Indian cuisine at this site.)

Six of us ordered willy-nilly off the extensive menu and soon began getting a dizzying array of dishes to try. We had to try dosa, of course, and got the Masala Dosai ($7.50), filled with potatoes and onions and the Chetti Nadu Califlower Dosai ($7.50) with onion, cauliflower, tomato, and chetti nadu spice. (I guess they don't subscribe to the no onions and garlic rule.) They were impressivly big, thin wheat crepes, folded and filled, with three condiment dishes perched on top. Those included a smooth ground coconut chutney, a sambar (a split pea and vegetable stew), and a spicy chile-based chutney. Both dosai were tasty, but the creamy potato-filled version was fantastic. We also saw another table get a Paper Dosai, which is a very thin, crispy, rolled version of the crepe that was so long it took four plates to hold it all!

The rest of our dinner included:

Continue reading "Udupi Cafe: South Indian Vegetarian" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, I've finally emerged from the scary wilds of the digital purgatory that I was in for two weeks. And many thanks to Elise for her help in rescuing me! But, of course, I didn't stop eating or spending much of my waking time thinking about all things food, so I have a couple of taqueria reviews for the relaunch of Sacatomato.

It seems as if people in California have some pretty strong feelings about taquerias--especially tacos and burritos at these restaurants. Since my entry to California really began in San Francisco, I like a big ol' Mission burrito and soft tacos on corn tortillas. So when I moved inland, I was hard pressed to find those belly-busting burritos for a while. Eventually, I found a couple of favorites, like Juan in a Million on Broadway and La Favorita on Alhambra. But woman can not live by one or two taquerias alone, can she?

Mr. Sac-Eats has been going on about the carnitas at Angel's Fresh Tacos on 16th Street, so I finally tried their version in a burrito. My husband also tried their tacos on another occasion. And I have to say...I was underwhelmed. Sac-Eats is usually a trustworthy source, but I'm going to have to question his taqueria taste from now on, I'm afraid. The burritos were big and belly busting, but surprisingly lacking in flavor. The carnitas on its own was very tender and juicy, but oddly dull. Combine that with plain refried beans and no salsa and it was a sad affair. The chile verde was slightly more flavorful, but still ho-hum. The salsa that came with them was fine--a bit tomato sauce-ish, but with plenty of cilantro and a hint of spice. And if you want to argue that it might just have been an off day, Mr. Sacatomato reported the same lackluster experience with his tacos. He did like the slightly unusual griddled flour tortillas that they used, but the fillings were only okay. How disappointing!

On the other hand, a recent trip to Sal's Tacos was much, much better.

Continue reading "We're Back and Snackin'!" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

[Sacatomato's guest poster today: Cyndi Wreford of Folsom reviewing a new restaurant with an extensive list of beers on tap and in bottles]
I like the place. A lot. It’s swank. The owners (Brent and Dave) definitely have an eye for decorating, which they did themselves, and have erased any interior reminders that this was once a Dairy Queen. However, you do have to go outside to use the restrooms so not all reminders are gone. The restrooms are beautiful, as odd as that sounds. There’s a main bar, a wine cellar, center bar-height tables and booths around the perimeter of the room. While this place is not a sports bar, there are flatscreens filling the bar. Come summer, they will have an outdoor patio area.

The menu looks good and the food we had was outstanding. Jennifer had the steak salad – steak served over romaine lettuce, endive, red onions, arugula, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, topped with red wine vinaigrette for $15.99. It was fresh and crunchy, the meat was tender and done exactly as ordered. Good amount of food and a good mix of flavors. Alex had the Angus burger, a half-pound hamburger grilled and served with your choice of lettuce, tomato, and pickles. Comes with Brew house fries and coleslaw for $9.49. A seriously good burger and a great price for a “real” burger. They serve their own “cusabi” dipping sauce for french fries, which is a wonderfully yummy cucumber-wasabi mixture. Its crisp, light and slightly spicy flavor paired well with the fried food.

The “No Crap on Tap” policy gave us a zillion high-quality choices with 19 beers on tap, but watch out because a couple of them are 8% and 9% alcohol, which bit me in the butt on a subsequent visit. The wine cellar is still being filled up. I especially liked the Arrogant Bastard Oaked beer, but my favorite was the Racer 5 India Pale Ale, an American IPA-style beer from Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Healdsburg, California. The head lasted the whole beer; very bubbly and hoppy with citrus and pine flavors. Really drinkable.

A great addition to the local beer scene and one my friends and I will (and do) visit often.

Note: They'll be hosting special beer events, like the Belgian beer tasting scheduled for tomorrow (1/23), 7 to 10 p.m.

Manderes (pronounced man-dare-s: means "to chew or eat" in Latin
402 E. Bidwell St.
Folsom
916-986-9655
Every day, 11 to 11

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It's a bit of an odd concept to turn a grease pit into a grease joint, but the old Orbit gas station on Alhambra is now the new (old) Suzie Burger. Got that? I wasn't around for the first iteration of Suzie Burger, but they were apparently a favorite of brothers Matt and Fred Haines, who have the Bistro 33 restaurant group. Open just since January 3, the new Suzie Burger is a marvel of Jetson's-style architecture in primary colors. The old mechanic spaces are now seating areas, and the former gas station office serves as the counter and kitchen. There are also glossy black steel tables out front overlooking lovely Business 80. That sort of enhances the fifties-ish car culture thing going on there though. Unfortunately, the parking and traffic flow issues aren't quite as retro hip.

As for the food, we ordered two cheeseburgers ($2.95 each, plus .45 for grilled onions), a large fries ($2.95), and two Lemon Squeezies ($1.95 each). The Squeezies are a proprietary lemonade and very good. They're supposedly squeezed by hand, although we didn't really see that happening in the frenzy to order and pick up. The burgers were fine--much better than regular fast food, but comparable to In-n-Out I thought. Now, this may be a case of my not having grown up with Suzie Burgers and therefore I don't appreciate the flashback flavor. I thought they were a bit thin, but with the fried onions and cheese, pretty good. The fries, on the other hand, were really good for fast food. They're coated fries, which means they're bought precut and coated with potato starch most likely. This helps to make them crisp when they're fried, so they don't have to be fried twice, which is the high-end way to make good fries. They're thicker than most fast-food fries though, and they stayed crisp and hot for a good long time. Plus they were well cooked--not steamed by sitting around for too long. Oh--and the signature accompaniment to the burgers is pickle slices and baby carrots served in a baggie. The carrots, especially, are an unusual thing to get with fast food and the pickles were tasty.

We went on a Sunday, past the normal lunch rush time and it was still packed, so that's good news for Suzie. The parking curbs are painted red to match the decor, although I thought this made it seem like the whole thing was a fire lane. That might be helpful, though, considering the traffic flow disaster that is the inside of the place. There is only one entrance, which leads to the counter. The problem with this is that the counter was packed and you had to fight through the line to find the end. There are several more doors in the place all marked No Exit, which seems like a fire hazard, frankly. We got in a side door as someone else was leaving, which made it easier to get in line. People were parking willy-nilly out front, so they're definitely packing in the customers right now.

I would go back to have the fries again and try some of the other menu items. They've got house-made chili and chicken or beef cheesesteaks, as well as beer-battered onion rings. The toppings menu for burgers is a nice touch, with everything from pickled jalapenos to fried egg and Cheese Wiz as options. Hopefully the parking and customer flow issues will be worked out soon so that it's a more enjoyable experience to get in and out. I'm not a big fast-food eater, but every once in a while some hot, crispy fries are a good thing to get.

Suzie Burger
29th and P Streets
455-3500 (You can call ahead and have your order brought to the car)

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Is it 2008 already? This holiday season was a bit like a time warp. One minute it was 2007 and I was baking fourteen dozen cookies and the next it was 2008 and all I wanted was soup and stew. But that's winter, right? And if you end up without electricity for a day, as I did last Friday, then you should have a few good restaurants to turn to. I've visted three noteworthy places recently and have the scoop on some up-and-coming joints too.

Fortune House
On Broadway across the street from Target, this Chinese restaurant has been around for years. For some reason, I hadn't been to it before, but in my quest to try all of the Broadway restaurants, I ate their food twice in two weeks. A friend whose Chinese grandmother loved the place marched in and ordered a ton of take-out one day, including a few off-the-menu items. Soon afterwards, I went to my husband's work holiday party there. They're great for big dinner groups, with the large round tables and enormous lazy susans in the middle. Everyone shares and you get to try more flavors. One of my favorite items was the Singapore Chow Fun ($6.95). There were thin egg noodles with a stir-fry of chicken and vegetables in a lightly curried sauce. The Chicken Salad ($7.25) was a good appetizer with crisp cabbage leaves and hoisin sauce for wrapping up the chicken into bite-sized morsels. We also tried fried rice, Kung Pao Chicken, Baked Spareribs with spicy salt, and Peking Duck served with warm tortillas (a bit odd, but it worked). Everything was flavorful without the bad-Chinese-restaurant quality of too salty or oily. We'll be putting them on speed dial for take-out.

1211 Broadway
443-3128
M-Su, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Aioli Bodega Espanola
I went here for the second time on New Year's Eve day. My first visit was during the late summer, when I sat outside on the back patio and enjoyed the secluded feeling of that area amidst the chaos that has become 18th and L Streets. This time we sat inside and there were few guests--probably all saving up for parties that night. We started with a bottle of cava, the Spanish sparkling wine. They only had one variety, but it was light and refreshing for lunch. Aioli has been at that location for 13 years, with a Davis outpost for just a few. The place is small, but bright and specializes in tapas, with two pages worth of offerings. I've had the Bourek de Casa ($6.25) twice. They're pastry triangles (or in one case, squares), filled with your choice of cheese or meat. Both versions were flaky and delicious, but I preferred the light white cheese filling. The Puerco Castilla ($7.25)--bites of pork braised with raisins, pearl onions, and a sweet and sour sauce, was delicious. I also liked the Albondigas Todo Ajo (garlic meatballs) and Judias Blancas (white beans, tuna, mint, and olives). The lunch special of three courses is a good deal with plenty of food and the salmon we tried as one of the choices was moist and flavorful. On the second visit, I got pork and pineapple rolled in coca bread, while my husband had braised lamb in coca bread. This is a kind of flatbread similar to a naan or lavash. The lamb was fantastically flavorful, but the pork was lacking some seasoning. However, the shoestring potato fries that came with the sandwiches were crisp and hot. I've only had one dessert there, but it was a very tender almond cake flavored with honey and orange water. I'm sorry I waited so long to visit Aioli because the food has been very good. I look forward to going back when the patio is open again and enjoying the little oasis of delicious calm.

