The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ Get news, notes and plenty of tidbits on wine, food and dining from our resident tastemaker. en-us mdunne@sacbee.com 2008-05-09T14:24:44-08:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012470.html Let's wrap up the week with a lingering note from last weekend's Riverside International Wine Competition. Actually, the note has nothing to do with the competition per se, but with a ritual the night before. That's when the arriving judges... 12470@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-09T14:24:44-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012451.html Chocolate, caramel and salt. Put them together and what's not to like? People who are discovering the "salty caramel chocolates" at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates at 18th and L in midtown Sacramento are learning just how marvelous the combination can be.... 12451@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-09T09:01:46-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012430.html What in the world were Robert and Margrit Mondavi doing in Sacramento last night, other than the obvious, which was savoring dinner at The Waterboy with a couple I didn't recognize? Dinner at The Waterboy is reason enough for a... 12430@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-08T10:01:34-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012405.html It's springtime, and the Dunnigan Hills in northern Yolo County are alive with the sound of...earth-moving equipment, concrete mixers, power saws and the like. Or if not now, Friday, when Sacramentans John and Lane Giguiere break ground for a $2.5-million... 12405@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-07T13:16:33-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012395.html Word came in too late last night to make today's Bee story about challenges facing restaurateurs in Old Sacramento, but here's another sign of confidence in the city's historic district: Janie Desmond Ison is coming back to Old Sacramento. In... 12395@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-07T09:53:31-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012361.html After 35 years, a landmark restaurant site in Old Sacramento is dark. The Fat family has closed California Fat's Asian Grill & Steakhouse, which originally opened in 1973 as China Camp. "It was a combination of things. Number one, the... 12361@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-06T09:54:39-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012350.html I'm all for recycling and reusing, but an incident in New Zealand shows that prudence may need to be raised with our environmental consciousness. Two women in a restaurant had to be hospitalized after tasting what they thought was mulled... 12350@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-05T15:13:22-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012333.html Sunday's final sweepstakes round at the 2008 Riverside International Wine Competition was long and chaotic, in part because it involved many more wines than I thought it would draw. After Saturday's tasting, when my panel and neighboring panels seemed to... 12333@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-05T10:56:42-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012324.html Today shouldn't be as long or as tough as yesterday at the 2008 Riverside International Wine Competition. Saturday, our four-person panel tasted through 137 entries, ranging from light chardonnays to weighty cherry wines. Today, we're scheduled to taste just 48;... 12324@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-04T07:41:48-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012319.html The bright side of a flight delay is that you finally have time to catch up on your reading. Fortunately, I'd tossed into my luggage a couple of new books as I headed for Sacramento International Airport yesterday. One of... 12319@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-03T08:13:25-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012290.html Before long, Californians no longer may have to fret about getting busted if they have a glass of wine with their picnic at a winery. Not that people who do this actually look worried. Deep in state regulations governing the... 12290@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-01T13:48:17-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012279.html The six contenders for the 2008 SushiMasters Finals have been chosen, and the lone Sacramento representative is bound to be one tough opponent. He's Billy Ngo of midtown's Kru Restaurant, who won Best of Show honors in dramatic fashion last... 12279@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-05-01T09:56:10-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012257.html A Lincoln reader just back from France says he found the best falafel ever in Paris. Falafel isn't a dish I associate with France, but given the country's shifting demographics it makes perfect sense that an outstanding falafel should be... 12257@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-04-30T12:56:16-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012250.html The County of Sacramento's traffic-signal method of alerting diners about the health status of restaurants is being acknowledged with one of the nation's more prestigious honors in consumerism. Officials of the county's Environmental Management Department announced this morning that the... 12250@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-04-30T11:01:42-08:00 The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/archives/012219.html Twenty years ago, a charming little restaurant occupied a converted Victorian at 24th and K streets in midtown Sacramento. It was called Pava's, a name that still resonates with oldtimers not just for its grilled lamb chops, housemade ravioli, fruit... 12219@http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/dining/ 2008-04-29T10:16:44-08:00