The Good Life ~ Sacramento
Exploring a City with a Small-Town Feel and World of PotentialArchive for Dine Downtown Restaurant Week
It’s Raining Restaurants…
... and food that will melt in your mouth
Dream Life Scenario: Wouldn’t it be fun to try a different restaurant each night of Sacramento’s restaurant week? Ok, maybe that’s just wishful thinking for most of us, but how about just one restaurant a year – Each Dine Downtown Restaurant Week, try a new place or re-visit an old favorite! For you visitors out there, FYI, this is a really good time to visit or schedule “meetings”, because you can’t cook for yourselves, now can you?
My husband and I were recently given a “prevue” of The Melting Pot’s DDRW menu. Neither of us had been there in a few years, and we were looking forward to “date night”. We met Lea, our easygoing sever/”personal chef”, ordered a couple glasses of Boeger’s Barbera, and then let all of the above work their magic. My mouth literally began to water as Lea mixed the ingredients for our first fondue, and soon we were dipping, scooping and sampling away. We loved it all, although Granny Smith and the Mexican cheeses seemed to cancel each other out a bit.
Next up: Our salads. Tom ordered the spinach and mushroom, and I, the crisp greens with candied walnuts. Both salads and dressings were delicious – an overall delight to the senses – but my candied walnuts were all “candy” and little walnut (pleasing my inner child but disappointing my adult tastebuds). Onto our third course: Generous portions of fresh prawns, filet mignon, chicken breast, salmon and sirloin sat patiently waiting to be dunked, sizzled and served up hot. While the filet mignon didn’t have that melt-in-your-mouth quality you might expect, the rest of the meats more than made up for it. (Not a meat-lover? The breads and vegetables were heaven when dipped in the Melting Pot’s rich, creamy cheeses! And the dessert menu? I wish for you on this 7th Annual Dine Downtown Restaurant Week room in your belly…)
The math on this one certainly added up in sweet savings for us, and the opportunity alone – to try something new or enjoy an evening on the town – should be gobbled up before it’s gone. Dine Downtown Restaurant Week starts this Monday, January 9th and ends January 18th. Thank you, Melting Pot and the other 29 Sacramento-area restaurants for participating in such a generous, delicious event. Now it’s up to us to don our best bonnets, pick up the reins, and ride that sleigh into town!
Reservations are recommended and can be made at http://www.downtownsac.org/dinedowntown. Be sure to ask for the DDRW menu if you’re just dropping in. Also check the website for all 30 participating restaurants. The event is brought to you by Downtown Sacramento Partnership.
Salud & Bon Appetit~
Ready, Set… Eat!
Sacramento’s sixth annual Dine Downtown Restaurant Week is already in full swing, but there’s still time to catch a ride and a great deal while experiencing 30 of Sacramento’s best restaurants. You’ve got six more days in which to enjoy special three-course dinner menus for only $30 per person. You know that’s a steal… but your taste buds won’t have a clue.
Participating restaurants include: 3 Fires Lounge & Restaurant, 4th Street Grille, Biba Restaurant, Brew It Up!, The Broiler Steakhouse, Cafeteria 15L, Capitol Garage, Chops Steak, Seafood & Bar, Dawson’s, deVere’s Irish Pub, Esquire Grill, Fat City Bar & Café, The Firehouse Restaurant, Frank Fat’s, Grange Restaurant, House, Il Fornaio, Mikuni, The Melting Pot, Morgan’s, Mulvaneys B&L, Paragary’s Bar and Oven, Pilothouse, Spataro, Rio City Café, River City Brewing Company, Ten 22, and Tower Bridge Bistro.
“Dine Downtown lets food enthusiasts of all shapes and sizes experience the best of Sacramento’s restaurant scene.” What better way to say ‘Thank You’ than to simply participate, eat, and be merry?! Just note that you may have to ask for the Dine Downtown menu at participating locations. Reservations are recommended but not necessary.
Remember, there are only six days left but a staggering 30 restaurants to consider. It’s like a portal has opened up for regular folks like us to experience local fine dining without breaking the bank. So plan your strategy now and get your appetite revved up!
Dine Downtown is produced by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership. http://www.downtownsac.org/dinedowntown.
There is something special about Sacramento; the rich land upon which it was built, the rivers that flow through, the bounty around it and the people who make the Sacramento area their home.
Life is good in California’s Capital City for many reasons, including climate and geography, community and amenities, nature and wildlife, and so much more. It’s hard to imagine a warmer feeling than a sunshine-drenched morning here, an easier feeling than a refreshing post-rain spring day, or a more engaging experience than a night on the town with friends or family.
There’s truly something here for everyone and every mood, for Sacramento is a shifting entity itself, with four distinct but relatively mild seasons, diverse neighborhoods and people, a ripening food and restaurant scene, year-round events and outdoor fun, and daytime and night-time adventures. Its magic is a blend of history and tradition, vision and reinvention. And there’s so much pleasure to be had here – with family and friends, food and wine, adventures and experiences – that they’re likely to create the kind of fond memories that might seem so familiar… but aren’t quite like any other.
