Sacramento

[Jason Perlow]

I'm going to be spending a few days in Sacramento next week and I have no idea where to eat.

Burgers? Ethnic? Mexican? Fine Dining? Where do you go?

[Grub]

For burgers, there are a few good places like Willie's on Broadway, Ford's Real Hamburgers, and Tiny Burgers -- but there is one joint that stands out above anything I've ever tasted, anywhere. "NATIONWIDE" -- or Nationwide Meats. They're not nationwide, of course -- that's a bit of a joke. It's a total mom & pop operation. They use properly aged beef, on very good buns (their burgers take their name from the French buns -- "French Ground Steakburgers"). Thankfully, they were never renamed Patriotic Ground Steakburgers, heheh.

If I could make just a single recommendation about food in Sacramento, no matter what category, Nationwide would be it.

Not cheap, but absolutely exceptional. Their fries are big -- like big taters cut into segments of six. Their burgers are big too, so go with a single, unless you're a big eater. They make doubles, tripples, quadruples, and any form of special request for obscene things like burgers with 10 patties -- there are pictures on the wall of various gargantuan eating attempts...

If burgers were a religion, Nationwide would be Jerusalem, Mecca, and Salt Lake City all in one. To most people who go there, and really appreciate good burgers, the thing is more or less a religious experience, heheheh...

Nationwide Meats

1930 H St

Sacramento, CA 95814-3108

(916) 444-3286

Here are a couple of online reviews:

- Nationwide on CitySearch

- Nationwide on FudCourth

For the finer dining scene, you've got Morton's on the J street mall, and the Firehouse in Old Sac, but I'm sure someone else has better recommendations for that.

There are a lot of Thai and Vietnamese places on Broadway, but I'm not really an expert on that either. Just on burgers

[marlena spieler]

Wow, Nationwide, I"m gonna have to try them the next time I'm in sacto.

in general, i think avoiding the fine dining options is the way to go in sacto, unless you want la casa de la maison experience......

i've been waiting the discovery of a really good mex place there, but have so far not found my zanadu, mexican food wise.

Nationwide burgers sounds good though. i'm not all that keen on willies, or ford burgers, though ford burgers are right across the street from the park (william land) and so are perfectly poised for a picnic. i mean, they're fine, just fine.

oh, in davis murder burger/redrum burgers is quite good? though i'm not so fond of their ostrich burgers as some are.......

x marlena

[melkor]

Bring a bag lunch. I was driving out to sac once or twice a week for a few months and had no luck finding anything worth a 2nd visit. You can get a decent beer at the pyramid brewpub. Good luck.

I hope you find something good to eat, I'll be out that way again in a few weeks.

[Rachel Perlow]

I'm sure you made Jason's trip with that Nationwide recommendation, Grub. I'll bet we see cell-phone pics here by tomorrow.

[Grub]

I'm sure you made Jason's trip with that Nationwide recommendation, Grub. I'll bet we see cell-phone pics here by tomorrow.

←

Yeah, I'm REALLY looking forward to hearing what he thinks of the experience.

I've introduced so many people to Nationwide (and they've done the same) but on occasion, I've come across people who for some reason aren't as impressed with it as everyone else -- like some nutter who thought In 'n Out was better... Now, In 'n Out is better than say, McD or BurgerKing etc., but bwah -- then again, I guess you can't account for personal taste, right? Well, I dunno. I'm just kinda stoked that someone who really, really knows good food will have a looksee at Nationwide.

So I'm eagerly awaiting his report

[Jason Perlow]

First of all, there is NO WAY In-N-Out is even in the same league with Nationwide.

Nationwide is a completely old-school burger place. The business has been around for 40 years, and is still owned by the same family.

Irregardless of whether the orders are to go or to stay, you're served your meal in a brown paper bag.

This is a "Double French" with cheese. The "French" part is because its French sandwich roll, whatever that means -- its an exceptionally good, large, soft hamburger roll, perhaps slightly on the sweet side. The burger comes already dressed, with a traditional burger sauce like a Russian dressing or a Big Mac. The double is two 1/3lb patties, with lettuce, tomato, and red onion

(and cheese, if you order it with cheese). It is truly an outstanding burger, which would hold up to the finest Burger establishments in New York or New Jersey, in fact I would say it is one of the best burgers I have ever had. Really.