1800 L Street
447-9440
M-F 11:30 to 3; M-Sat 5 to 11; Su 5 to 10

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

(Today's guest blogger is Melody Elliott-Koontz of Sacramento Food Forums and Cooking Schmooking.)

Going to Taylor’s Market in Land Park is like Christmas morning for me … the smells, smiling people, the lights. I get excited at the thought of shopping there and I always know I am going to be with friendly people. So off I went recently to speak with the manager, Dave Hunter, the two butchers who were there (Mike and Gary), the Cheese Head (Felicia), and Sarah, the stocker/bagger/oldies music lover. She was quick to point out the music that was playing on the sound system that day, a Dusty Springfield number. I also shopped, so you know I was one happy camper!

Dave explained that most of their products are “customer driven.” If somebody asks for something, they can usually source it. They attend the annual Fancy Food Shows in San Francisco and in New York. Sometimes they read about a product in a food magazine and call the company and ask for samples. Dave said, “Sometimes this blows their mind, to have a small store in Sacramento call about their products and they are tickled pink to help us out.” I asked Dave about the strangest request they’ve ever gotten. He said, “Well, once we got a call for alligator.” (I think that was actually me!)

Dave thinks that Taylor’s competes for customers with a lot of stores in Sacramento. He was quick to say that Sac has many good stores like the Nugget, Whole Foods, the tradition of Corti Brothers, and Raley's, and he said, “Even Safeway has improved over the years with the products and produce they carry.”

Dave got his start at Taylor’s when he was 17, as a bagger. He talked about how he was just out of high school and “baggers can’t be choosers.” So, now he is 35 and still as passionate about Taylor’s as every other employee in the store. Danny Johnson and his wife own the store these days, and he started out as a butcher there at age 19! In fact, my in-laws and their folks shopped at Taylor’s back in the sixties, when it opened.

Taylor’s has specialty items that I absolutely swear by: "The Rub With Love," which I just bought in Portland at City Market, is at Taylor’s! Dave said the guy who makes it is a “neat guy.” His name is Tom Douglas and apparently he has restaurants in Seattle. I love his smoked paprika rub. Taylor’s has had a long relationship with Land Park favorite Ford's Hamburgers, supplying their meat for years now. They also supply some items for Vic's Ice Cream, The Distillery, Tower Café, and Burrs Fountain … other long-time Sac businesses.

So I begin my shopping experience and talked with customers and other employees:

Continue reading "Taylor's Market: A Refreshing Stop" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

From guest poster Paul Somerhausen of Sacramento Epicureans:
Nestled behind the mega movieplex on Eureka Road in Roseville, is a new row of faux Mediterranean town homes that appear to be urban dwellings but are actually several trendy new businesses. One of these is Paul Martin’s American Bistro. They generously extended an invitation to check out their new place during their soft opening and here is what transpired during my lunch visit.

The name of the establishment is not in honor of the last Prime Minister of Canada but is in actuality the main financier Paul Martin Fleming, most famous for his PF Chang's outlets. While Mr. Fleming brought his money and resources to this project, the idea was born with Brian Bennett and Peter Serantoni. They envisioned a place where the food was truly fresh, homemade, organic, locally grown, and from sustainable farms where possible. And to enforce the point, they even make their own ice creams and infuse their vodkas in their kitchen among many other interesting touches. This restaurant is the first of what the staff promised to be many more, the second already slated to open in LA in the near future.

When you arrive at the brightly colored “town homes,” you don't suspect what awaits you inside the place. Once the doors open, a very large open room spreads deep and wide to showcase a warm and welcoming casual chic environment. It is decorated with at least a dozen shades of wood, brick wall accents, soft brown leather booths, wide soft comfortable chairs, a long elegant bar, and seven large spherical lamps with a type of flame motif. The hostess booth was manned by half a dozen staff, which I was told later was due to the fact that everyone was in to practice one last time before the real grand opening on Monday, October 29. We got seated and felt immediately welcomed by the warmth of the staff and comfort of the place. Our server, Shayleen, was very friendly and knowledgeable and introduced us to the restaurant, highlighting the philosophy and recommending several dishes. We started the meal with a Butcher’s Board, which featured some coppa salami, a separate orange and fennel infused salami (the salumi here is primarily from Oakland-based Boccalone, owned by "Next Iron Chef" competitor Chris Cosentino), thinly sliced prosciutto, aged gouda, some Laura Chenel goat cheese (also marinated with some fennel seed), and finally some Point Reyes blue cheese. It was served on a wood board with stone-ground mustard, capers, and olives. I particularly loved the orange salami, salty with a tangy finish and a sweet undertone of licorice flavor. The blue cheese was fantastic, soft in texture and strong in flavor. The only selection I did not care for was the goat cheese, which was too soft in flavor and was completely overwhelmed by the other powerful choices. Also, this dish did not come with any crackers or bread, which I thought was odd. Some warm flatbread would have complemented this perfectly.

Continue reading "Paul Martin's American Bistro Opens" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I can't believe I hadn't been there before, but I finally got to Karen's Bakery in Folsom last week. I'd been hearing about it for years, but somehow never thought of driving all the way (it's SO far!) to Folsom for baked goods. But now I'll be doing that. Or, rather, maybe I should be biking there. Turns out that Karen's is right off the American River bike trail, near Lake Natoma. So I can have my cake and work it off too. Yay!

Karen Holmes worked with Rick Mahan for years, first at Oaxaca, then at the Waterboy. In 1998 though, she started her bakery and café, eventually moving to Old Folsom. The café is sunny and spacious, with a big outdoor patio for pleasant weather. There were lots of bicycles parked outside, and it's conveniently located near a bike shop for tune ups while you snack.

I tried a delicious apple-walnut muffin (top photo) that Karen got the recipe for long ago. She says the batter shouldn't work, but somehow it does and makes a moist but not oily muffin that's got great flavor and crunch. I also sampled a walnut scone (better texture than many, but a bit dry), sour cream coffee cake, an almond granola bar with cream cheese frosting (2nd photo), and some granola with yogurt. PLUS, a taste of the Senorita Breakfast Sandwich, which was smoked ham and white cheddar on cheddar-jalapeno bread with chipotle bechamel sauce and a dead-ripe tomato and fried egg. Delicious! I really should have ridden my bike there.

Karen said that the granola bar was the first baked good she produced commercially. It's a crunchy bar made primarily of sliced almonds. I liked it that the texture wasn't too sticky. Except for the cream cheese icing, you could stash it in your jersey pocket and eat it on the trail. She also said that her salmon bowtie pasta salad is popular, and there were several other cold salads in the display case that looked tasty. One was a Moroccan chicken salad with lentils. Plus there are coffees and teas and chocolates. Oh my! I could have stayed all day.

Karen's Bakery Café
705 Gold Lake Drive
"Sweet" 340
Folsom
916-985-2665
Mon to Fri 6-4; Sat 7-4

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I was at a dinner party recently when the host remarked that it seemed like you could eat a wider variety of cuisines in Sacramento than practically anywhere else (except maybe New York). You name it, and we've probably got at least one practitioner if not an entire market geared toward the foods of a country or geographic region. So there's no excuse for being bored when it comes to eating out here. You don't even have to spend a lot of money to do it.

Take Kabul Kabob, for example, a small restaurant near the corner of 8th and J. I've heard quite a bit about two other local Afghan restaurants, Bamiyan in Citrus Heights and Kabul Afghan Cuisine in Davis, but haven't yet tried them. But my husband had seen the one downtown, so we went to check it out on a night when I didn't feel like cooking.

Given its location, it does much more business at lunch than dinner. That part of downtown is still a little deserted in the evenings, and Kabul Kabob only stays open until 9 p.m. So we were the only customers on a Thursday evening and had the small, warmly decorated dining room to ourselves. (But we also had free parking right out front. No valet "needed.")

Continue reading "Kabul Kabob Downtown" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

In my continued search for ways to use my abundant zucchini, I came across an interesting recipe on the Yogurtland blog. It's a site about Turkish food, written by a woman named Fethiye, who lives in Folsom. She takes beautiful photos and always has interesting recipes. I zeroed in on Negerek because she claimed that those who are tired of the green veggie in everything they've eaten for two months will still enjoy it. That fit me to a tee.

However, there were two ingredients in the recipe that I didn't have: white sheep's cheese and nigella seeds. Fethiye made a point of saying that substituting feta doesn't work as well, although it's much more available. I tried the recipe last night using feta because it's what I had, and I really liked the result. It's especially interesting that you put uncooked rice in with the mixture and it cooks in the milk (or soy milk, as I used). But I wanted to try the more authentic version, so off I went to Fulton Avenue to visit two of my favorite ethnic markets.

Continue reading "Day Trip to India and Turkey" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Headed to Amador county anytime soon? If so, then you don't want to miss Mel & Faye's Diner in Jackson. I was there looking for antiques, on a semi-regular jaunt to the area. I've been going to Jackson, Sutter Creek, and Drytown for years to check out their antique shops and historical downtowns. And every time I go to the area, I have to eat at Mel & Faye's. In fact, I don't think I've eaten anywhere else there. (I would be curious about the Chinese restaurant on Main Street in Jackson, but mainly from a historical perspective.)

