Ratings are on a scale of 0 to 24.  The scale used to be 0 to 10, so restaurants written about before 2012 may have only had their ratings adjusted by formula and not by hand (hence all the 2s, 5s, 8s, etc.)  The scale works as follows:

An asymmetrical 0 to 24 scale may not be intuitive, I realize.  But as a rule of thumb: a double-digit score means I liked it, while a single-digit score… less so.  Also, as you might expect, scores from many years ago may not be very reliable, so do check the dates.

CA Central Valley

For all those folks in So-Cal who yearn to move to Nebraska but would miss the smog too much.

Click on the column titles to sort the entries!

Name	Cuisine	Address	Last update	Score
Bistro 33	American	F & 3rd, Davis	2006-06-09	8
Sort of like a toned-down TGI Friday's with higher-quality food.
Ettore’s	Bakery	Fair Oaks & Stebbins, Sacramento	2023-07-22	13
This place quickly became a must-stop while I was working in Sacramento: I was wowed by the strawberry chocolate pie, the florentines, the almond crescent cookies, and pretty much everything else I tried.  On a more recent visit during a road trip, though, I did get a couple of relative clunkers: the apricot danish I got was average and the “puff pretzel” was a bit of a misfire.
Cafe Bernardo	Breakfast/lunch	D & 3rd, Davis	2006-06-13	5
The "eggs Bernardo" were a little gross, but perhaps other items are better.
Crepeville	Crepes	C & 3rd, Davis	2006-06-12	8
I got a crepe here with avocado, spinach, sundried tomato pesto, and provolone. It was pretty good — a little rubbery, maybe.
Ciocolat	Dessert	B & 3rd, Davis	2006-06-15	11
Many, many mousses; also cakes and chocolates and scones and things. Plus some real food which I haven't tried.
Tower Cafe	Eclectic	Broadway & Land Park, Sacramento	2024-01-02	14
Ellie picked out this place for her birthday, and it turned out to be a winner.  I got an “East African veggie burger” that came with a very tasty cashew curry dipping sauce, and she got a combination plate whose “petite slice” of French toast turned out to be like half a loaf—​it was basically a bread pudding.  One to go back to the next time we’re out that way.
Abyssinia Restaurant	Ethiopian	Fulton btw Hurley/Marigold, Sacramento	2017-07-30	13
Better than average Ethiopian: the collard greens, normally my least favorite part of a veggie combo, were much less bitter than usual, and while I wasn't thrilled by the soupy green lentils, the very fact that the combo included this non-standard item was a big plus as well.
Taste of India	Indian	Tracy & CA-58, Buttonwillow	2005-12-16	14
This is a nice Indian restaurant with good food. If it were in the Bay Area I would give it a mild recommendation and probably forget all about it. But it is not in the Bay Area. It is in Buttonwillow. Buttonwillow! Let's enjoy that again: there is a very nice Indian restaurant with genuinely good food — not "good for I-5," but genuinely high quality — in fricking Buttonwillow. Oh brave new world!
Curry Paradise	Indian	Harbor Pointe & Stillwater, West Sacramento	2017-08-14	6
This grade is generous; I gave this place an extra point because I'd never had egg curry before. But everything else was sooo bland. Getting freshly made garlic naan was nice in theory, but it was sharp and bitter. And I left with a stomachache.
Raja's Tandoor	Indian	3rd & A, Davis	2017-05-18	4
All-day buffet. Pretty dire. Broccoli close to raw, naan inedibly stale, lots of cold stuff. I guess I could have gotten by on dal and rice pudding, but keeping this out of the red is generous.
Osteria Fasulo	Italian	Portage Bay btw Russell/Hudson, Davis	2006-06-21	11
Negative points for foisting a "complimentary cocktail" at me that made my table stink of alcohol until I had them take it away. Negative points for a menu that had about 10% as many vegetarian options as the sample menu that lured me in. Negative points for taking an hour and forty-five minutes to finish serving me a small meal in an empty restaurant. So why is this a four and not a zero? Because the pan-seared gnocchi were the best I've ever had.
Fresh Medi	Mediterranean	Fulton & Larkspur, Sacramento	2017-07-22	11
I was not expecting much when I went in — the place looked pretty rundown — but I tried the "Mediterranean nachos" out of curiosity and they were much better than I expected. I mean, yeah, they're just pita chips with toppings, but there was more synergy than I thought. In particular, I had some trepidation because I don't normally like feta cheese, and yet the feta sauce was really good.
La Cocina de Chuy	Mexican	Eureka btw 11th/Magnolia, Redding	2021-07-27	8
I got a veggie taco plate here that wasn’t terrible, and was even a notch above my meal in Rogue River, but was certainly a very far cry from the veggie taco plate at Tacos Sinaloa.
Chando's Tacos	Mexican (taqueria)	local chain, Sacramento	2017-07-20	9
High quality stuff, and I was initially thrilled to see three different types of veggie tacos, but apparently this place doesn't really do beans at all and their absence was strongly felt.
Taqueria Davis	Mexican (taqueria)	L & 5th, Davis	2017-11-08	8
Here I got nachos that, among the usual toppings, came with a thin red sauce and some rather dried-out black beans. They still delivered the standard nacho experience: unequivocally tasty at first, then pretty gross by the end.
Todo Un Poco	Mexican and Italian	Laguna Main & Laguna, Elk Grove	2009-04-14	14
This strange establishment's menu is half Mexican, half Italian, with a Punjabi pizza thrown in for kicks. I got the Relleños Oaxaca, an enormous plate of chiles relleños and fried bananas smothered with black beans, cheese, multiple salsas and a light salad. Certainly worth checking out should you find yourself in Elk Grove.
Tapa the World	Tapas	J & 21st, Sacramento	2005-10-29	5
This was my first experience with tapas. Luckily, later ones were better. "Pan-fried potato cubes with a spicy tomato sauce" turned out to be French fries with ketchup. The romesco sauce on my grilled vegetables was purely decorative. I wanted dessert but wasn't offered any. Good times!

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