Move over Mom, Dad's in the Kitchen

Dad's Kitchen

2968 Freeport Blvd. 

Sacramento, CA 95818

After witnessing our friends Angel and Rebekah's wedding the night before, we had a little time to sleep off the effects of the rum and cokes from the reception by sleeping in until our checkout time. We also had about an hour and a half window before our 3 pm flight out of Sacramento, so of course, that meant we had time to cross another restaurant off of my list for this weekend. We headed to Dad's Kitchen in the Land Park section of Sacramento.

Since we had such good luck with the last Diner's, Drive-In's and Dives spot we tried on this trip, we decided to tempt fate and give this restaurant that Guy Fieri ate at six years ago a try. Dad's has been around for nine years now, and from what I have been able to ascertain that is a record for this building, which had seen its fair share of restaurants go out of business in this small, cramped strip mall which is also home to a pizza place and is right next door to what we hear is a really good bakery, Freeport Bakery.

Since there are only ten parking spots in this shopping plaza, we had to find a spot behind the restaurant, but there are some nice houses nearby, so it made for an excellent short stroll to the front door of Dad's. Once inside, you'll notice some old school pinball machines to your left, which I imagine would be a great diversion if there's a wait for a table during your stay. We, fortunately, had no wait and got a table right away in the smaller than imagined main dining area. The larger patio is just past the dining room and has fans and heaters for their customer's comfort.

We were at Dad's on a Sunday, so we ordered off of the brunch menu, which is offered from 9 to 2 pm only on Sundays. The menu features a good assortment of breakfast items, but there are also some burger and sandwich options for people that are not feeling the breakfast vibe. We quickly made our choices and waited for our food to arrive, which it did in a very timely manner.

I guess Katie was feeling the breakfast vibe because she got this Mom's Omelette ($11.50). This veggie focused omelet included three eggs, spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes, and was blanketed with plenty of jack cheese. She devoured this omelet and was pretty impressed with how fresh all the veggies were inside of this. She did not feel it was extremely heavy either. She loved the biscuit that came with this, but the home fries were extremely overcooked to the point that they could have been called burnt. Even with the potato snafu, Katie liked her meal and would be encouraged to try more off of the Dad's menu.

I already knew what I was going to have before even walking in the door of Dad's because I had seen this burger on Triple D. What you have here is the Dad's Burger ($14 plus $3.50 for the upcharge of getting onion rings).  This burger patty was encrusted with plenty of bacon and the blue cheese crumbles were inside the burger. This was a delicious burger, and worthy of all the praise it receives. The burger patty was full of flavor and cooked to a very tender medium, the bun was soft and pliable, and what bound this burger all together for me was the very well done Aleppo chili spread that came with it. It added a  touch of heat and the sauce kind of helped cut the blue cheese and bacon, which can sometimes overpower. Very balanced flavors here. The onion rings are fantastic at Dad's. They are heavily battered, but there's also a big onion in there, so they work. They are topped with parmesan cheese and a balsamic reduction which I thought was odd until I tried them. To push these rings over the top they came with a roasted red pepper aioli, which I could not get enough of, and even used it on my burger as well. A three and a half dollar upcharge for three onion rings might seem excessive, but you won't be sorry once you try them.

Dad's Kitchen really sent us off to the airport with full stomachs and a satisfying meal. The food was excellent and if we lived closer, this restaurant would be in our heavy rotation of places we hit up frequently. Not an overly huge menu, but I'd like to try their meatloaf, Cuban sandwich, and the interesting sounding buttermilk fried artichokes if we make it up this way again in the near future. Our service on this early afternoon was solid, and our server Brittany did a wonderful job keeping tabs on us throughout our stay. I really enjoyed the quirky atmosphere here, with the old school advertising all over the walls, and the sense that they don't take themselves too seriously. I guess Guy Fieri was two for two on our trip up north and has kind of redeemed himself for some of the clunker restaurants we have visited that were on his show.

Out of five panthers, (because this restaurant is a stone throw away from Sacramento City College, and their mascot is the panther), five being best to zero being worst, Dad's Kitchen gets 3.5 panthers.

For more information about Dad's Kitchen, head to their website here: http://ilovedadskitchen.com/

Prime Rib Is the Star on This Broadway

Jamie's Broadway Grille

427 Broadway

Sacramento, CA 95818

It has been over 35 years since I last visited Sacramento. I can remember that trip with my parents vividly because it was on that family vacation that I started collecting baseball cards. I was crazy for them. Every store, gas station, mall, antique shop, tourist attraction, or anywhere I thought they would sell them, I would look for them and buy them if they were there. Fast forward to the present and I have long since stashed all of my baseball cards in the back of my closet, and now when I travel instead of looking for cards with a stale piece of gum, I look for restaurants to eat at.

