Mamma Susanna’s Ristorante Italiano Most commonly referred to by its patrons as the neighborhood restaurant, there is no shortage of options on the menu with nearly a dozen or so pastas, even more types of pizzas, a smattering of salads and various entrees, including the piccata chicken or veal dish that Mamma Susanna’s counts as one of her specialties. Of the pastas and pizzas, the norcina tastes like and looks like an orangey vodka sauce with roasted red-pepper slices and sausage rounds tossed in a bed of penne. While the menu claims spicy, some red chili flakes do the trick. Italian. 5487 Carlson Dr., (916) 452-7465. Dinner for one: $12-$20. ★★★ G.L..
North Sac
Asian Café serves both Thai and Lao food, but go for the Lao specialties, which rely on flavoring staples such as fish sauce, lime juice, galangal and lemongrass, lots of herbs, and chilies. One of the most common dishes in Lao cuisine is larb, a dish of chopped meat laced with herbs, chilies and lime. At Asian Café, it adds optional offal add-ons—various organ meats, entrails, et al—to three versions of the dish: beef with tripe, chicken with gizzards, or pork with pork skin. The beef salad offers a gentle respite from aggressive flavors, consisting of medium-thick chewy slices of eye of round with red bell pepper, chopped iceberg and hot
raw jalapeño. The single best dish here is the nam kao tod, a crispy entree with ground pork that’s baked on the bottom of the pan with rice, then stirred and fried up fresh the next day with dried Thai chilies and scallions. Thai and Lao. 2827 Norwood Ave., (916) 641-5890. Dinner for one: $10-$15. ★★★★ B.G.
South Sac
Giò Cha Duc Huong Sandwiches With banh mi, it’s
daikon, carrot, crunchy garlic chips and peanutss and served with sweet fish sauce dressing. A beef with lemon salad, with thin slices of eye of round “cured” in lemon juice, is coated with sesame oil, herbs and chili flakes and is meant to be piled on rice crackers studded with black sesame seeds. It’s an incredible dish, and one you won’t find on a menu very often. Vietnamese. 6830 Stockton Blvd., (916) 395-9244. Dinner for one: $10-$20. ★★★★ B.G.
the bread that sets the tone. Giò Cha Duc Huong Sandwiches goes against the grain with bread that’s more football shaped than submarine shaped, garlic bread, and a selection of premade graband-go sandwiches right by the counter. And, with its substitution of butter for mayonnaise and the emphasis on pâté, Duc Huong shows a stronger than usual French influence.These details may seem trivial, but with banh mi, such small variations make all the difference. The small menu is limited to eight sandwiches (mostly pork) and two soups: chicken curry soup and a beef stew called bo kho banh mi, which comes with bread. There’s a thick float of chili oil on top of the yellow, turmeric and lemongrass-laced curry soup, which, at first, is off-putting until you realize it can be dipped into the yeasty, crusty, fluffy bread. Vietnamese.6825 Stockton Blvd., Ste. 200; (916) 428-1188. Dinner for one: $5-$10. ★★★1⁄2 B.G.
Tacos & Beer This is one of the area’s best Michoacán restaurants. Of its regional dishes, the enchiladas Apatzingán are unusual, filled with only a smattering of sharp cheese and diced onion, soaked in a vinegary sauce, and smothered in very lightly pickled, shredded cabbage with raw hunks of radish and avocado slices. Another specialty is the morisqueta—the ultimate comfort dish due to the unique texture of the white rice, which is as soft as an angel’s buttock. Diners also have the option to order hand-shaped, griddled-to-order tortillas. They are warm, soft, taste like corn and barely resemble those cardboard things you get at the store. Mexican. 5701 Franklin Blvd., (916) 428-7844. Dinner for one: $10-$20. ★★★1⁄2 B.G.
