T1B

Any of you out there?

Where does one go for a decent meal without breaking the expense account bank?

I may need a late dinner tomorrow because my plane doesn't get in until about 8:30. Wed. nite normal dinner hour.

I'm staying at the Comfort Inn on Howe Ave.

TIA

just go to the O garden and graze on their all you can stuff down salad. And go easy on the bread sticks, tubby.

I'd rather graze on somebody's Field Turf than drop even a dime at that dive.

Not that's they're exclusive to Sacramento, but if you're on Howe you might want to go to Buca DiBeppo's, for some killer family style Italian.

Otherwise, what kinda grubb are you looking for?

Hell I'm not picky about type or nationality or anything. Just has to be good.

Got any personal favorites?

That Eye-talian place sounds good, but I'm not sure that dining alone suits the family style thing.

I just remembered...another guy from my company is going to be in the same class that I'm taking, and he's a real honest to goodness Eye-talian dago type wop from the old country.

I should take him to this Boca de Papa place and see what he thinks.

Your Comfort Inn and Buca are both on Howe, only five minutes apart.

If you're willing to do (basic, hearty) Italian, you won't do better. Fun place, killer food, Flinstones sized portions. Depending on when you're going I highly suggest you get a reservation...

If you want high end Italian, you'll want Biba's.

Anyway, here's Buca's contact info, plus the menu...

http://www.bucadibeppo.com/locations/de ... ation=0510

Van, you're really not being much help here.

Got any suggestions for Indian or Eritrean cuisine?

Where does Ahnold go when he dines out?

Where should I go to observe some lobbyists with legislators on the take?

Mikey wrote:Van, you're really not being much help here.

I know. I'm seriously contemplating seppuku.

Got any suggestions for Indian or Eritrean cuisine?

Unfortunately, my favorite Indian foo' recommendation is forty five minutes away, in Fairfield. Probably not gonna work. Eritrean would be difficult, but I can shoot you a recommendation for basically the same thing: Ethiopian, only minutes from Howe.

Cool little place. Sparse furnishings. Lotta lamb and crumbled sandstone dishes.

Moroccan is also available, very nearby. You like sitting on the floor when you eat your cous-cous, right?

There's also a pretty cool all-purpose "Central African" restuarant, five minutes from my house. (Twenty minutes from your hotel.) The waitress there looks like Dikembe Mutumbo's Down's Syndrome afflicted niece but she has HUMONGOUS and very authentic African tits, and she serves up a really decent jambalaya tastin' dish.

Take a pass on the wildebeast stew.

Where does Ahnold go when he dines out?

The Royal Court Dancers' locker room, at Arco.

Where should I go to observe some lobbyists with legislators on the take?

Paragary's, on J st, or, if it's after hours, Centerfolds, off of Hwy 50.

Cafe Bernardo
Original Pete's
Tower Cafe
Fox & Goose Pub

Original Pete's pizza kinda blows, but then I am a pizza snob. They're really hit-or-miss, with the "misses" being low grade dog food and their "hits" being good, but not great.

Buca's pizza is bizarre, and damn good. It's super thin, in a giant rectangle, with rectangle slices.

Mikey, if you go to Buca's, I dare you to order a side of meatballs. If you can down those things and still eat the rest of your meal, you're a stud. Those meatballs are as big as your head, and even more dense. They taste great, but after you eat them you'll want to die.

Van wrote:
Mikey, if you go to Buca's, I dare you to order a side of meatballs. If you can down those things and still eat the rest of your meal, you're a stud. Those meatballs are as big as your head, and even more dense. They taste great, but after you eat them you'll want to die.

I have to go to a class on compressed air systems the next day and stay awake for the entire show.
I'm not sure if stuffing myself on Mama Giovanna's meatballs and washing it down with a bottle of chianti will be really conducive to that.

Shoot me the names of the Ethiopian, Central African and Moroccan places. I might check them out.
I'm leaving my donkey at home and renting a car, so a few miles travel won't be too much of a problem.

Here ya' go, Mikey...