The fries are also outstanding, and they are very thick cut, made from gargantuan potatoes sourced from Nevada. Maybe its all those nuclear tests, because I have never seen thick cut fries so long.

The onion rings are also very good, and they seem to pay very close attention to the mix of their fountain sodas as well.

[barman paolo]

Try Biba's for really good Italian

[Grub]

Jason, that is an excellent review -- I've been going to Nationwide for close to 15 years now, so I know the place. I'm well impressed with the amount of knowledge you picked up from a single visit. I didn't want to babble on too much about the place -- I thought maybe you might fear I was trying to introduce you to a cult or something. But since you've been there now, I'll babble on a bit...

Oh and I'm absolutely stoked that you liked it.

From the picture, the burger looked very greasy -- more than normal, I'd say. But when I showed it to a friend and fellow Nationwide worshipper, he exclaimed, "Oh, good, he got a greasy one -- those are the best!" so what do I know? Oh yeah, this buddy of mine also insists that the double is the perfect burger at Nationwide, because the buns are so big, that the bread-to-meat ratio isn't quite satisfactory, for a single... But then again, he prefers his burgers without cheese (asceticism) and most often opts for bacon (that's just outright gluttony -- and I love bacon), and sometimes even goes for a steak sandwich (heresy).

One thing most people agree on though (and I apologize for not mentioning it earlier) is that the best addition, or variation you can order on their burgers, are the grilled onions. I I'll often get both the raw and the grilled -- but just grilled is awesome too.

The fries are indeed outstanding. I never knew their taters were from Nevada. I know their meat is Harris Ranch, and I've spoken to the owner about this at some length -- it seems that the meat that they deliver isn't always aged the same time, and this affects the taste of the final product. Very odd. Damn Harris Ranch.

I've got no idea about onion rings; not my thing. Very interesting remark about their fountain soda -- I've never thought about that...

As far as their history, the place has only been in its current location for a few years. They used to be over on J and 24th. The building was actually part of a flower-shop (of all things), and word was that the owner had some kind of verbal agreement with the owner of the flower-shop (you can tell that this is indeed old-school -- Frank had some cool stories about old-time Sac). It had inside and outside seating, but was tiny, compared to their current digs. Then, word has it, the owner of the flower-shop passed on, and they had to move out. That's just hearsay, mind you.

Eventually, they picked the H street locale, and boy -- it had all the atmosphere of a dentist's waiting room. The old place was REAL. The rails in the ceiling where the meat was moved in on went past the dining tables. The huge locker door was right by the tables -- when they opened the door, diners could see the slabs hanging right there.

The new place was completely barren. But bit by bit, they tried to add something to it, and these days, it's not looking too bad. You gotta realize of course, they don't have any designers who can create old-school looks.

Oh yeah, the painting on the inside wall -- that's of the old locale.

It is an absolute freaking disgrace and horror, that they lost the old place. But it may have been a good thing also, because the new place is about four times bigger. Hopefully, they'll stay in business forever and ever. There are just so few places here in Mickey Mouse land that are uh, "old-school." The East coast has a bit of age to it. In England, I stayed in pubs that were 700 years old -- and didn't bother advertising it. I'm bummed Nationwide lost their old place -- but I'm real happy they survived it, and kept on turning out the most awesome burgers I've ever come across.

Oh and hey, how'dya like them pictures on the left, as you line up at the registry -- you think you could eat a quadruple, quintuple, or a ten-duple burger? That stuff is crazy; I'm not even sure if putting those pictures up is very good for business, ya know?

[Rachel Perlow]

How did I know?

I'm well impressed with the amount of knowledge you picked up from a single visit.

←

Jason is NOT SHY about asking for the manager/owner and grilling them all about the place.

BTW - he had Vietnamese for lunch, in case anyone was wondering, he said he had an excellent Pho. What will today bring?