In any case, if you've been to Mel & Faye's before (and it's been around since 1956), you may be surprised to see that it's now 100 yards up the street from where it used to be. The old diner was up against a rock face, with a small parking lot and terrible bathrooms outside. You could count on flies to help you eat your food. But the new place (maybe 2 years old), is roomy and has a suspiciously huge parking lot (where are all those people supposed to sit??). The menu is much bigger than I remember, although the "Moo Burger" is the special. That's a double patty with everything and the special sauce. I ordered the Sourdough Burger and Fries instead ($6.39), which came with Swiss cheese, grilled onions, and Thousand Island dressing. It was pretty tasty, although the single patty was a bit small. But it's a real burger--not a preformed frozen thing. The fries are thin and crispy, but they cool down fast. The other thing I always have to get there is a shake. Their menu says they have "most flavors," although I usually get coffee. This time I tried banana, since the waitress looked at me funny when I asked if they had peach or blackberry. I guess I thought I was at Whitey's in West Sac. The $3.79 shake was piled with whipped cream and had small chunks of fresh banana. Pretty tasty.

They have a ton of other diner food, like hot cakes, salad bar, chili dogs, and rib eye sandwiches. There is the ubiquitous flat-screen television, but it's less annoying at a diner I suppose. There's also some outdoor seating (probably with less flies). And you've got to like a place that has the following quote on their menu (three times!): "Thank you for your patronage. Consideration for waiting customers will be appreciated by not holding meetings that extend beyond meal time during peak hours." So go and set a spell, but don't hog the tables.

Mel & Faye's Diner
31 Highway 49/88, Jackson
209-223-0853
www.melandfayesdiner.com

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

...I don't care if I ever get fat, so it's root, root, root for the River Cats!

A weekend baseball game in July is just the thing to celebrate summer. Peanuts, hot dogs, and cold beer, the seventh-inning stretch, crazy between-inning antics, and kids hopped up on sugar. It's a classic. And last Saturday was a great night for the River Cats, complete with a winning game and fireworks.

So I don't mean to be a party pooper, but what's with all the orange cheese-food and heart attacks on a bun at Raley Field? I guess it's just as American these days to eat really bad food that could kill you. Why has it become the American way to have greasy, salty "food" at our sporting events? Now you might argue that there are non-greasy choices available (roasted peanuts, Merlino's Freeze, even red ropes I suppose), but the majority of what I saw people wolfing down was meaty, cheesy, grease-dripping stroke material. With beer or a gallon of soda. Mmmmm, what a treat.

The photo above shows a Mexican bowl from the Left Field BBQ that we eventually found. The guacamole was amazingly good, but the rest of the big bowl consisted of ropy pork, half a cup of sour cream, and some rice and beans. Oh, and the lovely cilantro garnish. A vegetable! For $6.50, it was a better cost to quantity ratio than most offerings. We also tried Jimboy's tacos, which were not bad in the grease department, but garnished with shredded American cheese, which was just weird. Although I do give them points for not frying their tortillas. The people in front of us ate big steak sandwiches smothered in melted Velveeta and a fried taco "salad" that seemed to have a few paltry iceberg lettuce chunks and a sad tomato or two under the meat and cheese.

Continue reading "Buy Me Some Peanuts and Orange Cheese-Food..." »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I recently read cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey's book Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India. It's a fascinating look at an upper class family in northern India. But one of the things that most struck me was that she pointed out that "Indian food" as most Americans think of it is actually from the Punjab region (formerly Pakistan) and the fancy foods of the old Moghal empire. It's like limiting American food to Tex-Mex or the lobster dishes of New England. In fact, India is made up of many states that have very different cuisines from one to the other, much like the U.S. In southern India, for example, you'll find much more usage of seafood and coconut, and even some beef (which is not eaten by observant Hindus).

Kaveri Madras Cuisine is a restaurant on Fulton Avenue north of Fair Oaks. They have been in business since 1994 and specialize in southern Indian cuisine (although they do have the northern Indian restaurant standards like pakora, aloo gobi [potatoes and cauliflower], and chicken curry). But if you look beyond those, you'll find the opportunity to try rarely offered specialties like avial (a mixed vegetable stew with coconut), idli (steamed rice flour cakes), and ginger shrimp curry. They also offer a la carte, thali dinners (platters with entree, dal, soup, raita, bread, and dessert), or an all-you-can-eat buffet. So the options are very broad and Kaveri is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week!

Continue reading "Kaveri Madras Cuisine" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, Garrett of Vanilla Garlic has been raving about this restaurant for months now, so we really had to see what all the fuss was about. It opened recently in the space that was occupied by two Jamaican restaurants (which, oddly, never seemed to have much business) on Broadway near 17th Street. Since Jennifer and I don't always cross paths, we each tried it on our own and what follows are our individual takes.

Ann: When I lived in DC, I ate Ethiopian food several times and never really liked it much. Maybe my palate was still undeveloped, or maybe the food just wasn't that good, but when I tried Queen Sheba, I was very pleasantly surprised. Doing a bit of research before I ate there, I found out that Ethiopian royalty claims to be descended from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who was lauded by the King in the Bible. Feasts and hospitality are important aspects of Ethiopian culture, and so the food is traditionally served family-style.

My husband and I ordered two combo platters ($10.95 each), which came arranged on one large platter lined with the distinctive Ethiopian injera. It is a sour crepe-like bread made with flour from the native teff plant. You also get a basket of rolled injera, which you use to pick up bits of food for eating instead of using a fork. Keep in mind, though, that you're only supposed to use your right hand for eating, as the left hand is traditionally used only for personal needs (early moral code that turned out to have food safety value!).

Our combination platter included Doro Wat (chicken and hard-boiled egg in a spicy red pepper sauce), Tibbs (chunks of beef in onions, garlic, and spiced butter), Miser Kik Wot (lentils cooked in spices and accompanied with fresh salad), Gomen (cooked greens), Yebeg Tibbs (chunks of lamb in onions, garlic, and spiced butter), Chicken Tibbs. Clearly, Ethiopian food is meat heavy. We loved the lentils the most, but all of the meats were quite good as well. The sauce with the Doro Wat was especially savory sopped up with injera. I also had a really refreshing iced tea spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves, while my husband had traditional honey beer (known as mead in other countries). We skipped dessert, but enjoyed the constant stream of Ethiopian music videos on a nearby flat-screen TV (one of the only times I've really appreciated a restaurant TV for atmosphere). We'll definitely go back.

Continue reading "She Said/She Said: Queen Sheba" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, there wasn't any vodka, but other traditional favorites were plentiful at the most recent Sac Epicureans dinner. This month was a Russian sampler, set at the small North Highlands restaurant Stolichniy. The Sacramento area has a significant number of the 100,000 refugees from the former USSR who have arrived in California since the 1980s. So in exploring the diverse ethnic cuisines in this area, we couldn't forgo Russian. And Stolichniy fed us well.

As we sat down to a large L-shaped table, we were greeted with bowls of mushrooms with scallions in a vinegar marinade; kompot, a fresh berry lemonade much like a fruit punch; and mixed romaine and iceberg salad with a creamy dill dressing. Plates of thinly sliced delicious brown bread also arrived. Very quickly, the group was presented with a variety of dishes. They began with delicious Ukrainian vereneki (potato dumplings), served with caramelized onions, soon followd by rassolnick, a soup of beef, barley, carrots, potatoes, and the surprise ingredient--pickles! The group was divided by the soup into those who really liked the sour tang of the pickles and those who didn't. Next up were little ravioli-like pelmeni (beef and pork filling), topped with margarine. Pelmeni come from the Siberian region of Russia and were traditionally made in the fall. They were tasty and filling and reminded some of us of wontons.

For entrees, we tried cabbage rolls filled with a mixture of beef and rice, served in a tomato broth, and lamb stew with gorgeously turned egg-shaped potatoes and an unusual sprinkling of cilantro. Cabbage rolls are found throughout Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary as well as parts of Russia. The stew was more potatoes than lamb, but flavorful. Oddly, there were bottles of Sriracha Asian hot sauce on each table, and we weren't sure what to put that on. Maybe the dumplings? The rolls could have been good with a bit of spice too, though.

And after all that meat and potatoes, we were still interested in dessert! Each person got a bliny (crepe) filled with a mixture of four creamy cheeses and topped with chocolate syrup. It reminded me of blintzes and would have been perfect for brunch as well. Everyone agreed that the bliny were one of the favorites. The service was so rapid that we were done quite quickly, and from the size of the restaurant, I doubt they usually have parties as large as ours. It's clearly a popular restaurant with the community, though, as several to-go orders were dispatched while we ate. The pizza place next door has Cyrillic on some of its signs, and I saw a market that looked promising in the same strip mall.

The Web site Russian Dining lists Stolichniy as having good borscht and kotlety. Their Sac-area reviews are worth reading if you like Russian food. I'd love to go explore the Kolobok European Market on Fair Oaks Boulevard. It's supposed to be very well stocked (unlike some actual Russian markets in years past, but hopefully that's history).

Stolichniy Restaurant
5601 Watt Ave
North Highlands, CA 95660
(916) 332-5989

Kolobok European Market
7307 Fair Oaks Blvd
Carmichael, CA 95608
(916) 473-0306

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I grew up near a beach community, where pizza by the slice was easy to find. When I worked in restaurants there, I was always looking for a late-night snack and a gooey slice of pizza did the trick. Then I lived in New York City, and the comparison eating began in earnest.

I moved to Sacramento from a neighborhood in SF that had three pizza-by-the-slice shops. So aside from burrito hunting, pizza hunting became one of my earliest food forays in the capital area. I tend to find more whole pies here, but there are some good slice places. Pizza Inferno, on 16th Street near Broadway, is not one of them. Terrible crust and sauce. Ack! Pieces Pizza by the Slice on 21st in Midtown, though, is probably my favorite. Interestingly, I'm not judging with exactly the same criteria as I use on whole pies.... I want more immediate gratification when I'm just having a slice, so bring on the big flavor, lots of sauce, and stringy, oozy cheese. Plus the crust has to be able to be picked up without cracking or falling apart.

