It’s so good to be here with you. Really, the pleasure is all mine. It’s hard to believe it’s been more than six months but not quite a year that I have been writing to you about local restaurants. I’m sure if you’ve followed throughout you could get a good idea where I live, because while I’m down to experiment and try new restaurants, I’m not as willing to explore the Sacramento’s outer regions. I feel I have tried almost every kind of food available in the six-mile region, and while it could be said I’m easy to please, I’m glad that for the most part I haven’t had to write a negative review. Congratulations to you, Sacramento restaurants. People don’t refer to this city as a dine-out town just because of the abundance of eating establishments.

This week, instead of spending money and then trying to convince you to try a spot out, I’m going to save a couple bucks and remind you of all the great restaurants I visited in the first volume of this column. Don’t worry; it’s not another “best of” list, but rather a refresher on what’s fresh—and, of course, what’s not.

In my time at the dinner table that is Sacramento, by far the one restaurant where I wish I could eat every day is Tamaya, located at 2131 J St. It is the best sushi in town, and they crush the competition across the board. One of my biggest peeves with sushi restaurants is that some places use the same sauce(s) on every roll to the point that everything starts to taste the same. That is not the case with Tamaya, which has an extensive menu and equally creative pairings of flavors. The prices match or beat any other sushi restaurant, and their quantities are ridiculous in the best way possible. I had a sushi spot I frequented regularly, but after one meal at Tamaya, I haven’t been back. Trust that.

From the uncooked to the slow-cooked, my most memorable review has to be my visit to Sandra Dee’s (601 15th St.). My Southern state experience doesn’t venture out of Austin, Texas, so you could say my BBQ palate is amateur at best, but Sandra Dee’s has turned me out. When friends come to town, it’s where I take them—and needless to say, they get turned out too. Their ribs literally fall off the bone, and their BBQ sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. Their Po’ Boy sandwiches are packed with flavor, their fried chicken is flawless and their seafood is everything I’ve mentioned and then some. I’ve been countless times since and have never had anything short of an incredible meal. Deciding what to eat is hard enough, but choosing a side order even more difficult when faced with options like mac and cheese, hush puppies, red beans and rice and more. As the saying goes, “It’s all good.”

I suppose from the slow-cooked, a good segue would be cooked on a spit? Opa! Opa! was the biggest surprise of all the spots I have reviewed. I’d driven by this place hundreds of times, but I couldn’t get past the decor from the outside. It looked like it could be a chain restaurant, but I couldn’t have been more off. There aren’t many affordable lunch/dinner spots that can boast a menu created by an in-house chef, but Opa! Opa! not only has an incredibly dense menu, it is also very unique from other Mediterranean restaurants. They definitely had fun with the menu: alongside Mediterranean mainstays like the beef and lamb or chicken gyro, they also offered up interesting dishes such as a Greek meatloaf (lamb) and pita pizzas. I still have flashbacks to my barbecued leg of lamb sandwich and the rich feta and goat cheese spread. Opa! Opa! is located at 5644 J St., don’t sleep!

With the good comes the bad. Coincidentally, the one bad review I gave is to a restaurant that is no longer open. My apologies to Fins. I didn’t know my words held so much weight in this town, but you honestly didn’t think that white linen tablecloths, high prices and red plastic baskets would be a winning formula, did you?

Sweetwater

5641 J St. | Sacramento

Most people utilize Sunday as a day of rest, or a day to catch up on laundry, yard work, or other things with the word -work attached to the end of it. For myself, it’s a day of false optimism, but usually fun false optimism, centered around one meal: brunch. And not just brunch, champagne brunch, preferably the type that is preceded by the word “bottomless.” My logic goes, if I’m going to have to do laundry, I might as well be drunk. As a 49er die hard who actually believes every week we have a chance, if I’m going to have to watch them get torched, I might as well be torched myself. The idea of champagne brunch is never a bad one, and while other responsibilities and/or emotions can be displaced by the libations, it does make for one awesome Sunday.

What’s funny to me about champagne brunch is that I don’t really like champagne. The first couple sips are always painful, similar to the reaction some get when drinking whiskey or tequila, but like they say, it just takes persistence. In a sense, it’s probably a good thing that I don’t like champagne, mostly because I don’t care if it’s good or bad. For the most part it’s all the same to me. Naturally for any champagne brunch, it’s not about the quality but the quantity of which you can consume in one sitting before the last morsel of food enters your mouth.
After being spoiled by college town brunches that catered to a similarly minded crowd, it took a while for me to find a restaurant that was on the same page in Sacramento. To no surprise, I had to ask a college student to the get the low down. I should have prefaced this earlier by saying that typically a champagne brunch doesn’t mean a good meal, because it’s really not about the food. However, upon finding Sweetwater Restaurant and Bar, that philosophy has been poured down the drain.

