Jack's Urban Eats 7 ($$)

Jack’s has two locations one in midtown and the other in Lomman’s Plaza. I have eaten at the one in midtown once and the one in Lomman’s Plaza twice, there isn’t really and difference between the two that I can tell. They are both always busy. The first time that I ate at Jack’s Urban Eats, I have a club sandwich and cheese mashed potatoes. The sandwich was not really that impressive. The bread seemed stale, the lettuce and tomato was really not the ripe or fresh and I over all was not impressed. I was further disappointed by the gritty, plastic cheese flavored potatoes. They were horrible. It tasted like who ever had made them had not first mixed the powdered milk cheese flavor with boiling water but had instead, poured the powder directly into the mashed potatoes. It was atrocious.

I have since tried it twice more, because I always give a place a second change. The second time I took my mother in law out to lunch, she likes a lot of chicken and a lot of American food so this place is perfect for her. All that stands out in my mind about that experience was that it was better than the first time I went.

So today when I Kris and I went for lunch I was not really expecting more than a slightly better than fast food sandwich and a mostly lettuce salad. I am happy to say that my expectations were not met. I ordered the Chicken wings sandwich. I had crispy friend strips of chicken with house wing sauce that was neither too mild nor too tangy, with blue cheese, tomato and lettuce. I also ordered macaroni and cheese as the side. My sandwich was so good. It really hit the spot for a hungry meat eater on a hot summer day.

For taste I give Jack’s Urban Eats a 7 out of 10. It is a great lunch or light meal kind of restaurant. All their dishes are Cali-American, American food taken to the next level. Their meats are carved strait from the bone and put directly on your sandwich or salad. This means that the meat is moist, fresh and slow roasted or cooked in its own fats and juices to retain its favor.

For atmosphere it gets a 7 out of 10. It is cafeteria style to order but your plates are served to you after you pay. Jack’s is more casual than many restaurants, but it has a fun, young attitude and is often full of young professionals, and students.

For the price of two people to eat lunch order a side dish and get a soft drink Jack’s gets a $$. It is possible though to get out of there with just $. The salad plates are large enough to share or you could easily skip the side dishes and still feel full at the end of the meal.

Arioli Bodega Espanola 9 ($$$)

Arioli Bodega Esanola

A Spanish restaurant in midtown well known for its wine!

On this occasion out Kris and myself invited two of out friends out to a wine bar. We had planned on visiting 58 degrees but when we got there and found out they didn’t serve appetizers or anything we walked back to Arioli. Arioli is a little Spanish restaurant. They serve excellent wine, and authentic Spanish cuisine. I ordered mussels in white garlic and wine sauce, calamari in spicy tomato and capers sauce and the pork loin in balsamic and port reduction with figs and onions. It was all very good.

I give Arioli a 10 out of 10 for taste. It was authentic, cooked very well, balanced to perfection, familiar and still exotic. The pork loin was the best, and while I could barely eat any more I finished the entire dish it was that good. The color and spice were so rich and thick. The aroma was sweet and tangy. The pork cut was on the fatty side but it was cooked to perfection.

The service here is very homey. The owner is a very gruff friendly neighbor sort of man. He often stays late to keep his customers happy, he makes excellent wine recommendations and usually comes and greets each table at some point during the night.

Arioli keeps a very nice table, but I would rate the atmosphere at an 9. It is a very romantic restaurant; quiet and cozy. In the summer they have a secluded garden patio that is very nice in the evenings. If you go for a nice summer night plan on spending the entire night talking and drinking very good wine.

For price I believe we paid $$ for dinner but I was the only person eating and then another $$$ for the wine.

Over all I give Arioli a 9. Delicious, colorful, and full of character; the flavor will seduce you.

1800 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 447-9440

Thai Basil gets 8 ($$)

I love Thai Basil. It is in my opinion the best in Sacramento for Thai food. The vegetables are always fresh, the curry is fresh. Nothing ever tastes like it was made in large quantities. The fish and meat was definitely frozen but Thai Basil is generous with the portions. They have a few locations, two I have eaten at: the Midtown location a number of times and the Roseville location twice. When ever I go I am completely satisfied for what I paid, what I expected to get and the quality of the food preparation. The only problem I have ever had there is when the waiter got my order wrong. I was in a hurry and so did not have the time to let them correct the mistake though they offered.

