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JoanieBlon

Service Attendant
Joined
Apr 10, 2009
Messages
117
Location
Lafayette Louisiana
My husband has put together a nice little slide show from photos we took while visiting the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento California.

To view the slide show, go to our website MAISON-T-BAYOU.COM and select CALIFORNIA from the menu there ~ then select CALIFORNIA STATE RAILROAD MUSEUM. Hope you enjoy it! :hi: The museum is EXCELLENT! Be sure to plan a visit there if you're ever in the area!
 
I will have a layover in Sacramento from the southbound CS to the eastbound CZ in the morning, I know there is a long walk from the train to the station, so I will be using red cap or whatever it is they have there, but I was wondering where there is a good place for breakfast as I have about 4 hours as long as the CS is on time.
 
I will have a layover in Sacramento from the southbound CS to the eastbound CZ in the morning, I know there is a long walk from the train to the station, so I will be using red cap or whatever it is they have there, but I was wondering where there is a good place for breakfast as I have about 4 hours as long as the CS is on time.
June what I do is continue the CS portion on to Martinez (MTZ). That way, I can eat breakfast on the train. The train drops you off right next to the station! Very little walking & gives you much more train time with a lot less layover!!!!
 
Or, at Sacramento, you can walk two blocks south from the front door of the station to the K Street Pedestrian Mall, which has lots of restaurants and an indoor food court.
 
I just looked on the Delta King site, and they start serving breakfast at 7am in the Pilothouse. Just a short taxi ride and you'd be enjoying a great breakfast while watching the early morning activities along the river. We've eaten breakfast there, and they have a good menu.
 
What day of the week would you be coming through? The problem with downtown Sacramento is that the restaurants generally speaking cater to the state worker breakfast/lunch crowd thus there are fewer options on the weekend. Considering the timeframes involved the only places open would be Perko's and a little later The Delta King and of those options I would go with the Delta King. The only concern I would have is if you have mobility issues and need to take a taxi over to Old Sac would be getting a cab back to the station, though in all honesty the walk to the Delta King is not terribly far. Best solution for that would just be to get the phone number for the company that takes you there and call them when you wish to return to the station.
 
I will be there on a Saturday, so would the place across the street be open? I really don't want to have to worry about a taxi being late picking me up to get back to the station. Maybe next time when I head the other way and have more time.
 
Another option would be to take the CS to Davis, Calif (next stop after Sacramento, arriving 6:50 AM) and eat at the Village Bakery directly across the street from the Amtrak station (they open at 5:30 AM on Saturdays).. They have 3 indoor tables and 4 outdoor tables, and an espresso machine for those who want a big caffeine fix.

The CZ arrives Davis around 10:30 AM, and the Village Bakery front door is a 3 minute walk from the entry doors of the CZ and CZ passenger cars. I have never eaten here myself, but it gets nice reviews on the Davis restaurant wiki.
 
Oh Chakk, thanks, that is another option I did not even think about. I know that the sacramento station is where Arrow shows, but as I am using my rail pass, I could go further. I will check their reviews.
 
June, on a Saturday the places open reasonably close to the Sacramento station would be the Starbucks which what the_traveler mentioned and the Perko's (which used to be a Denny's) which is across the street from the station and on the side of the Vagabond Inn on the corner of 3d and J Streets. As was mentioned above (and I wish I had thought of it) you could also get off in Davis which is a lovely college town and would have more going on during your wait than downtown Sacramento would especially on a Saturday.
 
Another option would be to take the CS to Davis, Calif (next stop after Sacramento, arriving 6:50 AM) and eat at the Village Bakery directly across the street from the Amtrak station (they open at 5:30 AM on Saturdays).. They have 3 indoor tables and 4 outdoor tables, and an espresso machine for those who want a big caffeine fix.
The CZ arrives Davis around 10:30 AM, and the Village Bakery front door is a 3 minute walk from the entry doors of the CZ and CZ passenger cars. I have never eaten here myself, but it gets nice reviews on the Davis restaurant wiki.
June: My gf and I did this last Summer and the Bakery and the Town itself (including the old SP Station) are Great! Highly recommended over Sacramento even if the California Rail Museum is a Must see if you haven't been there! :)
 
the california rr museum is about a 10 minute walk from the Sacramento amtrak station. They open daily at 10 AM, so you would have less than an hour to visit before the CZ easbound out of Sacramento. I think a minimum of 2 hours is needed to really appreciate this rr museum.
 