Pieces has giant slices, made on a semi-puffy dough that is sauced to the edges and then rolled over on itself to make a delicious chewy yumminess at the edge. They sprinkle the edges with cheese, too, for added flavor. The downside of this place is the prices: $3.50 to $4.50 a slice (for a whole, multiply by 7; you get the 8th slice free). But you can buy day-old slices for half-price sometimes, and since the pieces are so huge, it's like having two slices of a regular pizza.

You can get the regular toppings like cheese and pepperoni, or try a sun-dried tomato, feta, and pesto combo. They even offer vegan pizza for you lactose intolerants. The place is small, but there's always music and a funky swirled pile of napkins with a note not to be a napkin piggy--just take what you need. Sodas, chilled candy bars, and salads are also available, and don't try to make up for lack of funds by sticking your hand in the tip pitcher. It's filled with water so that any wet bills and change are suspect.

So what are your favorite by-the-slice places in this area? Mall pizza doesn't really count, unless you think it's especially fantastic.

Pieces Pizza by the Slice
1309 21st St.
916-441-1949

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Real blue cheese, a sprinkling of Parmesan, and well-toasted almonds. Those were part of the excellent lunch on Monday at the Club Car in downtown Auburn. My husband and I had just come from a less-than-enjoyable meeting and needed some serious comfort food. Now I haven't been to Auburn much (mostly for outdoorsy biking and hiking things), but the downtown and "Old Town" streets are full of well-preserved buildings. Even better, it seems as if the businesses are thriving there, which is fantastic to see. Far too many of our area towns have old main streets that look unloved and unsupported.

So we walked along Lincoln Way to choose between a soup and salad spot, a fancier joint called the Monkey Cat, a diner, pizzeria, 2 sushi spots, a Mongolian bbq place, and this spot called the Club Car. Set in the ground floor of the Hink Block building (it says so on the top of the building, that's how I know), the Club Car space used to be a smoke shop. They still have an excellent oak cabinet with lots of shallow cubbies and storage spots for cigars. Now the top part displays wine bottles adjacent to the big wooden bar.

We sat in the front by the big windows. There was a 10-top on the other side and large party going on in the back. My eye immediately zoomed in on the burger listings. Why is it that a good burger is comfort food? I'm really not a big beef eater anymore, but give me a burger with blue cheese and onions, and I'm happy. The onions were listed as "fried," my favorite, and I ordered zucchini fries for $2 extra. My husband ordered the Curry Chicken Salad, since that was my second choice, and I agreed to split everything with him.

Continue reading "Have a Seat in the Club Car" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:07 AM | Permalink

I love the idea of a hot dog on the streets of New York and at a baseball game, but I rarely find myself eating one. I mean I can count on my hand how many times I have eaten a hot dog in my adult life and it's not because of the whole ass and lips description of a hotdog, it is just that as junk food options go at baseball games, or basketball or concerts... I have always leaned toward the nachos with the Velveeta and the canned jalapenos--the one food choice that in my normal day to day life I would gasp at with a look of horror at the mere idea of consuming such a inferior food. Anyway, I digress.

I recently discovered a new eatery Sammy Sausage and Beer in Granite Bay. The whole restaurant is devoted to hot dogs and sausage sandwiches. Now the sausage sandwich is a whole different story for me, I actually don’t even think of it as related to the hotdog. I mean if it was related then it would for sure be the well educated, over achiever of the hotdog family. So as I stood at the counter perusing their board of dogs, I settled quickly on the Bratwurst and my husband the Polish. Yes, yes I know we have very sophisticated taste. There are however the standard hotdog choices for those of you from the wrong side of the tracks. All kidding aside, the place is fantastic, cheap, and fun, with a nice selection of beers on tap, wines by the glass and plenty of side options at your disposal. You can not go wrong with this joint.

Sammy Sausage
5550 Douglas Blvd.
Suite 200
Granite Bay CA 95746
Tel. 916-772-3900

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

BBQ Pork Banh Mi

My husband has been wanting to try New Paris for a long time. Then Paul listed it as his favorite "under $10" place in the Foodies Roundtable. It had to be tried.

Stockton Boulevard is easily becoming my favorite ethnic eatery row. You can drive from Broadway south and find an incredible number of interesting-looking restaurants, holes in the wall, and even parking lot BBQ joints. Someone could do a whole series of reviews from one end to the other (without even looking at chain restaurants of course). You go from soul food to Mexican to South Asian in a span of just a mile or two, with plenty of intriguing grocery stores in between. But we were just focused on New Paris in the Pacific Rim Plaza, near 65th Street.

The plaza lives up to its name, with lots of tapioca shops, noodle and pho restaurants, and cell phone stores. New Paris is a large storefront with big glass windows. You order first, they bring your food, and then you pay (I think this is because you'll probably want to order more after the first round!). Banh mi is a Vietnamese specialty sandwich born of the French occupation of that country. Soft, fluffy French baguettes are split and layered with meat and pickled vegetables, including carrots and jalapenos, topped with fresh cilantro, and moistened with mayo. (Also, see my description of pho here, which some historians say is descended from the French soup pot au feu.) Pork is the main choice, whether barbecued, grilled, shredded with skin, meatballed, steamed, or made into headcheese. We chose the barbecued and grilled varieties first.

Continue reading "New Paris Bakery & Café" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

[Zocalo's guacamole]

Last night on 18th and L Streets, you could have swung a wine bottle and hit any one of many food bloggers milling about. We were all in the neighborhood for the soft opening of the L Wine Lounge and Urban Kitchen. As food bloggers, we all write our sites out of a sense of avid interest, not paid employment. So an invitation to taste free wine and hors d'oeuvres didn't go ignored.

The Lounge, in the same building as the new Buckhorn Diner, is a modern design, with concrete floors and warmer wood accents. There's a seating area to the left, a bar to the right, and tables upstairs for eating. For the opening, waiters offered red or white wines (a Cab/Zin and a Chenin Blanc). There were music videos playing on the inevitable flat-screen television and cases of wine stacked up in an odd glassed-in space that was either for private dining or the wine racks hadn't arrived yet. They also have wine lockers upstairs for people who live in the building and want to store a small cache.

We started drinking at 7 but no food was offered until at least 8, by which time we were all a little hungry/tipsy. But what they did serve seemed very nice, designed by a chef who used to work at the Kitchen restaurant and the late Elk Grove Co-op. I liked the crispy potato croquettes with lavender, although some thought the subtle floral addition was odd. We also tried crostini with whitefish, bacon, and mire poix; fantastic macadamia shortbread bites; and crostini with asparagus and mint, which was an unusual but tasty combination. Without a lot of food to go around though, we quickly bolted for a big table at nearby Zocalo.

One of the owners of L did provide a copy of the menu, which will be available from lunch through the afternoon and late into the evening, making it one of the few places open mid-afternoon and late. The L Burger, made of lamb and Kobe beef, sounds pretty promising with a topping of manchego cheese. The rest of the menu seems heavy on carbs and protein, with several potato variations, pizzetta, a croque madame, steak, ribs, and pâté. All the better to soak up all that wine, probably.

Continue reading "Eating and Drinking at 18th and L" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 4:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I finally got to try Pizza Antica myself last night, so read my take here.

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, Jennifer and I finally managed to sync our schedules enough for a quick lunch again! So we decided to check out The Pasty Shack, which seemed a bit odd but promising. First, we should point out that the word is pronounced "pass-tea," rather than rhyming with hasty. Apparently this business has been in Sacramento in various locations for 60 years! At 47th and J for only 16 years. That's a pretty impressive run. The history of these meat turnovers is that they originated in Cornwall, England, as a hand-held lunch meal for tin miners. Apparently they sometimes even have had a savory filling in one end and a sweet one in the other. So here's our She Said/She Said:

Ann's Take
I generally like anything wrapped in pastry, and I've had the Fox & Goose's version of the Cornish pasty, which is delicious. We lucked out by arriving on Mexican Pasty Day (Thursdays only), so had to try that one, along with a Cornish (meat and potatoes) and Vegetarian (mushrooms, potatoes, green beans, creamy sauce). They range in price from $4.95 to $5.70, although you save 25 cents each if you take and bake at home. Other choices include Bavarian (beef, cabbage, peppers), Chicken (like Veg but with meat), Tamale (Tue. only), and Chile Verde (Fri. only).

The place is pretty small, with only 4 or so tables, and maybe another one outside. The pasties are pulled from a hotbox if you want to eat them right away. They're each set in a paperboard "boat" and you get a plastic fork alongside. The pastry is a short dough (probably shortening) and was pretty tender and nicely browned. It got a bit soggy on the bottom of each turnover, but we weren't trying to pick them up. The plastic forks were not quite strong enough, but we managed. I liked the Mexican version the best, with juicy ground meat, spices, and cheese, but that's really not the standard. The Cornish, which is the standard, was a bit disappointing because the filling was sort of dry. There were nice chunks of beef though. The Vegetarian had a nicely creamy sauce, although I would have liked some more color in the veggies--maybe some red bell peppers or carrots?? Probably would've zinged up the flavor too. One of these is plenty for one person, so we had some left since 2 1/2-year-old Parker didn't seem too interested in these.

Jennifer's Take

Continue reading "She Said/She Said: Fancy a Bit of Pasty?" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last week was my husband’s birthday. It wasn’t a big one... it didn’t fall on a five or 10--it was just your every day run of the mill I am getting a little bit older day to him. Nonetheless, a birthday is still a call to eat or drink whatever you want because its your day and we had been talking for some time about going up to Auburn to try Le Belig, but four years later we just hadn’t made the trek. It’s not like it is that far, but somehow when we are going through the list of restaurant options for random nights it just never makes the rotation, so location is the only thing to blame there!

But we were feeling motivated and like I said it was a celebratory type of evening, so we hopped in the car with the two year old and all and headed to Le Belig. There were only two things I knew for sure prior to dining there, one that they were located next to a bail bonds, and two the cuisine was French country influenced. The rest was hear-say and myth...things like the children serve the food, Monica (the wife half of ownership) will come take your order with a baby on her hip and of course and most important--the food is delicious!

