Elk Grove

A good friend recently decided to mix up our regular monthly bunco-playing tradition by hosting our group of gals at Silva’s Sheldon Inn for dinner. The Elk Grove eatery, just five miles in from Hwy 99 on Grant Line Road, is dubbed as my friend Pam’s “favorite neighborhood dinner house.”
Her description is a perfect one as Silva’s is housed in a building that is more than 100 years old, and according to the website it was once a general store and busy town center back in the day. Once inside, this large farm house transformed into a cozy, warm environment with white-clothed tables on one side and a large bar area for more casual dining on the other.
Since we had a large party, we ordered in advance from a mouthwatering set of options – among them, petite filet mignon with jumbo prawns, almond crusted chicken breast, Niman Ranch pork chop and butternut squash pasta. I couldn’t resist the chicken breast stuffed with sun-dried apricots and cherries served with port wine cream sauce.It was immediately apparent that each dish was prepared with the freshest of ingredients, which I later learned includes some harvested directly from the Silva’s own garden.
This gem of a place was established in 1988 by Doug and Barbara Silva and features cuisine with French, Italian, Portuguese, Asian and American influence to surprise and delight almost any palate. In fact, the website boasts that it has been voted “Best Restaurant in Elk Grove” by Sacramento Magazine numerous times, and rightfully so.
I have to admit that I don’t get to Elk Grove much, so if you’re like me, you may need some extra nudging in the right direction down 99. I promise this dining experience is certainly worth the trip.
Silva’s Sheldon Inn
9000 Grant Line Rd.
Elk Grove, CA 95624
(916) 686-8330
Open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner

Five years ago, the only sushi I ate was veggie rolls, such as avocado rolls and cucumber rolls. I played it safe, since I was hesitant to try more complex, flavorful sushi rolls. But things have now changed. After being introduced to other types of sushi rolls about a year ago, I can’t seem to get enough of it.
After my recent move to the Sacramento area, I was eager to try some new sushi restaurants nearby. I’m already a big fan of Mikuni in Sacramento (a SacFoodies favorite) and Sushi Unlimited in Davis, but now I’m also a huge fan of Wasabi in Elk Grove.

Wasabi Sushi is setup as a teppanyaki-style (similar to Hibachi-style) Japanese restaurant, in which bar-style seating surrounds large cooktops where chefs cook food directly in front of the diners. Families with kids seemed to especially enjoy this dining style. While we were there, a teppanyaki chef used a spatula to fling a piece of steak into a young boy’s mouth, which had almost the whole restaurant cheering.

While Wasabi’s teppanyaki-style cuisine looked delicious, my boyfriend and I sat at the bar to watch basketball on their large flat-screen TV. We were there during happy hour (daily, 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.), so we were able to take advantage of the discounted drink and sushi prices, which was great. We loved having our sushi made by General Manager and Head Sushi Chef, Thep Manokoun. He was very funny, made delicious sushi and created an entertaining dining experience for us.

We began with a bowl of warm edamame and a combo tempura platter of fresh vegetables, shrimp and chicken. Once we finished our appetizers, we enjoyed three sushi rolls: a California Roll, a modified Dragon Roll and a roll from Wasabi’s “secret menu,” called the Spot Roll.

The California Roll was simple, yet delicious, containing just avocado, cucumber and imitation crab topped with sesame seeds. The Dragon Roll (that we modified slightly) had shrimp tempura, imitation crab, avocado, cucumber and cream cheese, topped with seared salmon and a tasty “special sauce”. We learned about the secret menu from our sushi chef and decided to give the secret menu’s Spot Roll a try. It was stuffed with deep-fried salmon, shrimp tempura, cream cheese and jalapeños, topped with three sauces: hot sauce, teriyaki sauce and the “special sauce.”

The sushi rolls didn’t disappoint. Everything was fresh, flavorful and filling. Even the presentation was great—the ginger was shaped into a rose and the wasabi was shaped into a leaf (so cool!). We couldn’t resist eating everything until our plates were clean and our stomachs were full. We will definitely we be back for more sometime soon.
Wasabi
2745 Elk Grove Blvd # 300
Elk Grove, CA 95758-7158
(916) 683-8188
Hours:
Sunday-Thursday 4:30 p.m. -9 p.m.
Friday-Saturday 4:30 p.m. -9:30 p.m.
Note: There were groups of people waiting for tables throughout the evening, so I’d recommend making reservations for the teppanyaki-style tables. For reservations, call (916) 683-8188.

A Culinary Surprise

Wasabi, Elk Grove