the california rr museum is about a 10 minute walk from the Sacramento amtrak station. They open daily at 10 AM, so you would have less than an hour to visit before the CZ easbound out of Sacramento. I think a minimum of 2 hours is needed to really appreciate this rr museum.
:hi: Good Point, even 2 Hours May Not be Enough for Some Rail Buffs! ;) Ive always thought they should Open maybe @ 9AM and Stay Open a Little Later, when the WB Zephyr Calls in SAC (often Late) its a Rush to get over there to have Enough Time to see the Musuem Properly before they Close! :help:
 
OK, so to not have to start a new thread for Sacramento, I am taking the CZ to CS on points, so have to transfer in Sacramento which means I have a long layover. Where is a good place to eat dinner within walking or short taxi ride to the station?
 
The question again turns to what day of the week you're coming through and what type of food you like.
 
For walking distance just off the top of my head in Old Sac would be the Delta King which was mentioned above. I probably should have asked about price range but I can recommend some places just off the top of my head. There isn't very much walking distance wise outside of Old Sac or the food court at the Downtown Plaza mall.

As for short cab ride or even bus or light rail ride (the 30 J Street bus leaves from the Amtrak station) I can think of a few places:

Higher End: Grange (Citizen Hotel 10th and J; American cuisine); Ella (12th and K, American) both easily accessible by the 30 bus (10th St or 11th St stops); Mikuni (16th between J and K Streets; Sushi/Japanese; 30 bus 16th Street stop.)

Chain: PF Changs (16th and J); The Old Spaghetti Factory (19th and J); Claim Jumper (11th and J)

A place I really like is Pizza Rock (11th and K St.) 30 bus to 11th and J. The pizza here is in my top three in town and I'm a pizza snob to the highest degree. Their margherita is an award winner but you can't miss with any pizza they make. The other thing is that they serve only by the pie (no slices) so there would be a good chance you'd have something left over for later.

Hot Italian (16th and Q Streets take light rail from Amtrak to 16th Street station) another of my top three pizza places in town. They have other things as well as some really good gelato for dessert.

If you like Thai there is Thai Basil (25th and J)

For Vietnamese there is a place called Pho Bac on 19th and Broadway. You can take light rail to the Broadway station and walk a block; however, this requires a transfer between light rail lines as the line from Amtrak to Sunrise/Folsom doesn't stop there. The change could be made at several stops but the safest would be 7th and O; Archives Plaza or 13th Street.

If you take the #30 bus to any of these locations be advised that the bus to return to Amtrak would be found on L Street as J is one way eastbound on "the grid."

All of these are also on what is known here as "The Grid" or the downtown/midtown area and the cab ride would be fairly short.
 
On another forum someone mentioned a restaurant called the Capitol Garage at 1500 15th Street just 1 block south of J street.

For those off the CZ with the approx 10 hr afternoon and evening layover waiting to catch the northbound CS (14) the Capitol Garage restaurant could be a nice place for dinner.

They have an interesting looking dinner menu, so when I am there in the fall the Capitol Garage is #1 on my list of dinner options.

Anyone with local knowledge please feel free to chime in since I have not yet been in that part of Sacramento, nor have I ever used the local bus system.

I strive to travel on a frugal budget and took note they also mentioned one could catch the local bus at the Amtrak station (4th and I street).

It looks like the 30 bus goes west (right) on I street a short distance, turns left (south) on 3rd, then another short distance (past Perko's restaurant on the southeast corner) to turn left (east) on L Street.

Get off at 15th & L street, south on 15th a block, an easily walk to the restaurant which looks to be on the southeast corner looking at Google Maps Street View.

To return to the Amtrak station go south to L street to catch the bus back to the Amtrak station.

Bus fare is $2.50 if you're 19-61 yrs old, $1.25 for 62 or over.

From the bus schedule it looks like you would want to catch the return to the Amtrak station bus on L Street no later than 9 pm or so.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Capitol+Garage/@38.5777248,-121.4851739,18z/data=!4m6!1m3!3m2!1s0x809ad6d2c2e9612d:0x290ce5de6d501c2e!2sSacramento+Amtrak!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x943c3e6dd3fa62d9
 
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Welcome KmH, For breakfast between the southbound CS and the eastbound CZ, I have walked with my wife to Jim Denny's (12th between H & I).http://www.jim-dennys.com/

We walked east on H Street past our favorite HI Hostel which is across the street from City Hall.