Continue reading "J'aime ce restaurant! Le Belig in Auburn" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Generally, I don't do negative restaurant reviews. I figure there are lots of really good places out there that need discovering and celebrating, so why waste my time telling you about bad ones? But then again, maybe some restaurants could do with a bit of a wake-up call. So it is that I tell you about my experience at Tamarind, the new Vietnamese place on 25th and J Streets.

I was meeting another local food writer for lunch and neither of us had been to Tamarind before. It was listed in the February Sac magazine as one of the best new restaurants, and some friends had told me they liked it. Sounded promising. My lunch partner wanted to know if it was "gringoish"--referring to the Americanization of some ethnic restaurants these days.

I arrived first, waited briefly for a table at the busy lunch hour, and then sat down to peruse the menu. Tamarind specializes in pho (pronounced "fuh"), that staple of Vietnamese cuisine that means a big bowl of steaming hot soup with vermicelli (rice) noodles, some kind of meat, and garnishes like chilies, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs. Mai Pham, owner of Lemongrass restaurant here, says in her book Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table that pho origninated in Hanoi and that it has been credited "not only as a food that provided the necessary nutrients in one convenient bowl, but a food that symbolically freed the people who created and ate it."

So pho it had to be, although Tamarind does have some rice plates and appetizers as well. I ordered the curried chicken pho, an unusual Thai influence on the standard. My lunch partner ordered the classic beef pho, which usually has thin slices of rare steak that get barely cooked by the hot broth. We also ordered the fried broccoli, which we had to clarify was stir-fried, not deep-fried. Unfortunately, they don't have the classic Vietnamese coffee, served with condensed milk. The waiter said they were still "working on it," although they've been open since November 2006. And given the freezing temperature in the place, a bit of hot coffee would have been good.

Continue reading "Waiter, There's a Tripe in My Soup!" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Listen, you Zelda's lovers--before you get all up in arms, just read what I have to say on this pizza. I honestly don't get the apparent legions of die-hard Zelda's fans. I suppose if it's something you grew up with, then I'll cut you some slack. But otherwise people, there are LOTS of better options out there, and Luigi's is unquestionably one of the better ones.

Open since 1953 (with apparently some of the original signage), Luigi's is on Stockton Boulevard, south of Broadway. It's a small place and kind of dark inside, but the minute you approach the building, you get the whiff of authentic pizza crust. Inside, you place your order and have a seat to wait for it. On my first visit, it was the night of the NCAA basketball championship game and the place was incredibly packed and loud for a Monday. We were obviously the first timers, because we sat at the curiously empty table with a great view of the game, only to figure out that it was under an Arctic air vent. That aside though, we drank some beer by the mug and enjoyed the odd views of old drums and instruments above what must have been a bar at one time. Now it's a semi-enclosed seating area.

Our pizza came, and it was a medium (14-inch) with housemade Italian salami ($15.25). The meat was delicious, all crispy from the oven and full of spices like fennel seed. The crust though, was a bit disappointing and tasted like they either didn't let it rise long enough or used baking powder instead of yeast. But I loved the way they cut the pie: held down with a fork while the cook used a pizza wheel to cut individual and oddly-sized pieces from the whole pie. Unusual technique. The crunch of the outer crust was actually very good, despite the dull flavor, and the place seemed to have a constant stream of customers.

Continue reading "Luigi's Pizza Parlor" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 2:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I first encountered pastry chef Ginger Elizabeth Powers' caramels at the end of a fantastic dinner at Mulvaney's. The little pyramids were glossy and perfectly bite-sized and they oozed some of the best caramel I have ever tasted. It was sweet and smooth and salty and had a hint of toastiness. (Note: I am a caramel addict. This is a very high compliment.) I had them once more since at Mulvaney's when I practically kissed the waiter after he told me that yes, they did have those great caramels. And now--even though I'm always in the mood for Mulvaney's--you can buy Ginger Elizabeth's caramels by the box. I found them at Taylors, but 58 Degrees, Selland's, and the Nugget in Davis also have them. And though I haven't been to Masque Ristorante yet in El Dorado Hills, that's where Ms. Powers is based as the pastry chef.

Apparently she studied under some of the pastry world's biggest names, such as Jacques Torres and En-Ming Hsu, who are known for their creativity and dedication to high quality. Chef Powers also makes chocolate-covered almonds, a couture collection of filled chocolates, and gorgeous chocolate Easter eggs. Her wares are pricey ($14 for a 9-piece box of caramels), but they're more than worth it. This isn't any old sugar fix--it's Easter candy for grown-ups!

You can also take demonstration and hands-on pastry classes with Ginger Elizabeth at Masque, Williams-Sonoma, and Whole Foods. Check the Couture Chocolates Web site for more information about her.

I have to try Masque soon! I have a feeling I may need to save plenty of room for dessert.

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 3:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Soprattutto doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, in fact for me it is more like my mouth slows way down so I can sound out the word itself and not sound like an idiot all the while sounding like an idiot. Directly translated in Italian it means “above all others”, well at least that is what the Chef/ Owner Michele told me, and truth be told I was suspicious of such a claim. Stuck in a rather in-descript strip mall on Fulton you don’t exactly pull up expecting great things. Nope. But I was meeting some folks for dinner here to help plan an upcoming Slow Food event and one of my fellow diners insisted that it is quite a gem and thus has been a regular since their August opening. When you walk in there is a cured meat and cheese counter, with traditional Italian desserts and cakes snuggled up to them. A striking copper espresso machine sits in the corner probably just for looks as the super auto sits right next to it. There isn’t much room but there is an authentic feel. I inquired if this is indeed where our group of seven would be having dinner, and the server informed me that we would be dining in their small dining room in the back of restaurant. The dining room has this feel of a secret space that only a select few know about and you might possibly need a secret handshake to gain entry, overall it has this dark old world decor, yet charming. The wine list is extremely inexpensive with the most expensive wine by the glass being a mere four dollars. All of the selections are of course Italian which I felt was more then appropriate in such a setting. I ordered a glass of the di Gino Verddichio (3.00 glass) and although it had a slightly oxidized color the wine tasted fresh and light.

Continue reading "Soprattutto Italian Eatery" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the main things that has led to my obsession with food is the thrill of experiencing new flavors. There are an endless number of cuisines and related ingredients to try, especially in this ethnically diverse area. And then there are endless varieties of single ingredients, like the hundreds of tomatoes that I had to choose among when buying seeds for my garden.

So the minute I saw a new Salvadoran restaurant that opened on Freeport Boulevard, I had to see what they had. When I lived in DC, there was a pretty significant Salvadorn population there, and we used to eat their signature pupusas oozing with warm cheese on late nights and hungover mornings. But in California, the Latino cuisine you see the most is generic "Mexican," whether it's from the Caribbean coast or near the northern border. (That's like grouping all cuisines in the U.S. into "American" food, despite the wide range of flavors from region to region.)

Isabel's Pupuseria/Taqueria opened a couple of weeks ago in the building that has seen a lot of restaurants come and go. Across the street from McClatchy High School, it's burdened with no parking lot and a busy street. But the former Balinesia Indonesian restaurant there was pretty tasty (and that's the sign that's still on the building). Nevertheless, they closed and Lollicup opened with blaring TVs and a bunch of tapioca drinks. I thought for sure that would survive with the high school audience so nearby. But, no. So now Isabel's is making a go of it, as probably the only Salvadoran place in town (that they know of, anyway). They've got a great patio for outdoor dining, if you can stand the traffic going by. Personally, I'd lose the awning and just open up the front area despite the summer sun.

Pupusas ($1.50 each) are the star of the menu, with fillings like refried beans and cheese, shredded pork and cheese, and shredded chicken and cheese. The main ingredient is always cheese, and its sandwiched between two small handmade corn tortillas, so that the filling is completely encased. It's like a cross between a quesadilla and a tamale. Isabel's serves them with curtido, a spicy, vinegary cabbage salad that was delicious. It helped cut the richness of the cheesy pupusas, which also came with a fairly mild salsa. I thought the pork was a bit dry, but the beans and cheese were delish.

Continue reading "New Flavors: Salvadoran Restaurant Opens" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

It seems to me that all the sadness in the world can be helped with a piece of pie. Or at least it should be that way...there is nothing greater or more satisfying then a freshly baked pie. Combine that with local produce for the ingredients and you have the perfect recipe for bliss. The Real Pie Company is offering up just that “Seasonally inspired pastries” and NO CAKE! Not that owner Kira O’Donnell has anything against cake per se but she does point out to me that they are really committed to using local fruits and nuts and that without question lends itself to pies and tarts etc...They even take that commitment to local one step further with plans of having a chalk board listing which farms are providing which produce so should you feel inclined to speak with the farmer directly about his blood oranges, or walnuts you can do so thus forming (hopefully) a full circle and a connection between our local land and the end consumer. Brilliant! Their selections obviously will be seasonally driven but they will always have a healthy selection of sweet and savory from quiches, to cobblers. For an idea of what their weekly menu will look like please visit their website. They are committed to using top quality ingredients i.e. no Trans fats, crust are made with butter only folks and there will be absolutely no preservatives used here. Kira says it best “Our baked goods are simple, minimally decorated and delectable - we’re far more interested in flavor than fancy garnishes.” Now that’s a real Pie Company!


The Real Pie Co. 1201 F St. Sacramento CA 95814
Tel. 916.446.2885
http://www.realpiecompany.com

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

It's not that I haven't been obsessed with food lately, but somehow life has gotten in the way of my blogging. But I've been wanting to report on Kathmandu Kitchen for a while now, as it's one of my very favorite restaurants in Sacramento. People always ask where the "best" places are in town, and I think that depends on how you feel, what night of the week it is, and how much you have to spend. So for me, if I'm looking for a bit of comfort food and don't want to break the bank, Kathmandu is always at the top of my list.