[Jason Perlow]

From the picture, the burger looked very greasy -- more than normal, I'd say. But when I showed it to a friend and fellow Nationwide worshipper, he exclaimed, "Oh, good, he got a greasy one -- those are the best!"

←

Its impossible to eat without dripping the grease onto your shirt. I had to go right back to the hotel after eating that thing. The place is like a 5 out of 5 on the Holly grease stain scale.

By the way, Nationwide closes at 7PM, so no late night burgers.

[jackieg]

Moxie at 2028 H St is consistently good. The food is fish, veal, lamb, steaks. The specials are the best bet. The waiters, who are the owners, are characters.

Lemongrass on Munroe St., owned by Mai Pham, is great.

Masque in El Dorado Hills(about 20 miles east of Sacto) is very good. Chef is from Valentino restaurant in Los Angeles area.

I'd skip Biba.

[Jason Perlow]

Driving along the outskirts of Sacramento.

Sacramento is one of the largest producers of sunflower seeds. You can see fields of these things for miles upon miles.

Los Hermanos Lopez Carniceria

5350 Sunrise Blvd, Fair Oaks 95628

916-961-2672

The guys at Nationwide Meats recommended this particular taqueria in Fair Oaks. The place is in a strip mall along Sunrise Boulevard, and its kinda scary looking from the outside. Here's what the ordering counter looks like.

This is a plate of various tacos. They are topped with this insanely spicy red hot sauce that is made from Chiles de Arbol and "Chiles Japonesas" (Japanese Chiles). Whatever was in it, it blew my head off.

Still Life

Tostada de Ceviche de Camarones. Kickass.

Anyone for pickled pig ears?

[Grub]

Its impossible to eat without dripping the grease onto your shirt. I had to go right back to the hotel after eating that thing. The place is like a 5 out of 5 on the Holly grease stain scale.

←

Ah, shoot... Well, there's a secret to it, hehehe. You don't remove the burger from its wrapping -- you just fold it back enough to uncover about half the burger, and then you "pad" the bottom with some napkins, to soak up any escaping juices.

[Jensen]

Los Hermanos Lopez Carniceria

5350 Sunrise Blvd, Fair Oaks 95628

916-961-2672

The guys at Nationwide Meats recommended this particular taqueria in Fair Oaks. The place is in a strip mall along Sunrise Boulevard, and its kinda scary looking from the outside. Here's what the ordering counter looks like.

Well, hell! That's right around the corner from me!

It's not scary from the outside...just your typical Sacramento strip mall. (The really scary looking ones are in South Sac.) These guys are a great source; they even have banana leaves in the back.

Where did you go for pho?

[marlena spieler]

This is a GREAT thread! thanks for teaching me a thing or two about my hometown: Nationwide here I come!

the carniceria looks good too.....

did you ever get to franklin or is it stockton blvd for the pho?

x marlena

ps used to go to moxies a lot with my family and i hated it. haven't been there in awhile but always thought it pretentious and heavy.

for sandwiches, i like bon air market on.....is it P street? or J? the sandwiches are kind of ordinary, but really good ordinary. i like tuna on rye or wholewheat, with extra may, mustard, and the shredded lettucey tomato pickle onion etc makes a mighty tasty sandwich.

[Jason Perlow]

Where did you go for pho?

Pho Bac... John, the Vietnamese UNIX admin at my client brought me there. I thought the pho was really good, as was the shrimp/pork crepe and the Cha Gio.

[Jason Perlow]

Before heading back to San Francisco and Oakland, I decided to have one last burger at Nationwide:

Double French Bacon Cheese Burger. The bacon is really crispy, of the thick cut variety.

I brought my dirty shirt from the day before and changed into it in the bathroom before digging into the burger. No use getting a nice new business shirt greased up.

Cruisin' down Route 80 in my Chrysler minivan.

[marlena spieler]

Where did you go for pho?

Pho Bac... John, the Vietnamese UNIX admin at my client brought me there. I thought the pho was really good, as was the shrimp/pork crepe and the Cha Gio.

