Price Range (Per Person, with Drinks)

These are based on my own general experiences. Given, some of these restaurants could go into a higher or lower category, but that depends if you eat like a mono patient or if you're double fisting the forks.

Under $10
Butch N' Nellies Coffee Co.
Ciocolat
Harbor Delicatessen
Moshi Moshi
Sunrise Restaurant
The Hotdogger
Temple
Zia's Delicatessen
Raleigh's
Davis Noodle City
Café la Boca
Spa Bar
Lulu Carpenter's
Pho BAC Hoa Viet
Ma Jong's
El Herradero Taqueria
Babycakes

Under $20
2K Thai Food
Bistro 33
Duke's Sports Bar & Grill
Gonul's J Street Cafe
Chevy's Fresh Mex
Kasbah Lounge
Tres Hermanas
Kabul Restaurant
Sophia's Thai Kitchen
Aioli Bodega Espanola
Queen Sheba
Chocolate
Tapa the World
Buckhorn Grill
58 Degrees & Holding
Tuli Bistro
Malouf's Taste of Lebanon
Taro's
Lounge on 20

Under $40
P.F. Chang's China Bistro
Paragary's Bar & Oven
Dragonfly Restaurant
55 Degrees
Zokku
Oz Korean B.B.Q.
L Wine Lounge
Zocalo
Kru
Paul Martin's American Bistro

Under $60
The Melting Pot
Morgan's at the Sheraton
Mulvaneys Building & Loan
Hidden Kitchen
Hawks

Over $60
Mason's
The Waterboy
Ella
The Firehouse

Bene! (Paragary's Bar & Oven - Sacramento, CA)

Rob and I decided on the spur of the moment to head out to dinner on Friday. "Paragary's!" I shouted. I had been wanting to finally try the seasonal Italian restaurant for some time, and had heard good things. The choice was also auspicious as I had an Entertainment Card, giving us one entree free. Shibby. I got home and hopped on my new best friend OpenTable.com, and made my reservations for later that night.

Even before we arrived, the service was above excellent. We were running late and they had no issues moving our reservation back. Once we got there, we were informed by the hostess that there would be a 40 minute wait to eat outside, but we could have appetizers and drinks at the outside bar. On a Friday night at a popular restaurant, I generally expected this for the good seating so I was fine with that. Luckilly our wait only lasted 10 minutes, and we were quickly moved. We were hesitant with the Entertainment Guide card and if they would accept it (my paranoia taking full effect), but the manager was more than happy to put my fears at ease. Props; so far this place was 10 for 10. Our waitress, Naomi, was phenomenal. She was knowledgeable about the dishes, and offered excellent suggestions, refills magically appeared and she was on hand when needed. 11 for 10; I highly suggest you ask for her.

Back a bit, the reason we wanted to sit outside was for Paragary's now famous patio seating. Traditional Italian design with very Napa architechtural accents truly create an excelletn atmosphere. The lush ivy, well lit trees, and calming fountains truly create a calming effect perfect for the dining experience.

The appetizer list was in my opinion, the most decadent section on the menu. My heart almost stopped as I read my appetizer choice. A plate with a ball of warmed herb goat cheese rolled in pistachios, surrounded by roasted peaches, crostini, and the whole plate drizzeled with a red wine syrup arrived before us. The cheese and pistachios, mixed with the syrup, adorned on the peaches created this fan-f'ing-tastic sweet velvet flavor, with the syrup giving it a feral little bite. On the crostini, one could adore and gush over the herbed cheese and soft resistent crunch of the pistachios. True amazement. Snaps to the chef indeed for this little bitch.

Rob and I both had the same plate, a scene I try to avoid, but why betray your own taste for the sake of the blog? It would be a betrayal to us both if I ordered something I felt was a second-hand demo of the kitchen's talents just for the sake of another dish. Anywhose, we both had the handcut rosemary noodles with seared chicken, pancetta, artichokes, leeks, and garlic. Now, I'm not a fan of Italian (or European style cuisine to be more general) but this was damn good. The rosemary was visible, the taste surprising you with a verdant afterglow. Images of grass fields and lush Italian forrests appeared in my mind. The play with the small cut artichokes and leeks had a warming effect, like a small little mama mia was dicing them up herself. The pancetta and garlic was thankfully chopped finely, allowing little fireworks of flavor to explode in my mouth. My eyes were rolling in the back of my head from this.

As I have said before, I'm not the biggest fan of European cooking styles, but Paragary's went above and beyond. The biggest plus? The price. Even without our card, the price was more than reasonable for the level of service, atmosphere, presentation, and taste presented. Bene!

Paragary's Bar & Oven
1401 28th Street
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 457-5737
http://www.paragarys.com/paragarys/index.htm

Design Updates

Well, as you noticed, I finally managed to get a banner up there and tinker with some of the blog's layout. I must say, I'm quite proud of myself seeing as it's been 5 years since I last used Photoshop and I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to html coding.

I want to send my dearest thanks to Liz. I mooched her design since I found it to be so flattering, simple, and clever designs around. She also gave me a lot of advice on how to start going about all these changes. Robyn also deserve a round of applause for her advice in the banner making. You guys have become great food bloggin' buds. I throw snaps to you both.

Also, some helpful advice and encouragement from the many people at Food Blog S'cool helped work out a few kinks. Props.

Okay, my acceptance speech is done. Thankies. *bow*

Rock the Kasbah (Kasbah Lounge - Sacramento, CA)

Luxurious fabrics drape the ceilings, as dim orange light bathes the enterence, creating a Maltese Falcon setting amongst the scent of searing mint, lamb, and hookah smoke. Sadly, this is not a lax hookah bar in the Middle East, but it is the next best thing.