Ethiopian:
Addis Ababa Ethiopian Restaurant
2598 Alta Arden Expy # 1
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 488-2100‎

Tiny place. Very sparsely decorated. Very small menu, very plain accoutrements, "authentic," very affordable. It'll sound like I'm making a bad joke, but I'm not: I had a difficult time getting full here. The food just wasn't very filling, and some of it was fairly bizarre. One dish really freaked out Susan, since it was a cold dish, raw meat, and she wasn't expecting it that way. Interesting place, though, because the owner is also your waiter and cashier. Very friendly lady, and she was genuinely pleased to tell us about her country. We enjoyed her hospitality quite a bit.

This place is fairly close to your hotel. It's just a couple blocks away from Buca DiBeppo.

Food wise, I would recommend either the African or Moroccan places over this one, unless you just want to try something you might not've had before. The food here was unique, but not wholly satisfying.

African:
Taste Of Africa
75 Quinta CT
Sacramento, CA 95823
(916) 525-2600

Little bit nicer place, still very affordable, but maybe a little more expensive than the Ethiopian place. Larger menu, but still a small menu.

Looking at where your hotel is, this one's actually only about ten minutes away, but it's a little more difficult to find, as it's on a tiny industrial circle off a main street.

The food here is much more familiar seeming, even though the names are different. It's mostly stews and meat dishes, and nicely spiced. Nothing here was bland.

Moroccan:
Casablanca Moroccan Restaruant
3516 Fair Oaks Blvd Ste B
Sacramento, CA 95864
(916) 979-1160

I think I've been to this one. That's why I listed two places, because I know I've been to one of the two, and possibly both. I just can't recall which one I definitely tried, but because this one's on Fair Oaks I'm pretty sure this is the one I was referring to earlier. This one's nowhere near as nice as the full on Moroccan palace I went to down in Hollywood, many years ago, but it is nicer and pricier than either the Ethiopian or African places. Larger menu here, too, and the items are much more familiar seeming. There's probably nothing on the menu you haven't had before.

Marrakech Morrocan Restaurant
1833 Fulton Ave
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 486-1944

If this is the place I think it is then it's the nicer of the two Moroccan places I've been to in Sacramento. It's a few minutes further from your hotel than the other one.

Btw, here's one other place you might try...

Peruvian:
Azukar Inka
1616 J St
Sacramento, Ca 95814
(916) 446-1616

After talking Peruvian restaurants here the other day with mvscal and seer, I went looking to see if there are any new Peruvian places in Sac. There's still the one I went to before, but they just opened up a much nicer location downtown, with a much larger menu.

Their combination seafood ceviche (as opposed to their simpler all-fish ceviche) was just phenomenal. Best ceviche I've tried. Their Lomo Saltado was also good, but not as good as it was at my old favorite Peruvian place in Santa Barbara.

Sacramento is brutal.

Asking for a good place to eat is right up there with asking for a good place to die.








the truth

Well, Frisco is certainly better for restaurants, no doubt about that. Food is food though, and Sacramento still has some good places, if you look hard enough.

The one thing Frisco certainly has is the best pizza. Nothing in Sac can touch Amici's.

Van wrote:Well, Frisco is certainly better for restaurants, no doubt about that. Food is food though, and Sacramento still has some good places, if you look hard enough.

The one thing Frisco certainly has is the best pizza. Nothing in Sac can touch Amici's.

It's "San Francisco" you white trash piece of shit.

You can tell "white trash" from everyone else when they call The City... frisco.



Pssst.... San Francisco is known for the best restaurants in the world.... you white trash piece of shit.







m2 is the truth

No, it's not. Not even close, you provincial dingo. In terms of world class restaurants New York and Paris don't even concern themselves with Frisco, which you would know, were you not such a complete poser wannabe.

Quit trying so hard. You're just a clown who rents a place in a suburb of Frisco. You don't live in The City, you're not a part of The City, you have nothing to do with Cal and you have nothing to do with wealth.

You're just a loud mouthed carnie; a shameless gravy trainer.

Van wrote:No, it's not. Not even close, you provincial dingo. In terms of world class restaurants New York and Paris don't even concern themselves with Frisco, which you would know, were you not such a complete poser wannabe.

Quit trying so hard. You're just a clown who rents a place in a suburb of Frisco. You don't live in The City, you're not a part of The City, you have nothing to do with Cal and you have nothing to do with wealth.

You're just a loud mouthed carnie; a shameless gravy trainer.

You're a mess.







the truth

I thought NOLA was the place that lays claim to bestest restaurants in the universe. Even better than FRISCO. Kinda funny since it is otherwise one of the worst shitholes in the universe.