Last February, My friend picked me up at the station and we checked Jim Denny's but it was closed so we went to the Denny's north of town.

There was a 24hr Denny's within walking distance of the SAC station. I have heard some bad things about the replacement restaurant.

Coming west on the CZ waiting for the northbound CS, you have the choice of many restaurants (some expensive) in Old Sacramento. I agree you should be back to the station by 9:30PM.

There are several golf cart people movers to take people with their luggage from the station to the platform if you didn't want to take the walk.

If you get into SAC early enough, you can check the luggage and then walk down to Old Sacramento and visit the California Railroad Museum. (closes at 5PM).
 
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.

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.

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.
 
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On another forum someone mentioned a restaurant called the Capitol Garage at 1500 15th Street just 1 block south of J street.

For those off the CZ with the approx 10 hr afternoon and evening layover waiting to catch the northbound CS (14) the Capitol Garage restaurant could be a nice place for dinner.

They have an interesting looking dinner menu, so when I am there in the fall the Capitol Garage is #1 on my list of dinner options.

Anyone with local knowledge please feel free to chime in since I have not yet been in that part of Sacramento, nor have I ever used the local bus system.

I strive to travel on a frugal budget and took note they also mentioned one could catch the local bus at the Amtrak station (4th and I street).

It looks like the 30 bus goes west (right) on I street a short distance, turns left (south) on 3rd, then another short distance (past Perko's restaurant on the southeast corner) to turn left (east) on L Street.

Get off at 15th & L street, south on 15th a block, an easily walk to the restaurant which looks to be on the southeast corner looking at Google Maps Street View.

To return to the Amtrak station go south to L street to catch the bus back to the Amtrak station.

Bus fare is $2.50 if you're 19-61 yrs old, $1.25 for 62 or over.

From the bus schedule it looks like you would want to catch the return to the Amtrak station bus on L Street no later than 9 pm or so.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Capitol+Garage/@38.5777248,-121.4851739,18z/data=!4m6!1m3!3m2!1s0x809ad6d2c2e9612d:0x290ce5de6d501c2e!2sSacramento+Amtrak!3m1!1s0x0000000000000000:0x943c3e6dd3fa62d9
Nothing wrong with Capitol Garage it's a good place. I go there for happy hour and almost always forget they're a restaurant too. It's a little small inside but the food is good and the beer is cold.

Just as an FYI, the #30 bus goes east on "J" Street and returns downtown on "L" Street. The restaurant is actually at 15th and "K" Street. There is no bus stop at 15th Street so anyone going there would have to get off either at 14th or 16th Streets. Return stop on "L" Street would be closer to 17th Street in front of the Goodwill Store.

If you're feeling semi-adventurous you could stay on the 30 and take it to Rodeo Way walk to El Dorado Way (1 block east of 53d Street) and H Streets and go to Selland's Market Cafe (5340 H Street.) Really good food and very reasonable prices as the folks who own this place also own one of the three best restaurants in town. You can catch the 30 back to downtown at 53d and J.

As an aside the best value for RT fares would be to purchase a day pass for $6.00 as RT does not believe in transfers and will save money if taking RT to any other attractions in town.

Welcome KmH, For breakfast between the southbound CS and the eastbound CZ, I have walked with my wife to Jim Denny's (12th between H & I).http://www.jim-dennys.com/

We walked east on H Street past our favorite HI Hostel which is across the street from City Hall.

Last February, My friend picked me up at the station and we checked Jim Denny's but it was closed so we went to the Denny's north of town.

There was a 24hr Denny's within walking distance of the SAC station. I have heard some bad things about the replacement restaurant.

Coming west on the CZ waiting for the northbound CS, you have the choice of many restaurants (some expensive) in Old Sacramento. I agree you should be back to the station by 9:30PM.

There are several golf cart people movers to take people with their luggage from the station to the platform if you didn't want to take the walk.

If you get into SAC early enough, you can check the luggage and then walk down to Old Sacramento and visit the California Railroad Museum. (closes at 5PM).
Jim Denny's hours and days of operation really make me scratch my head. They're a breakfast/lunch place in the heart of state worker country yet they're closed on Monday and Tuesday and the neighborhood it's in is pretty much dead on Saturdays and Sundays. As for restaurants in Old Sac, honestly I'd skip the lot of them and look for something better in Midtown.
 
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