Can you believe October is already almost over? It's been a busy, busy month here at the casa. For one thing, I turned 40! Yep, the big 4-0. Gah!  To celebrate Mr. S. whisked me off for a fun, romantic getaway in SF the weekend before. We had a terrific time. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt, poked around Japantown, hit up the CA Academy of Sciences and even saw the Blue Angels zoom by. We also stocked up on a few bags of our favorite coffee from Philz.  Mmm!




On my actual birthday day, I woke up to this awesome scene in the dining room:


Then for dinner, Mr.S. planned a lovely night out at Mulvaney's with our friends, Michelle and Pete, for me. Followed by the most luscious, delicious salted caramel cake from Freeport Bakery. If you haven't tried this cake, get yourself to Freeport Bakery right now! It'll make your toes curl, it's soooo amazing. Seriously, it's like cake heroin. Sweet, sweet cake heroin. Ummmm yeah, so let's just say there were no leftovers from this cake in our house. ☺

On a healthier note, I've been making this baked hummus dish a lot on Sundays.  Mr.S and the kidlets have been immersed in watching the 9 billion football games that are on TV. So while they're watching that, Pepper and I are usually watching, "The League," on Netflix in the other room.  (If you haven't seen this show, check it out. It's absolutely hilarious...and this comes from somebody who equates watching football to going to the gyno. Neither are fun.)



 Regardless of what we're doing, we all seem to love snacking on this dish.


Sunday Funday Baked Hummus (adapted from Iowa Girl Eats 5 Layer Baked Hummus recipe)

Ingredients

10 oz. Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus
3 Jennie-O Hot Italian Turkey Sausages (removed from casing)
2 medium leeks, white & green parts only (cut the leeks in half lengthwise, then slice thinly)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt & fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon McCormick's onion powder
1 large clove of garlic, minced
6 oz. Trader Joe's Feta with Mediterranean Herbs


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Stir up the hummus so the roasted garlic bits get incorporated into the hummus. Spread the hummus mixture evenly into the bottom of a 10x7 baking dish.

3. In a large pan, brown your turkey sausage.

4. Add in your sliced leeks and garlic. Season with salt, fresh ground pepper and onion powder. Sauté until softened.

5. Take sausage-leek mixture and layer it over the hummus.

6. Sprinkle with feta.

7. Place in oven for 20 minutes.

8. Serve hot with chips or warm pita bread.

I remember once Mr.S. commenting that he loved that my friends were such amazing cooks...and you know what? So do I! I'm a lucky girl indeed. Last night, I had the pleasure of dining at my friend Lacy's new house. When I got there, I found out she had picked up some whole branzinos at Sunh Fish and was going to cook them in a salt crust. I was totally excited since I'd been dying to try this method for quite awhile. The technique turned out to be quite simple. The salt crust essentially steamed the fish and the fish came out amazingly moist (and not overly salty at all). I think I may have to do this one for Mr.S. soon!


Pesce al Sale

Ingredients

1 (3 lb. box) coarse Kosher salt
5-6 large egg whites
3 (1 lb.) fresh whole branzinos, scaled & gutted (leave the head and tail intact)
3 fresh lemons, 2 thinly sliced and 1 cut in wedges
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a large mixing bowl, incorporate salt and egg whites together. What you want to end up with is a sand-like consistency.


3. Rub the exterior of the fish down with olive oil.

4. Stuff the cavity of the fish with lemon slices, herbs and garlic (optional).


5. On a large baking sheet, evenly spread out a thick layer of the salt paste. You want it to be around 1/2 inch in thickness.

6. Place the fish on top of the salt bed. Then cover it with the remaining salt mixture, making a salt shell. You want all of the fish covered. Firmly press the salt mixture into the flesh.



7. Roast for 20-25 minutes. (Until thermometer reads 135 degrees.) The crust will turn golden brown and hard.


8. Remove baking sheet with fish from oven. Let it cool for about 10 minutes.

9. Tap the salt crust with the back of a heavy spoon. The mound should crack and come apart. Lift the larger pieces of salt crust off and brush away smaller pieces. Gently using a knife or small spatula, peel off the skin of the fish. Lift the exposed fillet off the fish and transfer it to a serving plate. Then lift the tail and pull upward, lifting off the bones from the bottom fillet. Extract the bottom fillet from the skin and place on plate.


10. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

1120 Fulton Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95825. (916) 486-1140

It isn't often that you make an awesome new friend with similar interests or that you stumble upon a great new lunch spot and even rarer is when the stars align and they happen at the same time. I recently had a lunch date with a new blogger friend I had met at a Sac Bee Connect blogger meeting, the bloggess behind Tate's Kitchen. If you haven't read her blog before, you should check it out. Her food photos are so delicious looking, the dishes literally look like they're popping off the screen and she's just as nice in person as she is online. Anyhow, we decided to be adventurous and check out a Mediterranean place neither of us had been to before over on Fulton Avenue, called Fresh Medi.


The restaurant turned out to be a bit difficult to find, it's tucked away in a small strip mall. My dining companion said she drove by it twice before she spotted it. (Look for the Mellow Me Out Spa sign which is a bit bigger and higher, Fresh Medi is located next to it. ) Inside the restaurant, you'll find tile floors and booths along one wall and clothed tables throughout the rest of the restaurant. The menu is mostly made up of soups, salads, pita sandwiches, various wraps, and beef/chicken/lamb entrees. On the waiter's recommendation we decided to try the Mediterranean Nachos, he swore that we would love it. We also decided to to split a small Lamb Gyro. The Lamb Gyro was good, but it was completely overshadowed by the deliciousness of the Mediterranean Nachos. The "nachos" were made up of crispy, fried pita triangles topped with marinated pieces of tender chicken, feta cheese, fresh diced tomatoes, and creamy house dressing all set upon a bed of lettuce. (We tried to ask the waiter about the ingredients in the house dressing but we got a lot of vague answers...I don't think they're about to give up any secrets, but he did bring us an extra side of it. Service was friendly and attentive (the restaurant was pretty empty during most of our visit) and our waiter didn't seem to mind that we camped out and chatted over a leisurely lunch. He even gave us a complimentary slice of baklava to sample which turned out to be quite delightful...not overly sweet.

I definitely plan to go back. The Mediterranean Nachos alone are worth a return visit.

One of the other amazing dishes I had the pleasure of learning how to make this past weekend during our Mediterranean cooking extravaganza was a dish called sigara borek. Sigara borek can loosely be described as a Turkish spring roll...it's a thin, cylindrical, deep fried pastry stuffed with cheese, herbs, spices and/or vegetables. We made two kinds: one with spinach and cheese and another with herbs, green onion and cheese. Both were equally delicious.

Sigara borek

Ingredients

Yufka, thawed (cut in triangles)

1 lb. Turkish feta, crumbled

1/4 lb. Kasseri cheese, grated

3 large eggs

1 bunch parsley, finely chopped

1 bunch green onion, finely sliced

1 bunch dill, finely chopped

Canola or sunflower oil


Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the cheeses, green onion and herbs together (use a fork or your fingers so it mashes together thoroughly).

2. Prepare your oil to fry (approx 350-375 degrees).

3. Take a triangle of yufka, place the wider end closer to you. Place a tablespoon of mixture at the base in a line. Fold the ends from the outside to the inside then roll up. Smear the top inch with water, press and seal. (Elif demonstrates below.)

4 Fry in batches in about 2 inches of oil for 2-4 minutes or a nice golden brown. Drain on a plate layered with paper towels. Serve immediately while still hot.

Is everyone still recovering from the 3-day weekend? I know I am. I think I had too much raki. Oy! Yesterday, my friend Elif invited me and my friend Cate over for a full day of Mediterranean cooking. We made dolma (which she showed me how to make last year and are probably still the best dolma I've ever had), tarama, sigara borek and baklava. It was a lot of cooking but it was also a lot of fun. While cooking throughout the day, we of course took several breaks to fuel up on strong Turkish coffee in cute tiny cups (Elif even read our fortunes for us) and knock back a whole bottle of Turkish raki. We were feeling pretty jolly by the time we were done chopping, stirring, rolling and baking...and hungry! Dinnertime felt like a celebration with numerous candles, wonderful wine, Turkish music and various plates of delicious edibles. The baklava recipe we made is posted below and I'll post the sigara borek recipe this week. I'll admit I've always been kind of take-it-or-leave-it when it comes to baklava. There's just too much honey drenching it, but Turkish baklava doesn't use honey and it includes a wee bit of citrus, I really enjoyed it. Give it a go- invite some friends over and have a group cooking event, there's nothing better than laughing and feasting with friends!


