Comments on: Empty Stomachs for Empty Niches

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 16 May 2008 22:59:50 +0000

Ah, you like the servers thing. Because when it comes to BBQ, I’m all about getting it from the counter of Cafe Au Creme and chowing down, server or no.

I’d pass all three options for another decent almost-24-hour place to get a Denver omelet after the 2am shift. Lyon’s just doesn’t cut it. I’ve been pretty sad ever since the 24-hr starbucks stopped being 24 hours.

By: sac-eats

sac-eats — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:53:58 +0000

Rick’s is fun and casual, but #3 is all about dessert with “servers, kitchen, and a full bar.”

By: Dan

Dan — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:23:23 +0000

I second whoever mentioned Rick’s dessert diner…doesn’t that fulfill #3?

By: sac-eats

sac-eats — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:43:09 +0000

I like Sandra Dee’s, but it’s not the kind of place you’d take business clients to. That’s why I suggested this caveat in the suggestion: “But, and here’s the kicker, the place needs to have a few traditional restaurant trappings like fresh fish, good cocktails, and friendly service.”

By: Willie

Willie — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:22:38 +0000

RE: Sit down BBQ, What about Sandra Dee’s at 15th and F?

Unless it closed recently… I haven’t been there in a while.

By: wburg

wburg — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:19:12 +0000

evan: There used to be plenty, but, like most independent video stores everywhere else, they were driven out of business by competition from Blockbuster, Netflix, etcetera. And there is one independent video store: Records on Broadway rents movies, although if you’re looking for the latest Hollywood hits they aren’t much help.

A new tiki bar would be frickin’ awesome. Flaming drinks and food covered in pineapple! Bring back the Zombie Hut!!

By: evan johnson

evan johnson — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:02:07 +0000

okay this isn’t a restaurant niche but holy cow we need a friggin independent video store PRONTO! i can’t believe that the only midtown/downtown option is blockbuster! how lame is that?! okay, sorry i know i know, off topic, but for reals!

By: sac-eats

sac-eats — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:34:36 +0000

We totally need a tiki bar.

By: RunnerGirl

RunnerGirl — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:07:12 +0000

What about the flagrantly missing 56 Degrees and 57 Degrees joints?

I’d love an all-in-one 24 hour place that has fresh & healthful food options, a Naia gelato counter, Pinkberry or Mocchi kiosk, a nail salon, dry cleaner, and car wash.

By: basuraman

basuraman — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:30:26 +0000

Small French price fix place. Kind of like La Boheme that used to be in Carmel.

By: wburg

wburg — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:20:50 +0000

stickie: Okay, I have heard the idea of a farmer’s market in the Railyards bandied about but nothing about one on K Street other than as something that gets written on the sticky notes at public meetings that the city and developers just throw out and do whatever they wanted to do in the first place, after keeping whatever sticky notes that mentioned what they wanted to do in the first place as evidence that they are responding to a public need.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Wed, 14 May 2008 04:57:36 +0000

I’ve been yearning for a new dessert place for ages. Sorry, but Rick’s just doesn’t cut it. They are overrated if they are even rated at all. In Portland there was a great old Victorian place that did just the desserts and it was so quaint and romantic. For Japanese, I’d love to see a Japanese deli like the one at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. I never knew of all the little bite size treats and salads they had. Different and delicious.

By: uneasy rhetoric

uneasy rhetoric — Wed, 14 May 2008 03:33:35 +0000

Japanese hole in the wall? Rickshaw.

By: Stickie

Stickie — Wed, 14 May 2008 00:19:37 +0000

Wburg, the idea has been tossed around at redevelopment meetings over the past few years to put such a business idea somewhere, and I have seen proposals to have something to that effect in the downtown railyards if/when it is developed. I am now wondering if I was the one who proposed it, but am sure I heard it when city folk were discussing what to do with K Street, tenement hotels and the like.

By: sac-eats

sac-eats — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:12:13 +0000

We’ve even discussed this same idea on this here blog: http://sacrag.com/2007/03/the-union-pacific-food-hall/

By: wburg

wburg — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:58:06 +0000

Kind of like the Public Market that we used to have at 12th and J where the Sheraton is now…

Stickie: Where did you hear this about K Street?

