Gretch

Chanterelle might be a place to look at for the brunch. It's in my neighborhood so I pass by often, and there are usually a few children around. Downtown, so not by the river, but it's lovely. The NV restaurant ("the fake meat place," we call it) really is amazing. They've scaled their hours back a lot, though. It seems like the Ticket and SN&R are always reviewing pizza places, but never my favorite, which I think is called Slices--but it might be Pieces--anyway, it's on 21st and Capitol. The pizza is excellent and the atmosphere reminds me of a real Italian neighborhood Pizza a Taglio. Also, my new favorite Thai restaurant is Gaesorn, I think 12th and I. It's much better than Amarin, which is in the same neighborhood.

I'm not a bread connoisseur, but I've heard from a couple of people that Bella Bru isn't that exciting. I've noticed several local bakeries, but I'm not sure if they bake their bread on site. I'm not a good source for anything fancy, since I do almost all of my grocery shopping at FoodSource, with TJs for a few particulars and the Natural Foods Co-op for bulk. And the aforementioned Italian importing store for cheese. I subscribe to a Davis CSA and get most of my vegetables from them. Jensen, are you looking for anything in particular besides fresh Asian noodles? With so many mom-and-pop Asian grocery stores, it seems like one of them ought to carry them... I'll keep my eyes open. What I miss in Sacramento is an affordable, but delicious, trattoria-style Italian restaurant. They all seem to be haute cuisine restaurants, or the "Presto Pasta" kind of thing. In San Luis Obispo I often went to a downtown restaurant run by an Italian immigrant where you could get a good-sized plate of pasta for around $8.95. Anyone know a place like that?

Thanks for the referrals to the William Glen, everyone... I think we go to a different Trader Joe's--the one next to the wonderful Italian Importing Mercato. Jensen, the steel-cut oats at the Sac Natural Foods Co-op were 75 cents a pound. Great price, but probably not worth the incovenient trip...

By the way, do you know a local source for kitchen stuff? I haven't lived here long, and haven't been able to find one yet.

I've been there once and thought it was really expensive. It's tough for me to get there on my own (I don't drive) and, if Wayde drives me, the parking is very difficult (we have a truck). You're right, the parking situation is abysmal. (Oddly enough, I'm also a non-driving Sacramentan--but my partner drives a little Geo.) I'm going there sometime this weekend, and I'll check on the oats prices anyway. I only ever buy from their bulk section, except for the occasional bottle of 100% juice--I'm sure their produce is really expensive, especially compared to Farmers' Market prices.

Don't you know the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op? It's not the best one I've been to, but they do have a large bulk section. 1900 Alhambra.

Maybe it depends on what kinds of hotels you stay in--I can't remember ever being served a big, buffet-style breakfast in Italy. The closest I got was orange juice and granola at a 3-star in Lucca. I usually stay at 1- and 2-star places, and breakfast is invariably rolls, jam, and cappuccino. Sometimes the rolls are cornettos; sometimes Nutella might be offered; and occasionally you can get tea. If you're really unlucky, you might just be handed a packaged cornetto with the jam already inside. Italians usually eat very little for breakfast. (Marcella Hazan, for instance, says she breakfasts on coffee.) Hotels that often cater to German tourists seem to serve the largest breakfasts--logically. And some small hotels don't bother with breakfast at all.

Re Central Coast doughnuts--I don't know if they're made from scratch or not, but in San Luis Obispo, I thought Sunshine Doughnuts (S. Higuera) were very, very good. They occasionally sold the elusive cream-filled-no-frosting. I had the same apple cider doughnuts from Apple Hill--marvelous. In Sacramento, Plum Blossom bills itself as a Chinese eatery and bakery, but I didn't care for their Chinese doughnuts--much heavier than others I've had. Just returned from the Netherlands, where I feasted on oliebollen and appelflappen. I don't know if California doughnuts will ever measure up.