Jamie's Broadway Grille

427 Broadway

Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 442-4044

This place in an institution and we have never been! It's a dive bar with good, all homemade food. A lot of people complain about the prices, but we thought they were about right for the quality of meat this guy is using and the effort he puts into smoking all his own meats.

So back to the beginning. It's a windowless building on the industrial end of Broadway. You can see two freeways and there isn't much else around. They finally added a sign so you aren't just looking for the tiny green awning over their front door.

I knew they didn't take reservations but wanted to give them a heads up that there were 14 of us coming. They were nice enough to say they would make us some space and honest enough to tell me that if I could "shave off a couple of people" that would be better. I love the honesty!

A few of us showed up early and had drinks at the bar along with a half order of calamari. That half was a ton and it came with super yummy fries! I would come back for that alone.

We ended up in the back room (yes, they have one), all by ourselves and made an awkward cross with our tables and crammed ourselves in. Our server was fabulous and fun and friendly. The bartender kept coming in and sassing us - which we love. And oh my god. The food was so good!

Onion rings are huge and have real onions. Brisket sandwich was falling apart tender. French onion soup was thick and rich. Everyone loved the clam chowder and the full order of garlic steak sandwich was enough for a second meal. This is good old fashion good food. Stick to your ribs food that you forgot you missed.

Dear god, for your own good, get your ass down there. Soak in the charming divey-ness, take it down a notch and bring your appetite. These are real people and they rock.

Ten22

1022 2nd St
Sacramento, California 95814
(916) 441-2211

We've been meaning to try this place out for quite awhile. They just participated in Dine Downtown Week and their menu looked pretty damn good and after a write up by Poor Girl Eats Well, I was really sold on trying it.

It has a street front location in Old Sacramento and the interior is beautiful! the tables are nicely spaced so you don't feel like you are sardines and the open kitchen is fun to watch. They made a giant table for our group of ten which was just super nice of them.

Their bar, which is comfy and fun to be at, has an amazing beer selection. So many so, that it was almost overwhelming. The bartender was on it! You tell him what you like to drink and he'll bring you a new beer that you'll love. And if you get wine, it's served in your own cute glass carafe. That's some classy shit.

Everyone seemed to like their food. They love their bacon so that can't be bad. The burger was said to be okay. The calamari was good. The bacon bloody marys seemed to be loved by all. And they had a BLT pizza which seems like a great idea.

Now, I've got two complaints. Mind you, I came straight from happy hour at the Grange so I might have had some high standards in my pea brain. They have a Foursquare special when you check it, but they won't honor it. Waiter said that is "should have been taken down". Either way, if you have a promotion out there with no expiration date, you should honor it. And I had a fabulous conversation on Twitter with them so they are obviously at least somewhat use to the social media realm. That was the first "no".

Then someone tried to order a fig cocktail that was on their menu and he said, "oh we don't make that anymore". They are paper menus. Either make what you are offering or update your damn menus! They are paper for a reason. Now, that could have been avoided by a more tactful server but our guy was just okay. So minus points for the service. Waiter service and for overall customer service.

Bottom line, I would still go back but would hang out with the knowledgeable and friendly bartender and get some appetizers at the bar.

Oshima Sushi & Fugu Lounge

2071 Natomas Crossing Drive
Sacramento, CA 95834
(916) 515-1958

Back in the young days of North Natomas, this was a humble little sushi restaurant and the only one in the area. They done some major redesign with the place and added on the Fugu Lounge part so now you have a restaurant half and a swanky bar/lounge half. It's not as terrible as it sounds...

Since we are lame and didn't make reservations we ended up in the back of the lounge area. Honestly, it was kind of fun. The white booth, low tables and movable ottomans make for a nice atmosphere. The thumpy, thumpy music didn't fit in with a sushi place but I have to admit it was fun.

The only downside to the space was the lack thereof. When ordering plates of sushi that require a soy sauce dish, bottle of sake, and water glass we started running out of room on the small table very quickly. Admittedly, that area was not designed for 10 people to eat a full meal so I can't hold it against them.

The sushi is good and not terribly expensive. In my opinion it's the best in Natomas and better than a lot of other places. They also have some really good happy hour deals and a half-price sushi deal in the afternoon on weekends. They also go all out for football games. I know, I know, it seems like a weird mix again, but it seems to work.

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant

4071 Howard Street
Fair Oaks, CA 95628-7138
(916) 961-3327

We came here couple of years ago for Robot GoBen's birthday. This is usually one of our favorite places because their sauces are expectionally good. This time around it was still good, but not as good as in the past. Green enchiladas were just a little less flavorful and the mole was kind of average. We still drank our weight in margaritas, which are nice and strong. And their salsa is fantastic with their thick, toasty chips.

We had a huge 14 drunk group this Thursday with friends of TheJenny, and Shooter's better half, et al. Mr. Chem & NakedBob yucked it up all night long like teenage girls at a sleepover. And one of our guests brought a huge bag of meyer lemons to share! We're so lucky.

So all in all, we will be back to give them another chance to rock our socks. They have rocked them before and we have faith they've still got it in them.