I first had their food at the Saturday Davis farmer's market, where they often have a stand set up with the yummiest aloo cholay (chickpeas in a tomatoey gravy). Then a couple of years ago, the Sacramento location opened on Broadway at 18th Street, not far from where I live. And, I was editing a cookbook on Nepalese food at the time, so we had to try it. After eating there dozens of times now, I'd say that their food is consistently delicious and well presented.

I especially like the Nepalese thali option for entrees (see photo above), which consists of a round metal tray with compartments. Each one is filled with a different food, and you just choose the main dish. You'll also get rice, naan, raita, dal (lentil soup), and a vegetable pickle or chutney. Very reasonable for about $12, and you get to taste a variety of flavors, which is the traditional way of eating in South Asia.

They also have a very good lunch buffet that's an all-you-can-eat affair for about $10. You'll get several choices of meat and vegetarian entrees, rice, hot naan, soup, chutneys, and even dessert (usually kheer, which is delicately spiced rice pudding).

When they first opened in Sacramento, the walls were bright orange, green, and deep blue, reflecting the colors of the Indian flag. But then they had a kitchen fire last year and were forced to close for several months. When they reopened, the walls had been painted a more sedate muted beige, making the dining room much more elegant. There are framed photos of Nepalese landscapes and temples and wall-mounted Buddhist figurines. The whole effect is a nice combination of exotic and calm.

There are two things that I always want when I go there: the Baigan Bharta, which they describe as "eggplant roasted in a clay pot and cooked with green onion, garlic, bell pepper, herbs, and spices," but I just call fantastically savory and perfect for smearing on naan; and the Chicken Makhani, "boneless charcoal roasted chicken with herbs and spices cooked in a special creamy sauce"--and that creaminess comes from pure buttah folks. Plus some silky tomato puree. It's heaven.

I even took my meat-and-potatoes-loving father there one time and he was more than pleased with the Kathmandu Kitchen Special of roasted rack of lamb in a basil-garlic sauce. There are plenty of intriguing vegetarian dishes (although vegans should be aware that butter and cream are sometimes used). They also have a few children's dishes like the "Little Sherpa Dinner," that have rice, mild curries, French fries (an oddity there), or hand-held dumplings.

Now, I've never been to the other locations, but they also have restaurants in Davis and Auburn. So there's no excuse for not trying their well-priced and well-made cuisine, no matter where you are in the metro area.

Kathmandu Kitchen
1728 Broadway, Sacramento
441-2172
Web site: for other locations, online reservations, catering options, and menus

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

{In which we try a double review, with opinions from each of us. We'll see how often we can get together to eat!}

Ann's Take:
Most dads, even if they can't really cook, can construct a tasty sandwich. And Dad's restaurant is like a cozy home kitchen with the best sandwich fixin's around. With only about 5 tables (3 or 4 more if it's sunny outside), and a small space in front of a house on S Street, you feel like you're really walking into someone's home business. Painted menus take up one wall, with sandwich names like Angry Road Man (grilled turkey, bacon, Swiss, roasted onion, peppers, musroom, tomato, olive, mayo, mustard, sourdough bread), Bikini Kill (grilled turkey, ham, Cheddar, cream cheese, onion, tomato, peppers, mustard, sourdough), and Honky Tonk Hero (potato chips, American cheese, pickle, lettuce, mayo, mustard, white bread).

I went twice this week: first on Tuesday to get take-out sandwiches for watching the bike race come into town, and then yesterday to get photographed for our interview to appear in the April Sac Magazine. Oh, and for some more good sandwiches!

The first time, I got the Dad's Chicken Salad, which was full of chunks of moist chicken with big hunks of walnuts and an unusual dill-flavored dressing, with Provolone cheese, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and organic wheat bread. Very satisfying and sort of health-conscious! The walnuts were a great addition, and I really liked the strong dill flavor of the salad. I also got a bite of my husband's Hot Blonde (now there's an ironic statement, huh?). It was grilled with chicken, avocado, Swiss, tomato, roasted onion, spinach, cucumber, garlic spread, mustard, pepper plant sauce, and sourdough. There are no plain ham and cheeses on the menu at Dad's, although you can get one if you really want to, along with PB&J.

Yesterday I tried the Lock Down (grilled chicken, bacon, blue cheese, red onion, roasted mushrooms, wheat bread) and loved it, especially with a side of Miss Vickie's sea salt and malt vinegar chips and a grapefruit Izze's soda. We also got a small spinach salad loaded with feta, walnuts, dried cranberries, and a nice light citrus dressing. The owners are really friendly, and didn't mind us taking over the place with the photographer and a slightly unhappy 2-year-old, plus they made us try an Old Soul Baking Co. cookie, which was a good decision.

Jennifer's Take: I kept hearing about Dad's but hadn't found my way over to their shop, so luckily Ann proposed the idea of us doing a she said / she said piece for our blog. Great idea. Sold. ON my way....There are 25 sandwiches to choose from on their menu, which is not including some specials that are thrown up for good measure and an additional 6 salads, so to say that I was at a loss for what to order is an understatement.

Continue reading "She Said/She Said: Eat at Dad's" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I am always on the search for great pizza in Sacramento that is in addition to my never ending search for great Mexican food, a drop dead un-believable burger and the ultimate espresso. All of which sadly I can say I have found only good to slightly better then good. I have been waiting for Pizza Antica to open at Quarry Pond for months as I have many friends in the East Bay who swear to me that when in doubt you can go to their Lafayette location for a solid piece of pie. They also have a store in Mill Valley and another one in Santana Row (San Jose) in addition to a fine dining restaurant in Woodside. So without question the credentials are there or at the very least a lot of confidence. Quarry Pond as you know from my previous posts is a pretty spectacular setting and Pizza Antica sits nicely in the corner on the water. The interior is bright and sophisticated but still totally welcoming to diners of all ages (my two year old was one of my dining partners). The wine list is better then most restaurants around here with the obvious nod to Italian varietals, we started with two glasses of the 03 Rueda Naia Verdejo and antipasti. The antipasti is served with hand-pulled mozzarella (house made) and pickled fennel, roasted butternut squash, and heirloom fingerling potatoes roasted in olive oil and rosemary; there was also the usual suspects of roasted red peppers, olives, grilled sweet red onions, toasted French bread and aioli. For dinner we ordered two glasses of the Dolcetto, Renatto Ratti 04’ and settled on two different types of pizza. The first one was served with Grilled Radicchio, Local Goat Cheese, Pancetta and Pesto. The toppings on this pizza worked well together all though the crust turned out to be more then a little chewy and slightly burned in some spots. The second pizza's crust however was perfection with just the right amount of chewy/softness in the center but still that slight crunch on the outer most layers. The topping on the second one was Spicy Calabrese Sausage, Onions, Peppers and Parsley. Keep in mind that these are true Italian style pizza with a thinner crust so please don't go there thinking you are going to get a fat, doughy round table crust (I shudder at the thought). For dessert of which I really didn't have room for but felt compelled to try we had the Golden Delicious Apple and Huckleberry Crisp with Vanilla Gelato which ended up being simply divine. The service is VERY good, keeping in mind that they only just opened up on the 7th. She was very secure in her suggestions on various wines with certain dishes and had above average understanding of the menu, ingredients, methods etc... quite impressed to say the least. So is it mind blowing pizza? Ummm no but it is better then good. With that being said I am looking forward to going again soon and that speaks volumes and who knows it might reach excellent after I have given them a few weeks to actually get into a rhythm.

5540 Douglas Blvd. Suite 150
Granite Bay, Ca. 95746
T (916) 786-0400 F (916) 786-0442

Ann's 5/1/07 update:

Continue reading "Pizza Antica" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 6:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)

You never know what you'll find in a shopping center these days, and luckily it's not just chain restaurants and card shops. In Folsom, for instance, a friend alerted me to a new shop called Euro Gourmet. They're hidden between the Super Cuts and Great Cookie stores on Riley Street, with a sandwich painted on the window and "Panini" stenciled below. But when you enter the store, it's full of gleaming wood and abundantly stocked shelves of goodies from Italy, France, Spain, and even Bulgaria.

The owner, Berkant (many people call him "Berky"), is originally from Bulgaria and has cooked in a variety of restaurants. Luckily for us, he relocated to Folsom from the Bay Area about 6 months ago and opened Euro Gourmet just 2 months ago. He's super enthusiastic and offers tastes of cheeses and olives to help you decide what to get. And deciding is a hard thing.

There are dozens of oils, chocolates, vinegars, and cheeses. He stocks at least 5 kinds of salt, and 10 varieties of olives. You can find saffron, truffles, foie gras, genuine Italian prosciutto, and even escargot shells for serving those garlicky treats. He has an unusual hot balsamic vinegar flavored with Calabrian chiles and several varieties of mostarda--fruit preserved in syrup and flavored with mustard seed, which is often eaten in Italy with cheeses and meats. And what's even more fantastic is that the prices are great. We picked up a 2.5 g bar of Valrhona chocolate with hazelnuts for $2.99 and a French tin of ginger- and lemon-infused olive oil for $6.99. Fresh breads were only $1.99 a loaf.

Here's what we bought for a feast for 4 adults and 2 kids:

• paper-thin slices of prosciutto
  
• paper-thin slices of bresaola
  
• a wedge of rosemary-crusted manchego cheese
  
• a wedge of aged goat cheese
  
• a loaf of bread and a loaf of rosemary focaccia
  
• the tin of ginger-lemon oil
  
• 1 pint each of black olives and green olives (mixed varieties)
  
• 2 packages of gnocchi (there were 3 varieties to choose from)
  
• a jar of tomato sauce naturally sweetened with carrot rather than corn syrup
  
• a big package of vanilla sandwich cookies with chocolate filling
  
• the Valrhona chocolate bar
  

And all that came to only $54! Granted, Berky gave us the focaccia, and we had tasted every olive and 5 or 6 kinds of cheese at that point, so he was extremely generous. We didn't even taste any of his hot panini, with ingredients like Grana Padano Parmesan and that satiny prosciutto, but those will be a definite must-try next time.

