Dining

We hadn't finished the first course when my wife looked up to ask, "Sure you want to give this up?"

Eating-wise, there's a lot to like at the Quarry Ponds Center in Granite Bay.

Sacramento-area restaurateurs wish every day was Thanksgiving Day.

At the darkest corner on the darkest street in the darkest hour of the economy, what should come bounding onto this grim stage with hope and cheer but the Cosmopolitan.

I was early, so I loitered on the sidewalk along Ninth Street downtown, strolling between L and K streets, waiting for lunch pal Maria, expecting the cops to roll up any minute and demand ID.

Over the past 13 years, the midtown restaurant Moxie and I have had a love-hate relationship.

If I were asked to give advice to The Bee's next restaurant critic, I'd say: Report as much as review.

NAPA – Now's the time to visit the Napa Valley. The grape-crush rush is over and traffic has mellowed, but there are still wine- making activities to see, especially on the winery tours.

The Greek Village Inn Restaurant

The five most popular Sacramento restaurants in the new 2009 Zagat Restaurant survey – which takes into consideration surveyor comments concerning service, decor and cost as well as food – are Mikuni, Biba, the Waterboy, Ella and Mulvaney's.

As the argonauts found in the 1850s, when the pay dirt plays out, you improvise.

It's certainly a comfort to have a little place in your neighborhood or hometown where you can go for a breakfast of dependable quality and portion.

Auburn is the most imperial of the Mother Lode's old gold camps, largely for its lordly courthouse on the hill.

'Ow 'bout a spot of tea, then? Fancy a scone with butter and jam, do you?

Diners who visit The French Laundry in Yountville in the Napa Valley have justifiably high expectations. Owner Thomas Keller is widely recognized as the top chef in the country. The nine-course tasting menus cost $240. And just wait until you see the wine list.

We're willing and ready to go anywhere at any time when we hear about a hamburger, barbecue or pizza we've not tried.

Local voters apparently like takeout pizza when watching points and counterpoints.

The golden light, colorful leaves, overnight pumpkin patches and smell of fermenting grape juice all make October the best month for wine enthusiasts to tour the Sierra foothills.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE – It's the "in-between" season at Lake Tahoe, when the relentless armies of tourists end their occupation of the lake, making it easier for you and me to maneuver. The in-between season will end with the first snowfall in November, so act now.

Seafood restaurant McCormick & Schmick's will offer complimentary entrees to veterans with ID on Nov. 9 in its annual Veterans Appreciation Event.

My 401(k) was getting bludgeoned. My buyout buddies had left the building. And my neighborhood was being invaded by dust blowers, which among the overly polite are better known as leaf blowers.

Can we get enough sushi and sashimi? It doesn't seem so. If you're unclear on the subject, sashimi is raw fish. Sushi is rice topped or rolled with other ingredients, usually including raw fish. Food scholars say sushi has its origin in Southeast Asia in the fourth century B.C. What we recognize as sushi today was "invented" as a fast food in Japan in the early 1800s.

Whenever a restaurant closes, another seems to open, despite the feeble economy. Ali Mackani knows this uneasy equation better than most restaurateurs.

BURLINGAME – Despite continuing outrageous fuel prices, many of this column's readers still hit the road for day trips and overnighters. With that in mind, "Counter Culture" recently left town again and filed this report from San Mateo County:

Fall has officially dropped in on the Sacramento River.

And now for something completely different.

Long before Eppie Johnson got canonized as the patron saint of local triathletes, he was a restaurateur, running a group of coffee shops recognized for straightforward, value-priced interpretations of dishes right out of the American heartland.

As the televised football season gets under way (we'd rather watch big hits than take them), we're reminded that sometimes nothing will do but some pub grub, ice-cold beer and a room full of cheering revelers.

I'm at Table 260 on J Street trying to order chicken and waffles for dinner, which I don't quite understand. The waiter, a young, high-energy guy, keeps calling me "Mr. Lucky."

Two decades after graduating from McClatchy High School, Robert "Bobby" Masullo returned to his old Land Park neighborhood to open a restaurant this summer.

We're talking breakfast again, specifically going out on the town for a weekday breakfast, because that's when it's such a delicious indulgence.

Here are our original picks for a good weekday breakfast.

Lots of restaurateurs are jumping on the bandwagon, which is a solar-powered cart built of recycled materials and loaded with organically produced provisions.

Check this: a meal deal combined with the opportunity to wade into an ethnic cuisine that may be new to you. It's the $9 all-you-care-to-eat daily buffet at the Curry Club Indian Bistro.

Take food, add in a few dollars and end up with a full stomach and a happy, just-scored-adeal heart. Here is a guide to some spots where you can eat everything from tacos and pizza to sushi and filet mignon without digging too deep in your wallet.

These are tough times in the restaurant industry.

When we pulled into the parking lot of Masque Ristorante the other evening, we had no problem finding an open space.

Many top chefs are scheduled to appear at this year's Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival, but only one can honestly carry that label capitalized.

The annual Fremont Park festival features live music, food and, of course, colorful sidewalk chalk art. Come and check out the artworks circling the park. And if you're feeling the muse, $10 gets you your own square and a box of chalk.

Funny how one thing leads to the next. For instance, we finally caught "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle" (2004) on DVD and admired the lads' determination to score a pile of those delicious little steam-grilled White Castle burgers, with minced onions and pickle chips nestled in soft buns.

Of all the Italian restaurants in the Sacramento region, the two that have most consistently represented the cuisine's highest standards have been Biba in midtown Sacramento and Masque Ristorante in El Dorado Hills.

Our appetites rivaled those of a pack of coyotes, or a pack of black bears if black bears traveled in packs.

In a dining era where the sizzle is as essential as the Kobe steak, where even raw chefs assume the role of celebrities, where competition for patrons is getting cannibalistic, there's one more key ingredient to the success, or failure, of a restaurant.

Every kitchen staff delegates duties. But what does the executive chef do? The sous-chef? What does it take to be a wine steward or sommelier? Today, we launch our Kitchen Roster series with a profile of Gabriel Glasier, the executive chef of the Redbud Cafe in Cameron Park.

While monumental and traditional in design, La Provence Restaurant & Terrace is adroit and modern in spirit.

When Gary Sleppy and his wife, Jen, bought the Sub Shack in 2005, they had their hands full. The previous owner had it for nearly 30 years and it was looking a little … well, "ramshackle" isn't too strong a word.

Years ago, I had a job interview over breakfast. I was young, naive, and, to be fair, kind of an idiot. (At least now, I'm not so young.) My interviewers ordered coffee and toast. I got a large omelet.

Here are some of my picks for a good weekday breakfast. Help me build a better one with your favorites and with places from around the region. Hours here are for weekdays. Web sites are included when available.

The South of France is so scenic, historic and romantic – and so rich with staples of the entertaining table (bouillabaisse, tapenade, pistou, pastis) – it's surprising that the region hasn't inspired more restaurants hereabouts.