Best Mom-and-Pop Restaurants in Sacramento, California

I'm not a Sacramentan by birth. After living here for almost ten years, I still have to depend on maps and ask people for directions sometimes. However, I am a foodie by genetics, and my hoggish instinct always urges me to look for yumminess far and wide. No matter where I live or travel, I am on a quest for excellent food. Whether it is a hole in the wall or a stall in a remote alley, I'll find my way there.

Mom-and-pop restaurants are like humble temples that warmly embrace food pilgrims of all kinds. They usually don't have a spacious square footage or ostentatious silver utensils. They don't hire Gordon Ramsay or Anthony Bourdain as a chef. And more than likely, none of their kitchen staff has been trained in a culinary institute. That doesn't mean they are incapable of preparing superb dishes, though! It is the unpretentious cooking styles and environments that draw me to this type of restaurant. At a mom-and-pop shop, I don't feel so much like a customer, but rather a guest. The dishes they serve usually offer a welcoming home-cooking taste, and the prices they charge are oftentimes reasonable. Here in Sacramento, there are quite a few praiseworthy mom-and-pop eateries; these five are the champions of all champs.

Phone: (916) 924 - 9402

Cuisine: Mexican

Virtues: At Beto's Tacos, it costs just about $5 to be well-fed. The menu offers a multitude of scrumptious choices. Fajitas, quesadillas, burritos, tacos, tostadas - you name it. Ordering off the menu won't be frowned upon. They will be more than happy to satisfy your whim if they can. This Mexican mom-and-pop restaurant is open 24/7. One big advantage that in-store diners will get is an unlimited access to complimentary homemade tortilla chips, always warm and crispy. But if you don't care much for the free chips or their cafeteria-style service, you may just opt for the drive-through.

Their biggest virtue is their generosity. With a price so cheap, you'll be surprised to get a burrito so meaty. I am quite impressed with their golden, crispy chimichanga (deep-fried burrito), which is almost the size of my forearm. It is a real treat, especially on a hungry day. My favorite item on the menu, however, is the tongue tacos. (Yeah, I like French kissing with my food!) As an avid cook, I know tongue meat can be hard to prepare to perfection. That's why after I had my first bite of their tongue taco, I wanted to give the chef a standing ovation. If they can execute a tongue dish that beautifully, they can cook anything.

Shortcomings: Beto's Tacos is equipped with one big television, which almost always shows a Mexican soap opera. I find it vexing rather than entertaining. But in a sense, it also makes the restaurant even more homey, as if you were having a meal in someone's house.

Final Verdict: Due to the awesomeness of the tongue tacos and chimichanga, I forgive them for their infatuation with melodrama.

Phone: (916) 448 - 3237

Cuisine: American

Virtues: The first time I ever truly enjoyed a sandwich was at this mom-and-pop shop. Before that, the relationship between sandwiches and me had been pretty rough. I treated them like substitute boyfriends. I would get one only when there were no other choices, or when I was desperately hungry and it was the quickest thing to buy. At Dad's Sandwich Shop, I finally fell in love with a grilled sandwich called "Angry Road Man." It is a robust sourdough sandwich, richly stuffed with turkey, bacon, roasted vegetables and black olives. The roasted bell peppers and mushrooms have a nice caramelized taste and a delicate aroma. They really heighten the yummy factor of this meaty treat. And with an extra helping of mayo and mustard, this sandwich just turns into an unforgettable soul nourishment.

Besides my beloved Angry Road Man, there are many other savory sandwiches with "badass" names. Bad Breath Special, for instance, is a very adventurous sandwich to try. It's basically a roast beef sandwich, zestily seasoned with blue cheese, red onions, horseradish and pungent garlic spread. A lot of customers seem to enjoy Blue Collar Dream, a tri tip sandwich with garlic spread and roasted bell peppers. For vegetarians, Fat Elvis and Meatless Marvel are awesome choices. They serve breakfast sandwiches and salads as well. Although the restaurant is suffocatingly small, there's lots of shady outdoor seating.

Shortcomings: The staff surely listens to what their mommies have taught them: "Kids, always come home before sunset." Sorry night wanderers, this restaurant is closed at 4 p.m!

Final Verdict: You want great sandwiches? Then play by their rules. Get your butt there before 4.

Phone: (916) 930 - 9988

Cuisine: Japanese

Virtues: When it comes to Japanese food, I admit I can be anally picky. I hate sushi "chefs" who roll up sushi the same way uninspired teenage employees may wrap up burgers at McDonald's. And if a Japanese restaurant allows even just one little slice of semi-fresh sashimi on their serving plate, they will instantly lose me as a customer. Momiji is by far my favorite Japanese restaurant in Sacramento. I can trust the freshness of their fish, and I have witnessed their chefs treating each sushi roll like a work of art.