I really hope Berky finds an appreciative audience in Folsom, and I will definitely drive out there just to browse and find special ingredients. It would be a great place to go on the way to Tahoe for a gourmet weekend (it's not far off Folsom Blvd.). You can grab a sandwich and a bottled sparkling lemonade and some chocolate for the drive, then stock up on cheese, olives, bread, and oil to snack on after a day of skiing or hiking. And once you get hooked on his great prices and tasty treats, you may find yourself having a bit of manchego or oil-drizzled bread with breakfast.

Euro Gourmet
1165 Riley Street, Folsom
916-607-7154

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Friday evening started out at 55 degree for drinks before meeting up with the Sacramento Epicurean Group for dinner at Gaesorn Thai Restaurant on 9th St. We had a bit of time to kill and there isn’t anything remotely around Gaesorn where you can comfortably belly up to the bar for a glass of Lucien Albrecht Rose. So 55 seemed fine to us, and it was. Kinda. Now I really don’t have anything against this restaurant as all my meals there have been fairly solid. However, I do have one sticking point with them. SERVICE...it’s just awful. It blows my mind how long it takes to get anyone to pay attention to you just to order and glass of wine and a beer. I just hate hate hate when servers seem like they could care less and the look on their faces say if I have to pretend I like this job for one more second I am going to vomit. Oh well, onward and upward and we were off to Gaesorn. Now this was my husband and my first experience with the Sacramento Epicurean group and I was kinda nervous. What if no one likes us kinda nervous? When we sat down there was one other couple at the table and lucky for us they happen to be the brains behind the SacRag blog which I adore, so even if they didn’t like us (I think they did) I liked them and was relieved to be next to fellow food lovers. Gaesorn has a fairly stark interior, (I believe this particular location is relatively new for them) with blood red walls and one lone piece of artwork hanging in the corner by the door. They had a buffet style dinner set up for us with exception of the appetizer which was set at our table to pass family style. They do not have an alcohol license (big bummer) so most of us enjoyed hot Thai Tea which is slightly sweet, woody flavored tea, not to be confused with Thai Ice Tea which I just don’t get. The dinner was enjoyable the food was good, drunken noodles being the top winner for my palate with a nice amount of spice but in no way overwhelming. However, Paul said the spice levels can vary from meal to meal so tears can happen. I am not sure if I would frequent it often perhaps because it is a bit of commute for me from Fair Oaks and it wasn’t mind blowing. But it is enjoyable and the servers seemed committed to having you happy so I would recommend to anyone to give it a whirl or drop in for lunch which I believe the restaurant is perhaps more geared towards. However, I am looking forward to next dinner with this group; I have a feeling that Paul is pretty in tune with great ethnic finds in our city and this a wonderful group to be a part of so I urge you to check it out.

Appetizer
Fresh Rolls

Lettuce, Cucumbers, Carrots, Mint Leaves, Cilantro, Basils and Rice
Noodles Rolled in Rice Paper, Served with Sweet & Sour sauce

Main Courses

Stir-Fried Shiitake Mushrooms, Green Beans and Water Chestnuts
Stir-fried Shiitake Mushrooms, Green Beans, Water Chestnuts, and
Carrots in Oyster Sauce
~~
Beef and Broccoli in Panang (mild) Curry Sauce
Beef, Broccoli, Bell Peppers, Basils and
Panang Curry Sauce

Chicken Drunken Noodles (spicy)

Stir-fried Chicken, with Big-Flat Noodles, Onions, Fresh Basils,
Bell Peppers, Tomatoes and Eggs in (mild) Basil Chili Sauce

Jasmine Rice

Place: Gaesorn Thai Restaurant-
1015 9th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: (916) 444-3391

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I went up to Auburn yesterday in search of blueberry bushes (at the fantastic Eisley's Nursey) and thought I'd try a local restaurant since I don't get up there often. So I checked yahoo maps for nearby addresses and settled on either Kabob House or Drooling Dog Barbecue. Well, it turns out that yahoo maps can't be trusted with that sort of thing. There was no Kabob House and the Drooling Dog was up another 15 miles in Colfax. Hmph.

So I solicited suggestions from the Eisley's employees and customers and was highly encouraged to try Lucille's in Rocklin. "Their barbecued chicken salad is to die for!" claimed one woman. More bad directions and another stop for guidance later, we finally found it in one of the sprawling planned community "town center" shopping areas. The parking lot was packed, but the restaurant is so big that it wasn't nearly full.

The place was built to look like an old roadhouse, with a tin roof and vintage decor. But it fairly screamed "I'm the result of many focus groups" with its canning jar drink glasses and chicken-shaped dessert menus. So we were a bit biased going in, but starving, and figured that even corporate eatery barbecue would be better than going to the Macaroni Grill or KFC.

We ordered a soda and their strawberry lemonade, which came in 2-quart jars (which were replaced with full jars before we'd even finished half!).The lemonade was achingly sweet with frozen strawberries. We also got some hot biscuits with apple butter. Now, being biscuit connoisseurs, we thought these were pretty good, but not great. They weren't too sweet or tough, but I missed the sour tang and tender flakiness of really good Southern biscuits. The butter with them, oddly, was not like the pureed spiced apple condiment but actual butter with apples and sugar in it.

Next we tried the Fried Green Tomatoes ($6.95). If you're going to eat tomatoes in February, they might as well be green. These were surprisingly lightly coated in cornmeal and fried crisp without being greasy. The red pepper cream sauce with them had a pleasant oniony flavor. Hmmm...not too bad.

Continue reading "Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Are you tired of cooking yet this holiday season? When I've had it with washing dishes and going to the grocery store every day, the first thing I want for take-out is a burrito. When I lived in San Francisco, I was always within a block of a great Mission-style (enormous and wrapped in foil) burrito. They came packed with your choice of rice, meat, beans, salsa, and any number of condiments. It's taken me a while to find that kind of burrito in Sacramento though.

Sure, there are some very good and more traditional burritos to be found here, but I always seem to want that comfort food of the overstuffed and juicy burrito. Greasy is better and don't skimp on the spice. So I was really happy lately to find two great resources for my fix.

The first is La Fiesta on Alhambra Boulevard, which has the closest to the Mission-style burrito I've found here. I especially like their al pastor (barbecued pork). They have awesome aguas frescas too (horchata, cantaloupe, limon). I'm also pretty fond of Juan in a Million on the far reaches of Broadway (around 58th), but it's a bit far from my house for those last-minute lunches.

The other great resource is the Burritophile site. You can find listings and reviews for burrito joints all across the country, posted by burrito freaks galore. Look up your city of choice and find a list with average review score or click on the map feature for a layout of places to go. They've got Sacramento,
Davis (only 7 places though), and virtually every other town or city you can name. There are even listings (okay, only 1 for each) in Kansas, West Virginia, and Vermont!

So don't be deprived any longer, and don't just stick to the closest place in your neighborhood. You never know when you might find a travel-worthy burrito in the least likely place.

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Sorry! We've been a bit busy baking cookies. But we haven't been too busy to eat!

The section of Broadway in Oak Park around 35th Street has been getting spiffed up over the last couple of years. The improvements spearheaded by Kevin Johnson (formerly of the Kings) include upgrading the beautiful theater there, the addition of a bookstore and gallery, and the arrival of Starbucks to the neighborhood. The recently opened Bicycle Kitchen is just up the street. The Sacramento Philharmonic has offices there too, and a friend who works for them went with me to Broadway Soul Food, which we'd been wanting to try for a while.

The tiny restaurant is just past a hubcab place and next to a bail bonds storefront. They're only open Thursday through Sunday, but serve lunch and dinner. Growing up a sort-of Southerner (southern Delaware), and that stint in college in North Carolina, has made me into a Southern food fanatic. And even though I avoid fried foods most of the time (onion rings excluded, see Jamie's review), I eagerly bellied up for a plate of the restaurant's highly recommended fried chicken. Note: they recommend you call ahead, because they fry it to order, which takes 20 minutes.

Continue reading "Broadway Soul Food" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Roxy is the newest restaurant venture of Ron and Terry Gilliland whom also own Lucca. I actually have had the pleasure of dining at Roxy twice this week, once at the “test” dinner on Saturday evening and then again on Tuesday when my brother in law was in town and I actually had an answer to the on going question of “where should we eat?” Jason (brother in law) actually works with Ron in the cattle business and was eager to try Roxy as he knew that the beef was going to be top notch. And it was! Roxy currently serves certified natural Angus prime beef out of Nebraska; however, he will be sourcing locally from Lucky Dog Ranch in the near future. Actually, a good portion of his menu is sourced local which is always refreshing to see. The restaurant interior is a lovely, all be it unlikely, combination of “western meets modern”. Perhaps it is the new “east meets west”. There is music from the likes of Johnny Cash and George Strait lightly playing in the background and the two large banquets in the middle of the room are covered in rawhide. The large wooden back bar is an antique that Ron found in St. Louis, and is a perfect match to the beautiful chandelier that presides over the room. There is no question that there is a country influence, but there is also an elegance and a simplicity at Roxy that dusts off any lack of sophistication and places you right in the midst of a “fine dining” room.

Continue reading "Roxy" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 4:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

It's true! I actually went to a restaurant in Davis. I know this is SACAtomato, but we would like to be inclusive of our nearby towns—especially one with as many eating places as Davis.

So lunch on Tuesday was a tasty meal with Brendon of Something in Season. Tuco's (the editor in me wants to add the apostrophe, although their menu doesn't use it) is a little place on 1st Street, right by the train tracks. They have a counter where you can order food to go, or you can sit at one of the 8 or so little tables in the small, sunny room lined with shelves of wine.

The paper menu changes with the season, using lots of local, organic produce from farms like Riverdog, Good Humus, and Sun Valley, which are listed on the menu. You can order a shot ($1.50) or bowl ($6) of the soup of the day, a serving of Trebbiano Balsamic Vinegar, and oysters on the half shell (there were 3 offered the day we were there). There are also salads, sandwiches, small plates, and "special" plates, not to mention a nice selection of wines by the glass or flight. You can even order a tasting flight of sakes or sparkling wines.

