Sacramento - Tower Cafe

In the Reno/Santa Crawl entry last December, I made a brief mention of my brunch at Tower Cafe in Sacramento. That brunch left such a strong impression on me, I decided to go back when we were in Sacramento. It was a toss up between Tower Cafe for lunch and Ten22 for dinner. Obviously, we chose Ten22 for lunch which means we had Tower Cafe for dinner.

Tower Cafe is aptly named because it is next to the historic Tower Theatre which mostly plays indie movies. There is a tall tower on this building. The outdoor seating area has the cutest vibe ever - feels like an English tea garden. Instead of walls, they grow dense shrubbery and plants on wire fences to enclose the dining area. So cute!!!

Lychee Lei - This drink is everything that's right with the world. Pineapple vodka, lychee puree, coconut water, and a squeeze of lime. Tastes like all sorts of tropical. The orchid is edible but I didn't eat it and now I feel bad because some poor graduate could have used this in their lei.

($8.95) Ceviche Torre - scallops and tiger prawns in a citrus marinade and tri-colored tortilla chips. It was exactly as good as it sounds. Very spicy actually but still so good.

($16.95) Jamaican Jerk Chicken - half chicken marinated in 18 spices, chilis, citrus juice and served with white rice, black beans, pineapple sauce and a side of jerk sauce. That last part is what turned me off about the dish. I wanted jerk chicken stewed and falling off the bone, dripping in jerk sauce. I thought the chicken was flavorful but a bit dry this way. Phil really liked this so he traded his linguine with me. Oh yeah, a half chicken, booyah on portion size!

Linguine with scallops, prawns - this was a special because I can't find it on the menu anymore. A similar dish is $15.95. I love seafood and fresh pasta. This did not disappoint at all. Bowl looks smaller than it was in person. This was also a huge portion.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Tower Cafe impresses me again. Good for brunch and dinner. If I didn't live so far from Sacramento, I would go here often and eat outside on the patio then treat myself to a cookie from their bakery afterwards. That's the life. Service, excellent. Prices, regular. Portions, huge -- therefore, prices are good. Ambience, cozy, bustling, eclectic decor. The walls were adorned with art from Mexico, Thailand, Egypt, and everywhere else. If you're ever headed up North, go here, please. And then tell me about it so I can re-live my memories through you.

Tower Cafe on Yelp

Sacramento - Ten22

When I was an undergraduate at UC Davis, I did a few internships and held a part time job in downtown Sacramento. I was an English major and one of my gigs was a journalism internship supervised by a Communications Director who now works in San Jose. So there you go, I studied English and I read a bunch of things and wrote a bunch of essays and it was a lot of fun.

We recently visited Sacramento on our way home from the Rugged Maniac race in Rancho Murietta. I did not hang out in Sacramento much when I was in school because I went to a club there once and got hit on by old men in Ed Hardy t-shirts and that was about all I wanted of Sactown. This was a much more pleasant experience though. It was hot as Hades that weekend.

Artwork at the mall downtown

Horse drawn buggies in Old Sac. Cute.

After finishing the race, we decided to try Ten22 mainly because they had good Yelp reviews and I liked the name. Their address is 1022 2nd Street, hence the name Ten22. I LOVE clever restaurant names. Ten22 is located in Old Sac, a neighborhood that transports you back to cobblestone roads, horse drawn buggies, and old Western saloon style buildings. Despite the centuries old look of the building, the inside of Ten22 was modern and warm. Imagine the restaurant of a hotel during high tea.

($12) Bistro Burger - pepperjack cheese, apple smoked bacon, caramelized onions
Very much a man's burger. Phil liked it a lot. Can't go wrong with pepperjack cheese and bacon on a burger.

($16) Summer vegetables, house made gnocchi - this was the best gnocchi I've ever had of all time in my entire life in the whole world and other epic phrases indicating extreme joy from the consumption of a single dish in comparison to its similar genre counterparts! Exclamation mark for emphasis.

These were some soft, chewy, fresh potato dough balls in pesto sauce with roasted tomatoes, zucchini, and squash. Vegetarian done right.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Service: attentive, personable, charming

Ambiance:  warm and inviting. Very brunch-like. Dress code, casual. 

Prices: Decent. Portion size and quality is good for this price.

Food: Delicious. A man's burger and a very satisfying vegetarian pasta dish for the lady.

Totally recommend this place if you're in Sacramento.

Ten22 on Yelp

Here's a photo treat for you.

Yikes, I look like how my mom looks when I drive faster than 40mph.