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There is no real translation for the Greek "Opa!". It's kind of a "hurrah" or "bravo". In that case, Opa Opa restaurant is aptly named. Located at 5644 J Street, Opa Opa is casual in setup. It is cafeteria style. After looking at a menu, you go up to the counter and place your order as you grab a tray. The menu had the full variety of Greek dishes from dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves) to leg of lamb and gyros.



Our meetup group went through the line and sat and devoured our food. Dianne and I had the pastitso (pic above)- layers of elbow macaroni, parmesan cheese and a spicy meat filling, all held together by a rich bechamel sauce. It was served with a side of grilled veggies, that were nicely seasoned and still had a crispness to the green beans.


Robert had the seafood souvlaki, basically a shrimp and scallop kabob with rice. Melodee had a simple tomato, cucumber, feta salad. Kieran had the gyro plate.

But even after all that, we weren't done! Phil, the owner, asked if it was our first time there. We all said it was and so he brought us extra food to try! And boy was he generous! He brought out a huge plate of hummus and bread. The hummus was salty, garlicy, and delicious. There was also a small plate with a few slices of lamb and their special mint paste. Phil came out to explain that they go through 100 gallons of hummus a month! He said the hummus, tzatziki, and falafel were all made there. Melodee and I admitted that we really didn't care for falafel. Well that might as well have been a dare to Phil. He then brought a plate of their homemade falafel and explained the best way to eat it - dipped in the tzatziki and then with a bit of hot sauce. I must admit, they were very good.





Right next door to Opa Opa is Sweeties - a dessert shop. I am constantly arguing that there need to be more quality dessert places in Sacramento. This is just a shop without tables. There is a counter along the window where you can stand and eat your treats. Pretty much all of the desserts are done in single servings - mini cakes versus getting a slice of cake. There was tiramisu, cheesecakes, cakes, cupcakes, brulees, etc. I chose the coconut cream cake and enjoyed it. They stay open until 10 for that nightly sweet tooth craving.

I LOVE barbecue pork ribs. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. I am happy to try any barbecue place except for Texas style. Lucille's has been open in Rocklin for a while now, but I rarely head out that way anymore. (Used to live there when I was married.) Anyway, I decided it was time to organize a meetup dinner for out that direction and finally get it checked off of my To Eat List.

There are so many types of barbecue in this country. You've got Memphis, Texas, Carolina, sweet, spicy, honey based, vinegar based, etc. I believe Lucille's is Carolina barbecue - for the most part. After all, there were traces of Louisiana with the jambalaya and the gumbo. Anyway, I had made reservations for our group and was disappointed that we still ended up having to wait for quite some time at 6:00 (early)!

I am big into baked goods and sweets. So I can appreciate a good quality biscuit. The biscuits are served up when you are seated and come with honey butter. I asked for regular butter. The biscuits are huge! And oh, so fresh, hot, and yummy!




OK. Who likes okra? Raise your hands! I am one of those who grew up with bad okra experiences. My mom made some stewy dish with the slimy okra. Others at our table had never had okra. Connie ordered the fried okra (above) and was kind enough to share it with everyone. It was good! The okra was cut into small chunks that had been battered and deep fried and then served with dipping sauces. They were crisp, tasty, and not slimy. Well, maybe just a tad. But that was the beauty of it. Because of the small chunks, the amount of slime of the inside seeds was minimal and easy to tolerate. After all, okra's bad rap comes from the issue of texture. Dena told us that okra is in the cotton family - which makes sense. The inside of the pods have the slimy threads and seeds. Let's see - I mentioned 'slime' four times. Did I tell you okra is slimey?



This dish was the small sized gumbo. Don't want to know how large a large is. Another tablemate (Mary?) was from Louisiana and said that gumbo has to pass the 'plop' test. If its runny and pours off the spoon, it ain't gumbo. Lucille's passed the test with a thick, peppery, chunky gumbo. I've always opted for jambalaya over gumbo, but admit that this was delicious.



