Downtown Sacramento Restaurants, 1974 and Now — an Annotated and Updated History of Lunch Near California’s Capitol

Above downtown Sacramento and the state Capitol, circa the 1970s.

By Ed Murrieta

Considering lunch in downtown Sacramento? Chew on this:

High noon in Sacramento, and you’re on assignment in the Capitol. What to do for lunch? Until recent years, Sacramento’s surprisingly large number of restaurants within a few blocks of the gilded dome offered fare running the gastronomic gamut from A to B.

But, like the redevelopment of the western approach to the Capitol and transformation of unlamented K Street into a shopping mall, the prospect of lunching pleasantly downtown is improving, too.

While San Francisco need not yet fear for its culinary supremacy, it is today at least possible to vary one’s diet in this onetime bastion of the blah — even if you do find yourself anchored to the downtown and without invitation or membership to a faintly decadent preserve like the Sutter Club (where women are deemed to exist only after 5 p.m.*).

The following listing of downtown eating places is, therefore, less a guide to good dining than an out-of-towner’s survival kit for getting through a Sacramento day.

If some of the establishments disappoint, at least you will have been forewarned, and remember this: You could certainly have done worse, and much more easily just a few years ago.

That’s from “Where the Sacramento elite meet to eat…,” a 1974 article published in the California Journal.

Surprisingly large number of restaurants within a few blocks of the gilded dome …

Running the gastronomic gamut from A to B…

Unlamented K Street… 

This onetime bastion of the blah…

You could certainly have done worse, and much more easily just a few years ago.

Those observations hold up today, right along with Frank Fat’s and The Broiler — two restaurants that in 1974 were regarded as long-time favorites. Surprisingly, a number of 1974 restaurants have 2012 counterparts.

Here is an annotated guide to lunchtime dining — power-lunching, noontime noshing, even a little liquid lunching — in downtown Sacramento, 1974 and now …

* The Sutter Club has many female members today.

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

Tony’s, 1974 and Now

Tony’s , 1530 10th St.

Quick lunch Mexican style with ample chipos and a crowd at high noon, but Tony’s reportedly gone to El Jardin.

– Harry Covair, 1974

TODAY
Both Tony and El Jardin are gone, but Señor Burrito is now in town, and his cart at the corner of 7th and I streets is the quickest Mexican around. For $4.50 each, you’re handed steaming-hot bundles of meat and beans or meat and rice — with ample chips and salsa in the bag. Señor Burrito quickly sells out, not long after high noon.

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

Tan Tan, 1974 and Now

Tan Tan , 1010 10th St.
Another bar that features lunch, with a slightly less recessed menu than above.

– Harry Covair, 1974

TODAY
Henry’s Lounge (1117 9th St.) is the only other old-school bar near the Capitol that features lunch today — diner fare, delivered from the adjacent Capitol Cafe (1119 9th St.).

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

Recess Room, 1974 and Now

Recess Room (1017 10th St.)
A salad bar augments a light-lunch menu in this otherwise unremarkable watering spot.

– Harry Covair, 1974

TODAY

A Chinese-American diner augments a hard-drinking watering spot. Lei’s Kitchen and Chambers Room share an address (701 J. St.) and clientele; order from Lei’s, belly up for lunch at Chambers. Enter Chambers Room on 7th Street, or use the doorway in the back of Lei’s dining room.

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

El Jardin, 1974 and Now

El Jardin (1103 15th St.)
Latin-flavored food and drink, in what recently was a showroom for a “luxury” car but smells more like the service department; has room to grow.

– Harry Covair, 1974

TODAY

You want Latin flavors in a car showroom today, you go a couple of blocks east of downtown, to Midtown’s Zocolo (1801 Capitol Ave.), an upscale Mexican restaurant housed in a former Hudson dealership. For just the Latin part of a lunch stop, try Maya’s Kitchen (1200 K St.)

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

Public Market Coffee House, 1974 and Now

The Public Market operated for 48 years at 13th and J streets.

Public Market Coffee House (13th and J)
Change in management hasn’t helped this half-century-old lunch spot with its own recipes, but it’s still reputed for its soups and pastry, and remains popular with state workers and others refueling.

– Harry Covair, 1974

TODAY
Myriad specialty stores — fish, poultry and produce markets, two butcher shops, a fresh-juice bar and a coffee shop that roasted its own coffee and sold fresh pastry — once fueled citizens in the heart of Sacramento. The Public Market operated from 1928 to 1976 at 13th and J streets, where the Sheraton Hotel is today; the Sheraton toasts the former market with its Public Market Bar in the hotel’s lobby.