Being a mom-and-pop business, Momiji is just about as big as my old one-bedroom apartment. The interior decoration is charming, not the type that makes you gape with amazement, but gaze around with ease. The simple wooden screens create an ambience of a lovely Japanese home, whereas the cute sake kegs near the entrance lend the place a little festive vibe. Sometimes the owner, a soft-spoken man with a monkish demeanor, would come out and serve the food himself as if we were his special guests. As for the menu, it is very versatile. People who "crave the rawness" will find the lengthy lists of sushi and sashimi quite delightful. Those who prefer their food to be cooked over 100 degrees will have numerous options as well, from teriyaki rice bowls and pan-fried noodles to Japanese hot pots and deep-fried sushi. It will be absurd to look at the menu and say "I don't know what to eat."

Shortcomings: There is no parking lot, and street parking is not always easy. You can park at the City of Sacramento Parking building located about a block away from the restaurant, but even that could also be difficult sometimes.

Final Verdict: If there's a will, there's a way. If you let inconvenient parking discourage you, maybe you don't deserve good sushi.

Phone: (916) 421 - 1881

Cuisine: Italian

Virtues: Whenever I dine at a refined Italian restaurant where the waiters look all formal and sleek, Fergie's Be Italian usually blares in my head. But when I visit Roma's Pizzeria, my mind's ear tends to hear The Godfather's theme song. This is not to imply that this eatery is frequented by gangsters. Its atmosphere just screams bourgeois and old fashion; the kind of Italian restaurants Don Vito Corleone might like to patronize. Once you step inside, the first thing you see is a line of rigorous-looking guys methodically making and boxing pizzas behind the counter. There are a game room, an old-school jukebox and a dining area furnished with classic, red diner booths. The 50s and 60s music always lilts in the background. The smell of cheese and freshly baked pizzas perpetually usurps the air.

Roma's Pizzeria offers traditional pizzas and pasta dishes, nothing fancy or inventive. Yet, the quality of the food is worth recommending. One ingredient I'm particularly fond of is their homemade sausages. It was love at first bite. They are nothing like commercial sausages sold in mainstream supermarkets. I can tell they mix, season and stuff their own sausages right there in the kitchen, probably using a grand-nana's recipe. In fact, my boyfriend (Mr. Pig!) and I just ate there last night. It cost only about $20 for a nice dinner for two. And once the meal was over, the waiter gave us a warm, friendly "grazie!"

Shortcomings: Due to their orthodox menu and the food's notably homey taste, some people might find this mom-and-pop restaurant a little boring.

Final Verdict: Pizza is a lot like sex. When it's good, it's really good. When it's all homey and a bit too familiar, it can still be pretty darn good!

Phone: (916) 332 - 2883

Cuisine: Cuban

Virtues: I usually dine and dally around downtown, but every now and then I venture all the way to North Highlands, a Sacramento suburb, just to have an authentic taste of Cuba. On the outside, Sol Cubano might look like a nondescript pint-size diner. The inside atmosphere, however, really lives up to the meaning of its name, the Cuban sun. The whole place is vivified by the jovial rhythm of conga drums and the folksy sound of Cuban guitars. On one wall, there's a mural of the dazzling sun rising from an ocean, whereas the other walls are pretty much plastered with photos of smiley customers enjoying their meals. I wouldn't say it's a classy interior design. Martha Stewart might shake her head at the sight of it. But still, it's a very heartwarming decoration.

Their menu isn't very big. You'll find quite a few interesting choices of stews, roast meat and sandwiches, but that's pretty much it. Strange but true, what I like most about this mom-and-pop restaurant isn't their main courses, but their side orders. The bean soup is well-seasoned and hearty. The mashed potato balls stuffed with ground beef are dangerously seductive. I know they are probably high in calories, yet it's really hard to restrain myself from chowing them down. Also, these people definitely know how to cook plantains. No matter what they do with it - sauté, sweeten, deep-fry, flatten - the plantain always comes out superb.

Shortcomings: Sometimes (only sometimes) I have to wait a bit longer than my patience would happily endure. As I'm tapping my fingers on the table and expecting the food to arrive, this multiple-choice question often comes to my mind: What's up with the chef? A.) He is extremely meticulous. B.) He is very very very old. C.) He is a lone wolf in the whole kitchen. D.) I happen to be there at the wrong time.

Final Verdict: Patience is a virtue we all should possess. Without it, we might always end up in a crappy fast-food joint or in front of a microwave, defrosting a TV dinner. The food at Sol Cubano is totally worth your time and patience.