Greg Sabin

The Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera season starts this month, which means I search around SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center for dinner before a show. That’s how I found Chef Burma.

I’ve been lucky to attend shows by local symphony and opera companies for nearly 40 years. Thanks to my mother for instilling a love of classical music. She never had to drag me to performances at 13th and L streets.

Jamaicans are fewer than 0.1% of the local population. But that’s enough to make Sacramento home for two Jamaican restaurants that bring home the flavors, culture and joy of the Caribbean island’s cuisine.

Rockyaad Jamaican Restaurant on Fair Oaks Boulevard doesn’t look like much from outside. But open the door and find an expansive, brightly lit dining room full of sound, color and the smells of Jamaican cooking.

The cuisine shares many ingredients with its Caribbean neighbors, such as plantains, rice and beans, brightly flavored fish and chicken, and long-stewed beef. But Jamaican cooking is a speciality all its own.

Casa Lola, a new Mexican restaurant Downtown, is more than a solid place to eat. It’s more than a spot with extraordinary service, more than a restaurant run by pros.

More than all that, it’s a lot of fun.

When I told my wife Casa Lola reminded me of Disneyland, she said, “Like in a bad way?” No, I said. In the best way.

It reminded me of the imagination, service and entertainment value of an in-person Disney event.

Every wall, plate, seat and light fixture at Casa Lola feels like it was imagineered.

Floor-to-ceiling murals with jaguars and hummingbirds seem to pop right off the walls. A Spanish-style veranda hangs over the passthrough, overflowing with bougainvillea and palm fronds. Heavy wood and leather-strap furniture look straight out of Acapulco.

The term “beloved” gets thrown around too much with small businesses. Lou’s Sushi and Vic’s Ice Cream earned it.

Lou Valente worked 30 years behind local sushi counters. Regional publications called him the best in town a decade ago. But disagreements with partners closed his restaurants.

Now Valente is back. His new place, next to Low Brau at the MARRS building in Midtown, lets him sling his boundary-breaking hand rolls and present a phenomenal cocktail program developed by his Low Brau partners.

Scott Ostrander and Paul DiPierro bring a cutting edge to Origami Asian Grill, their East Sacramento favorite. With a new enterprise, Gami Burger, the duo rolls out a different formula.

Focusing on the familiar and getting two separate locations up and running fast, the Gami team is already dishing out comfortable favorites.

Ostrander and DiPierro started Origami Asian Grill in 2018. They took Michelin-star know-how and applied it to dishes such as Sichuan fried chicken and ramen. The fried chicken is tops in my book.

During the pandemic, restaurants adapted or declined. Origami adapted, occasionally featuring a Gami Burger pop-up. The meal hit the spot with diners seeking consolation. Burger pop-ups became one of Origami’s most popular pandemic-era productions.