The closest equivalent today? Walk three blocks west on J Street to Trio, (826 J St.), a farm-focused restaurant that’s home to a market that offers fresh-baked bread and organic pastry, plus foodie sundries like quarts of herb-infused olive oil, blocks of chocolate and bundles of tea. Coffee? Local bean buffs drink at Temple (1010 9th St.) or Broadacre (1014 10th St.), which also serves breakfast and lunch items.

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

Soups Etc. by Erika, 1974 and Now

Soups Etc. by Erika (1204 J St.)
Russian-born proprietor features her own soups, sandwiches on mideastern bread resembling a catcher’s mitt; wine in carafe.

– Harry Covair, 1974

TODAY
Sandwiches aren’t served on Midddle Eastern bread resembling a catcher’s mitt — but it’s a safe bet that Erika didn’t serve duck confit and fig-and-brie sandwiches, or pumpkin-passionfruit soup, like La Bonne Soupe Cafe (920 8th St.) does today.

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

Underground Shingle, 1974 and Now

Raised in Sacramento, Craig Chaquico gigged at K Street’s Underground Shingle before he joined Jefferson Starship in 1974.

Underground Shingle (1225 K St.)
Zorba’s former digs across and under the mall where you dunk beef and shrimp in hot fat, bread in melted cheese, and wonder where you are.

— Harry Covair, 1974

TODAY
If you’re eating fondu in downtown Sacramento today, you’re probably dipping your meat at the Melting Pot (814 15th St.) In the early 1970s, if you wanted to hear Sacramento guitarist Craig Chaquico before he joined Jefferson Starship in 1974 — while reportedly sporting a false moustache to hide his underage youthfulness — you had to hang at Underground Shingle.

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

Zorba’s, 1974 and Now

Nick “Zorba” Galaxidas was a table-dancing restaurateur who once had his teeth insured by Lloyd’s of London for half a million dollars.

Zorba’s (1220 K St.)
Snacks on the mall. Meals inside are generally mldeastern in flavor.

– Harry Covair, 1974

Nick Galaxidas performs the Ouzo Tavern Dance with the actress Cathy Lee Crosby on the table.

TODAY
Owner Nick “Zorba” Galaxidas wielded power and influence through his restaurant/nightclub, which drew lines of customers and popular performers like Lou Rawls, George Maharis, and the Ink Spots.

In 1969, Galaxidas lobbied hard for the urban renewal project that would transform K Street from a down-trodden street into a drab concrete jungle. The City Council approved the project, over the objections of two-thirds of Galaxidas’ fellow K Street merchants. That year, the council approved Galaxidas’ a new sidewalk kiosk and seating in front of Zorba’s.

In the 1970s, Galaxidas spent $300,000 and moved across K Street. After a fire in 1974, Zorba’s moved to Auburn Boulevard, in a Grecian-style building that’s visible from Interstate 80 today. Galaxidas retired and closed Zorba’s in 1983.

Over the years, Galaxidas also promoted popular Balkan cultural events. In 1980, Galaxidas opened Galactica 2000, a 12,000-square-foot disco at 15th and K streets, where Capitol Garage today serves casual food and hosts live music.

In 1970, Nick “Zorba” Galaxidas purchased the chariot that Charlton Heston rode in the 1959 MGM slave regenge blockbuster “Ben Hur” for $3,000. Galaxidas used the chariot for promotion, and rode the chariot from 1225 K St. to 2840 Auburn Blvd. when he moved his restaurant/nightclub into its final location in December 1974. Here, Galaxidas mocks the early-’70s energy crisis.

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.

Athens Restaurant, 1974 and Now

Athens Restaurant (1206 8th St.)
No resemblance to lunch counter that preceded it; honest effort and Greek-ish food and wine.

– Harry Covair, 1974

TODAY
No resemblance to the edifice that consumed Athens’ address. You want Greek, or Greek-ish, food today, you’ve got choices: Petra (1122 16th St.), Crest Cafe (1017 K St.) and Muntean’s (1225 J St Sacramento), which advertises Romanian, Hungarian and Greek fare.

RETURN TO MAIN

Food journalist Ed Murrieta lives and writes in Sacramento. He wrote about saloons and restaurants for the Sacramento Bee in the 1980s and 1990s. His work has been published in the Seattle Times Magazine, the Tacoma News Tribune, Knight Ridder Newspapers, and on Wired.com. His parents owned and operated Murrieta Mexican Restaurants in Rancho Cordova and Midtown Sacramento; they met and fell in love at the Rancho Grande restaurant at 1508 J Street in the early 1960s.