Eating and hanging out in Sacramento
I have to travel to Sacramento several times a year for work, and I've had lots of crummy food experiences. I've also limited myself to one particular chain restaurant, eating there at least 5 times in the last year!
Today, I came across an article pointing out hot spots. I bookmarked it under "Work" topics. http://www.insidebayarea.com/travel/ci_9443487?source=rv
Any thoughts or additions?
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7 Comments:
Well, I live in Davis - 11 miles from dowtown Sac. and I can make a couple of suggestions. The Davis Farmers' Market is on both Saturdays and Wednesdays. Since you're probably not in town on Saturday mornings, take yourself to the Wednesday evening market. It starts at 4 and several local restaurants set up booths. If you like Indian food, try Khatmandu Kitchen. The Mustard Seed is also the best restaurant in town so their booth is a good bet. Or just go to the Mustard Seed itself. It's small, quaint and the food is very good.
In Sacto itself, Zelda's (a bar) has excellent Chicago style pizza. You have to pay cash. Skip Bibad's; way overrated. Ernestos is good for Mexican food. The Waterboy is OK but expensive. Spataros is good, too. Hope this helps!
Stephanie at 1:17PM on 06/01/08
I just happen to be from Sacramento! I dont live there anymore but in the past few years the restaurant scene has definitely exploded. I'm assuming that since you are going for work you are going to be in the downtown area. midtown is very close and has more exciting food options in my opinion. The link you provided has great dining recs, but if you are looking for more casual spots to just grab lunch, I'm your gal! Dad's has amazing sandwiches...it's on 13th and S street. another great sandwich spot is the Bread Store in J street and 18th. If you are looking for shopping, you can grab a sandwich there and head down J street for some cool boutiques. I second the recommendation for Zelda's on 21st and N. two blocks over on 21st and capitol is Pieces which has pretty good pizza by the slice. Thai Basil on J street and 25th is a favorite for thai food. across the street next to the birkenstock store is this pho restaurant. I cant remember the name but they have really good shrimp egg rolls. you definitely have to check out some of the taquerias. one of my favorites is not near downtown, but its awesome. its on freeport blvd across from McClatchy high school and its called oscars. try their california burrito-shoestring potatoes, carne asada, cheese and salsa. sounds weird but its delicious. My favorite mexican restaurant is Tres Hermanas on K street and 24th. their chips and salsa are amazing and if you go, you have to get salad with the cilantro dressing as your starter. A great chinese spot is shanghai garden on alhambra blvd and H street. if you are looking for a nicer/more expensive spot, i recommend Mulvaney's B&L on 19th street. all the ingredients are sourced locally and the food is great. I hope that helps for now...if you are not working downtown, let me know and I can provide even more recommendations.
Also, a great resource is midtowngrid.com. They have a section called eat the grid which has almost every restaurant in downtown/midtown. Happy eating!
banana at 3:12PM on 06/01/08
Haven't been for a couple of years but I like this upscale Thai place a lot (never tried the noodle shop - I think that's new): www.lemongrassrestaurant.com/
kqrbob at 11:07AM on 06/02/08
Hey Kathy,
I live in Sacramento, and I can tell you your choices are myriad. It would help to know what you are looking for? Upscale? Dive? Taco truck? World-class haute cusine? Believe it or not, Sacto has it all -- you just need to know where to look.
HunterAnglerGardenerCook at 3:48PM on 06/02/08
I used to live in Sacramento, and now live just an hour away. Ernestos, as people have already mentioned, is a family standby. I'm trying to remember names of the other places, but my brain is not giving me anything other than locations right now. (I can get there, I can tell you what kind of food, but I can't come up with names.) Mainly look downtown. There are lots of great places in midtown, also some good ones in East Sac.
cmtigger at 9:26PM on 06/02/08
I like and appreciate all the ideas so far so thanks a bunch.
I'm looking mainly for up(ish)scale with entres under $20. I dine with clients in the area quite a bit. Some times I go out with coworkers, and we like to have a nice drink with our meals. When eating alone, I'm more flexible. For example, I'm happy to eat from the Bread Store (I'm familiar with thins one) if it's just me and I want to take food back to my hotel.
kathy in oakland at 9:27PM on 06/02/08
Lemon Grass has excellent Vietnamese food (Mai Pham is a local legend)
Biba is also good, i've eaten there twice and had great food. Lucca, at 16th and J, is another great Italian food place. The Gov eats lunch there...it's centrally located, close to the Capitol and if you're going to the theatre, it's even closer!
My favorite is Spataro, its upscale but not too pricy. Great Italian food, friendly staff, great for clients and for a nice evening out. We had a Waiter in Training one evening, and ended up with double the service!
As blah and overdone as PF Chang's can be, they're open late, and do takeaway if you need. One of the Mikuni locations is just around the corner on 16th, as is Bistro 33 who have great sandwiches. That particular spot is small, but the menu is the same as 33rd Street Bistro on Folsom Blvd. I'm pretty certain that they do takeaway.
Mexican- Tres Hermanas is my favorite. Great food, great drinks!
Cheap Eats- Though its out of the downtown area, Haggins Freezes is on Walnut Avenue at El Camino Avenue. They make the original original Merlinos Fruit Freezes (all others are imitators!) along with some other non-fruit (Mint, Root Beer, Peanut Butter and a few others) and have hamburgers, hot dogs and the like. Great for those hot summer days in Sacto.
Sacramento Food is moving up in the world and everyday it seems like there's more good food coming into town!
mcanna at 12:05AM on 06/03/08