Located in Old town Sacramento off of Front Street, with very convenient valet parking available at the entrance to the boat, the Delta King has been a Sacramento icon since before it docked for good. The Pilothouse Restaurant aboard the Delta King has made this historic riverboat, which permanently docked on the banks of the Sacramento River, not only a novelty but also a culinary delight. In addition to the Pilothouse, The Delta King also features a hotel, lounge, banquet rooms, and renowned dinner theatre.
The décor of the restaurant is upscale on the river, the dining areas bring images to mind of the dining rooms found on historic ocean liners almost reminiscent of the White Star Line’s Titanic but without the happy ending. The white tablecloths and paten place settings stood out against the beautifully finished original wood paneling of the dinning room.
As we were privileged to taste Chef Vasquez’s selections they included those from the tasting menu as well as the traditional menu. To start our selections we began with Ahi Tuna Tartar composed of fresh tuna in a wasabi-soy vinaigrette over avocado and topped with fried wontons, the flavors and the fish so well blended that it almost melted in my mouth, paired off with a Sauvignon Blanc paired with floral fruity notes.
Next we moved on to a Seared diver sea scallop- wonderful meaty and buttery in flavor, served along a white bean mash paired Ferrari Carrano Chardonnay 2006 Alexander Valley. Third course was a take on “duck-two ways” with Duck Breast with pomegranate glaze, perfectly cooked along with smoked yellow pepper coulis, duck confit potato croquettes and sautéed greens paired with a Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Napa Valley.
Fourth course was a Kobe Braised Short Ribs, fork tender, alongside Yukon gold roasted potatoes with rosemary with a petite syrah. The fifth course was a Lamb Shank with butternut squash purée & natural jus, with airy herbed pasta with a ZD Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2005 brought out wonderful green bell pepper notes in the cab highlighted by the lamb.
The sixth and final course was a luscious Lavender Crème Brulle with Eberle Muscal Canelli 2003 Paso Robles- beautiful creamy and fragrant twist on a standard.
Under the new and remarkable management and wine stewardship of Sacramento restaurant veteran Alain Dottax, and The Pilothouse’s Executive Chef Julian Vasquez the wine pairing and meal was exquisite. Julian has been with the Delta King for the past 5 years and became executive chef in 2005. Since then he has recreated the flavor of this restaurant and has brought it into the twenty first century.
Throughout the revitalization of this Sacramento standard not only has Alain revamped the international’s-only wine list to instead reflect the best of region, but along with Chef Vasquez have began a series of winemakers dinners the first of which will be for ZD wines and a exceptionally paired meal, and a new monthly tasting menu with an optional wine pairing. For more information on the tasting menu, check out http://www.deltaking.com/tastingmenu.html.
The Restaurant has a lounge on the upper deck with outdoor seating and a full bar, and on Friday and Saturday a live jazz band performs. Along with numerous additions the new energy within the Pilothouse restaurant is by far my favorite, so for more information on this oldie and goodie check out their website at http://www.deltaking.com.
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