Baklava

Ingredients

2 packages of yufka (Turkish pastry sheets)  (you will need 10 full sheet "rounds")*

1/2 lb. unsalted, shelled walnuts- lightly toasted

1/4 lb. unsalted, shelled pistachios-lightly toasted

2 cups granulated sugar

1 large lemon

1 tablespoon rosewater

1 tablespoon orange blossom water

2-3 sticks of unsalted butter, melted

* You can find yufka at most Mediterranean markets.


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.

2. Place walnuts and pistachios in food processor and pulse. You want them finely chopped, but not ground.

3. In a saucepan on med-high, mix: 2 cups of sugar, 2.5 cups of water, the juice of 1 large lemon, 1 T of rosewater and 1 T of orange blossom water. Stir frequently.




4. Place a sheet of yufka on your aluminum pan, use your fingers and sprinkle it heavily with melted butter. You want to make sure this sheet covers the entire bottom of the pan.

5. For the next 4 sheets, you can "rumple" them up a bit. Sprinkle these heavily with melted butter as well. You want the sheets to be very buttery.


6. Place the chopped nuts on top of the 5 buttered sheets.


7. Layer the next 4 sheets in the rumpled fashion like before. On the fifth and last sheet, make sure it covers the entire pan (like above).

8. Trim off any edges of dough that hang over the edge of the pan.

9. Place the baklava in the oven and bake for 15-20 or until golden brown.

10. Back to your saucepan- when the syrup takes on a slight yellow tinge and the consistency of simple syrup, it's done. (It'll thicken a bit and won't run off the spoon.) Remove from heat.


11. Pour the warm syrup over the baklava. Then cut the hot bakalava into even pieces. The syrup will soak into the pastry. Set it aside and let it cool, uncovered.

Tip: The longer it has time to soak, the better it'll be.

1809 Capitol Ave., Sacramento, CA 95811, (916) 444-2566
http://www.thepressbistro.com/

You've heard of the Midas Touch, right? Well, my friend Cate has what I like to refer to as the Hummus Touch. She touches plain old garbanzo beans...and "POOF!" they metamorphize  into some mind-blowing, magically delicious hummus. Mr. S.'s eyes glaze over in hummus lust whenever her hummus is mentioned...seriously, it's the best tasting hummus you'll ever have. If you don't believe me, follow this recipe and find out for yourself but don't say I didn't warn you!

Ingredients

3 cups of garbanzo beans (buy dried chickpeas and rehydrate them, they taste so much better than the canned beans...it's worth the hassle.)
1 can of white kidney beans (save the liquid)
1 large lemon
4-6 garlic cloves (pressed)
2-3 T tahini
4-6 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Prepping Chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans)

- Place dried chickpeas in a large bowl, pick out any debris or unsavory looking beans.

- Rinse the beans a few times under the tap.

- Place the beans in a large bowl (use a big one because the beans will swell as they absorb the water), cover with plenty of water and leave to soak overnight. You can leave them in the fridge if you wish, but I usually just leave the bowl on the counter.

- The next day, drain the water and place the beans in a pot with clean water.

- Bring the beans to a boil then reduce the heat to low and allow the beans to simmer for about 15 minutes.

- Skim off and discard any foam that appears on the water's surface.

- Remove the pot from heat, drain into a colander and rinse well with cold water.

Hummus Instructions

- Hummus is easiest to make in a food processor, but a blender will also do the trick. However, you might have to halve the recipe to fit (this makes a TON) it in a blender.

- Put beans in blending machine of choice, add pressed garlic, juice of half a lemon, tahini and a little bit of the reserved bean liquid (maybe 2-3 tbls) , enough for it to blend fairly easily, but not so it’s runny. Try adding a little at a time, until it’s running fairly smoothly but there are still little flecks of beans.

