Tag: Restaurants

Approaching Cafe Maddalena from across Pine street, subtle clues suggest this isn’t your typical northstate eatery.
Inside you’ll find a diminutive space, making it all the more intimate. Warmer weather allows more dining on their back patio.

Seen here, the Trio of stuffed eggs. Elegant and tasty, each with a different variation of stuffing.
Soup of the day was a rich Potato and Leek creation.
The kitchen opens to the dining area. Our server Sarah was attentive and knowledgeable.

Grilled mahi with tapanade, roasted garlic aioli, rice sautéed spinach, olives & capers.

Crispy quail stuffed with pancetta & savoy cabbage over risotto with mushrooms & brussel sprouts.
Located at 5801 Sacramento Ave., Dunsmuir CA 96025 (530) 235-2725 HOURS: Thursday–Sunday, 5 pm–9 pm. There’s a menu at the Cafe Maddelena website. The menu changes regularly. I like how the wines available by the glass are chosen to pair well with the current menu. An indicator of the overall thoughtfulness put into their service.

They recommend making reservations, and they aren’t kidding. We had often tried to get in while passing through Dunsmuir, only to find disappointment instead. Do call ahead.

Looking for a cup of goodness, or some food close to downtown? Your search is over.

Love seeing the daily specials on the butcher paper roll. They offer a wide variety.

From their website:

“Caffe Pagato is more than just a coffee shop. Owners Mike Davis and Jenny Melchor first envisioned Caffe Pagato as merely a small coffee kiosk offering Caltrans employees some brewed coffee. Whilst many in the area have been known to look for the best Sage coffee machine for their morning brew, there wasn’t a lot of options available for those that wanted a drink without paying for their own machine. After getting connected with Amy Louis of Six Degrees Coffee out of Chico, that all changed. Amy opened their eyes to a whole new exciting world of specialty coffee that Mike and Jenny wanted to share with Redding.”

Full menu is online at Caffe Pagato’s really nice website. Nice work on that!

Below, the building Caffe Pagato is located inside at night. They aren’t open at night, however. But I like how this building looks at night too.

Edit again 2019: Alas, Brick’s is no more, having not survived their third move to a location on Churn Creek. A spot where several promising eateries met their fate.

EDIT: Bricks has moved (again) since this was posted. It’s now at 1800 Churn Creek Road Redding CA 96002

There was a time it was hard to get good BBQ in Redding. Then, Brick’s arrived.

They offer some good beers on tap. Especially good news is that they have brews from our local Fall River Brewing Company. You can’t go wrong with any of their beers.

I’ve written about Brick’s BBQ in Redding before, back in 2010. Back when they were located on Placer, where Wilda’s Grill now graces our town. Brick’s moved here, to this former donut shop which is much larger. And they’ve been going gangbusters ever since. I read that they are planning on opening an additional east Redding location soon.

Below, a Trinomi sandwich. One of their big sellers. It combines Tri-Tip with their smoked Pastrami, and is served with fries and Au Jus for dipping. Dee-lish.

There are now other places with good barbeque in Redding too, so Brick’s set a trend. I will say those other BBQ places can be rather predictable. Brick’s isn’t that kind of place. A lot more down to earth. 

Here’s a link to Brick’s BBQ website. Located at Eureka Way and 11th Street, Brick’s is firmly established in Really Redding.

Lim’s Cafe is an iconic Redding restaurant located on the Miracle Mile.

I shot and posted this nice sunset image below a few months back, and I see it now posted at Yelp, attributed to somebody else. Well, it is a nice image. Nevermind that copyright stuff. Pesky legalities. Just more evidence that you should always be very skeptical of what you see on Yelp.
Anyway, Lim’s is a classic American Diner serving Chinese and American food.
The kind of place where the waitresses know your name. Many daily regulars.
The menu has stood the test of time. No small task in this town. Thriving for good reason.

Above, a couple of lunch specials. The food comes fast and hot. Reassuring Chinese comfort food. For me, the hot mustard they serve alongside offered a needed spike, but the lovely Karry liked it seasoned just how they bring it out. That works.

Arriving in Redding from the north would be an altogether different experience without the warm neon glow of the Lim’s sign to let you know you are indeed home.
Located at 592 N Market St Redding, CA 96003, Phone number (530) 241-9747. Generally open daily 7 am to 9 pm.

“The Paradisio Experience: Simple food prepared extraordinarily well, served in a casually elegant atmosphere.”

That description from their website is quite accurate. This downtown Redding restaurant is remarkably good.

The walls are lined with art from local artists that you can peruse and purchase. Nice.

For a late lunch, we shared a Chicken Bacon sandwich and the Baked Brie Platter with roasted garlic cloves, olive tapenade, and crostini. That was no rubber chicken sandwich! Tender and moist. The soup of the day was an outstanding East Coast style Seafood Chowder. The Paradisio menu is online at the link. They have a number of dishes we’ve yet to try, but which sound really good, and reasonably priced.

Seen here on a blustery Winter day, the Cafe Paradisio lives up to their promise. Located at 1270 Yuba Street, 530-215-3499.
You can check the Cafe Paradisio website for upcoming music events, too. On Dec. 22, they are featuring Redding musical treasures Bernie Baker and Stephanie Foos. Try a taste:

Reservations recommended, It’s Really Redding.

This restaurant is a fine example of a rural, small town cafe. They serve breakfast and lunch in the classic American style. We stopped in for a late lunch on a rainy day recently.

I’ve seen it packed for the noon hour. A cafe like this serves more than food for this small agricultural community. It’s a place to see your neighbors, and talk about things. Hence the name. Chatty.