By: Stickie

Stickie — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:52:35 +0000

DMZ, that very thing has been proposed for the transformation of the K Street Mall… a semi-open air farmers market and food court with dozens of choices. Let’s keep our fingers crossed…

By: CoolDMZ

CoolDMZ — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:46:45 +0000

Oh I forgot the obvious: a multi-ethnic smorgasbord like the Public Market in Emeryville, one of my all-time favorite places to eat.

By: Stickie

Stickie — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:33:28 +0000

Oh, my pick is obvious — Downtown needs a real alehouse. Hell, I’ll even accept a chain like the Yardhouse, which is all over the So-Cal suburbs, but Sacramento needs a quality taphouse that features beer from across Nor-Cal. We are pretty saturated with breweries in this area, but if one were to close…. say…. Pyramid or Brew-It-Up (not that I wish failure upon these ventures), these would both be great locations, ESPECIALLY Pyramid.

By: wburg

wburg — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:12:22 +0000

CoolDMZ: Jade Garden makes my list, not sure if cuts the mustard for Sac-Eats or not. I’m not sure if it was ever 24 hours but it would be keen if it was.

And hey, why not make Li’l Joe’s 24 hours again?

By: Stickie

Stickie — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:10:40 +0000

I thought Au Lac Veggie was really bland and boring, and I love Andy Nguyens on Broadway, which is a similar concept. The best veggie comfort food is served at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op in their deli and the buffet bar. Agreed, we need more veggie-friendly restaurants!

Ooh, maybe I’ll check out Dad’s Kitchen tonight, I’ve been meaning to do that.

By: Melly

Melly — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:55:59 +0000

CSI,

I had lunch at Dad’s Kitchen on Freeport, next to Freeport Bakery and they had some vegetarian options. Their potato salad was KILLER so I am thinking their mac n cheese must be great. They had a veggie sandwich as well.

By: Fargo Pentameter

Fargo Pentameter — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:34:10 +0000

I’ll put in a plug for Au Lac Veggie (on Stockton Blvd just north of Colonial Theater). Comfort food is a good description of it, if you look to south Asian cuisine for comfort. They do a lot of traditional Thai dishes and clay pots with textured soy instead of meat. I won’t claim that it’s going to win any prizes for originality, but it’s reliable, affordable, and really quite good.

My vote would be for a REAL tapas bar, not some fancified urbane eatery posing as a tapas bar. In Spain, there are innumerable neighborhood drinking establishments each with their own peculiar variety of small, reasonably priced plates. Maybe liquor licenses in the U.S. are too expensive to make this business model work, but I really enjoyed the variety of down-home foods served as a compliment to a late afternoon drink.

By: CoolDMZ

CoolDMZ — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:14:42 +0000

CSI Sac: Maybe one of the veggies on the site can tell you about Au Lac Veggie restaurant in Tahoe/Oak Park down the street from Colonial. I don’t know how long it will last there but it seems to have people inside pretty often.

wburg: Does something like Jade Garden qualify for your list? inexplicably i used to love it, great pot stickers and noodles. i never would have wanted a kitchen tour though.

By: wburg

wburg — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:01:18 +0000

I miss the old diners we used to have downtown…we used to have ‘em, folks! Heck, Jim-Denny’s was 24 hours back when Jim Van Nort still ran the place. There were also a ton of “chop suey” places–basically, the cheap greasy Asian-run diner that sac-eats seeks…only a couple of those left in the central city, and none open all night anymore.

A lot of the demand for late-night cafes is based on workplaces. Back when there were three shifts a day operating at the SP Shops and the canneries, there were reasons to have all-night diners. If state offices were open 24 hours we’d have more late-night dining options…

I’d suggest that June’s Cafe fits into the first category, although they aren’t open at night (since it’s basically a two-person operation.) Awesome Japanese and Hawaiian style food, many fried things, no sushi.

As to Suggestion 2: If they put the restaurant in the CalPERS building, I would advocately highly that they put it near the tower in the middle of the building, simply so they can call the restaurant 4Q. “Don’t like barbecue? Well, 4Q!”

As to Suggestion 3: Basically a giant version of Rick’s Dessert Diner?