A few weekends ago I enjoyed a late lunch at Riverside Clubhouse with my parents and fiancé, Stefan. I’ve only lived in Sacramento since June and I try to make every eating-out opportunity a new experience. After a quick Internet search on Sacramento restaurants, I decided that we should try the Riverside Clubhouse because of the varied menu and affordable prices.
My mom and I rolled our eyes when we saw that the walls of the restaurant were adorned with 50-inch plasma TVs showing Sunday football games—so much for a nice conversation with my dad and Stefan!
The brief regret I had for choosing the restaurant immediately vanished as soon as I realized that the menu had my new favorite appetizer . . . Sweet Potato Fries (my love for Sweet Potato Fries began at Table 260)! I insisted that we order the Sweet Potato Fries and began scouring the rest of the menu while I anxiously awaited the arrival of our appetizer.
There were so many tempting items on the menu that I had trouble making a decision. I decided to go the more healthful route and ordered the Ken’s Big Daddy Turkey Burger—besides, I knew I could steal a few bites of the Roasted Sirloin Dip that Stefan was ordering! My parents opted to order the Cobb Salad.
When the Sweet Potato Fries arrived, I was truly in heaven. They came with three dipping sauces: Housemade Peach Ketchup, Herb Mayonnaise and Creamy Bleu Cheese, which were all worth multiple dips. The fries were sweet, crunchy and only increased my preexisting addiction.
Just as I had snagged the last fry from the basket, my turkey burger arrived. The burger was served with Green Goddess Dressing, which gave it a delicious herbed flavoring. My meal also came with a small salad of mixed greens, which made me feel better since I had just consumed half of the Sweet Potato Fries.
My parents and Stefan enjoyed their meals as well. My dad devoured his Cobb Salad and I can personally vouch that the Roasted Sirloin Dip was very tasty. Catching up with my parents and trying new tasty food was the perfect ending to my weekend.
Riverside Clubhouse
2633 Riverside Blvd.
(916) 448-9988
Archives for October 2008
Upcoming Foodie Events
The following are some fun cooking classes coming up at the East Bay Restaurant Supply Culinary Center, located at 522 North 12th Street, Sacramento, CA 95811. Classes do require reservations, so call East Bay at 916-440-0623 to get the full scoop!
What: Kids Culinary Class for Spooky Halloween Treats! Kids will learn how to make finger sandwiches, soft pretzel bones, truffled eyeballs and witchy cupcakes. Costumes encouraged. Cost is $30 per child.
When: Saturday, October 25th, 12:30 – 3:30pm.
What: Thanksgiving Pie Workshop – conquer your Pie Phobia with Chef Carolyn Kumpe. Take home the final product: three delicious miniature holiday pies! Cost is $75 per person.
When: Saturday, November 1st, 11:00am – 3:00pm
What: Thanksgiving for the Proficient Home Cook with Chef Carolyn Kumpe. Participants will prepare and eat a fabulous feast. The menu includes pear salad, pancetta stuffing, a succulent brined turkey and pumpkin crème brulee. Cost is $95 per person.
When: Saturday, November 8th, 10:00am – 4p.m.
Il Fo
It’s like a best friend. You visit nearly every day – sometimes just for a cup of coffee and sometimes for a sit-down dinner. You’ve shared birthdays and office parties; you can’t stop talking about it to all your other friends. You’ve even coined an affectionate nickname that somehow managed to stick. In our case, that friend is Il Fo.
Not familiar with Il Fo? I bet you are. Others may know it as Il Fornaio, but as our office neighbor and a restaurant that we frequent, “Il Fo” has become a household name with us. Recently, we gathered for drinks and a bite to eat at their famous happy hour.
When it comes to mixology and wine selection, Il Fornaio’s happy hour is up there with the best Sacramento has to offer. But the thing we love most about Il Fo happy hour is the food (go figure)! Whether you’re craving fresh veggies and dip or a warm and cheesy panini, the Il Forniao happy hour smorgasbord is a sight for hungry tummies. And the best part? The buffet is free with any drink purchase!
Keep reading for a sample of a few Sac Foodie favorites on the Il Fo menu.
Maria Chacon Kniestedt:
I have so many favorites at Il Fo – their Bruschetta al Pomodoro, the Conchiglie al Pollo, the Crema al Doppio Gusto. Plus my husband proposed to me there. What could be more special than that?
Jenna Kirkwood:
Well, no one has proposed to me at Il Fo (yet anyway), but it still holds a place in my heart. Their happy hour cheese panini bites can’t be beat, especially when paired with a glass of house Pinot Grigio for a budget-friendly $5.95. The enclosed patio is a lovely place to sit and catch up with friends over a glass of wine or if you prefer the bar, the bartenders are knowledgeable and attentive.
Christine Moravec:
I thank my lucky stars for Il Fo every time we go on a business lunch. Now that 55 Degrees has closed, it is definitely my favorite restaurant within a short walk from our office (they used to be tied for first-favorite). I usually go for one of their specials for lunch, but their pizzas are also great. Plus, you simply can’t beat this place for happy hour. I heart Il Fo!
