When you are a food blogger, critic, or writer, the number one question has got to be, "What are your favorite restaurants in town?" To that end, I hereby submit my current list.
Links are to my posts of each place.
First, The Kitchen cannot be put on a list. I recommend it and like it, but it is so expensive that it is hard for the normal Joe/Jane to pony up unless it is a special occasion. So it is in it's own category.
These restaurants are the ones I return to on a regular basis
- Ella $$$ fine dining, affordable happy hour and lunch specials
- Empress $$$ meat focused fine dining
- Kru $$-$$$ best sushi/Japanese in Sac
- Fish Face $-$$ same owner as Kru, but only serves poke in a fast casual concept
- Lou's Sushi $$ my 2nd favorite sushi, addicted to the seafood nachos
- Broderick's $$ best burgers in Sac
- Raijin Ramen $$ large selection of ramens
- Viet-ha $ fast casual Vietnamese - banh mi sandwiches and rice/noodle bowls
Fine dining:
- Waterboy $$$
- Mulvaney's $$$
Restaurants I will happily return to when someone wants to go there:
- Hawk's $$$ fine dining in Granite Bay
- Hawks Public House $$-$$$ on Alhambra Blvd.
- Meadowlands - $$-$$$ in Sloughouse
- Localis $$-$$$ exceptional farm to fork
- Skool - $$-$$$ Asian influenced seafood
- Grange $$$ fine dining in the Citizen Hotel
- Matteo's $$-$$$ neighborhood Italian in Carmichael
- The Press $$-$$$ downtown bistro
- Biba's $$-$$$ landmark Italian
- Magpie Caterers $$ a Sacramento bistro favorite
- South $$ Southern cuisine
- Mother $-$$ vegetarian even carnivores love
- Cafe Plan B $$ - French bistro fare
- Boulevard Bistro $$$ CA bistro
- Porch $$-$$$ Southern
- Roxy $$ American
- Lucca $$-$$$ Italian
- Binchoyaki Izakaya $$ Japanese (no sushi)
In the chain restaurant category:
- Texas Roadhouse BBQ - my go-to when I'm in the mood for a ribeye
In the ethnic category:
- Cafe Morocco - favorite Mideastern
- Siam - Thai
- Katmandu Kitchen - Nepal/India
- Boon Boon - Thai
- Jimmy's Peruvian
- Macau Cafe - Chinese
- Yang's Noodles - Chinese
- Vallejo's - the one at 4th and S - Mexican
- Lalo's - very authentic Mexican
Fast food:
- Popeye's Fried Chicken
- La Fiesta Taquerias
- In n Out
- Chando's
- Suzy's
- Buckhorn Grill
Sandwiches:
- Dad's - American style
Dessert:
- Tower Cafe
- Ettore's
Brunch:
- Bacon and Butter
- Tower Cafe
- Original Pancake House
- Capitol Garage
- Mama Kim's
Pizza:
#1 Alonzo's!!! $$- in Citrus Heights, but the best stuffed pizza
- Federalist $$
- Masullo's $$
- Pizza Rock $$ - every style pizza imaginable
Links are to my posts of each place.
First, The Kitchen cannot be put on a list. I recommend it and like it, but it is so expensive that it is hard for the normal Joe/Jane to pony up unless it is a special occasion. So it is in it's own category.
These restaurants are the ones I return to on a regular basis
- Ella $$$ fine dining, affordable happy hour and lunch specials
- Empress $$$ meat focused fine dining
- Kru $$-$$$ best sushi/Japanese in Sac
- Fish Face $-$$ same owner as Kru, but only serves poke in a fast casual concept
- Lou's Sushi $$ my 2nd favorite sushi, addicted to the seafood nachos
- Broderick's $$ best burgers in Sac
- Raijin Ramen $$ large selection of ramens
- Viet-ha $ fast casual Vietnamese - banh mi sandwiches and rice/noodle bowls
Fine dining:
- Waterboy $$$
- Mulvaney's $$$
Restaurants I will happily return to when someone wants to go there:
- Hawk's $$$ fine dining in Granite Bay
- Hawks Public House $$-$$$ on Alhambra Blvd.
- Meadowlands - $$-$$$ in Sloughouse
- Localis $$-$$$ exceptional farm to fork
- Skool - $$-$$$ Asian influenced seafood
- Grange $$$ fine dining in the Citizen Hotel
- Matteo's $$-$$$ neighborhood Italian in Carmichael
- The Press $$-$$$ downtown bistro
- Biba's $$-$$$ landmark Italian
- Magpie Caterers $$ a Sacramento bistro favorite
- South $$ Southern cuisine
- Mother $-$$ vegetarian even carnivores love
- Cafe Plan B $$ - French bistro fare
- Boulevard Bistro $$$ CA bistro
- Porch $$-$$$ Southern
- Roxy $$ American
- Lucca $$-$$$ Italian
- Binchoyaki Izakaya $$ Japanese (no sushi)
In the chain restaurant category:
- Texas Roadhouse BBQ - my go-to when I'm in the mood for a ribeye
In the ethnic category:
- Cafe Morocco - favorite Mideastern
- Siam - Thai
- Katmandu Kitchen - Nepal/India
- Boon Boon - Thai
- Jimmy's Peruvian
- Macau Cafe - Chinese
- Yang's Noodles - Chinese
- Vallejo's - the one at 4th and S - Mexican
- Lalo's - very authentic Mexican
Fast food:
- Popeye's Fried Chicken
- La Fiesta Taquerias
- In n Out
- Chando's
- Suzy's
- Buckhorn Grill
Sandwiches:
- Dad's - American style
Dessert:
- Tower Cafe
- Ettore's
Brunch:
- Bacon and Butter
- Tower Cafe
- Original Pancake House
- Capitol Garage
- Mama Kim's
Pizza:
#1 Alonzo's!!! $$- in Citrus Heights, but the best stuffed pizza
- Federalist $$
- Masullo's $$
- Pizza Rock $$ - every style pizza imaginable