| Food | * * * 1/2 |
| Service | * * 1/2 |
| Ambience | * * * 1/2 |
| Value | 6.0 |
| Cost | $ $ |
| Dish | Price | Value | Rating | |
| Rib Plate | $12.95 |
* * * | * * 1/2 | |
| Pork Chops | 15.95 |
* * * | * * * 1/2 | |
| French Fries with Bleu Cheese and Chili Oil | 4.75 |
* * * * | * * * * | |
| Beer Sampler | 4.75 |
* * * 1/2 | * * * |
Located in the same shopping center as Trader Joe's, Sacramento Brewing Company offers a basic, but eclectic selection. There is a good sized bar area, where we sat while waiting for our table. They offer a sampler of 6 mini-servings (shots) of their beers, as well as 0.3 and 1.0 liter servings. I tried the sampler. The cranberry (seasonal) beer was light, but fairly bitter. The bitter taste of the cranberries was inherent in the beer, which came as a shock, after the reddish-amber color led me to expect more of a cranberry juice cocktail/beer flavor. The lager was pretty basic, but outclassed, say a Bud Light. My two favorite out of the six were the IPA (India Pale Ale), which is a roan-colored beer, between light and dark and very smooth; and the Apricot Beer. Fruity beers are just now coming into their own, combining the sour taste of beer with the sweet taste of fruit - a combination that has been working for years in Chinese appetizers!
We began our meal with an extremely large plate of French fries with chili oil and bleu cheese. The French Fries were between perfect and too crunchy, but the topping was nowhere to be seen. They had place the chili oil and bleu cheese on the plate first, then added the fries. We ate the fries plain for awhile, then realized the set-up. I had the rib plate, which came with vegetables, a roll, and a little warm potato salad. The sauce was spicy and tasty, but there wasn't nearly enough, as I was only able to use one napkin, and at best, leave a few spotty fingerprints. Our guest had the chili with beans from the a la carte menu (and just sat there enjoying it, making no comments as to whether she liked it or not). She felt a little intimidated by the dinners which didn't come with salads, and that the a la carte section seemed a little expensive for their value than the entree menu. J had the pork chops, which seemed unusually large, but were a little heavy on the herbs (squash and mashed potatoes were also included). We have returned on several occasions to sample more of their food, which is excellent, but the review is not available at this time.
The service tends to be a little slow, but the food is worth the wait. It is very pleasant and can be intimate if you are alone with your sweetie, or raucous and loud if you are there with a bunch of your buddies - a great hangout, either way.