Since I was sharing I ordered a combo platter with a half chicken, pulled pork, beef brisket, corn, and mashed sweet potatoes. The chicken was smoke barbecued and very moist. I loved my grilled ear of corn. Grilling is definitely the best way to do corn. The beef brisket was good, but nothing special. The same can be said of the pulled pork. The big disappointment was the sweet potatoes. They were so pureed that it was like eating baby food. You want some chunkiness in any mashed potato so that you feel like you are really eating potatoes and not fakey potatoes. Yuk.

I said I am a sweets person and so usually I do opt for a dessert. But the dessert menu was boring. It had typical fare like chocolate cake, apple pie, bread pudding, etc. Nothing struck my fancy. I had hoped for Red Velvet cake. Oh well. We all passed on dessert.

I think I'll stick closer to home to my regular BBQ haunts. Lucille's was good, not outstanding. What it had going for it were a large menu and large helpings. What it lacked was quality in some items and a long wait!

Update: 3/13/10
Dad and his new girlfriend were in town and so I took them to Ella. They opted for the $50 deal - entree and bottle of wine for two. The entree for the week was beef bourguignon and included a side cheese au gratin. They enjoyed it very much. I also introduced them to the bone marrow appetizer I mention below. New for them and they liked it too. But I can't say enough about my entree. It was a lamb dish with a stinging nettles puree with other root vegetables and it was FABULOUS! It was heaven in my mouth! I am now officially in love with Ella.


Original post: 1/12/10
Every January there is Sacramento Dine Downtown week. The idea was to take a traditionally slow month and pump up the dining attendance by offering a week of three-course meals for only $30 at many of the most popular restaurants downtown. Aside from generating business, it's a great way for people to try places they've been wanting to try. It's been so successful over the last few years that they expanded it to be ten days so that it overlaps two weekends. It's also being copied by other areas of town. Roseville will hold theirs soon.

I'm always on top of it and remembered to look up the dates and the restaurant lists back in November before it got publicized and places filled up. I wanted to choose somewhere I hadn't been yet and had been dying to go to - Ella. At the time the menus were not posted. As we approached the date, I took a peek of the other restaurants and all of the now posted menus. I was happy with my selection. Most of the restaurants keep to the usual fare to appeal to the masses - salmon, chicken, pasta, beef. OK, but boring. Ella had entree choices of duck and skate wing. That's what I want - different choices!

As I entered the restaurant my first impression was good. It was lovely with muted lighting and attractive, light decor. They had a coat check by the door, which was nice amenity. But one of my favorite things about it...the noise level! Because they use a lot of fabrics and sound absorbing materials, there wasn't the loud clamor that you hear in so many restaurants today. We could hold conversations without shouting! Why can't more restaurant designers get a clue? Brick, cement, and hard wood bounce sound to create a cacophony of conversations and serving noise.

We were thrilled to be seated at one of the kitchen tables, seen above. These tables are right by the kitchen service so that you can watch the chefs and staff at work. They are also just plain, nice, big tables. I also observed their private room for special parties and it looked lovely with a lot of drapery.

We had come for the prix fixe menu but also took a glance at the regular menu. Dangerous! There were so many tempting items. But the $30 deal was good too. In the end we ordered the prix fixe menu and added an appetizer from the regular menu. Many also chose to do the wine pairing.

I must say our waiter was attentive and talented in steering selections. He was suggesting the skate wing to which Ryan whispered, "they must be running low on duck". Whether that was true or not, he did sell it well, especially since he described how it was prepared and how it was a specialty item rarely seen on restaurant menus. It created the curiosity for one to try it. He also described the wine pairings explaining that the restaurant had gotten a fabulous deal on cases of these particular wines and they were sharing the cost savings with the diners. According to him, you were getting about $45 worth of quality wine for only $15. At the end I asked Ryan how the wine had fared and he said that he had been impressed with each glass.

