To celebrate the article about us in the Bee recently, Madeline, Kristy, and I went to Spa Bar, the special happy hour that Spataro's holds on weekdays from 2-6:30. Spataro's is the super fancy restaurant owned by the Paragary's restaurant group, and this particular place is the main hangout for their head honcho chef, Kurt Spataro.Spataro's is located on L and 14th, in the lobby of the Meridian Plaza across from the park and near Mason's. It's in a very busy corporate area of downtown, and you can tell. The place is swarmed with suits. Honestly, it felt like I was back in Orange County again. The entire crown was all power ties, blackberries, and Prada. Everyone was very "look-who-he's-with-and-what-is-she-wearing?" I felt a little out of place for a sec, then realized that I didn't give a crud how I was dressed (I write/work in non-profit, Kristy writes, and Maddie is a lawyer but she was dressed well but non-pretentious cause she rolls like that).
ANYWAYS, back to the restaurant, it's a nice place, very fancy,
love the outside as the view is pleasant, and it's a good people watching perch. We did have a small issue with service through the time we were there, but the place was totally swamped (the place is popular, even on a Wednesday) and there was only one waitress and she was in the weeds, poor girl.Still, all these little negatives are nothing. The food is fabulous. I started with the chef's special cocktail of the night. Lemon juice, lemon vodka, and freshly muddled cherries started my night. It was fruity and refreshing. A light summer drink I'll want to re-create at home.
We started out with some simple french fries. They weren't to greasy, but nice and crisp and salted with some shredded Parmesan cheese. The deep fried asparagus was to die for, they were bursting with flavor and were perfectly salted by the fry batter; served with aioli it was a little slice of heaven.
We also ordered housemade mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto, however they were out of mozzarella so we got a large plate of deliciously salty and well aged prosciutto drizzled with a peppery olive oil, and given a nice crack or two of fresh pepper. Mmm-MM! Like a hug from Jesus!
The bread was also quite yummy, we were served slices of fresh baguette and some ciabatta that had a light rub of olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper. We had a bit of marinara sauce to dip it in as well so the bready front was well covered.The biggest plus? Each dish was only $2-$4, each drink between $2-$6. Each plate fed about 3 people when shared. We got a drink each, four different delicious plates, plus tax and tip paid about $27 bucks I think. The place also serves lunch and dinner, with menus that look equally frugal and deliciously Italian in their origins.
Overall, a fantastic experience. Good food, good drink, and a good place for a great price! We all plan to go back again!
Spa Bar - in Spataro Restaurant and Bar
1415 L Street
Downtown Sacramento
916.440.8888
Sounds fab!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your photographs too.
cheers
Andrea
Sounds awesome. Definately going to make that asparagus. Looks like you had a good time. I am jealous :)
ReplyDeleteIt's only 9:30 am but that drink looks heavenly. Can't wait to see if it can be recreated.
ReplyDeleteSpataro is *the* hangout for the Capitol crowd who like to eat. (Chops is for those who don't.) It's swamped on Wednesday because that day is like Thursday for lawmakers: They skip town Thursday afternoon, and nothing much typically goes on that morning, so a hangover's no biggie...Kurt makes his own proscuitto. Here's a story I did on it recently:
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