Good Eats FINALLY Opens In Sacramento! But Maybe They Should Held off for a Couple of Weeks?

Good Eats has finally opened, and after a hole lotta hoopla I was raring to get over there and try what had caused so much excitement for over two years in developments. Good Eats is attempting to be a coffee shop, prepared foods outlet, and restaurant dining experience. A lot to take on right? that's what I thought too. “Our Good Eats Kitchen is going to be a celebration of good food,” stated Michael Ashker, Co-Founder and CEO of Good Eats. About two years ago when the location for Good Eats was up in the air, they were looking at the Corti Brothers spot on Folsom Bvld. This was met with public outcry, and a debate over wither the right to keep an Sacramento institution should be overturned as their lease was up, and the owner was looking at other ventures, no longer at Corti Brothers. This was such a huge deal that it was covered in an article by the Sacramento Bee, found here. After many a protest and article around the city, Michael Ashker decided to find a new spot for their idea, and they landed on the long-time closed Andiamo Italian restaurant. So after breaking ground Michael Ashker was in construction starts and stops for a year and a half! Many complication no doubt came in to play, such as the recession, potentially partners pulling out (unconfirmed), and such. But on August 23rd they finally opened their huge double doors, abet with a hanging banner sign for their name and logo. This is supposedly their soft open, even though a waiter told me there wasn't going to be a grand opening, and it was open to the public? So I call this a Hard Open, and it was. Inside it is HUGE, there is a huge prepared food selection, along with bread, hot food, cold case, desert selection, and coffee bar - quite a lot going on, but there is signage everywhere to lead you around.

The service through the prepared food side was ups and downs, from being warmly greeted and offered samples in the front entrance, to the abrupt hostess asking,"are you dining in?" on first approach. We opted for the bar, as you can always take in more of the industry scene from this angle, and it was a pretty view. The bar is entirely granite with a huge mirror display above the not yet stocked bar area. The two servers that were behind the bar were charming despite their lack of knowledge of the menu items. And although there was a decent wine option (no list) from Bogle for about $5 a glass, there was as yet no taps, no beer, and although they were claiming to have a full bar it was coming in that night? This was four days post the opening, but I know these things can sometimes take time. But to give you a insight to the lack of prep there was a coke-a-cola man installing their fountain station (plumber style crack and all) at the time. Keep in mind 4 days later. Made for an interesting meal and a show!



On to the food, again this is where I would have held off. This is where I would have stood back and looked at what I was preparing, and wondered how it stacked up to it's competition. There is a great and thriving food culture in Sacramento right now, so to put out anything less than a smart and awesome product out would easily put you on the bread lines. Think about it; we have Corti Brothers, Sellands, Taylors, Whole Foods, Ettore's, and at one time David Berkeley, all in the prepared food isle. In proximity we have OneSpeed, 33rd Street Bistro, and Formoli's bistro all within a mile! This competition is stiff, so you Better bring your A-Game! Good Eats was not. The menu prepares many of the foods that they create for quick take home, so I tried to take this into account when looking at what I'm eating, but it still doesn't add up. Mediocre is mediocre. We asked the server what was a not to be missed on the menu, and he said the mushrooms and the sliders. So we tried both, as I was taking pictures and asking many a question (should have been a hint of interest maybe?) - well the mushrooms were stuffed portabellas with sauteed onions, tomatoes and "flavored cheeses" as eloquently quoted on the menu. It tasted about as good as the description; limp, soggy, and bland. The other items we got were the buffalo-style sliders, and the baby spinach salad. Chefs, please take heed: if your slider bun is coated in char but seems slightly OK to you DON'T send it out! You only get ONE chance to make a first impression, and this was a bad one. The char flavor was so strong that it overwhelmed the taste of the slider, the server saw this as he placed it on the table and said nothing. In tasting the other, non-chared slider, it wasn't much better. The salad we tried was not their signature salad, as all the components of that signature salad are found in the Trader Joe's bag mix for $4.99 - so I wasn't really interested, and the one we did try was nice, but definitely not worth $11 (not when I can get a superior lemon-chicken salad at Magpie for $9.50).



So I know this is no doubt coming off as pretty harsh, and I'm not seeking a bitch-fest, this was disappointing for me too! I was looking forward to a great dining experience, a place to go get quick take home dinners! But there are obviously some bumps to get past. There is quite a lot of time and money put into this venture, so I think that the owners can take the time and attention to demand better from their service and food quality. I mean I saw Rick Kushman (food writer for the SacramentoBee) also being shuffled around by the abrupt hostess! SOO much potential, but so many things that need to be addressed before they lose their first impression goodness, and all the customers that come with the first gasp of newness! Sacramento has stepped it up culinary in massive ways in the last 10 years, there's no room for inferior quality if success is desired.