So let's get to the food. First I'll repeat something I've said in posts before - a restaurant gets extra brownie points for introducing me to new foods and experiences that I haven't had before. Ella scored twice!


The first new thing for me was our extra appetizer we ordered from the regular menu. It was the bone marrow served with toastettes. I have had very limited experience with marrow mostly because I don't really come in contact with large enough pieces of bone. They took a beef bone and sliced it in half. Then it was broiled and served with a mixture of seasoning, capers, and parsley to spread onto the toast. Above is how it was served, but you can't see the bone. Below is the after photo. It was delicious! And rich! I could easily go and meet friends for drinks and appetizers at the bar and be absolutely content with this.



The first course from our prix fixe dinner included a choice of soup or salad. Most of us opted for the cream of carrot soup with creme fraiche. It was quite a generous ladleful and I knew if I ate all of it I would never make it through the meal. I ate about a third and enjoyed the creaminess without really sensing that I was eating carrots. It's probably because carrots are one of the vegetables that truly do change flavor with cooking. That's a big reason why some people like raw carrots but can't stand cooked and vice versa.


When it came to the entrees our choices were a duck confit or skate wing. The waiter successfully convinced most of us to try the skate wing. It was pan roasted with a mustard beurre blanc and served with potatoes. This was the second new thing for me. I mean, really, this is not a fish that I would normally think to eat...


But it was a very delicious fish. It was mild, soft, and buttery. With the beurre blance it was very rich and delicate. Everyone was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it very much.


The dessert was choice of pear tartlet or sorbet trio. I'm not big on cold desserts in the winter time so I opted for the pear tartlet even though I don't care for pears. The pastry was nice and flaky and the caramel sauce nice and creamy. I felt that the pears could have been cooked a bit more. Ryan said he liked that it wasn't overly sweet. We all loved the thickly whipped cream.


The sorbets were delicious as well. The lightest was the pomegranate. The dark red is the blood orange, which was my favorite for just the right balance of sweetness and boldness of flavor. The last was a super tart Meyer lemon. It had a real pucker factor.

We all left feeling very content with our meals. I felt that Ella did a fabulous job presenting a varied prix fixe menu for those more adventurous diners during Dine Downtown week. Their service and food were superb and I felt that I got real value for my money. Ella has joined the top of my dining list now and I look forward to going again to try some of the other interesting menu items they offer.

Update 4/13/09:
Funny that I would go back to Anatolian Table almost exactly a year later. But this time I was taking my father and family friends. My dad was sharing about his reunion trip to Saudi Arabia last month and so I thought everyone would enjoy Mideast fare.

Things to note this time around? First, we ordered the appetizer sampler for four. What a great deal with a lot of items. You got baskets of bread with a platter with about eight different appetizers including hummus, dolmas, babaganouch, eggplant/tomato mixture, and a few others. Great way to sample everything and even with five people, we didn't finish it off.

For entrees I will only comment on the dishes that were kind of stews. Both my dad and I ordered different types of these (mine was the lamb guvec) but we both agreed on the same things - they were good but we wouldn't order them again and they needed more meat. We both had selected lamb versions and the lamb was in tiny little chunks, hardly any, so that I was hard put to hunt for them amongst the mostly veggies. Try some of the other dishes listed in my original post instead.

As for the dancers, this time we got the more common belly dancers in the scanty costumes and veils. Nice, but I kinda preferred the more traditional village dancing mentioned last year.


Original Post 4/13/08:
I've had a lot of Middle Eastern food. But then you get the restaurants that want to be more specific for their particular region or country. Anatolian Table (AT) is one and it is representing the country of Turkey. Located in Rocklin, AT had an extensive menu that covered some Mideast basics like kabobs and baklava, but also had some new specialties. My Meetup group had a nice dinner there and quite a few dishes were sampled.