Located at 5641 J St. (conveniently across the street from last issue’s feature, Opa! Opa!) Sweetwater is a dynamite find. The restaurant itself is pretty big, with three separate dining areas including a patio (we’ll get to that later). The decor is modern and clean; it’s nothing over the top and a tacky theme hasn’t been utilized to establish an identity as either a family or fine dining spot. On Sunday, the large flat screen TVs have football on, with bar seating giving you a front row seat to the action and the pours. The staff is always on point; they give you time to order (and enjoy champagne) and let you eat while you snail through your meal (and enjoy champagne).

What makes Sweetwater the ultimate champagne destination, aside from the great food and generous pours, is the patio. On any given Sunday, rain or shine, you can enjoy fresh air under the protection of a canopy and relax to the sounds of their waterfall. It makes for an experience, an outing for friends or couples to hang out in a cool atmosphere with good food and drink. I’ve written 500 words, and we haven’t even gotten to the food yet….

Aww, the food. While I’ve never eaten another meal at Sweetwater, their menu does look impressive. From Hawaiian tuna in a mustard crust, to veal saltimbocca, they got you. But it’s the brunch we are concerned with, and just as the aforementioned items elude to, it’s not your run of the mill brunch menu. I always start with the crispy Monterrey calamari, which is breaded and mixed alongside jalapeños and onions. So bomb, and again, allows extra time for some pours. As far as entrees go, they range from your typical egg, bacon, potato breakfast, to steak and eggs and a vegetarian crepe. My personal favorite is the not-so-unusual, but oh-so-awesome BLTA served on a croissant with an herb mayonnaise. My girl goes back and forth between the California Benedict, also served on a croissant, and a breakfast burrito (which no longer appears to be on the menu) and never complained once.

All in all, it’s safe to assume that at Sweetwater you’ll get what you’re looking for in terms of champagne and the brunch rivals any of the other places that don’t serve champagne. Like the Black Sheep said, “the choice is your’s.”

Opa! Opa!

5644 J St, Sacramento, CA

“Eat well…eat Greek!” is the motto of Opa! Opa!, and in agreement with the restaurant and their philosophy on life, I’d like to add one more exclamation point to this sentence! In all seriousness, Opa! Opa! is perhaps the finest establishment I have discovered since starting this column. I’ve always known of its existence but was wary of its brightly colored exterior, and do I ever feel stupid now.

I worked at a Greek restaurant for a couple years in college, so I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the food. By no means do I consider myself a seasoned Greek cuisine critic, but Opa! Opa! is pretty damn good. If you don’t believe my overly glowing words yet, Opa! Opa! has won SN&R’s “Best Of” and has received rave reviews in Sacramento Magazine and The Bee, amongst others. Nearing their third year of being open for business it’s very clear that Opa! Opa! has found a formula for success.

Located at 5644 J St. (near Sac State) Opa! Opa! stands out to the drive by eye. It’s a decent-sized restaurant, with plenty of dining space and an outdoor area as well. You order at the counter, are able to see all the meats and condiments as you pass, which I always admire because you know they’re not hiding anything from you. And while the colorful decor strays from the traditional feel, the food and menu maintain authenticity while also throwing in a couple fun items for good measure.

For the first time visitor like myself the menu was a little overwhelming, flooded with so many different options, all with enticingly detailed descriptions. The Greek meatloaf made of lamb, onions, parsley and secret spices and the pastitso (Greek lasagna) all sounded amazing, and I’m sure they are, but I was easily led to the lunch special of any sandwich or gyro, with fries and a drink, for $7.99. Smart choice. Looking for something other than the typical gyro I selected the barbecued leg of lamb sandwich (which itself costs $6.99). No exaggeration, it was amazing. Served on a warm and fluffy roll, with a goat cheese and feta spread that is pureed with spinach and mint (my mouth is watering again just thinking about it), and accompanied by lettuce and tomato the sandwich was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. The meat was tender and also full of flavor, and was only complimented more by flavors in the spread. Following suit, the fries were also something to brag on; thick and crispy. It was healthy portions all the way around, and the meal held me down all day without feeling like I overdid it.

The perennial lunch buddy Bocephus was there, and also sided with the lunch special but with the regular beef/lamb gyro. His praises were also plentiful, commenting on the freshness of the meat and the pita, and the robust flavor of the meat itself. The tzatziki tasted homemade and the tomato and red onion helped accentuate all the flavors.

Judging from the menu, it doesn’t appear that you can do any wrong at Opa! Opa! In preparation for my next few visits I have already planned out my next meals. First up, pita pizzas (which are exactly what they sound like), more specifically “The Big Cheese” which is made with fresh feta, goat, casari, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. I’ll have to go for a dinner and do the Greek meatloaf and convince the person I’m with to get the moussaka. All of their salads looked excellent and hearty, from the homemade tabouli to the orzo pasta salad with tomatoes, artichokes and Kalamata olives. They also serve beer and have a good-sized wine menu. And lastly, the prices were very good considering the quality of the food and the portions.

What made the experience even better was the generosity of owner and staff. I will see you guys very soon.