Sacramento, CA

[tp49]

The Perko's that replaced the Denny's has mixed reviews online, but looks to have similar fare and prices to a Denny's.

I wonder what that part of downtown Sacramento is like on a Saturday afternoon/night. Just east of the Amtrak station is the US District court, and just east of the court the Sacramento County Main Jail.

The area's for the most part dead on a Saturday afternoon/night.

For those that decide to take the 30 bus from the Amtrak station there is also a P.F. Chang's at 1530 J Street, and an Old Spaghetti Factory at 1910 J St.

I mentioned these places in my post above yours.

Along with Perko's and Starbucks - close to the station in EZ walking distance are:

Cilantros Mexican Restaurant - 1035 5th St about 50 steps south of J street and the Subway.

Lotus Restaurant (Thai) - 425 J St.

Subway - 428 J St.

Billy's Market & Deli - 600 I Street

And on Google maps we can see all the places (including another Starbucks - open until 9 pm) in the Downtown Plaza between 4/5th streets and on the south side of J, but it looks like most of those places close in the early evening.

I wouldn't bother with Billy's at all. Google maps hasn't updated the fact that the portion of Downtown Plaza east of 5th Street was demolished. River City Brewing Company (also good, a number of folks who came for the gathering went there for lunch.) There are three places left in the food court all of which can be avoided and a Johnny Rocket's next to the movie theater.

Lotus is difficult to find because of the way that particular block is laid out and I honestly don't know if it's open on the weekend. I'll check Tuesday when I go back to work. I'll also check Cilantro's and Subway's hours.

 

[KmH]

I'm going to be making the CZ to CS connection in SAC on May 2 (afternoon/evening layover) and again on May 12 (morning/lunch) for the CS to CZ connection heading home.

It may be worth my while to jump on a Capitol Corridor train both days, go to Davis to eat/look around some, and rack up some extra Double Days AGR points in the process (800 points).

I'm particularly fond of good Mexican food and I see Tres Hermanas is quite close to the Davis Amtrak station.

Some Carnitas or Chili Verde with corn tortillas for an early dinner May 2, and 10 days later some Machaca with salsa verde for breakfast sure sounds good.

tp49,

Did you ever get a chance to find out Cilantro's hours?

I emailed them and got no reply, and they haven't come close to finishing their web site.

 

[Bob Dylan]

KmH: remember you only get Double Points on two trips a day on the Double Days Promo, so if you do a RT to Davis for 400 Points (200 TQP) your LD Trains, if Paid, might not get the Double Points which would be more than 400 on the CZ/CS. Davis is a great little place for s layover!

If your LD Trains are AGR Awards it won't matter of course!

 

[tp49]

tp49,

Did you ever get a chance to find out Cilantro's hours?

I emailed them and got no reply, and they haven't come close to finishing their web site.

7AM - 7PM Monday to Friday and 10AM-7PM Saturday. Closed Sunday.

 

[KmH]

KmH: remember you only get Double Points on two trips a day on the Double Days Promo.

Yep, I forgot about that.

 

[KmH]

tp49,

Did you ever get a chance to find out Cilantro's hours?

I emailed them and got no reply, and they haven't come close to finishing their web site.

7AM - 7PM Monday to Friday and 10AM-7PM Saturday. Closed Sunday.

That works.

 

[KmH]

Cilantro's went out of business or moved before I got to Sacramento.

The Subway at 5th & J is not open on Saturday or Sunday.

Perko's gives senior citizens a 20% discount and they open at 6 am.

 

[Guest]

Perko's gives senior citizens a 20% discount and they open at 6 am.

Reasons I go there:

Close to station.

Earn air miles via MilesPlus Dining along with Amtrak points with their card -

a twofer!

 

[tp49]

I noticed that about Cilantro's the other day. They had an eviction notice from the Sheriff in the window guess they were having financial issues.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Perkos is next door to the Vagabond Inn, across the Street and around the corner from the Amtrak Station!

It used to be a Denny's and the food is on a par with Dennys, not as good as breakfast in the Diner on a Train, or any meal in Davis, but it's OK for fueling up and killing time on weekends in what is basically a ghostly downtown Sacramento!

 

[willem]

Perko's gives senior citizens a 20% discount and they open at 6 am.

Different chains define "senior citizen" differently. Do you know how Perko's defines it?

 

[tomfuller]

On March 16 I arrived early on the CS ( 0525). I dropped off my large bag at baggage and left the smaller one in the sleeper lounge. I left the station about 6:05 and headed east and then south on 10th past the Capitol building to the Fox and Goose. I had a very good breakfast at a reasonable price.

I went there because Jim Denny's is closed Mondays.

 

[KmH]

Perko's gives senior citizens a 20% discount and they open at 6 am.

Different chains define "senior citizen" differently. Do you know how Perko's defines it?

No. I was not asked for ID to verify my age, but was given the discount after being presented with a full charge bill and asking about the discount.

I am 62.

Perko's web site says 60.

Note the 20% discount does not apply to items on the Seniors menu.

 

[willem]

Thanks.

 

[user 6862]

Making travel plans... thinking of diverting and spending 2 nights 1 full day in Sacramento.

So far what I know of the city is the Capitol is there and the California Railroad museum. We need a little more than that to encourage us to divert, any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I've not done this, but it looks interesting.
Underground Tours – Sacramento History Museum

 

[user 6862]

Thank you ma'am, that looks unusual.

