Pub Grub
Many beer-focused places around town concentrate on the suds and keep the kitchen out of sight. But some beer joints work hard to highlight their food.
East Meets West
Christopher Fairman is a walking advertisement for a well-run restaurant. Having been a manager at The Shack and Magpie, he knows how to work with good people who run good businesses and make good food.
When he told me he was going manage a new, buzzy Italian place in Midtown, I couldn’t wait to try it.
The restaurant is Pazza Notte—Crazy Night in Italian—at 18th and L streets. It’s fun, irreverent and inviting.
Black and white photographs line the walls, portraying celebrities and models, cars and kittens. The vibe is old country and new world.
Warm & Welcoming
Basha Taste of Jerusalem is a vibrant example of Palestinian cuisine. Marrying flavors of the Middle East and Mediterranean, the Fulton Avenue restaurant delivers punchy spices and expert cooking from the Levant. It’s dished out with warm and welcoming service.
When I grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, Fulton Avenue cuisine was burgers, pizza and cheesesteaks. Tiny’s Drive-In and The Buggy Whip spoke with meat and potatoes and cooking from another era.
Now, Fulton Avenue draws from around the world. The street features foods from Southeast Asia, India, Latin America and especially the Middle East.
La Dolce Vita
Sampino’s Kitchen at Joe Marty’s offers a traditional Italian American experience, spaghetti and meatballs included, on Broadway. Across the grid, newcomer Willow presents Italian food through a fine-dining lens. Both are special places.
Good Juju
Headed to the theater for a holiday show? I’ve got the place for you. Juju Kitchen & Cocktails, a drinks and small-plate enterprise at 15th and L streets, offers a sophisticated stop for the discerning theatergoer (or anyone else).
Chef David English brings his pedigree and penchant for tasteful simplicity. Having closed his Press Bistro in late 2019, English offers many familiar dishes at Juju but with a different vibe.
Juju is a cocktail lounge. It’s a bit of a restaurant too, but alcohol comes first. A cleverly situated circular bar dominates, but a partial wall bifurcates the bar and splits the room in two.
The inner space, all ferns and soft surfaces, opens onto the Marriott Residence Inn. The outer space, all windows, is an urban fishbowl with funky cocktail vibes. The menu is the same on both sides and bears the hallmarks of English’s journey from New Orleans to Sacramento.
Carry On
In June 2022, when Jen and Gary Sleppy announced they were closing The Shack, their beloved East Sacramento restaurant, it was a blow. The neighborhood hangout was a refuge for beer and burger lovers who considered the 90-year-old spot a home away from home.
Thankfully, an experienced restaurant and brewing group took over and continued the traditions of The Shack.
The view from Folsom Boulevard has always been humble. Holding down the corner at Folsom Boulevard and 52nd Street, the building began as a hot dog and root beer stand in 1932 and never changed much. The Sleppys took over in 2005. Combining their experience in hospitality and love of beer, they created one of the first specialty beer bars in town.