Dining Out: Lucca

Lucca was one of the pioneers of Sacramento’s downtown dining Renaissance.

Located on the corner of 16th and J streets, the Italian-influenced
restaurant anchors a cluster of Sacramento hot spots, including P.F. Chang’s
China Bistro, Mikuni and nearby Mason’s. The menu is accessible, affordable
and includes a number of pasta dishes, as well as larger plates of meat and
fish. Lucca straddles the line between upscale dining and casual hangout,
making it an ideal setting for an intimate dinner for two or a party of 20.

Large parties often start with a plate of the zucchini chips ($3.95),
deep-fried wafer-thin slices of summer squash that have survived the ebbing
of the low-carb tide. The menu contains a number of excellent entree salad
choices, from the crab-cake Caesar salad ($11.95) to the seared-steak salad
($10.95) to the ni