The lovely Karry opted for a Patty Melt. I ordered the special, a Jalapeno Burger.

The food was good, but the Ham and Bean soup was really outstanding. A tangy, rich flavor that triggered memories of similar soups I’ve enjoyed in the past. Taking me back, as though an elixir of youth. It really hit the spot on this blustery day. Warming the bones.

Located in bustling downtown McArthur,  about 75 miles due west of Really Redding on Highway 299E. On the south side of the street, you can’t miss it. They don’t seem to have a website, but that doesn’t mean much out here. Although I had good 4G reception, fiddling with my phone seemed somehow out of place. People don’t come here for the wi-fi. They come for much more.

Best to find yourself fully in the moment, in the Chatty-Kathy.

 

WOODSIDEgrill is the restaurant at the Gaia Hotel and Spa in Anderson. The Gaia is a whole amazing story in itself, and their restaurant is unique as well. We stopped in recently for lunch, which runs from 11 am to 2 pm.

An elegant match of colors, textures, and artwork lends the restaurant an inviting vibe.

I ordered the Crispy Fish Tacos, and the lovely Karry went for the Old School Fish & Chips.

We also admire the Gaia and their restaurant for their commitment to sustainability. Some info about their green practices for the Woodside grill website: The WOODSIDE grille is the region’s only LEED Certified Restaurant. Eco-friendly design features include recycled glass countertops, solar tubes, and sustainably harvested timber. In addition to recycling and composting programs, the restaurant’s non-composted food waste is provided to local farms to feed livestock, a portion of which is used to feed needy families in Shasta and Butte counties.
The Gaia is just about 6 miles south of Redding on Interstate 5, where it crosses the Sacramento River. They have a full bar and Happy Hour specials from 4 to 6 pm currently. They often feature local musicians on the weekend evenings. At events we have attended, their appetizers and hors d’oeuvres are often our favorites. The WOODSIDEgrill has hours and a menu at their website, but you have to scroll around a bit to find it.
A wholly sustainable experience, just a few miles south of Really Redding.

Looking for an out-of-the-ordinary dining experience? A scenic drive 50 miles north of Redding gets you to the Railroad Park Resort, where you can dine in a boxcar.

The lovely Karry checks the menu. We imagine the scenery rolling by outside our dining car window, but it’s very pretty outside even stationary.

Inside, the space is filled with railroad memorabilia dimly lit by old incandescent lamps. Wistful remnants of a graceful era. The table lamp is inscribed Paris to Istanbul via The Orient Express.

It’s a romantic place. There’s also dining on a patio with a view of the Crags. And they offer lodging and RV camping spaces on a beautiful creek.

A perfect getaway from the valley to dine in the pines. There’s a complete menu and much more at the Railroad Park Resort website. Redding was born a rail town. And while the trains at the Railroad Park are all stationary, passengers will find themselves transported toward Really Redding.

Clearie’s Restaurant & Lounge occupies a special place in the literal and figurative heart of Redding. The site on Eureka Way and Market was once home to The Shack, a popular blue collar diner that was something of an institution on this corner for years. Now razed and replaced with this regal restaurant.

The other part of the narrative is that Clearie’s was created by a descendant of the owner of Doc’s Skyroom Restaurant, a Redding standard that is also no more. But Doc’s was once one of our signature dining establishments where Northstate patrons would go for formal and special occasions. The present owner of Clearie’s has built on that legacy, and elaborated the Doc’s theme as an understated, tasteful motif.

We stopped in for lunch the other day and snapped a few images. I had the Ahi Sandwich with sweet potato fries, and the lovely Karry picked the Daily Special.

The Special consisted of a Tomato Bisque soup along with a Grilled Cheese sandwich. Along with her salad, she chose Steak Sticks, which were wrapped in bacon. All of it delicious and well presented by attentive staff.

Located beneath this iconic sign at a major crossroads in Redding, Clearie’s is a clear winner for meeting clients, or for a special evening evocative of Doc’s Skyroom.

There is a terrific Clearies website that does a great job explaining their story and giving you some idea of their full culinary experience and libations. (530) 241 4535

I have lived long enough in Redding to recall as I was seated yesterday in Clearies, that I’d sat about the same place inside The Shack in the 70’s. And that time my boss at the lab took me to lunch there to offer me a promotion and raise. It was a pleasant recollection. And then afterward we all went to Doc’s Skyroom for a Formal Retirement Dinner for the colleague who I replaced. Probably like many in Redding, I have fond memories of both prior establishments, and all of that goodwill has transferred in full to Clearie’s. A new Redding classic with a nostalgic twist. It’s Really Redding.

 

One of downtown Redding’s unique restaurants is Corbetts, on Pine Street. Also home to Shasta Wine Merchants. We recall it as the restaurant across from the Greyhound Station. Alas, Redding’s landmark downtown bus station is no more. But it has been recently replaced with a beautiful building.

Luckily, Corbetts stands alone for their food and atmosphere. We were there near closing for these photos. Usually, the place is teeming with regulars.

You can order anything from the menu, which is breakfast and lunch. Today, The lovely Karry chose the Ribeye Steak Sandwich special on Dutch Crunch. I went for the Turkey Avocado BLT with artichoke. We both noticed the quality ingredients, especially the vine ripe tomatoes. We’ve become spoiled by our own home grown produce. We don’t often find that good quality produce in restaurants, so it stood out.
Open from 7 am to 3 pm daily, or so we think. They don’t seem to have a website. Owners Chris and Mel Corbett are usually there to greet you, (530) 241-2303. Located at 1455 Pine Street, in Really Redding California.