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.

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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.

Chef Jason Poole doesn’t cut corners when it comes to meat and seafood. He roasts organic chicken, poaches local albacore, and relies on natural California beef for his signature bone-in rib-eye steak. Yet Chef Poole also knows that though the meat is the star, it shouldn’t be the only performer on the plate; to complement it, he and his team simmer brandy and green peppercorn or beurre blanc sauces and encrust the cuts with black-truffle butter. To round out these feasts, waiters ferry sides of jumbo asparagus, wild mushrooms and arugula, and heirloom carrots to tables.

Setting the stage for these dishes, the dining room—which nestles inside the four-diamond Hyatt Regency Sacramento—boasts dark wood-paneled walls hung with painted landscapes and gilt-edged mirrors, brown leather booths, and upholstered chairs. Diners clad in their business-casual ensembles, such as black tuxedos with No Worries embroidered on the back, relax in the sophisticated atmosphere, which OpenTable diners have awarded for Best Ambiance, Best Service, and ideal location for a special occasion. The restaurant’s bar has earned its share of praise as well, landing on CBS Sacramento’s list of Best Upscale Hotel Bars in Sacramento for its flat-screen televisions, dimmed lights, and specialty drinks.

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 ribs, and other meats, flips barbecued veggie burgers, and deep-fries catfish. These savory plates are complemented by 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.