Hail to the Queen

A walk down Broadway can be like a trip around the world when it comes to restaurants. You've got Japanese, Thai, Nepali, Mexican, Chinese, Jamaican and smattering of good old American fast food. Last night I experienced Ethiopian food for the first time at Queen Sheba.

I've eaten Moroccan food a few times and also enjoy the tastes of India. To me, this seemed like a cross between the two. And like when I've eaten those cuisines, I find it best not to over-read the menu and just leave the taste adventure up to the chefs. We ordered the combination dinner for two which includes (for $11.99 per person):

• Doro Wot - a piece of chicken and an egg, cooked with spices including red pepper, garlic and ginger
• Key Wot - beef simmered in spices, hot pepper sauce and spiced butter.
• Lamb Tibbs - lamb sautéed with purified butter and seasoned with onions, garlic, and ginger.

We also got our choice of two vegetable entrees and chose:

• Miser Kik Wot - Lentils cooked with hot spices
• Gomen - Cooked spinach & collard greens with onions, garlic and spices.

The food came out what looked like a large, round pizza pan. The aromas were amazing! Spicy and very unusual (in a good way). We also got a basket of injera, a thin, spongy sourdough-like bread. It is so difficult to describe. It's not like naan or pita, but it was delicious. This is a "no silverware" establishment so the injera served as our utensils.

I was starving so I dug - or scooped - right in! The lamb was tender and the sauce was delicious. The beef dish packed a punch of heat, but not too much. The beef was savory and flavorful. Both vegetable dishes were tasty but very different from one another. The chicken was just OK and I wasn't wild about the egg. All of the dishes are spicy but in the sense of being well seasoned. None of them are hot for the sake of being hot. The injera was perfect for sopping up all the delicious sauces. I washed everything down with an Ethiopian imported dark beer. It's subtle sweetness was the perfect compliment to the spice.

Dinner for two and two beers was $34. Queen Sheba also has an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet for $7.50 and loads of vegetarian and vegan options. The restaurant is located at 1704 Broadway.

Caldo!

A Vespa dealership AND a pizza place? Interesting combo. Hot Italian, now open at the corner of 16th and Q, does a pretty good job melding the two concepts.

Granted, I'm not in the marketplace for a scooter, so I went straight for the pizza. I walked through the shop to get to the restaurant and was stopped by a hostess asking if I knew about their seating options. You can sit at the gelato bar (more on that later), the pizza bar where you can see the kitchen or at a large common table and "make a few new friends." Who could pass up that opportunity!

So while I waited for Nancy I sat down next to a couple who were finishing their meal. I sat down without thinking that it might be weird to join their date, but it was too late. After an awkward hello, I asked them how their meal was and got their suggestions on whether or not one pizza was enough for two people to share. It was pleasant enough, but I don't think we're going to be friends.

The crowd ranged from people with families, couples and larger groups of friends. One minor drawback is as the place got busier, it got quite loud. I don't think the cinderblock walls provide the best acoustics. It wasn't unpleasant, but if you're looking for intimate conversation you might want to try elsewhere. The general atmosphere is relaxed and casual and the servers are friendly.

As I've mentioned before, I love pizza and am a big fan of the thin crust style. The menu has eight varieties of pie, one of which can also be made into a calzone and another which can be served panini style. Options include the Bellucci (tomato, mozzarella, sausage and ricotta), the Materazzi (tomato, fontina, pepperoni and olives), the Magnini (smoked salmon, mozzarella, mascarpone and dill) and our choice, the Bova (tomato, roasted eggplant, mozzarella and goat cheese). We also shared a Sozzani salad, with baby spinach, pears, dried cranberries, pine nuts and Gorgonzola. The other salad option was pretty tempting too -- romaine, blood oranges and ricotta.

The salad ($8) and pizza ($11) were the perfect size for sharing (my new friends were right!). However, I did note that after reviewing the menu later that they forgot the pears in the salad. The pizza crust was tender and not too chewy. The eggplant and goat cheese were delicious. We also split a bottle of Coppola Pinot Noir for $25. Bottles run $25, $35 and $45 in both red and white varietals and glasses are between $5 and $8. They also have a selection of Prosecco and draft beers. I'm sure they have non-alcoholic beverages too, but we didn't ask.

I don't usually indulge in dessert, but gelato is one of my favorites. Hot Italian has thirteen varieties ($3 for two scoops), including espresso, stracciatella, peanut butter cup, zabaglione and ferrero rocher - which was delicious. They also have pear and blood orange sorbet, which sound fantastic. I can definitely see people riding their scooters over for a scoop at the gelato bar when the weather gets warmer! Finally, there are two other desserts - the Zucchero calzone (hazelnut spread and powdered sugar) and Murino pizza (sweet gorgonzola and pears drizzled with honey). I think I just like dessert better when it's Italian.

I'll give Mazullo a slight edge on the pizza, but overall I really enjoyed my meal. I know I'll be back because I still have 12 flavors of gelato to try.

