Don't judge a book by its cover (or a restaurant by its menu)

West Sacramento isn't exactly known for its "hip" restaurant scene. Perhaps the one place people outside of West Sac are most familiar with is Club Pheasant. There's also a mix of small independently-owned burger joints like Whitey's and the new Squeeze Inn, and ethnically diverse offerings that range from British, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Laotian, Thai, Indian, Mexican (lot's of Mexican) and Pakistani. The food is good--very good, in fact. But let's be frank: People in Sacramento consider West Sac to almost be a foreign country, if it registers in their consciousness at all, and wouldn't think about crossing Tower Bridge to try out these places.

That's fine. The restaurants are meant to cater to West Sac residents, and Sac has many of the same ethnically-diverse restaurants and has the original Squeeze Inn to boot. But there is one new place that is just different enough and scrumptious enough for Sac residents to make the effort across the river: the newly opened Eatery.

The Eatery has been open for about a month now in a fairly nondescript location and offers what initially seems like a nondescript menu. The cafe is located in the Town Center Plaza, otherwise known to most people as "The Shopping Area Where the Nugget is At" and seemingly blends into the typical "strip-mall" storefronts of Starbucks, Supercuts, mobile phone services, Roundtable, etc.

The menu is concise (a good thing) and offers what--at first glance--looks fairly standard. There's the burger, soup du jour, fish entree, steak, dessert, blah, blah. But, what did your mom say about not judging a book by its cover? Or should I say, not judging a restaurant by its menu? Don't do it! And the Eatery is the best example of that. Of course, I am guilty of that. When my wife and I first walked by, we peeked at the menu and shrugged our shoulders. We were pleasantly surprised, though, when we did go in.

While the items on the menu seem standard American fare, the food itself is fantastic:

• The burger was well-seasoned, a fine balance between introducing interesting flavors into the meat but at the same time maintaining the natural taste of the beef. The patty was perfectly cooked and juicy (formed in-house), sandwiched between artisan bread. The fries were seasoned as well, with a kick, much like Hamburger Patties but not as overwhelming.  
• The soup du jour was an elegant carrot-ginger soup, light and delicate with a slight zing from the ginger.
• Dessert was a very tasty lemon cheesecake, house-made. It wasn't dense like typical cheesecakes, a plus in my book.

The decor was a bit on the non-exciting side, a bland, modern design that looked typical. It reminded me of those designs you find on that Food Network show 24 Hour Restaurant Battle. And the tables can be nicer, or at least covered with white table cloths.

But you don't come to a restaurant for the decor--you go for the food. And the food here is worth the effort, especially if you're already in the area for a River Cats game or shopping at Ikea or Nugget.  The offerings are at the same time elegant, delicious, and accessible. Just don't let the fact that it's in a West Sac shopping area and not a hipster Midtown Sac location prejudice your tastebuds.