The B-word

A bistro in the parlez-vous français tradition is a small restaurant offering simple and affordable meals. And alcohol. On this side of the pond, specifically in Sacramento, some bistros try to mirror the fare of their Parisian progenitors. Like Michel’s at 14th and O streets, with its salad lyonnaise, Belgian brews, and ham and Gruyère sandwiches.

While not necessarily French-focused, Pocket Bistro encompasses the B-word in the most generic sense: simple, moderately priced food served in a pleasant unpretentious atmosphere. But there’s also a major flash of cozy neighborhood eatery, too. Any number of cozy neighborhood eateries—of varying quality—exist throughout the greater Sacramento metropolis. Not much imagination is needed to realize what neighborhood Pocket Bistro serves, smack-dab at 6401 Riverside Boulevard, one of the region’s main drags.

Colors are bright. The dining area is spacious—certainly by bistro standards. The restaurant is shoehorned in a corner of a strip mall, so habitués aren’t afforded an enthralling street scene along the Rue Madeleine. Prices, for drinks and solids, fall well with in the classic bistro “affordable” milieu.

It is hard to quibble with two of the four beers on tap being Shock Top and Stella Artois. There are specialty drinks. Three of same involve mint, including the Pocket Mojito and it’s dark-hued sister with pomegranate liquor. Causing some skepticism is the “Cucumber Breeze” with cucumber vodka. If a devotee of the cumber water found at swanky spas, this is an ideal cocktail. All are $6.75.

What impresses most—other than a rich and thick more-potatoes-than-clams chowder that while nowhere near eclipsing that of Jamie’s Broadway Grille, earns a spot on the leader board—is cheerful, conscientious service. There are lots of smiles, lots of suggested entrees, slavish willingness to accommodate customer requests, plenty of inquiries as to the caliber of the meal and all accompanied by a relaxed alacrity. As they say in pretentious academic lingo, all of the above would be the ideal restaurant paradigm, but it’s easier to articulate than accomplish. When it’s happening, though, it’s wondrous to behold.

For lunchtime fare, Yvette, just one practitioner of the paradigm, suggests various possibilities. But to the question, “How about the Reuben?” she says it is by far her favorite. Maybe it isn’t but, if not, her saleswomanship makes Dale Carnegie seem like a piker. There’s a generous thicket of sauerkraut, amidst the smoky corned beef, both of which are wedged between slices of marbled rye and spiffed up with Thousand Island dressing.

The fries accompanying are crisp and, while not overburdened with garlic, the stinking rose’s presence can’t be ignored. A subtler but easily identifiable addition is thyme, which the menu says comes through butter. Whatever the medium, the thyme is there, and consumption of the fries is hard to stop.

A slight disappointment is a shrimp cocktail that purports to be on a bed of seaweed salad. A bed for a cricket, perhaps. There’s a bit in the bottom of the martini glass, but mostly it’s mixed greens. Mixed greens does not wakame make. On the plus side, the half dozen or so shrimps are big suckers and the sauce tempestuously tangy.

More of an all-around aha moment is the three-spear beef satay appetizer with chimichurri on the side that tastes as though created by an Argentina native. However, the accompanying sweet-potato threads are terrifyingly overdrawn at the sodium bank.

A creative synergy is the Bistro Salad, a steal at $6, with its sun-dried tomatoes, onions, walnuts, mushrooms and gorgonzola, sweetened and cheerfully intertwined by balsamic vinaigrette.

Food and prices are bistrolike, and the owners’ goal of being a neighborhood hangout—kids in tow or no—is accomplished. All is enhanced by the caliber of service.