One of the dished that often gets overlooked it the green curry. This dish is my favorite, at any Thai restaurant but I like it best at the Roseville Thai Basil. Green Curry is light and almost flowery in taste. The taste of green curry has a lot of bouquet to it, but not a lot of spice or musk usually associated with curry. When I order green curry the dish comes as two bowls. One bowl has the jasmine rice in it. And the other is shrimp, scallops, and mussels swimming in green curry along with, broccoli, green beans and bean sprouts. Then you just add the elixir to your rice. It’s divine.

For food taste I give Thai Basil an 8. They use fresh produce, but not fresh meat. All their dishes can be made vegetarian. It just means you get soy tofu instead. And their general mixing of flavors is brilliant.

For price I give Thai Basil an $$ even with an appetizer and a drink.

For ambiance: I have to give Thai basil a 5 unless you are out on the back patio of the downtown location. The back patio is a smaller enclosed out door seating area near a fountain, and under an old growth oak tree. The back patio is quieter, and more private feeling. They have since put a lounge and night club on the floor above Thai Basil so their reputation is growing.

Overall I rate Thai Basil at an 8. Its not the best, it could be better, but its still delicious just the way that it is.

Kru 10 ($$$)

Kru is hands down the best sushi in town. We often go here, and we often introduce it to all our friends as "the best".
The head chief at Kru won second place at the regional Sacramento Sushi Masters Competition (it was a lot like the Iron Chief show, accept without the celebrity critics and it took place in a gym). Kru ranges from very traditional rolls, to innovative California fusions.

During dinner, I came up with a simple but telltale test for knowing if a sushi restaurant will be any good. The test proceeds as follows: Does the menu include chirashi? if the aswere is yes, then its good, if the answer is no, then its its likely they smother all their rolls with cream cheese or cream sauces to mask the older, tougher fish taste.

For taste Kru always gets a 10. Fresh, clean, natural, the best cut of fish they can get. I like to sit at the bar and watch them assemble and cut with those razor sharp knifes. The knife is very important, a dull knife will danage the cells of the fish when it is being sliced. A traditional Japanese sushi knife kept very sharp will not contaminate the taste of the fish.

For atmosphere I give Kru a 7 out of 10. Its along the midtown J street. Close to the art galleries, night clubs, bars and midtown itself; it sits on some prime realty. The decor however is less than impressive but does well for just a little neighborhood restaurant. I am curious though, to know what the old Victorian looked like before the first floor was converted into a restaurant.

Price recieves a rating of $$. It can be cheaper than that, because the chirashi alone costs $25, and the typical roll costs $15 but I usually spend a little more and get the really good sushi.
Chirashi, Fried rolls. Green Tea Cheese cake.

Over all, Kru gets a 10. When I think of sushi I think of Kru.
2516 J St
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 551-1559

Oriental Buffet 7 ($$)

Oriental Buffet

There is certainly a time and a place for buffets. For instance, Las Vegas would not be as beloved a vacation destination without its all you can eat buffets. In this instance my husband and I ventured to this restaurant on the recommendation of an acquaintance. This acquaintance of mine is the wife of the local Chinese Restaurant Produce and Meats Supplier. I periodically ask her if there are any new places worth visiting in the area; on one occasion she recommended Oriental Buffet because “they always buy the best”.

The Oriental Buffet, does in fact boast a broad menu, some dim sum, hot and cold rice and noodle dishes, many of the common meat dishes like sweet and sour pork, general chicken, broccoli beef ect. But it also has a sushi bar, and a Mongolian barbeque bar.
The food was as I expected, the more usual fare as far as quality of the cooking, but there were a few more exotic numbers as well.
For instance fried frog legs, thousand year old eggs, and langoustine, which is basically a large shrimp with claws.

Overall I give The Oriental Buffet a 7 out of 10, it neither exceeded my expectations nor did it disappoint me in any way. It was just as I expected.

For taste I give this buffet a 5 for the same reasons as stated above. In general I don’t really believe buffets can ever exceed a rating above a 7 in any category. I mean lets be honest, it’s a buffet, so we are eating there because its a lot of food for a relatively cheap price.

Which does bring me to price. For cost Oriental Buffet receives a $$ for two people. I believe that is very competitive for the buffet market.

Also of note:

this buffet has a very nice banquet room for parties, and large family gatherings, I did not inquire to how many people it would accommodate but I should think a party of 20 or so would be comfortable in there.

They do take out, probably not as good a deal as the all you can eat, call for prices.
located on Broadway, Sacramento

Ink, eats and drinks (8) $$

Ink is an edgy, modern and contemporary tavern style restaurant. Their ceilings and walls are decorated in classic tattoo motifs and the booth seating keeps it very comfortable and private. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner until 3 am generally and have a full bar. Their regular menu consists of four basic categories, small plates, salads, sandwiches, and large plates. I have only eaten from their small plates menu but I am pretty sure that their other selections are just as good.