Continue reading "Tucos Wine Market & Café" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

So my brother-in-law was up on business and we went through the usual song and dance of “where should we go for dinner?” “I don’t know, where do you want to go for dinner?” This goes back and forth for about an hour, whereas if we decide to get in the car, we are more likely to commit to a location. We live in Fair Oaks, making our options somewhat limited (suggestions welcome), so we always focus our easy commute choices on Folsom and Roseville. I know that there are probably choices in Rancho Cordova and Carmichael, but I never can think of them when we are throwing out options. Therefore, we are in the car and heading towards Folsom with no choice made but we do not really feel like the five minute extra drive to Roseville. “Pachanga!” I call out … god, I should have thought of it earlier! Fine, sold, we are on our way.

Pachanga is one of those restaurants that should be packed—the food is good, the bar is stocked and visually appealing, and the overall feel is fun, fine dining, yet casual. So we sit at a table that has a nice direct view of the flat screen (when in Rome you might as well have a good seat) to the baseball play-offs (hey I am with two men!). I graciously offer to have them sit in the seats directly in front of the TV, whereas I am stuck sitting right in line with a ceiling light that is pointed right at me. Now, I would not generally mention this but it was so bad that I had to ask Jason (brother-in-law) for his baseball hat because I literally could not see after asking the waiter if he could please turn it down (the dimmer was broken and I was out of luck). Okay, I am blind, but content.

Continue reading "Pachanga" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I was invited to lunch at Ettore’s yesterday. And given that I have already established that I have a weakness for food, especially good food, I was there with bells on instead of tending to the growing pile of work on my desk. Ettore’s is one of those places that I find myself saying "god why don’t I remember to go here more often?" They have fantastic desserts and bread and the sandwiches and salads are out of this world. I ordered the chicken Caesar salad on freshly baked ciabatta. The menu described the Caesar dressing as “Ettore’s famous Caesar dressing.” I knew that meant that I was going to love it with all my heart or hate it because it was overly anchovied.

Continue reading "Ettore's" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, I've been sitting on this review for over a month and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I don't want the place to become overrun with people seeking the hottest new thing. Because one of the biggest charms of Mulvaney's is that it's intimate and quirky and feels really personal. And guess what? They don't have a flat-screen TV anywhere on the premises! I know that's a shocker for a Sacramento restaurant, but thank goodness chef/owner Patrick Mulvaney didn't feel the need to fall into that trap.

Mulvaney's is so good that I went twice in one week, which is pretty unusual for me with a restaurant that costs more than $5 for a meal. And both times everything that I ate was delicious, beautifully presented, and just a bit unusual. Not screamingly avant garde, but slightly challenging in a San Francisco restaurant kind of way.

Continue reading "Mulvaney's Building & Loan" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Like most people, I wake up thinking about what I am going to prepare, or where I am going to dine, for lunch and dinner. I am not counting breakfast here, because most mornings if I have coffee and toast I am good to go, this of course is not counting Sundays (you have gone here with me before). Now as the saying goes, I have good days and bad days. Now I know that this wasn’t originally said with the intention of how well one eats, but for me it is very apropos.

Today, I woke up and I had a ton of work that really needed to be done, but around 11:30ish my mind was drifting towards lunch (it was probably more like 10:00). Now the mature, economical decision would have been to have leftovers, but really how interesting does leftover chicken seem to you? So being of a selfless mindset, I set out on some errands early so I could find something that really piqued my stomach’s interest and more importantly was bloggable for y’all. I settled on Mr. Pickles. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be worth writing about, but you can never go wrong with a good sub. There was a woman behind me in line and then a guy came in to join her. I wasn’t really paying attention to them but I did notice the guy smelled pretty darn good, so I casually looked over and saw that he had a bag in his hand. It was from La Fogata, which is a taqueria across the way, and I realized that was where that wonderful odor was wafting up from. Anyhow, the funny part of this story is that I have bugged Daren (my husband) forever to try this place and he always shoots it down. In all fairness, we lived in Southern California for most of our lives and there is at least one good to possibly great taqueria on each block, or at least it seemed that way. However, the primary reason he determined that this particular one was going to be bad was because the restaurant itself looked too “nice.” However, the smell was far too good to ignore, so of course I bowed out of line and headed across the parking lot to La Fogata to get my hands on two carne asada tacos.

Continue reading "La Fogata" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So I've lived for almost four years not half a mile from Jamie's Bar & Grill on Broadway and never been there before. From the outside, it's not exactly inviting, with no windows and a dark wood shingle facade that almost butts up to the street. I figured it was the neighborhood dive bar, especially since my husband and his workmates like to go there for drinks. But the food-savvy husband told me it was worth eating there, so in we went for dinner.

Once you open the door to Jamie's, it's like stepping through a looking glass. There's an enormous dark wood bar, brass rails setting off a dining area, and friendly employees. We went on a Monday, and there was hardly anyone there, although the bartender said that was pretty unusual. Maybe it was the Monday-night football? It certainly wasn't the food. That big bar, by the way, survived the earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco aboard a yacht and is now restored to all its gleaming glory, complete with bell.

Continue reading "Jamie's Bar & Grill: Dive On In" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

It has become a family tradition for us to have Sunday morning breakfast at the Sutter Street grill in old town Folsom. The only problem with this tradition is that the wait to be seated can sometimes be horrendous. My husband and I are fairly used to it and we just wander around looking at the eclectic shops that flank the restaurant. However, patience isn’t a strong point of some of our family members and the whole twenty minutes that the server suggested it might be to have our party of six seated was out of the question.

Now let me be clear here...a tradition wouldn’t be a tradition if it wasn’t worth the wait, and Sutter Street Grill is worth its wait in gold to me for two items. Buttermilk biscuits and the cinnamon roll French toast. But it was not to be, so the question was where do we go? Sutter Street does have a few choices but how were they going to measure up to what I consider the best greasy spoon restaurant perhaps of all time, oh and could they get us seated ASAP? Tall order, but we were off to find a restaurant. Two minutes later, restaurant found. At Seasons on Sutter, I walked in to inquire how long the wait would be for our party and they said that they could seat us right away. Um, is that a good sign or bad...either way my sister in law was relieved, thus the rest of the party was relieved.

We sit and I survey the dining room. Nice enough, they had already brought fall in to the decor with candy corn filled vases and orange/brown silk flower arrangements, but it was decidedly more upscale then my beloved Sutter Street with the mere fact that everyone at our table had a matching coffee cup. On the other hand the gal next to our table was reading a book titled “Drink as much as you want and still live longer,” so things were looking up.

Continue reading "In the Shadow of the Greasy Spoon" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than tasting a flight of wines and eating? If you were in the Bay Area, there are hundreds of places where this could be accomplished. But in the capital city, the choices are not so wide. Fortunately, Selland's Market in East Sac has got the perfect set-up.

Now, I'm sort of embarrassed to say that I had never been to Selland's before last week (in 4 years of living here). I guess that's what happens when you don't venture out to the far reaches of H Street often. I mean, I DO live near a very nice market (Taylor's), and I don't attend Sac State, so I didn't have a lot of cause to head out that way. Nevertheless, I found myself there and luckily so.

Selland's is definitely a "market" and not a grocery store. They don't have all the basics like milk and eggs, but a wonderfully edited selection of high-quality condiments, snacks, and wines. Plus hot prepared food, appetizers, and baked goods. There are several lovely bistro tables inside and a few outside on the patio or under the misters. Selland's seems like much more of a sit and visit with the neighbors kind of market than a pop in and go home place.

Continue reading "Flights and Finger Food" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Oven-dried tomato tart, fresh salmon with Israeli couscous, and roasted local peaches with ginger biscuits. Sounds like a high-end restaurant, doesn't it? Well, the Oak Café at the American River College (ARC) is exactly that. It's a tiny little surprise in the midst of the busy campus just off College Oak Drive, near Auburn Boulevard.

As part of the ARC culinary arts program, all of the servers and chefs are students at ARC. They rotate through each of the front- and back-of-house positions to learn about working in a restaurant. The café is only open for lunch on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for lunch, but it's an incredibly good deal: $14 for three courses!

Continue reading "American River College's Oak Café" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

If you've never heard of a torta before, it's Spanish for "sandwich" or "cake." (The Italians use the term more for sweets.) Tortas are typically made on round sandwich buns and piled with juicy meats, pickles, and cheeses and end up looking a little like little turtles--or tortugas, in Spanish.

On Friday, a friend and I decided to try the new Tortugas restaurant on 18th and Capitol for lunch. They are next door to Zocalo and share some of the sidewalk space on 18th Street. The space is small but very bright, with candy-colored graphics on the walls of Mexican wrestling masks, animals, and a red devilette (called la diablita) worthy of a tattoo parlor. The floor is inlaid with small silver turtle images and there are just a few stools lined up on the side walls. If you can snag one of the few tables outside, you're in luck, but the Capitol grounds are a short walk away, so that's where we went.

Continue reading "Tortugas : Have You Had a Torta Lately?" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 10:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Okay, I am the first to admit that I don’t really know that much about soul food and the assumptions I had were not based on actual consumption. So when I was recommended the restaurant Table 260 in Elk Grove I was given an opportunity to discover a new place to eat and catch up on the basics of soul food.

Opened for close to three months, Table 260 (as told to me by the host), is holding steady with a healthy stream of word of mouth visits. For my first dining experience, I was luckily with a group, which is always my preferred method of dining. This allows for ample grazing among the various plates.

Continue reading "Table 260: A Soul Food Experience" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Sitting at the end of the bar at the relatively newly opened 58 and Holding Company, I am surveying the scene and I like what I see. In the corner there is a group of twenty-something women swirling their glasses furiously (passing thought: please let it be something more exciting then Rombauer Chardonnay) their focus is less on the wine, but rather, giving their best expressions of concern for one girl in particular who must have had something gone drastically wrong in her love life.

Continue reading "58 Degrees and Holding" »

Posted by Jennifer Cliff at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)