Before I go into the dishes I will mentioned that we were also entertained by some belly dancing while there. What made tonight's performance different and interesting was the group. This was a group of four women dancers who danced individually and then as a group. Often times when you have a belly dancer at a restaurant they can be pretty, sexy, scantily clad versions. These ladies wore more traditional garb of dresses, pantalets, and scarves instead of the scanty, beady outfits. Not a lot of exposed skin. Also nice was that they did not dance to some tape on a boombox. They had a small band playing drums and whatever else.

I started off with an appetizer called PEYNIRLI KRADES: Shrimp cooked with tomato, onion and cheese. The five large shrimp arrived in a creamy tomatoey broth. It was good, but I thought it would have some more spice. The sauce was nice for dipping bread in.



The entrees came out and there was a variety. Many people opted for kabobs. George ordered a combo plate which had the chicken, lamb, and seasoned ground beef.




Robert decided to go try the vegetarian guvec. I take it from the description, and the dish that arrived, that 'guvec' means stew. There were many variations of it on the menu depending on your meat choice.



I tried the Turkish equivalent of pizza. The KUSBASI PIDE: Chunks of tender lamb meat mixed with vegetables on crusted dough. Bryan opted for the shrimp version. I really enjoyed my lamb one. It had a thin crust with rolled edges and a spicy, thin tomato sauce. The chunks of lamb and vegetables were on top. I had wanted to try something I had never had before and this fit the bill. It was served with a trio of slaws on the side. Nice to get your veggies in.



My dessert was also something new and something I had a heard or read about. KAZAN DIBI(Bottom of Pot): Mixed of flour, milk and caramelized. It was like a thickened pudding.



Another interesting new dessert was ordered by Jayne. KADAYIF: Shredded wheat, walnuts, cinnamon, light house syrup topped with pistachios. She said they were a doughy concoction and I figured they were probably made with semolina.

Everyone agreed that the food was good and makes the restaurant worthy of a return visit - if you live on that end of town. Since it is a bit far for me, I'll stick to the closer Persian place downtown. But if you are in Roseville/Rocklin, go search AT table out at 6815 Lonetree Blvd.

Last night I went to Irish themed potluck in honor of the upcoming St. Paddy's Day. It was a group of Meetup people that have a love of food and like to do a themed potluck each month. It was great meal! Sure there was corned beef and cabbage, but not the way you're used to.

PJ made a soup made with cheddar, beer, potatoes, and onions. It was nice because it was not too thick and she didn't puree it completely - it still had some chunks.


Anika was in charge of the corned beef and we were all glad she was. Forget the traditional treatment! After boiling the beef, she took it out and glazed it with a sweet, homemade barbecue and then baked it in the oven for a couple hours. Barbecue sauce on corned beef? Let me tell you, I think she converted the entire group. After all, you've got all the side dishes as well.

Melodee made two dishes. The first was colcannon, an Irish take on mashed potatoes that mixes in chopped kale.

• 1 lb potatoes
• 1 lb kale (cabbage may be substituted)
• Onion, or leek or scallion (green onion)
• 1/4 cup milk
• Butter, salt and pepper
Peel and boil the potatoes. Chop the kale or cabbage fairly small, discarding the large stems. Steam until tender, about 8 minutes. Gently saute the onion (if desired) until golden but not too brown. Mash the potatoes well, and mix with the kale and onion. Add the milk (not too much, until moistened but not wet), and the butter, salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a medium oven for about 15 minutes.

She also made the cabbage, but created a version that was another hit. She took shredded cabbage (the kind you buy for cole slaw), added julienned carrots, and then added seasoning. I'll have to ask her what that was. You can see her two dishes on the right side of the plate.

I made a potato torte with bacon, cabbage, and cheddar. I got it from Irishabroad.com which had a LONG list of Irish recipes. (This compared to many other sites that only had a handful of the common stuff like colcannon, Irish stew, and soda bread.) The torte was made in layers, like a lasagna - potatoes, cabbage, cheese, potatoes, cabbage, cheese, potatoes. It was a very nice side and I will definitely make it again as a regular St. Paddy's dish. It doesn't hurt that it uses the bacon drippings to coat the potatoes.