←

Pho Bac is my fave, which branch did you go to? there are about 7 of them, all owned by different members of the same family, and none of them alike at all except for the deliciousness of the pho! i alternate between the broadway, stockton/franklin blvd one, and davis. all soooo different, all great pho.

the photo of the road, though, jason, is what i'm about, too, when it comes to visiting sacto. after i've had a good pho, and a couple of tacos here and there, and can't come up with anything else delicious, i start yearing for highway 80 to take me back to bay area.

still i can hardly wait for a nationwide burger and wonder why on earth nobody ever told me about this before. how could i have lived childhood in such ignorance? and not discovered it on my many adulthood visits? well, we'll put that right. soon, and to prepare ahead, i've already packed a nice stained top so i don't have to worry about any nasty grease-spills!

safe travels,

x m

Edited July 22, 2005 by marlena spieler (log)

[artisan02]

I am always thinking of Corti Bros, when I get to Sacramento...did you get there? I love their store...

[Grub]

... i start yearing for highway 80 to take me back to bay area...

←

Wahahaha, shieeet! Poor old Sac -- it's like the Rodney Dangerfield of cities. I read a tourist visitor's guide to California that listed interstate 80 as the best thing about Sacramento: " -- use it," it said

Jason, that is totally cool, you went back for another one -- watch it, or you'll become a cult member too... I LOVE the picture you took of the cook. I just realized that I've never seen their grill or gone behind the counter at the "new" place.

At the old spot, the grill was right behind the counter where you placed your orders -- but that was just because it was pretty claustrophobic. If you sat at one of the tables in the back, you pretty much sat next to the table where Frank prepped the patties. And between those points, you had the big meat locker (with rails in the ceiling and all). And that was awesome. Wish they'd done something like that with the new place too -- even if they didn't have to.

They have this odd "window" in the uh, "structure" where the food is made, and I'm wondering if they were thinking of just calling out completed orders from it, and have customers pick it up there... I'll have to ask about that. They just walk around shouting people's names out now, just like at the old place.

Corti Brothers is excellent, but seeing that it is a grocery store, it might not be what you're looking for, unless you're staying at a Residence Inn, or something like that.

[marlena spieler]

re: corti bros:

it is a grocery store, with a fantastic selection of wines and imported esp italian products (the only place i know of in area you can get guanciale--hard to get even in s.f.--and also antique chickpeas).

also, Daryl Corti, the owner, is a font of information about Italian cooking (and speaks excellent italian) but is a wine expert par excellence.

Go, visit, ask questions, say hello for me, he's really great!

Marlena

ps: dear Grub, i love your comment about highway 80, and feel such a traitor. i always try to find good things about sacto food, i really try to be a cheerleader, and man, is it difficult! i love the ice cream at vics, near william land park, though, used to love Sam's hof brau when i was a kid but haven't been there since, and potato salad at Sam's ( no relationship to hof brau sams) deli out in the sunrise area. (on greenback). there's also a crazy wacky california pastrami place called maybe something like nyc pastrami, or....but its a total diner, with a rather sassy scary waitress, and they serve chili and pastrami on french rolls, they call it california pastrami, not new york pastrami.

possibly because the eating out scene on the finer end is so dire, i've given some enthusiastic dinner parties in sacto!

Edited July 22, 2005 by marlena spieler (log)

[marlena spieler]

ps: but not chilli together in the same sandwich as the pastrami. i must be clear about that! just a bowl o red, with a few packets of saltines. but its the pastrami sandwiches that i remember.

[melkor]

The best thing about Corti Bros is their wine selection - where else can you pick up german rieslings from good vintages with 5 to 20 years of bottle age for reasonable prices? They also have a good selection of older port.

[Jason Perlow]

Pho Bac is my fave, which branch did you go to? there are about 7 of them, all owned by different members of the same family, and none of them alike at all except for the deliciousness of the pho! i alternate between the broadway, stockton/franklin blvd one, and davis. all soooo different, all great pho.

I'm not sure, it was a fairly large restaurant, probably about 120-140 seats or so.

I have the receipt, but all it says is "PHO BAC HOA VIET". I noticed that one of the items is listed as "Chinese Item" and I think that was the roast pork noodle soup John had.