There's something comforting about prix fixe menus. Maybe they're reminiscent of a time when you ate what your parents cooked, and you liked it. Maybe it's cause you often save a few bucks compared to what the food would cost off the regular menu.

Whatever the reason, there's been a buzz building about the Friday night dinners at Sampino's Towne Foods (16th & F). I first heard about it via a blog post by Sac Bee food critic Blair Anthony Robertson. Now, a local blogger Ally Gaffan of A Girl And Her Fork chronicled her experience at the dinner:

The evening concludes with my favorite dish, the dolce--a pumpkin gelato parfait set atop an eggnog custard and glazed with a chocolate ganache. I can attest that pumpkin did not die in vain---that gelato was sheer bliss on my tongue.

Read her entire blog post at A Girl and Her Fork.

More News:

Behind-the-scenes look at hiring the new chef at Grange - Now that Oliver Ridgeway has taken charge of the kitchen at the Citizen Hotel's Grange Restaurant downtown, I was curious about the so-called "national search" to fill the executive chef position after Michael Tuohy's departure. Turns out, the Joie de Vivre Hotels, which owns the Citizen, spent plenty of time and money to find the right chef for the job. I had a lengthy chat recently with Morgan Plant, vice president of food and beverage for JdV, to get some of the details. Blair Anthony Robertson in the Sac Bee.

Restaurants step up to help Yuba City veteran and his family - A few years ago, Waylon Walchesky of Yuba City served in the military in Saudi Arabia, and returned home to his wife, Shelly, and their young children. After a series of financial setbacks, one more unfortunate thing happened: Waylon Walchesky suffered a seizure earlier this week and was diagnosed with an illness likely related to his time spent in the Middle East. Concerned friends and family rushed in to help. Asked what it was the family needed most, Shelly Walchesky answered, "Meals." Allen Pierleoni in the Sac Bee.