Pho King 2 Pho King 2 takes din-
large sushi menu, made up of both the steroidal Americanized rolls and traditional nigiri, but it also changes seasonally and features some uncommon offerings: Kinpira
ers on a trip to crazy-delicious town with its salads, including one off-the-menu salad featuring cold, pink tendon smothered in pickled
ILLUSTRATION BY MARK STIVERS
inexorably through the airy bread slices. American. 3675 J St., (916) 456-4522. Dinner for one: $5-$10. ★★★★ G.L.
gobo with renkon (braised lotus and burdock-root salad) comprises matchstick-sized fibrous pieces of burdock root and juicy slices of lotus in a sweet mirin soy sauce. It also features inventive desserts. The “uji kintoki parfait” (it translates roughly to “Best. Dessert. Ever.”) is served in a sundae glass filled with layers of green-tea ice cream and sweet red beans, and it’s topped with whipped cream, chocolate Pocky candy, salty sesame crackers, peanut clusters, and warm, soft squares of mochi. Sushi. 132 E Street in Davis, (530) 753-0154. Dinner for one: $10-$25. ★★★ 1⁄2 B.G.
Nevada City
The Willo The Willo’s menu is simple, centered on a slab of meat and starchy sides—although the restaurant has added a veggie burger to its lineup. While the thick, smoky pork chop and the tender, butterflied half-chicken suffice, here it’s really all about the New York strip steak offered in small, medium and large portions. If you’re not the designated driver, slip into the bar for a shot to lull you during the long drive home. The sassy bartender will fix you right up as you take in the curving walls of this prefab structure from a long-gone era, the E Clampus Vitus plaques and the regulars’ birthdays listed on the wall. American. 16898 State Hwy. 49 in Nevada City, (530) 265-9902. Dinner for one: $20-$40. ★★★★ B.G.
Davis
Zen Toro Japanese Bistro & Sushi Bar Zen Toro features a
Eat more, give more If there’s a more quintessentially Sacramento pairing than bike riding and food trucks, it remains to be found. The two come together from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, October 13, at the Truckin’ on the River event at William B. Pond Park (5700 Arden Way in Carmichael). More than a dozen vendors will congregate to raise money for the American River Parkway Foundation. Entry fees—$5 presale online or $8 at the event— go toward the foundation’s efforts to maintain and improve the parkway. Vendors include OMG Burger, Fuzion Eatz, The Squeeze Inn, Java 2u-Mobile Espresso, Pizza Box, Kombucha Kulture, Wicked ’Wich, Willie’s Burgers, Leila’s Lumpia, Mama Kim Cooks, Om Karmabile, Papa Dale’s Drivin’ Diner, Miz Shirley Marie’s Cuisine on Wheels and California Love Truck. The Bell Boys, Musical Charis, Kepi Ghoulie, and KB & the Slingtones provide the tunes. It’s simple, really: Eat a burger and help make the river area a more beautiful place. Find info and tickets at www.arpf.org/truckin. —Jonathan Mendick
www.newsreview.com
LUMPIA SPECIAL $7.25
BUY 1 GET 1 1/2 OFF
12 PIECES & RICE
EXP 10/17/12
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Buy any dinner entree at regular price, get the second for 1/2 OFF! Must present coupon, cannot combine with other discounts. ONE PER TABLE - VALID MON-THURS ONLY
CAtERIng specializing in filipino lechon
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dInE–In serving sacramento for 20 years
7223 55th St • SAC 95823 916.429.1949 • southvillarestaurant.com
Happy Hour Monday – Friday 3–6pm 1315 21st Street, Sacramento 916.441.7100
fILIPIno / ChInESE CUISInE
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buy 2 rolls get 3rd free Lunch speciaL mon-thur 11:30–2
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• fried chicken & gravy • chicken/pork adobo • pancit • halo halo
$1 OFF ALL BEERS
EXP 11/1
8785 Center Parkway Ste B-140, Sac | (916) 689-8228 | www.osakasushi.com OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK | ClOSED M–F 2–5PM | ClOSED SAt–SuN 2:30–5PM BEFORE
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