Best of Sacramento

The art on this page should give you an inkling—we’re taking a more impressionistic approach to all that is great in the Sacramento area. We’re striving for a naturalistic, down-to-earth approach, reflecting the images of people and things that make this place vibrant.

Whether you travel to Paris to view world-famous impressionists such as Edouard Manet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir in the Musee d’Orsay or simply stumble over to the Crocker Art Museum to check out Childe Hassam and Clarence Hinkle, you’ll see that impressionist paintings reflect the artists’ perceptions of people and places as they are, not posed and perfect. The works capture the artists’ own representations with bold, colorful strokes. We aspired to do the same.

And what are these “Best of” issues, if not subjective impressions of what we like about this place? Our writers spend an entire year scouring the Sacramento area, investigating all manner of things and drawing on what they experience and enjoy. The impressionists turned to viewing everyday life for artistic motivation, and so did we.

We will admit there may not be something artistic in a cluttered hardware store, a sex-toy demonstration featuring gels and vibrators, or a bureaucrat in a town full of them. But maybe those things are the art of this place—that which is overlooked. Our writers shine an intense light on a peaceful labyrinth, a pickup basketball game and a reason to pose topless, all with their impressions of the best aspects of the real life that goes on around us.

Included also is the biggest, most extensive survey of what impresses you about the city—its people, where you eat and drink, and where you shop—from our reader ballot. More than a thousand votes came in, and we carefully tabulated (this isn’t Florida!), so your favorites are also on display.

The local artists seen within these pages provide an impressionistic backdrop for it all. So, catch a glimpse of their interpretations or read all day and get our best impressions of Sacramento.

Goods & Services
Writers’ choice
Best hardware store
Readers’ choice

Feature
Best border town

Arts & Entertainment
Writers’ choice
Best reason to take your top off
Readers’ choice

Food & Drink
Writers’ choice
Best chef under fire
Readers’ choice

Sports & Recreation
Writers’ choice
Best ongoing pickup basketball game
Readers’ choice

High Tech
Writers’ choice
Best place to indulge your tech fetish
Readers’ choice

People & Places
Writers’ choice
Best place to soothe urban nerves
Best place to get centered
Readers’ choice

Sex & Love
Writers’ choice
Best female stripper to get your cash
Readers’ choice