Fall Dining Guide 2005

It used to be that Sacramentans had to drive to San Francisco or Napa for world-class dining at the hands of celebrity chefs. In recent years, however, culinary excellence has migrated to the Sacramento region. Now, we can spend less on gas, and more on sampling the flavors at Sacramento’s growing number of superior restaurants.In this special supplement, the first-ever Fall Dining Guide: Local Flavor, you’ll meet some of those chefs and learn what they think of our city’s burgeoning dining scene. Also, you’ll discover some ways to spend your reallocated gas money—like on the delectable desserts that we often forget to save room for. Hoping to save more money instead of spending it? Watch as our exuberant but frugal tour guide eats her way through the city for less than it costs to fill the tank of an SUV. And, since you need something to wash down all that food with, we’ll introduce you to a local wine expert who debunks some commonly held myths about civilization’s first alcoholic beverage.

So, put your car in the garage, reacquaint yourself with the “grid” and thumb your nose at rising gas prices. With the kind of Local Flavor we’ve got here in Sacramento, you won’t have to venture far to satisfy your taste buds.

Table of Contents

1 day, 3 meals, 40 bucks.
Eat and drink your way through California’s capital city for a pittance!

On the run, well done.
Sacramento’s gourmet markets add panache to the phrase “to go.”

Drink more wine, all the time.
Being a savvy wine drinker doesn’t require a highfalutin pedigree or six-figure salary.

Sacramento chefs tell all.
Top dogs at five of Sacramento’s most popular restaurants share their not-so-secret thoughts on eating out in the capital city.

Happy endings.
Don’t fill up too soon—these five desserts are worth saving room for.