Pssst.... San Francisco is known for the best restaurants in the world

Clearly it isn't, but even if it was, stoolio, you'd have no first hand experience to that claim. You're a ren faire traveler fer christ sakes, which by the way is just a geekier version of a foul-smelling carnie worker. And that means your diet consists of Ramen, Sun Chips, Slim Jim's, and Mountain Dew.

smackaholic wrote:I thought NOLA was the place that lays claim to bestest restaurants in the universe. Even better than FRISCO. Kinda funny since it is otherwise one of the worst shitholes in the universe.

NOLA and San Francisco are both highly regarded, San Francisco moreso than NOLA, but neither are considered to even be in the same league with New York or Paris...or Milan, or Vienna.

Van wrote:San Francisco {is} highly regarded {but is not} considered to even be in the same league with ... Milan, or Vienna.

You're kidding right?
Milan? It's spelled "Madrid" you vacuous dolt.

Van wrote:NOLA and San Francisco are both highly regarded, San Francisco moreso than NOLA, but neither are considered to even be in the same league with New York or Paris...or Milan, or Vienna.

Milano? Dude. The best restaurants in Italia can be found in Toscana (Firenze!) Although... I would say that the best meal I had while there was in a little place in Monterosso (Cinque Terre.)

ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2 wrote:The best restaurants in Italia can be found in Toscana (Firenze!)

Toscana is not a city.

Sin,
MA

If you meant Florence, why start with "The best restaurants in Italia can be found in Toscana?" Dumbass.

Yep, it's hardly just New York, Paris, Vienna and Milan. Florence, Rome and Madrid are all more highly regarded than San Francisco, in terms of restaurants. Arguably, Chicago and Berlin, as well.

You're fucking high.
NY-Yes
Paris-Of course
Vienna-Mmmm no.
Milan-Maybe
Florence-Maybe
Rome-No
Madrid-Close
Chicago-Maybe
Berlin-No

[super gay]Just going off of the usual "Top 25 Restaurant Cities in The World" lists I've seen over the years, those cities I mentioned always rank well above San Francisco. Chicago and Belin sometimes do, as well. I've also seen where L.A. has occasionally come in with the higher ranking, due to its wild diversity of high end dining. New York and Paris always seem to be #1 and #2, in either order.[/super gay]

I'm reasonably certain that nobody here on this board is qualified to speak from personal experience, having truly visited and studied all the finest restaurants in all the finest restraurant cities in the world.

So, I'm just going off published rankings. Like Judge Smails says, however, San Francsco is certainly no slouch.

Van wrote:[super gay]Just going off of the usual "Top 25 Restaurant Cities in The World" lists I've seen over the years...[/super gay]

Ever been to Vienna?
Rome?
Milan?
Berlin?

I rest my case.

I'm following you on the restaurants...but how does the chef know what the diner orders? That's still hazy to me.

-Bfuddled

Moving Sale wrote:

Van wrote:[super gay]Just going off of the usual "Top 25 Restaurant Cities in The World" lists I've seen over the years...[/super gay]

Ever been to Vienna?
Rome?
Milan?
Berlin?

I rest my case.

Rome and Milan, yes. We missed Vienna and Berlin, choosing instead to see Venice, Bellagio, Paris and Amsterdam.

Regardless, you're not qualified to speak to this subject, any more than I am. The people who do it for a living, I'll take their word over someone who's maybe eaten once or twice in any of these places, if that. It's not like you've spent your career dining in and comparing the world's finest restaurants.

Please. Don't even bother going down this road.

Moving Sale wrote:

ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2 wrote:The best restaurants in Italia can be found in Toscana (Firenze!)

Toscana is not a city.

Sin,
MA

If you meant Florence, why start with "The best restaurants in Italia can be found in Toscana?" Dumbass.

Still melting over the parantheses beatdown, are ya? Anyway.

Link to where I stated Tuscany is a city. I meant, Tuscany... especially in Florence (hence the exclamation point.) Always had awesome meals while in that region (Lucca, Pisa, and Siena as well.)

Rome and Milan (shithole) were hit or miss.

Van wrote:Please. Don't even bother going down this road.