- Taste and add more lemon juice, tahini, salt and pepper (to taste).

- When the taste is to your liking, with the machine running pour the olive oil in very slowly in a little stream, this makes the hummus fluff up a bit as the oil is emulsifying the mix and it gives it a nice texture. ( Just make sure you’ve added all the other wet type of ingredients lemon juice, tahini, bean liquid before the oil otherwise it can wind up runny. )

- You can jazz the hummus up by topping it with your favorite accompaniment- a tasty, puree of roasted red peppers, fresh parsley and a drizzle of olive oil or perhaps a sprinkling of za'atar or some cumin and cayenne...the possibilities are endless.

I'll be honest, I've never been a huge fan of eggplant. Although the deep royal purple has always captivated me, I've usually found it to be a rather bland vegetable. The only eggplant that had ever peaked my interest up until recently was a strange (now defunct) Japanese reality TV show called "Nasubi" (the Japanese word for eggplant). If you've never heard about it, check out the link...it preceded the United States' "Survivor" series. All I'll say is...it involved a naked guy, an empty room and several contests.

Anyhow, being a fan of David Lebovitz' recipes I thought I'd give his eggplant caviar a try. Surprisingly, this variation on baba ganoush is quite flavorful. Mr. S thought the puree to be a tad spicy but I found it to be a nice change from your typical tamer spreads like hummus and guacamole. I opted to sprinkle a little bit (ok, a lot) of sumac on mine which gave it a nice tangy finish.

Eggplant Caviar  (adapted from David Lebovitz' recipe)
Make about six servings

[If you don't own a grill, just oven-roasting the eggplant for a longer period of time, until they're soft and wilty.]

3 small Japanse eggplants
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus additional for preparing the pan
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon chili pepper powder
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

- Brush a baking sheet with olive oil and sprinkle it with a bit of sea salt. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

- Poke each eggplant a few times and place them over a gas flame on the stovetop or a grill, turning them every so often, until they get a nice char on the outside and feel soft and wilty. Roast them for five to ten minutes.

- When cool enough to handle, cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, and place them cut side down on the oiled baking sheet.

- Bake the eggplants until the flesh is thoroughly cooked, which should take about twenty minutes.

- Remove the eggplants from oven and scrape the pulp from the skins into the bowl of a food processor.
- Add the tablespoon of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and chili pepper powder.

- Pulse the food processor a few times, until the mixture is almost smooth. Add the basil and pulse a few more times.

-Taste, and add additional salt, lemon, or other seasonings, as desired.

- To serve, spoon into a bowl and make a small hole in the center. Pour a bit of olive oil in the middle and sprinkle with chili powder, sumac, or some chopped fresh herbs.

- Serve with some pita triangles.

- Eggplant caviar can be kept refrigerated for up to five days.

A few weeks ago, Mr. S. and I attended a lovely wedding held by Susan and Dan. The happy couple opted for a Mediterranean food theme and it was delicious. The dinner consisted of a greek salad, falafel, hummus, pita bread, chicken souvlaki, tabblouleh and dolma. Everything was wonderful but we both found ourselves repeatedly reaching for the dolma. So when my friend Elif, who’s Turkish, generously offered to show me how to make vegetarian dolma, I jumped at the chance. On a quiet Saturday morning over Turkish coffee, I learned how to prepare several Turkish dishes from scratch: dolma, kisir, sumac-onion salad and a walnut-garlic-red pepper spread. Elif's dolma recipe blows the store-bought variety out of the water, no contest.


Elif’s Dolma Recipe

Ingredients:

2 jars of grape leaves*
1 large diced or grated white onion
2 cups uncooked white rice
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup pinenuts
½ cup currants or raisins
1 ½ t ground cinnamon
¼ t ground cloves
2 lemons, juiced and sliced
1 t salt (to taste)

* If you live in Sacramento, try the Mediterranean market on Fulton

Filling Instructions:

- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or medium pot. Sweat the onions until they become soft, about 10 minutes.
- 2. Stir in the pinenuts. Allow the onions to carmelize and the pinenuts to brown.
- 3. Add in the currants, cinnamon, ground cloves and salt (don't forget the salt!). Mix well.
- 4. Add in the uncooked rice and 2 cups of water. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is half cooked.
- 5. Remove from heat and set aside.

Rolling Instructions:

- 1. Drain the grape leaves in a colander and then place them in a large bowl. Fill the bowl full of hot water and let the leaves sit for 10-15 minutes. Drain and rinse the leaves under cold water.
- 2. Lay one leaf, vein side up/ glossy side down with the stem end pointing towards you. Carefully remove the stem where it hits the leaf.
- 3. Place a spoonful of filling towards the middle by the stem and then using your fingers, elongate the filling into a “cigarette” shape.
- 4. Fold both sides towards the middle, then fold the stem end up and gently roll towards the top. You want to be firm but not roll too tight; otherwise, the leaf will rip when the rice expands. Repeat.
- 5. Arrange the rolls side by side, seam side down in an oven-safe pan (Pyrex or casserole dishes work well for this). It’s okay to stack them.
- 6. Fill the pan ¾ full of water and cover it tightly with aluminum foil.
- 7. Cook at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, until rice is fully cooked
- 8. Allow dolmas to cool.
- 9. Once cooled, sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and garnish with lemon slices.

Before life got too hectic, a group of us girls used to have a dinner club. We'd get together from time to time, pick a food theme and then each of us would pick a recipe that fit the theme. We'd bring our ingredients over to the designated host's home and then drink wine and chat while preparing our dishes. The last supper club we held consisted of a Greek / Turkish theme (yes both, since we couldn't decide on just one). Dishes that were prepared were a delicious pastitsio, yummy lamb koftas, a flaky pan of baklava and an overflowing platter of treats (dolmas, pita chips and a range of homemade dipping sauces- hummus, dill, tahini).  For my contribution, I decided to try my hand at spanakopita, a Greek spinach pie. It was the first time I had ever worked with phyllo dough and I ended up loving it. Not only did this recipe make it into my recipe box, but it's now one of Mr.S.'s favorite dishes.

* The recipe I use is from Chubby Hubby's blog with a few modifications. You can find the original recipe here: Chubby Hubby's Greek Spinach Pie. My version is listed below. The picture above is from the batch I made the night of dinner club.

Spanakopita

2 pounds fresh spinach
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese (I like the ones pre-mixed with Mediterranean herbs)
4 ounces large-curd cottage cheese
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup dill, fine chopped
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt and pepper
14 sheets phyllo pastry (this can be found in the frozen pastry section of your supermarket)
2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

* Wash the spinach thoroughly and pull off any woody stems. Drain, but don't dry.
* Place the spinach in a large pot with about 3-4 T of water.
* Place the pot over a low flame, cover and allow the spinach to wilt, this will take about 5-6 minutes.
* Place spinach in a colander, press and drain off any excess water.
* Then put the leaves in a pan and cook over high heat, drying out the spinach.

* In a bowl, mash the feta and cottage cheeses together with a fork. Add in the eggs, spinach, dill, and nutmeg. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

* Find a baking tray or pan a little smaller than the sheets of pyllo. Brush it with the melted butter. Place half of the phyllo sheets, one on top of the other, at the bottom of the pan, brushing each sheet one at a time with the melted butter, letting the sheets come up along the sides.
* Spread the spinach mix evenly on top.
* Then cover with the remaining sheets, brushing each one individually, including the top one, with the melted butter.
* Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until crisp and golden.

3260 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95816. (916) 448-5699
Moving to new location end of May 2011- 3839 J Street

While contemplating how to articulate my first experience at Formoli's, a saying of Julia Child's repeatedly popped into my head, "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces-just good food from fresh ingredients." Formoli's did exactly that and surpassed my expectations for a restaurant that had been open a mere ten days. Now take note, Formoli's is inconspicuously tucked away in the same strip mall as the Raven. The restaurant itself is small and narrow- more conducive for an intimate dinner than a large gathering. Despite the limited amount of room to work with, the owners have thoughtfully taken the time to make sure each painstakingly small detail from floor to ceiling is perfect and lends itself to the overall ambiance. Above you, the fluorescent lighting is masked by billowy swags of fabric and in it's place to illuminate are tasteful sconces. The warm walls are accented with various interesting works of art. Each table is outfitted with a small Moroccanesque candle and a single delicate, green cymbidium orchid floating in the water.

Upon entering, we were greeted quickly and ushered to a nearby open table. I found the staff to be both welcoming and attentive. Our server was quite knowledgeable and eager to ensure a pleasant dining experience. To start with, she recommended an excellent Tempranillo wine. I appreciated that she took the care to listen to what types of qualities I actually like in wines before selecting two that might be of interest to me, as opposed to automatically recommending the most expensive one on the list. She even brought over a sampling to make sure that I liked it before I finalized my decision, a nice touch which was appreciated- in fact, it made my dining companion decide to order a glass of the same.

We were then given the perfect amount of time to peruse the menu; which is broken up into- small plates, salad, burgers/sandwiches and entrees. The entrees section is a bit limited (I think it only listed a duck dish and two specials) but I think that worked out for the better as the small dishes are what really stand out here. Being a typical Libra, choosing what to order has always been a dilemma for me. Luckily my dining companion, Amanda, was game for ordering several small dishes and sharing. Although the stuffed dates and seared scallop dishes both sounded enticing and there was a tasty gazpacho that caught my eye, we opted to go with the calamari, yam frites, the Portabello mushroom and the ahi.

The calamari was sauteed perfectly and served tentacles and all upon a bed of greens and accented with endive leaves. The bite-sized pieces were tender, unbreaded (yum!) and not overly chewy. The yam frites were hands down my favorite dish of the evening. Cut in long thin stalks, the sweet yams were lightly sprinkled with sea salt and ground pepper and accompanied by a scrumptious paprika aioli. The paprika aioli balanced out the sweetness of the yams well and gave it a nice subtle kick of spiciness, only noticeable in the aftertaste. In fact, I contemplated stabbing Amanda with my fork to nab the last few bites of yam frites...luckily, I was able to restrain myself. The Portabello mushroom dish was okay. The Portabello was stacked pancake style and layered with (asiago?) cheese and thinly sliced domestic mushrooms, similar in fashion to a pastry. As for the seared ahi, it was the only dish that didn't wow me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't awful and we did eat it but it was oversalted and the ahi was very tender. Additionally, the paired sauce resembled guacamole both in color and in taste and did little to enhance anything about the ahi. I ended up scraping off what I could of the seasoning and dipping the ahi in the paprika aioli that came with the yam frites. Yes, paprika aioli makes everything taste good...it's like the ketchup of the Mediterranean.

Anyhow, any regrets in ordering the ahi were soon forgotten with my first bite of dessert- a crema catalana. Our server described it as a Spanish creme brulee and the description was quite accurate, although I found it not to be as rich or as heavy as regular creme brulee and the caramelized sugar topping was slightly softer and not quite as crisp. The crema catalana satiated my sugar craving and I found the slight ginger taste to be refreshing - an excellent after dinner palate cleanser.

As we were finishing up, the chef came by to introduce himself and to check on our dining experience which was a nice touch. In reflection, I feel- the ahi aside, Formoli's definitely has it's flavors dialed in. In addition, I found their service, to be equally friendly and efficient. I'm looking forward to more enjoyable dinners at Formoli's and am curious to see what it evolves into. Hopefully, they'll find their niche in Sacramento and perhaps even push the envelope with some regional dishes that are unfamiliar to the Sac food scene or offer up some innovative creations of their own.

- 2/2011

It's almost 3 years later and I'm still religiously dining at Formoli's. The food they put out continues to wow me and the service never fails to be friendly. The menu has expanded and changes regularly but every dish I've ordered since that first visit has been wonderful. If you can, order the scallops...the accompaniment may vary from a carrot puree to greens depending on the season, but the scallops are always cooked perfectly with a nice seared top. Also, give the whiskey burger a whirl- it's hands down the best burger in Sacramento, without a doubt. The whiskey demi-glace and habanero aioli will have you licking your fingers in an unladylike fashion.