Kasbah Lounge opened next door to the now popular Tapa the World, and is run by the very same owners Paul Ringstrom and Conni Levis. Also like Tapa, Kasbah serves small plates perfect for sharing, and stays open until 3 am. Sweet. We got there early, around 7, but by 9 the belly dancers (you heard me) were out doing their thang, and the place was starting to get jampacked and rollin'.

The luxuriously dim light and low seating, combined with decorative tables and cushiony pillows made for a wonderful place to gather with some friends for dinner. We were all amused to see the hookah bar outside, and contemplated a little jaunt to it after the meal. This was never to be as the food coma was too intense, our riveting conversation turning to catatonic droolings.

We ordered some pomegranate wine and mojitos to start things off. The mojito was actually a mint limeaide with rum. Same thing, but very smooth, and the mint was in no way obliterated by the lime like at most bars. Instead it mingled perfectly with the lime allowing both tastes to flourish. The pomegranate wine was indescribable; sweet, dry, exotic, and the perfect accompaniement to out meal.

Each dish at Kasbah is served as a small plate, but don't let that fool you as there is more than enough. Each plate can feed about four people; get four plates and everyone is more than set. We ordered six. Plus two desserts. Got damn, I need some self control.

The first dish brough to us was Fatima's Palette, warm and yummy flatbread served with three tasty mounds of Hummus, Lebne (a spiced yogurt), and Baba Ganoush. The three perfectly complimented each other, and each one's unique texture and taste was a champion all on it's own. The lebne in particular was throughly tasty with hints of mint and paprika. Total transportation to the Middle East.

Soon we were surprised with a plate of stuffed dates and one plate of ahi. Both had more than enough for four people, yet after a quick prayer to the most convenient dark God, we somehow made room. The dates were stuffed with chorizo and cabrales cheese, then deep fried in a lemon batter. While I had trouble tasting (or even finding) the cabrales, the chorizo was wonderfully spicy and lacked the usual greasiness you would expect, and the friend batter had the perfect hint of lemon. The ahi had been covered in spice rub and lightly grilled on all sides, served with cucumber strings all all covered in a light sesame dressing and a mound of the same yummy yogurt.

Next a tasty lamb stew with lentils, new potatoes, and lamb was served. The flat bread was perfect for acting as a spoon and made the meal all the more fun. Imagine four adults playing a game of bloody knuckles with flatbread tightly squeezed in each fist.

Our two kabob dishes arrived, one kabob with servings of chicken and shallots, the other with spiced ground beef. The beef doesn't really stick out in my mind, but the chicken was life changing. The spice was perfect, the shallots added the perfect counterpoint of sweet and tangy. Just... snap. Snaps for the chefs.

The one dish we saw a lot of but didn't try ourselves was a cheese covered in a quince paste, fried, then given some tableside flash via brandy flambe, followed by a squeeze of fresh lemon. Eye candy for sure, and I do so love fire.

Well, at this point we were all beyond full. But you know how it is; the waitress comes over and she tells you about dessert. She asks if you want any, and even though you're full you can't help but nod as the food coma deters your speech.

Sadly they were out of baklava. Words I never want to hear. "Out of bakalva," is akin to "We need to operate," or "The Simple Life: Season 5." I reluctantly acquiesced to an cafe' creme brule and a dish of fried banana's with caramel and vanilla bean ice cream. While tasty, they really didn't fall in with the rest of the menu like the baklava or rose milk pudding would have. It just seemed out of place.

Overall, the whole experience was dark, sexy, exotic, and a total blast. This is the perfect place to head to before or after a night on the town with friend, or as the sole destination!

Kasbah Lounge
2115 J Street
Sacramento, CA
916.442.4388

Diner's Picks, Garlic Fest, & Yogurtland

Three special topics to cover today, all of them of vital interest. I suggest you go read them now. As in go. Now. DO IT!
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Diner's Picks
Sacramento Magazine did their annual Subscriber's Choice Awards. If you don't know where to go when it comes to dining, it's a great place to start, offering what Sac residents consider to be the best of the best.

Of course, the only problem with this is that only Sacramento Magazine subscribers, and of them only food lovers, the non-lazy food lovers, participated in this. In theory that means it really should be the creme de la creme, but I have seen a few on the list that in no reason what-so-ever can I figure out why it's on the list. Plus, the list does not give any reason as to why it was picked by voters. It's like a high school popularity contest for prom. Not that I'm bitter. I swear. I didn't want to wear the Prom Queen King crown at all... *cry*.
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Gilroy Garlic Festival
Gilroy, the garlic capital of the world is having it's annual Garlic Festival this weekend. I heart driving through Gilroy. I love smelling garlic for miles as you come into, go through, and leave the area. Le sigh...

Anyways, this is a great chance to really feast on garlic laced food like, garlic chicken, sauteed garlic, and garlic ice cream to name a few. There are also three stages of music, plenty of places to shop and buy arts and crafts, and plenty of garlic foods and garlic paraphernalia. All proceeds from tickets go to help local non-profits, so help the community out and eat some garlic.

Garlic lovers, this is heaven.
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Yogurt Land
Elise from Simply Recipes alerted me to a great Nor Cal blogger (I know Folsom isn't Sac, but hey, close enough and this is a great blog). Yogurt Land is written by Fethiye, a native of Turkey who moved to California. Reading her blog you'll find some fantastic pictures, mouth watering writing, and some excellent and unique recipes.

I loved Turkey when I got to visit it, and the food was to die for. It was nice to see one or two recipes I recognized and scribbled down so as to make them this weekend. I highly suggest you go check it out and prep your shopping list.