I am trying to get opinions as to whether to the whole city is a good place to stop over for a while, have you been there?

 

[jiml]

Making travel plans... thinking of diverting and spending 2 nights 1 full day in Sacramento.

So far what I know of the city is the Capitol is there and the California Railroad museum. We need a little more than that to encourage us to divert, any suggestions?

Thanks

You're a reasonable drive from wine country. If that isn't enough, there's the Jelly Belly factory not much further with free tours (not now obviously), and if you have enough time Lake Tahoe is well worth the drive in the other direction. Add in a ride on the Napa Wine Train if you head to wine country. We killed a week in the area and would go back in a heartbeat.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Thank you ma'am, that looks unusual.

I am trying to get opinions as to whether to the whole city is a good place to stop over for a while, have you been there?

Only for a few hours during the bay area gathering. After lunch we all split off and I went to Old Sacramento and walked around there then did the RR museum. But I had seen the underground thing when doing my pre-gathering research, which is why I remembered it.

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

I loved Sacramento!

My California cousin met me there after the Portland gathering. I loved the railroad museum. Also, we had lunch on the Delta Queen, which was nice.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites on the river (it was her 60th birthday treat, so I wanted a nice hotel, but there are decent cheaper options, and one of my nicest memories was sitting on the patio in the morning and watching the sun glowing on the gorgeous Tower Bridge.

You can walk from the bridge to the statehouse (early, because it gets darn hot after about 11:00 a.m., even in October). It is a long stretch of green that was supposed to copy the Washington idea of the mall—capitol to Wash. Monument.

I gather that if you go out of these tourist areas, it gets a bit iffy. We went just one block over, and it did feel more gritty.

Because it is the state capital, it feels a bit more formal than the California casual vibe—there were lots of businesspeople in the hotel dressed in nice outfits and working.

After the extreme casualness of Portland, I found that extremely refreshing, but I know not everyone would.

After writing all this, I remember that you and Rosie are much more adventurous than I am, so I have probably made Sacramento sound awfully stodgy and turned you off of the place completely!

 

[tp49]

What do you like to do? It'd be easier to mention what's going on/what there is to do here with your interests in mind.

 

[Bob Dylan]

What do you like to do? It'd be easier to mention what's going on/what there is to do here with your interests in mind.

There's Nothing going on right now Right??

 

[user 6862]

What do you like to do? It'd be easier to mention what's going on/what there is to do here with your interests in mind.

Meet people in everyday situations, not very drawn to tourist attractions.

For an example. Not being from the US we are interested in your country as a different culture.

We have visited different US state capitols as they have ancient, modern and current history tied to them, and all have been magnificent buildings too.
Bob Dylan showed us an authentic honky-tonk, fantastic. Jeb introduced us to the juicy lucy, great evening and surprising. We were given a masterclass on the operation of a space shuttle by our now good friend Milton, who we met on the Southwest Chief.

We are interested in museums, sometimes. I have the barbed wire museum on my wish list as it's so improbable.

Train travel anywhere fits the bill as you never know who you will meet while the real world goes past the window. What 'local' people do and see, where they are is often interesting to us if ordinary to them.

Sorry for a non answer and I do thank you very much for asking, but there isn't a simple reply other than often the unexpected and the normal.

I do ask a lot of questions about the US on this forum, and every time a subject is discussed we take something away from it. Not always the intended but something we could never know without local knowledge.

Much appreciated

 

[Bob Dylan]

Meet people in everyday situations, not very drawn to tourist attractions.

For an example. Not being from the US we are interested in your country as a different culture.

We have visited different US state capitols as they have ancient, modern and current history tied to them, and all have been magnificent buildings too.
Bob Dylan showed us an authentic honky-tonk, fantastic. Jeb introduced us to the juicy lucy, great evening and surprising. We were given a masterclass on the operation of a space shuttle by our now good friend Milton, who we met on the Southwest Chief.

We are interested in museums, sometimes. I have the barbed wire museum on my wish list as it's so improbable.

Train travel anywhere fits the bill as you never know who you will meet while the real world goes past the window. What 'local' people do and see, where they are is often interesting to us if ordinary to them.

Sorry for a non answer and I do thank you very much for asking, but there isn't a simple reply other than often the unexpected and the normal.

I do ask a lot of questions about the US on this forum, and every time a subject is discussed we take something away from it. Not always the intended but something we could never know without local knowledge.

Much appreciated

The " Chick Magnet " Guy" ( he's 83!!!)@ Donns Depot is still going strong Jamie, even if the Bars and Clubs are Closed!

Lots of Bands are doing On-Line Shows from various Homes and Studios ( with Social Distancing)and hes been on a couple by the Bands from Donns Depot dancing 10 feet away from his Partners!

 

[user 6862]

The " Chick Magnet " Guy" ( he's 83!!!)@ Donns Depot is still going strong Jamie, even if the Bars and Clubs are Closed!

Lots of Bands are doing On-Line Shows from various Homes and Studios ( with Social Distancing)and hes been on a couple by the Bands from Donns Depot dancing 10 feet away from his Partners!

Absolutely brilliant!

Pleased you are keeping an eye on him, or are you taking lessons?