Sacramento Restaurant Recommendations
 

Mr. Pickle and I will be in Sacramento on Sunday at the end of a trip to spread my family's ashes. We plan to visit the Crocker Art Museum and maybe Sutter's Fort.

I'd love a couple of restaurant recommendations for lunch and dinner; for dinner, we'd want to spend no more than $25 for a main course.

Thanks, everyone!

Lee Ann

What kind of food would you prefer? There are restaurants of all kinds and at all prices. For lunch, consider the café at the Crocker--it's good.

If you like tapas, Aioli Bodega is excellent.

If you enjoy French food, try Brasserie Capitale. They usually have a prix fixe offering at lunch; when we were there it was a really good cassoulet. Might be too pricey for dinner for you, though.

The choices are almost unlimited -- any type of food in particular?

Bangkok Garden Thai if you are in the area (I think it relocated, but not sure whether the location I've been to is the new one or the old one) near the arena - very good Thai food.

Where are you staying? There are scores of great restaurants just in midtown and more in downtown. No need to go out to the suburbs . . . <i>unless</i> you are staying out that way.

You only mentioned the Crocker (a wonderful museum and beautiful bldg ) and Sutters Fort -- The Crocker is on the south edge of downtown and next to the river / Old Sacramento. The cafe in the Crocker (as already mentioned) has very good food.

There are several good places along K Street (a 5 to 10 block walk from the Crocker)

If you are into Vegetarian -- Mother is really terrific (and meat eaters won't miss it because there are some really substantial dishes)

http://mothersacramento.com/#

If you want to eat near Sutter's fort -- there are just soooooo many options. It is on the eastern end of mid town and the area from say 16th Street to 28th St between I and P streets there are probably 35 excellent places in all price ranges.

Do you want a craft beers, or Mexican, or Thai, or a Irish Pub, or Cajun, or 'California Cuisine' or Italian, or fusion, or sushi, or ????

Other than Sutter's Fort -- you might want to check out the State Railroad Museum in Old town . . .

I know you grew up in California, fellow Basque girl, but if you haven't toured the Capital, do so. Docent tours are excellent. The railroad museum is also a great option. I would pick either of these over Sutter's Fort.

As far as food, lots of options. Zocalo, Paesano's, Aioli Bodega, Hot Italian, Lucca, Mulvaney's. It would be great to be on the river in Old Sac, but I don't care for the options there at all. Lots more.

We'll eat just about anything! :-) Mr. Pickle just had an unexpected root canal this morning, so we may need to take that into account depending on how his mouth is feeling on Sunday.

MichelleY, I haven't been to the Capitol in over 40 years, and I'm pretty sure Mr. Pickle has never been there. I'll add it to the list!

Speaking of Basque, any recommendations? Where is that place in the Valley that you've mentioned?

Lee Ann

I thought of Zocalo, but it's quite noisy unless you can sit outside in the patio. The food is terrific; very different from standard Mexican. The dip for the chips is fantastic!

Wool Growers in Los Banos. I grew up there. We just had my mom's 95th birthday celebration there. Old school Basque hotel.

If north Sacramento is okay, I strongly recommend the wonderful Lemon Grass restaurant. Superb Vietnamese/Thai cuisine by a woman who is an authority on those foods. We go there every chance we get and had our big anniversary dinner there three years ago.

For lunch especially, the seared Niman Ranch beef on cold noodles with mixed veggies is incredibly wonderful. I want some right now.

The restaurant is just off Fair Oaks Boulevard, home to William Glen and Williams Sonoma shops. Just a block away you'll find Ettore, a dandy European bakery/restaurant that's a very good option for lunch--if you can resist the cases of delicious pastries and house-made chocolates. The lemon chiffon cake is exquisite.

Darn, Wool Growers is too far west for this trip.

Thanks for the great suggestions, everyone!

Lee Ann

Underhill, I'm putting that on my list - we always need places to stop on the way to Tahoe!

I eat at Lemon Grass maybe every couple of months -- it is not a typical Thai restaurant. More a white table cloth upscale place. WONDERFUL food, not cheap. Not really 'north' of Sacramento as it is less than a mile outside the city limits and very close in. Convenient from both hwy 50 and Business 80 - not too far from Arden Fair.

Mai Pham -- the owner, was a local TV reporter ages ago and gave it up to follow her passion. Everything on the menus is superb. Nice wine list too.

Lemon Grass is yummy.

Lemon Grass sounds delicious, but it's closed Sundays.

Lee Ann

Yes, it is closed on Sundays. I hope you didn't think I was recommending it for you -- my comment was mainly for sf7307 after underhill suggested it.

Have I missed it -- what part of town will you be staying? Do you mainly want something down/mid town convenient to either the Capitol or Sutter's Fort or near where you are staying.

These are all walking distance from Sutter's Fort

The Red Rabbit

Centro Cocina Mexicana

Tres Hermanas

Ink Eats & Drinks

Paragary's

From the list above, I would also recommend Red Rabbit, Centro and Paragary's. The patio at Paragary's is really lovely. This is the midtown location.

We went to the Crocker, then decided to take my aunt's suggestion and see the Fabulous Forties houses. We are staying at the Ridgeway Inn on West Capitol, not too far from the bridge. Anything near here or downtown/midtown would be great!

Lee Ann

We're back home. :-) Mr. Pickle thought we should spend less than the upper limit I suggested here, so we had a tasty dinner at Cafe Bernardo on K Street. It's part of the Paragary restaurant group a couple of you recommended.

Lee Ann

How was your hotel? That area hasn't been the best in the past. Glad you like your meal.

We really like Cafe Bernardo; the one just over the river on Fair Oaks is not far from our house, as are the Fab Forties. Glad you enjoyed your dinner and time in Sacramento.

Actually, it was the Rodeway Inn, not the Ridgeway Inn (not sure where I got that!). It was certainly adequate for a night's stay; the neighborhood didn't feel sketchy, and once the wi-fi started working we were fine.

I forgot to mention we took the Capitol tour you recommended and really enjoyed it.

Lee Ann

Glad you were safe and enjoyed the Capitol.

I should just do a brief trip report so I can talk about Highway 49 as well. :-)

Lee Ann