Biba

Friday night, our eldest son took Gene and I to Biba in Sacramento. This was his gift for my 70th b-day. Biba is a client of our son and it also happens to be one of his favorite restaurants in Sacramento. Biba serves seven layer lasagna on Friday and Saturday nights only and Kevin wanted us to taste it. Since neither of us wanted it as our entree, he asked for a single order which we split as our appetizer. Of course, the homemade pasta is to die for, each layer so delicate, fine textured and absolutely fabulous. I commented on the butternut ravioli with sage and a few other things to our server. Before I knew it, the kitchen sent out small samples of each, so I could taste them before selecting the pasta I wanted. As the entree I had sea bass with assorted winter vegetables, all cooked to perfection. Biba came by after our meal to say hello to Kevin and meet his mom and dad, and later she agreed to have her picture taken with Gene and I. We had such a fun time there, all the food was excellent, the restaurant beautiful, and the service was stellar.

I was very pleased to read this post, Karen, and to discover you had a great time.

I've always been fond of Biba's place---both for lunch and dinner---the times I've been there.

I remember a rabbit tenderloin from there that was simply splendid. And Biba is quite often there and making the rounds, making everyone feel at home and welcome in her place.

We actually owned three of her cookbooks before we ever went to the restaurant. One of them, Trattoria, is a pretty failsafe book about simple to make trattoria recipes she collected from all over Italy, and it's a basic go-to book for us.

Our restaurant trips confirmed what we felt from the cookbooks: she's a lovely lady, a great hostess, and runs a pretty good restaurant. (My wife liked the lasagna too.)

One of our favorite restaurants as well. That lasagna is legendary around here.

A few years ago, we took my two daughters there. Biba was circulating around the dining room and when she came by our table, she asked if my daughters would like a tour of the kitchen. My younger daughter's immediate comment to Biba on entering the kitchen was, "It's pretty messy in here, isn't it?".

One of our favorite restaurants as well. That lasagna is legendary around here.

A few years ago, we took my two daughters there. Biba was circulating around the dining room and when she came by our table, she asked if my daughters would like a tour of the kitchen. My younger daughter's immediate comment to Biba on entering the kitchen was, "It's pretty messy in here, isn't it?".

Oh, that is really funny....does that same daughter like to cook?
When our kids were little, we took them to a Mexican restaurant in Monterey. It was a birthday dinner for our daughter, she must have been around 10. The mariachi band came around to our table and stood next to her to sing. She became all frustrated and kicked me under the table, announcing, "will you tell them to leave"!

First, happy birthday Karen!

I think it's actually Th and Fri nights- I just read an article re Biba's lasagna this AM from Sac Bee- my m-i-l sent us clipping. She knows we are fans of the Biba cookbooks (we use "Biba's Northern Italian Cooking" constantly, and "Biba's Italy" occasionally). . I've actually only eaten in restaurant once, but it was an excellent meal.

The article from the Sac Bee was 11/21, probably online

Karen -

She does indeed like to cook.

Isn't it great how kids say exactly what they mean? (And happy birthday, by the way!)

Thanks for the b-day wishes...it was actually Oct. 13th. I love it when it extends out as it did this year. Gene and I did not have a chance to go out for dinner and then I decided I wanted to go to Anselmo Vineyards, just east of us, for a dinner show, in early December to see a local performer who used to open for Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin. So, again, I am excited to go for yet another dinner, this one with entertainment at our favorite place to dine in Redding. If any of you are passing through Redding, I highly suggest Anselmo Vineyards, just below Shingletown, AKA Seven Hills Land and Cattle Co. Owned by Reverge Anselmo and his wife Chicken. Spring would be a great time to visit so you can sit on their beautiful patio and look out over the property. Now, of course, they are serving meals inside.