Enjoy!

I was in the Sacramento Co-op tonight picking up a couple of items (bulk dried mushrooms, yum) and meant to grab the brochure to join on my way out and instead grabbed something with "Enjoy!" in big yellow letters across the top. (I was tired, it was yellow and bold, you know how it is.) Much to my delight it's a listing of their community learning center's cooking school! If you want to learn how to cook your own fantastic meal (that will be sustainable and organic, natch) here's the place to look. A couple of highlights: Eileen's Kitchen 6 course meal (vegetarian) benefiting Soil Born Farms on March 13th, Sensational Sushi on March 5th, Wine Country Cuisine on March 7th, East Meets West at the Armenian Table on March 12th, and Spanish Tapas on March 30th. They're also doing a series of classes on Indian and Italian food (these are separate classes), although most of them took place earlier in Feb and January. They also have healthy eating classes, yoga and other fitness/wellness classes, and community education classes that include classes on safely biking in winter weather (I think I need this one). Most classes are $25-35 and it looks like you get to eat in all of them, which makes it more than worth it in my book. (The Wine Country Cuisine class includes wine for $45 non-member.) The best part is that there are so many classes in this little brochure that I didn't list them all, although I'm sure you're thinking I did by this point.
Oh--and if you work at a class by assisting the chef or cleaning up you can get 50% off!!
You can find a list of the classes on the co-op website or just go there and have some fun shopping at 1900 Alhambra Blvd (at S Street) in Midtown.

News Flash! New Dinner Menu at the Sub Shack!

I just got an email today from Gary and Jen at the Sub Shack that they have a new seasonal menu. It looks delicious! They have everything from small plates, salads, pastas and main courses (including moules fritte, Belgian-style mussels with garlic fries. I know what I'm ordering). Prices are very reasonable (although I have no idea how big the meals will be) and they have their usual extensive and innovative wine and beer list. I love a restaurant where the wine and beer menu is longer than the food menu! The dinner menu isn't posted on their website yet, but I'm hoping it will be soon. Let's hope when the weather warms up they have music again as well. I also thought I read somewhere that they have Sunday brunch too... I have nothing to prove it but I'll find out and keep you posted.
The Shack is on Folsom Blvd in East Sac at 52nd Street. You can also find them on the web.

Boccanoto's Tratoria

I've been meaning to blog about Boccanoto Tratoria for some time now. Last summer, on our way up to Fairplay for the Charles Mitchell/Conti Estates futures release party, we intended to stop by the Fair Play Bistro for a bite before a long afternoon of wine tasting, and found Boccanoto's in its place. Fair Play Bistro was generally good, but not spectacular. Boccanoto's really raises the bar for cuisine in this region. Before picking up the winter release at Conti a few weekends ago, we stopped by for lunch again.
It's probably a good thing Boccanoto's is so far up the hill--if it was closer in town, I would be there all the time. It's a small, family run restaurant, the kind of place where the owner/chef stops by your table to make sure your meal was perfect. And both times I've been here it's been just that--perfect.
Boccanoto's uses only fresh, locally growed ingredients, for everything from their produce to their meat. It's generally Italian food, with a daily freshly-made pasta special among the other menu items. Ask a lot of questions about the food at Boccanoto's--they don't expect you to know everything and are happy to help you make decisions or explain about a dish. This isn't a snobby place where they correct you when you pronounce something wrong (how do you say "sformato"?), they are just about good food, good wine, and good friends. My kind of place--and much like being in Italy.
The prices are great too. I generally spend about $30 here, and that includes an appetizer (try the cheese plate--it's fab!), wine (they have a nice selection of local, Fairplay region wines as well as Italian and other European wines), main dish and sometimes a dessert. Everything is so fresh, and they make sure to use only what is in season. I recommend going to Boccanoto's before going wine tasting--you'll want to remember this meal.

You can find Boccanoto's at 7915 Fair Play Road in Fair Play, California.

Bubbles at Brunch

Just a quickie... Hangar 17 is offering $5 Free Flowing Mimosas with the purchase of any brunch entree on Saturdays and Sundays, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Would anyone care to do some research??

Boon Boon Deals Deals

Carmen blogged about Boon Boon Cafe a while ago, but I think their lunch specials are worth a mention. Boon Boon now has lunch specials that include an entree, rice and a house salad for $5.95. Specials are available from 11:00 - 3:00 on weekdays. You can find the menu here. There are 17 choices to choose from, including vegetarian options. I've had the Eggplant Tofu and the Green Curry - both were delicious. I highly recommend the Tom Kha Gai soup. It is to die for, and according to the menu it "provides a natural boost in your immunity!"

I think this place is hard for a lot of people to find because (a) it's behind a Subway sandwich shop, (b) there is ridiculously little signage, (c) it's next to a nail salon and a check cashing place and (d) it's a little off the beaten path -- the corner of Broadway and Stockton. Don't be intimidated by the neighborhood -- heck it's just blocks from my house -- and stop in and enjoy the flavors!