There once was restaurant, mythical in its place on the Sacramento foodscape. It was a place where a man, woman, and child could go on a Friday night, eat prime rib, clam chowder, and drink cocktails by the bucket load. It was a place that shaped my childhood, my life, the lives of all Sacramentans, hell, the lives of all Americans. That place was the Palomino Room.

Located just off Watt Avenue on El Camino Boulevard, the Palomino Room was a treasure, a throwback, a repository of food, ambiance, and camaraderie from a different age. And now, it can live again.

The restaurant space that once was the PR, is now available for lease. For the last several years, it has been a horrid example of what happens when fusion cuisine goes wrong. That’s right, the “steak and sushi buffet.” But now, those days are past, and the space is once again available to be put right by some enterprising restaurateur. That’s right, you Paul Flemming, you Randy Selland, you Randy Paragary, you Virgas. It’s time to do your civic duty and restore the Palomino to all its vinyl boothed glory. The Paly’ needs to live again. You can make it so.

Every now and then, your intrepid culinary guide (me) gets the offer of a few schillings to write restaurant reviews for other publications. Not wanting to overlap the online and printed-page worlds, I’ve held back from covering restaurants in both places. Nevertheless, I realize that many of you don’t like to get your hands dirty by picking up printed pages, or don’t live in the geographic area in which said printed-page publications are available. To remedy this gap in restaurant knowledge, I give you a quick rundown on some of the area’s newest, and in some cases best, eateries not yet mentioned on this here ‘Rag.

Maritime Seafood & Grill- ****
Owner/Chef Morgan Song has created a dining experience that immediately needs to be considered among the best in the region, joining such familiar names as Biba, The Kitchen, Waterboy, and Mulvaney’s B&L. High priced and high class, this place sticks out in an otherwise depressing Carmichael strip mall on the corner of Marconi and Fair Oaks. Go there, now.

Maritime Seafood & Grill
6440 Fair Oaks Blvd
Carmichael, CA 95608
www.maritimeseafoodsac.com
Continue reading “The Best of the Rest” »

In a lot of ways, Tapa the World is the anti-late-night hangout. Despite the many years of being one of the only kitchens in town open until midnight, the joint has resisted the urge to turn itself into a euro-tinged, ultra-douche lounge, and instead focuses on putting damn good food on the tables until the clock hits 11:59.

I was at Tapa a few weekends ago with a few friends in from out of town. Having the newcomers in tow made me look at the old Spanish gal with a new, appreciative perspective. At 10:30 at night, there weren’t too many other places in town at which we would have had nearly as much fun, eaten nearly as well, or drank nearly so exotically. Continue reading “Tapa the World” »

Friday-
Celebrity Chef Challenge- This annual event and fundraiser for InAlliance, a non-profit organization that provides employment and living services for adults with disabilities, pits some of the area’s best chefs against one another in a contest of Olympian proportions. There’s bound to be great food and copious wine and talented chefs.
Where: The Old Sugar Mill, Clarksburg (10 min south of Sacramento)
When: Friday, 5-9pm
Continue reading “Watcha Doin’ This Weekend?” »

Forget traveling throughout the state looking for the best sushi. Next week, the best sushi will be in Sacramento. Why? Because the best sushi chefs will be at the Sacramento Convention Center as part of the annual SushiMasters competition on Tuesday, June 10.

Chefs vying for the ultimate SushiMaster title include Chef Koji Ogawa, Sakura Chaya (formally with the Japanese Kitchen), Fresno, Chef Billy Ngo, KRU Restaurant, Sacramento, Chef Tomaharu Nakamura, Sanraku Four Seasons, San Francisco, Chef Akifusa Tonai, Kyo-ya Restaurant, San Francisco, Chef Takuya Matsuda, Sushi Bar Nippon, San Diego and Chef Aung
Soe, Geisha House, Hollywood.

The event goes from 5:30- 8:30pm. Tix are $50 online/$65 at the door. Price includes sushi sampling, sake tasting, and a free bag of rice, which, with the escalating price of food, might be worth more than the ticket price itself. The event is sponsored by the good people at the California Rice Commission who remind you that rice production is yet another thing at which California kicks the rest of the world’s ass (ok, fine, I made that last part up myself, I doubt that the California Rice Commission would use the word “ass” in a agricultural slogan).

