Visiting El Dorado Hills & Shingle Springs for the Holidays…read more I came up to El Dorado Hills for the Christmas holidays, and every time I'm here I'm reminded why people fall in love with this area. My family lives out in Shingle Springs, where the properties stretch out into big open acres -- the kind of land where you can actually have horses, cows, chickens, a private lake, and the occasional deer casually crossing your driveway like they own the place. It's peaceful in a way that feels almost old‑school California. December definitely brings its own personality. Think rain, fog, and wind teaming up to create a moody winter vibe. It's beautiful, but also a little dangerous, so if you're visiting during the holidays, drive carefully. The roads can get slick and visibility drops fast. But honestly, that cozy winter atmosphere makes the hot coffee taste better and the scenery feel extra dramatic. If you really want to see this area shine, come back in spring, summer, or fall. The weather cools beautifully up here, the hills turn green, and everything feels calm and wide open. It's the kind of place where you can actually hear yourself think. El Dorado Hills itself is growing quickly -- new homes, new developments, and new families moving in -- but with that growth comes some pretty steep price tags. Still, the potential is huge. You can tell this area is becoming one of those "if you know, you know" pockets of Northern California. The closest major town is Folsom, just a short drive away, and the views along the freeway between the two are surprisingly gorgeous. Rolling hills, open skies, and that classic Northern California landscape that makes you want to pull over and take a photo. Overall, whether you're here for family, fresh air, or just a break from city noise, El Dorado Hills and Shingle Springs offer a peaceful, scenic escape with a lot of charm -- and a lot of room to grow.

El Dorado Hills is a great place to live. And it is a place I have called home for almost two…read moreyears. To be clear, El Dorado Hills does not have official city status. It is a "town" in California. An incorporated town and census-designated place in El Dorado County, California (according to Wikipedia). Located in the Greater Sacramento region of Northern California. It had a population of 50, 547 at the 2020 census! Just two years ago, there was such a small town and rural feel! Since COVID, the migration of people moving from Southern California and the Bay area has been mind blowing. With wine tasting and the plentiful wineries that have become famous in El Dorado County along with nearby Apple Hill (host to a variety of activities at fruit orchards, pumpkin and Christmas tree farms, bake shops, craft fairs and breweries), it is no surprise. Additionally, all those travelers passing through on their way to South Lake Tahoe have brought more exposure to the El Dorado Hills "lifestyle" and its desirable benefits! The next census report may give some residents sticker shock:)! Currently, the El Dorado Hills Town Center is touted as the "ultimate lifestyle experience". Depending upon your definition of ultimate, it is the jewel and "center" of El Dorado Hills. As they advertise, "discover a place of beauty and abundance." There is fine to casual dining with peaceful lake views, unique shopping, outdoor events, premier hotel and an IMAX Theater! And the very popular summer, Thursday night concert series and awesome Farmers Market every Sunday from 8 to 1 p.m. Should you find yourself near my lovely town, please do stop by and enjoy the wonderful amenities El Dorado Hills has to offer. Who knows...you may want to move here yourself! Cheers!

Live here, pay taxes here, had a baby here, graduated from college here, have found my career job…read morehere. Nothing bad to say here.. except.. hey im heeeeeeerrrrreeee!

Aw, Such A Great Time For Beer & Babies!…read more SITREP I have to qualify this by saying that NO BABIES were drinking! (Just to make this point clear). THE SETUP And part of the reason for this excitement was to celebrate the impending parenthood of our dynamic Community Manager (CM) Alex L. and his dynamite wife Diana S. We wished them much joy for the impending birth of their baby which is scheduled over the weekend. BEER But! Having said all of the above, we have to give MAD PROPS to Yelp Eliteness Jessica L. for her outstanding arrangement of this fun event to investigate New Helvetia Brewing Company and it's dynamic offerings of brews! Of which I had a great flight - courtesy of outstanding newbie Elite himself, John H. Which included, to wit: * The Buffalo Craft lager! Smooth, