Restaurants in Sacramento

For nearly two decades, the chefs at Ludy's Main St. BBQ and Catering have perfected their recipes for slow-smoked meats, fresh fries and slaw, and handcrafted barbecue sauce. For proteins that are tender yet full of robust flavor, slabs of beef, pork, and baby-back ribs smoke slow and low for six hours before being plated with hand-cut fries and sides such as barbecue beans or potato salad. Smoked prime rib is served as a special on Friday and Saturday evenings and arrives with fresh coleslaw, fries, and cornbread with honey butter.

Inside, customers chow on plates amidst 100-year-old salvaged barn wood and Western knick-knacks. Those who take grub outside enjoy the spot voted Best Patio in Yolo County, complete with a brick fireplace, water wheel, and babbling brook where many a penny have learned to swim.

The Midtown hot-dog haven offers a dazzling display of bun-clad hot-dog and sausage dinners. The menu boasts 10 types of links, including the traditional beef frankfurter ($3.49), a polish sausage ($4.49), a steamed vegan dog ($3.49), and a crispy corn dog ($2.49; also available in vegetarian). Customize your dining delight with any of Capitol Dawg's 55 plus toppings (up to $1.25 each) or opt for one of the specialty dogs, such as the Tesla Dawg ($4.19), loaded with mustard, chili, and onions, or the El Senador Dawg ($5.39), a Sonoran-style bacon-wrapped dog nestled with a cozy blanket of pinto beans, cheese, jalapeños, grilled onions, and chopped fresh veggies. Dogs can also be paired with french fries and a fountain drink to form a mighty meal ($7.47+) or matched with a succulent side such as beer-battered onion rings ($2.99) or sweet-potato fries ($2.99) for a customized creation.

The foodery boasts a creative menu of reinvented comfort fare, served on weekdays to famished urbanites. Start with an order of the shrimp po' boy sliders ($8.75) or opt for a crab Louise salad ($13.50), served with hardboiled egg, avocado, and tomatoes. Entrees include more than 10 tasty hand-held meals (served with bottomless fries), such as the swiss-blanketed prime-rib dip ($12.50) and the herbivore-friendly black-bean burger ($9.50). Plated portions of updated classics promise to please even the most discerning diner; reward a hard-working copyeditor for reaching her daily quota of sentence-scrubbing by treating her to an order of Kelsey's chicken carbonara pasta ($12.50), loaded with tender green peas and bacon, or indulge carnivorous cravings with the steak tacos ($11.75) with corn salsa and cilantro rice.

In Russian fairy tales, the firebird is a mythical creature of rare beauty, and Firebird Russian Restaurant aims to capture that spirit with its exquisite Russian feasts set in a bright, artistic atmosphere. Colorful artwork from local and foreign Russian artists lines the walls of the dining room, where you can try hot and cold appetizers such as salmon caviar or golubtsi—beef and rice rolled in cabbage—before digging in to vareniki dumplings or blini pancakes with meat and cheese. Sip on fruit kompot or kvas, a fermented beverage made from rye bread, which complement to hearty entrées of claypot lamb stew, pickled herring, or buttery chicken Kiev, or visit the full bar and peruse their selection of Russian vodkas. An apple strudel or cherry-stuffed blintz, like a lullabye sung by a choir of babies, can help end your night on a sweet note.

Sandra Dee has been a chef since she was 9, when she first helped her mother and grandmother—both accomplished home cooks—create zesty creole recipes for their Sunday get-togethers. Today, she continues that familial spirit, running the kitchen of her own barbecue restaurant with help from her husband, Jeffrey, their sons and daughters, and one nephew. Within her brick walls, covered on the outside with murals of jazz legends such as Etta James, Sandra Dee slow cooks barbecued beef tri-tips, pork loin, chicken, beef links, and other meats, flips barbecued veggie burgers, deep-fries catfish, and serves up sides of potato salad and hush puppies. To wash down savory bites, tenders pour beer, wine, and specialty cocktails, such as the mojito and Old Fashion Manhattan—a mix of bourbon and sweet vermouth that still occasionally wears pantaloons.