• 1/2 head Savoy cabbage, shredded
• 3 tablespoons Kerrygold Irish butter
• 1/2 pound Irish traditional bacon, diced
• 4 baking potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 8 ounces Kerrygold Cheddar Cheese
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-inch quiche pan or pie plate.

In a pot of boiling water, blanch the cabbage for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water. Pat dry. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the bacon and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon and toss with the cabbage. Add the potato slices to the skillet and toss to coat in the bacon drippings. Place one-third of the potatoes in the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and half the cheese. Top with half the bacon and cabbage mixture, salt and pepper, then repeat with one-third of the potatoes, remaining cheese, bacon and cabbage, salt and pepper, and end with a layer of potatoes. Cover with a sheet of parchment paper and bake for 45 minutes. Remove parchment for last 5 minutes to let potatoes brown. Slice into wedges. Serves 8. inutes. Gently saute the onion (if desired) until golden but not too brown. Mash the potatoes well, and mix with the kale and onion. Add the milk (not too much, until moistened but not wet), and the butter, salt and pepper to taste.
Bake in a medium oven for about 15 minutes.

The host, Theresa, made chicken and dumplings. That was wonderful as well. The sauce was thick and creamy and filled with delicious dumplings. It reminded everyone what a great comfort food chicken and dumplings are. She also made an applesauce/beer cake with a lemon glaze. It was a dense cake with raisins and nuts. People commented that it would be a great cake during the holidays, like a better, edible type of fruitcake.

The cake at the top was made by Anika. Impressive for someone who hasn't taken a cake decorating class. It is four layers of cake which she carved and iced. She then used spray food coloring to get the black. Great job!

This was my first potluck with this group and I was impressed. I'll have to join them more often.

In January there are a group of downtown restaurants who participate in Dine Out Sacramento. For $30 you get a 3-course meal. All of the restaurants sell out. I was able to get the Dining Group a reservation for 12 at Spataro's. Unfortunately it dwindled to 10 and then we had 3 no-shows. (It should be noted that flakers are at jeopardy of being kicked out of the group.) But the seven that were left ate very well. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. Sigh. Here were our choices:

FIRST COURSE:
BLOOMSDALE SPINACH SALAD WITH TANGERINES, BEETS, FENNEL, ALMONDS
or
TUSCAN KALE, VEGETABLE, AND BREAD SOUP WITH NEW PRESS OLIVE OIL

SECOND COURSE:
BRAISED NIMAN RANCH PORK SHOULDER WITH BALSAMIC ONIONS, ESCAROLE,
MASHED POTATOES
OR
TAGLIATELLE WITH FRESH MAINE SWEET SHRIMP, PARSLEY, MEYER LEMON, GARLIC

DESSERT:
QUINCE AND APPLE CROSTATA WITH CHESTNUT HONEY GELATO
or
BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH WHIPPED CREAM AND CARAMEL

Because Dean was with me, we decided we would just select both selections from each group and split them. This was a great decision. The salad was light and fresh with a citrusy dressing. The soup was our only disappointment of the meal. It arrived only warm and was not all that flavorful. I make a Tuscan Ribollita soup every summer with veggies and bread and it is so much better than this version.

Next came the main course. I started with the shrimp pasta. It looked very simple and had the small shrimp in it. But it was delicious. The pasta was homemade and it was tossed with a nice, light sauce. I could have eaten it all but we had to switch. This was a bit difficult because Dean didn't want to give up his pork dish. I finally snagged it and found out why. The caramelized onions were so flavorful! The pork was tender and flaky. There was the creamy mashed potatoes and crunch of the escarole. We enjoyed it.

Last was dessert. I saved chocolate for last. The apple crostata had a nice crust. But the chocolate was oh so much better - because it's chocolate!

We had a lovely time and thought of some future dining events for the next couple of months. I definitely felt we got a great $30 deal.