Kris Caputo Hurley:
I am picky about my Italian and I usually don’t rave about chain restaurants, but you can’t go wrong with Il Fo! I’m a big fan of the Panini di Melanzano (eggplant, roasted red pepper, provolone, tomato, lettuce and pesto sandwich) or the Insalata di Salmone from the lunch “window.” I also love sitting at the counter and indulging in the Fettuccine alla Bolognese or Pizza Margherita. Plus, there’s no friendlier face in town than Frank the bartender to serve you!
Kim Bedwell:
We are pretty spoiled to have such a great restaurant just a block away. While I’ve hit up the lunch counter a time or two (the Chef’s Salad with Gorganzola dress is delish), I much prefer to dine in. My two favorites are the Lasagna Ferrarese and Pennette all’ Amatriciana. Both are the perfect Italian comfort food, and if you get the Lasagna, it’s so rich, you can save half for dinner too!
I’m Hooked on McCormick and Schmick’s
A few years back while in San Diego on business, I had the pleasure of dining at McCormick & Schmick’s. Many times when dining out, you may only get two or three seafood selections to choose from on the menu. But at McCormick & Schmick’s you have dozens (yes, dozens!) of fresh options to choose from. I loved the restaurant so much, I ended up dining there twice on a three-day trip. So you can imagine how excited I was when the Sacramento location opened up last year at 11th and J. Finally, there was a good seafood restaurant in the downtown area.
For dinner, you can usually find me noshing on some halibut or succulent scallops, but last week I had the pleasure of enjoying my first lunch at McCormick & Schmick’s with a few of my colleagues. I will let the other Sac Foodies share some of their thoughts from the lunch, but I’m going to start off with my highlight…the Crab and Bay Shrimp Tater Tots with Jalapeno Tartar Sauce. First, how can you go wrong with anything that resembles Tater Tots? Delish! They were easy to eat and the combination of the savory Tots with spicy tartar sauce was heavenly. This is a definite “must-have” for starting your meal at McCormick & Schmick’s.
Brittany Mohr: In addition to the Tater Tots, the Creamy Potato and Blue Cheese Soup was absolute heaven. As a first timer at McCormick & Schmick’s, I was wowed by the seafood selection but reeled in by this soup. On a particularly windy day, like the ones we had last week, a cup of this was a perfect combination of traditional comfort food and gourmet flavor. You know I’m a fan when the craving for more Creamy Potato and Blue Cheese Soup lasts for nearly a week. In fact, it sounds pretty good right about now, too!
Christine Moravec: The Kona Kampachi Sashimi with Avocado, Soy and White Truffle Oil was also a great starter. Light enough so you could still fully enjoy a meal after, plus the yellowtail was no doubt high-grade and the combinations of flavors definitely satisfied! I also feel compelled to add that my first experience at McCormick & Schmick’s was for happy hour at the Chicago restaurant, and I was impressed then too by their bartender’s “special” drink recommendations. Plus, their happy hour menu is awesome: two-dollar cheeseburgers, no joke!
Jenna Kirkwood: As another McCormick & Schmick’s first timer, I too was blown away by the seafood selection (and also a bit by the wind that day). Their fresh selections include everything from Alaskan King Salmon to Arkansas Catfish, so there is sure to be something for everyone. I’m a huge fan of any kind of sauce that can be used for bread-dipping and we had two delightful dipping opportunities during our lunch – the Canadian Black Mussels Steamed in a Coconut Red Curry Sauce and the Creamy Potato and Blue Cheese Soup – both divine soaked up with bread. Above all – get the Tater Tots! You won’t be sorry.
Buona – whati?
I’d like to think I can speak English fluently and Germish (my affectionate nickname for the German/English hybrid we sometimes speak at home) quite well. But when it comes to Italian, I’m hopeless. So when a friend invited me to attend the grand opening of Buonarroti the other night, I knew the first task at hand would be learning how to pronounce the restaurant’s name and finding out what it means.
Partially due to my lack of Italian language expertise, and partially as a reflection of the delicious food we devoured, I would have assumed that Buonarroti meant something along the lines of “decadent” or maybe “sophisticated.” For all I knew, it could have meant “rich in flavor” too. Any of these words or phrases could easily have been used to describe our dining experience. When it came time to order, we were still playing a guessing game.
Luckily, everyone in the group that I was with paid close attention in kindergarten so we were all fans of the “taste and share” method. I ordered the Buonarroti Salad and was pleasantly surprised – it was hearty enough to feel like dinner but light enough to appease my salad craving.
Among the other favorites at our table were Caprese Salad, Gnocchi, and the Butternut Squash Ravioli Special.
In addition to the food being excellent, head chef and owner Daniel Alcantaro could not have been more of a crowd pleaser. Alcantaro and his wife seamlessly floated from table to table, entertaining guests and providing background on each dish.
So what does “Buonarroti” mean? Well, it’s Michaelangelo’s last name, of course!