Try and stop me.
Show me one "expert" that puts Berlin or Rome ahead of SF.

~~~
Ucan't,
You do know the difference between Tuscany and a city right?

Moving Sale wrote:~~~
Ucan't,
You do know the difference between Tuscany and a city right?

You're the only one confused here.

Did you know there's a difference between my boot so far up your ass that it's flopping around your cocksucker like a second tongue... and you having a valid point?

Moving Sale wrote:

Van wrote:Please. Don't even bother going down this road.

Try and stop me.
Show me one "expert" that puts Berlin or Rome ahead of SF.

I'm talking about magazines I've read over the years. No, I don't have them link-able. Berlin would sometimes pop up on their lists, along with Munich and Barcelona.

Doing a quick perusal of the interwebs, it would appear that at least according to the Michelin Guide the world leaders are Tokyo, Paris, New York, London and Rome. In America, nothing even comes close to New York and supposedly L.A. has recently fallen while Tokyo has surpassed Paris, though this last bit seems to be in great dispute.

In any case, San Francisco is great, but it's not New York, which was the original point.

Being the seasoned world traveler that I am (2 med cruises while in the navy) here's my 2 cents worth.

Napoli- Best motherfukking cappaccino I ever had. Espresso that will wake up the dead. Just watch out for the labrador retriever sized rats.

Roma- Only spent a day there. Didn't do any "fine dining". I remember 2 things from that places- Amazing cultural stop. 2 thousand year old buildings you have seen in books around every corner and about half of the worlds used condoms can be found at the circus maximus.

Vienna- Ginormous cathedrals, architectural nirvana, kraut food, so good or bad, you weren't hungry for about a week or so after eating.

Haifa- The worlds bestest "middle of the night drunk as hell and I need to eat something" place is a haifa falafel stand.

Turkey- The best damn bang for the buck I have ever had in a restaurant. We ate at some outdoor bazaar kinda place. Open wood fireplace about 5 feet from our table from which came a constant supply of fresh pita bread. It was better than sex. Maybe even better than steve vai bisex.

French Riviera- Good food if you have Bill gates disposable income. I didn't, so most meals in town consisted of a bagette, bottle of kronenborg and a slab of cheese. Did have an outstanding meal in a chinese restaurant in Toulon.

NY- chinatown and little italy, which are pretty much the same place is great if you don't have 88 type money.

Chicago- Pizza. And quite possible the best meal I have ever had in a restaurant of any type was at Ron of Japan.

Nashville- great local burger joint chain, fat mo's. Good soul food. DO NOT even think of trying any local eye-talian or pizza joint. There is one good place that I found in 3 years. The rest are the sukk. Actually they need to improve to get to the sukk.

SF errrr.... Frisco- Best damn chinatown there is.

Van wrote:I'm talking about magazines I've read over the years. No, I don't have them link-able. Berlin would sometimes pop up on their lists, along with Munich and Barcelona.

Spent 10 days in Germany (Stuttgart on business)... about 5 years ago. Those Deutschdouches inhale more wurst than TVO in the men's room at a New Jersey rest stop. It is fucking nasty.

I can't fathom two German city's restaurants topping any list of fine cuisine, unless it's associated with Jimmy Dean.

ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2 wrote:Deutschdouches

UCunt wrote:inhale more wurst than TVO in the men's room at a New Jersey rest stop

Maybe even better than steve vai bisex.

How could that be?

Van wrote:Please. Don't even bother going down this road.

Coming out of the Alps at Mt. Blanc (Bianco), the A5 takes you ESE to then merges with the A1 to get you to Bologna, then it drops due south straight into Firenze, then southeast into Rome.

It does this to avoid the GGB.

No, honest. Ask m200l and The Vainglorious Compass.

ucantdoitdoggieSTyle2 wrote:Spent 10 days in Germany (Stuttgart on business)... about 5 years ago.

My sister's has lived outside of Stuttgart in Degerloch on and off for the last 10 years. She tells a strange story of an American who was admitted to the local ER due to having shoved too many Brats up his asre. Richard Gere without the fir and movement was how it was described.

idoshovebratsupmyassdggiestyle,
Your thought?

~~~~
Best restaurant cities...Go!
m2-SF
Van-NY and Paris
Ucant-Tuscany
:doh: :doh: :doh:

Like I didn't show I know Florence is a city. Nice try asschip.