See you there.

This past Sunday Mrs. Eats and I were lucky enough to attend the second annual Sacramento food bloggers potluck. ‘Twas a rousing event filled with tasty vittles and plenty of food-geek conversations. I won’t give you the litany of flavor delights that were available to the attendees, for it would only make you jealous.

What you might find interesting, however, is a list of the local cooks/writers who attended, and the gastronomical riches available on their respective blogs. Continue reading “Eat, Write, and be Merry” »

A couple quick notes, one about a perennial “dead zone” and another about a case of storefront switcheroo.

The Loehmann’s shopping plaza storefront that has played home to a variety of dining establishments, most recently Giovanni’s pizza, will now be a casual sushi and Japanese eatery called Bento Box. I’m going to take a stab in the dark and guess that they’re going to serve California rolls, tempura, teriyaki chicken, and a noodle bowls. Oh wait, gyozas, I’m sure they’ll also serve gyozas. This is not exactly the Japanese-greasy-spoon idea I had last week; nevertheless, I wish them good luck.

The former home of Beyond Napa wine market in the Lyon’s Village across from Loehmann’s, will now be home to a fro-yo establishment adorably called Yo-Yo Yogurt. It will be a self-serve enterprise ala Big Spoon. Don’t fret about your friendly neighborhood wine seller though. Beyond Napa has moved one door down to take over the former digs of the Francisco Franco woman’s boutique (which, as far as I can tell, is still closed).

How’s that?

They stock the snack foods like crackers and packaged cookies directly across the aisle from their baby goods.

What’s that? You don’t like Wheat Thins with baby-fresh scent or the thought of diapers when scoping out the Double-Stuf Oreos?  Eww.  Neither do I.

This must be a thing for me, given previous posts on the whacked out way of organizing grocery stores.

This is at the Arden & Eastern location, so maybe they’ll have items in more appealing places later on following the remodel.

The Flaming Grill, everyone’s favorite burger joint to be located across the street from a catholic girls school, has finally gotten a beer and wine license. What does that mean to you and me? Well, it means later hours for one. Look for the ‘Grill to be open until at least 9pm on most nights. Right now the taps are pouring the likes of MGD and Pyramid, but look for more craft brews in the future. Really, what would go better with their killer ahi sandwich than a nice Trumer Pils?
Flaming Grill- 2319 El Camino Ave, Sacramento

Dad’s Kitchen is finally open for business. The new restaurant from the owners of Dad’s Sandwich Shop opened its doors a few weeks ago and reports are already coming in that the food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner lives up to expectations. The taps are flowing too, adding a lovely, hoppy bite the lineup of sandwiches, salads, and (during dinner hours) entrees. So grab and “Angry Road Man” with a pint of “Monkey Knife Fight” and see if the funny names make the items any more fun to order.
Dad’s Kitchen- 2968 Freeport Blvd, Sacramento

I have no illusions. I realize that this is not the way to start trends. But just in case someone from PRG (Paragary Restaurant Group), HFE (Haines French-fry Empire), or FFF (Fat’s Friendly Foods) happens to stop by and read this here blog, I’d like to outline a few restaurant concepts that this town needs. (OK, maybe Sacramento doesn’t exactly need these restaurants, but they’d certainly broaden the dining landscape a little.)

These are all niche ideas at best, but who would’ve thought that Chuck E Cheese would still be around after all these years. In no particular order, here they are:

1. Japanese greasy spoon- A friend and I were walking through Japantown in LA and came upon this little Japanese diner. The place looked like the joint that all the cabbies hang out at in “Taxi Driver”–ripped vinyl booths, formica, and tired waitresses. They served beer, sake, soup, and lots and lots of fried stuff. They were open until 2am. And the best part, not a piece of sushi in sight. Yes, that’s right, a Japanese restaurant without sushi. It’s unthinkable, but try and tell me it wouldn’t work. Restaurateurs, lend me your ears: scoop up the old sushi joint on Cap Ave and insert this concept. You’ll have an immediate hit. Continue reading “Empty Stomachs for Empty Niches” »