Up in Northern California for a wedding, we got out of the airport around 6 pm and made our way to one of the restaurants on my list for this weekend, Jamie's Broadway Grille. I had seen this place on Diner's, Drive-In's, and Dives and decided this would definitely be our first stop for dinner. Jamie's was situated just south of the downtown area, near the 5 and 80 interchange, in what I'd describe as an industrial area. In fact, the building that now houses Jamie's used to be an auto garage many years ago.

Since 1986 this has been the location of Jamie's Broadway Grille, that's when proprietor Jamie Bunnell bought the place but kept it pretty much the same from its other incarnations as other restaurants. Wooden floors, a busy bar packed with regulars, a partially separated dining room with assorted big game and beer advertising mounted on the walls all contribute to the neighborhood feel of this restaurant.

Aside from the Triple D episode that brought national acclaim, Jamie's also has been spotlighted in numerous newspaper articles praising everything from their clam chowder, burgers, sandwiches, and steaks. Unfortunately, after 31 years as business owner, Jamie Bunnell passed away two months ago, but we were happy when we entered Jamie's on a recent Friday evening and found out that his legacy lives on, as the bar and dining area was packed during our stay. I was excited to dig in, so let's see if this would be a great opening act for our weekend up north.

Katie started things off for us with the House Salad ($5.95). This salad was pretty good sized and came in a chipped wooden bowl, (yes, this restaurant is no frills). The salad came with plenty of greens, mushrooms, cucumber, green onion, and cherry tomatoes. They make all of their dressings on the premises, and the ranch that Katie got on this was excellent. She felt this was a very fresh and satisfying salad. I had almost forgotten to order the Cup of Clam Chowder ($4.95) that I was so eager to try before coming here, but I flagged down our server and rectified the situation. I immediately regretted not getting the bowl for an extra dollar, because this was a very good version of one of my favorite soups. There were plenty of big pieces of clams in here and the creaminess of this was spot on. I liked that it was not overly filled with potatoes and other veggies. It's easy to see why they go through gallons of this chowder in a week.

Even in the best of marriages, there is sometimes some disagreement. That was the case in this love triangle between Katie and I and this Garlic Steak Sandwich ($8.50 for the half order). She was not in love with it at all. She felt it was light on the garlic, and did not appreciate the toughness of the steak. I, on the other hand, thought it was superb. I could taste the garlic from the roll, I thought the steak was tender and done nicely, and what put this over the top for me was the homemade mayo that was served on the side of this sandwich. I'm a mayo freak, and this was an excellent version. The fries were also solid, crunchy on the outside and the potato inside was creamy. I guess we can agree to disagree on this sandwich.

Hands down the best Prime Rib ($31.95) I have had. It's not on the regular menu, so I'm not sure how often they have it, but if it's available, order it. What set this prime rib apart for me is the fact that they smoke it for six hours over walnut and almond woods. Sometimes the center part of prime rib can be a little on the bland and dry side, but this was flavorful and moist throughout. The outer crust was incredible, and the horseradish-sour cream sauce was a great accompaniment. This came with some potatoes and vegetables, but for the most part, I ignored these to focus on this big slab of beef.

Driving to our motel after eating here, Katie caught me smiling, as I was thinking back on our visit to Jamie's Broadway Grille. I couldn't help but smile after that delicious prime rib. I have had some hit and miss restaurant experiences with some of the Diners, Drive-In's and Dive restaurants I have been to. This was definitely a hit. For those of you reading this in OC, this place reminds me of a way better version of Steer Inn in Orange and Anaheim Hills. A loud rambunctious dining room, and run by a competent and professional staff, we were just off the airplane a mere hour ago, and we were made to feel like a member of their family. Finding Jamie's Broadway Grille brought back to mind the same euphoric feeling I had when I was ten years old and stumbled upon those elusive baseball cards.

Out of five train whistles, (because when I was in Sacramento as a kid we visited the California State Railroad Museum, and one of the souvenirs that I got was a wooden train whistle, which I still have somewhere), five being best to zero being worst, Jamie's Broadway Grille gets 4 train whistles.

For more information about Jamie's Broadway Grille, head to their website here: http://jamiesbroadwaygrille.com/index.html