On this occasion I had invited a large group of friends to dinner at eight for my husband’s birthday. I called in advance to make reservations for about twenty guests. I figured that I should make a reservation despite it being a Monday, and as it turned out, it was a very good move because Monday night at eight o’clock every table was full. We walked in with just four of us, intending to meet everyone as then came but we actually had to wait for another ten minutes until a table cleared. We then had a booth all to ourselves but were forced to wait another 30 minutes until the other side of the restaurant was empty so that we could move our large party over there. Luckily most of the party was unable to be there until later but I was still very peeved that I had to be kept waiting. I had courteously made a reservation for nothing, but at least I wasn’t the one who looked bad.

For atmosphere they receive a 9 out of 10, its creative, fun, edgy, and would appeal to all people of all ages. The music is upbeat and they have too flat screens to display Family Guy, Kings game high lights or Monday night football.

Prise wise Ink is an ok value. two people would be able to get out of there for under $40 assuming they didn't drink all that much, but for big parties its not that good a deal because they don't serve pitchers of anything. We got out of there for $173 for about 17 people and a few of them didn't eat.

The food gets a 10. I have never had better macaroni and cheese so late at night nor early in the morning. It really is the best, with the home made cheese, penne pasta, and bread crumb and parmesan crust on the top. They also serve decent sliders with caramelized onions, pretty good fries and the meatloaf sandwich looked really good. Also very popular is the shrimp quesadilla.

The service in this instance was a little lacking, just because they were not ready for us despite being warned ahead of time. But they were very quick to apologize and work with us after wards. The waitress came round the table often enough that glasses were rarely left empty and the bar man was very quick despite having so many orders to fill at once.
I am forced to give them a 5 out of 10 in the service category

Over all I would rate Ink a 8. Around 3 0’clock in the morning their food is really really good, but around lunch time its not as good as you thought it was the night before. It has a fun tavern like atmosphere without being dark and low feeling and it would be ok to have lunch there with friends and underage family. It does have that neighborly feel too it, I think a lot of locals are definite regulars but a little later at night and the place nearly empties out.

I would recommend it to anyone and everyone for somewhere to eat. Beats Lyonn’s and Denny’s any day.

Dragonfly (9) $$$

If you are looking for a relaxed downtown evening of good food, classy drinks and engaging conversation, look no further than 18^th and Capitol. Dragonfly specializes in sushi and Asian fusion both modern and innovative.

Yesterday I met some friends there for New Years Eve dinner. We meet here fairly often because most of us like sushi, but if you don’t there is something for everyone, like their dragonfly burger.

On this occasion I ordered a duck bun appetizer, and the Terminator roll.

The appetizer was served traditionally Chinese, with the exception of the cut of duck. This duck was little chopped pieces from off the bone, parts of the duck that are hard to get too and ugly to serve as an entrée, probably the back and neck. It wasn’t fresh duck but it wasn’t tough and old either.

I was both pleasantly surprised and disappointed about the roll. The terminator roll is shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, topped with salmon, ahi, yellow tail and torched scallops. The scallops were particularly good; perfectly seared but left mostly raw, they were fresh, moist, and they left a very clean taste. However the roll did rely heavily on the sauce. I like my fish as pure and fresh tasting as possible, I believe too much mayonnaise sauces or cream cheese hide the taste of the fish.

For atmosphere Dragonfly receives a 10. It has a large open air feeling inside, a large patio for summer, a trendy location and happy hour Monday thru Friday. They also have wine tasting on the second Saturday of the month during the art walk.

Dragonfly usually rates about $ for two people ordering an appetizer and an entrée each, plus a drink. On this occasion we spent about $$$$$$ but that’s just because it was New Years Eve.

I give Dragonfly a 9 for taste even though I didn’t like a lot of sauce on my sushi. The fish was still fresh, and all the elements of the roll were proportioned well. But next time I will have to remember to order my sauce on the side.

It is often hard to find parking in downtown and the midtown areas, but Dragonfly has valet parking. The Valet is shared between all four restaurants on that corner so you can valet from either side of the street.

Over all I have to give Dragonfly a 9 out of 10. It’s a fun trendy place to eat dinner or get lunch. Dragonfly even serves breakfast.

1809 Capital Ave. Sacramento, CA 95814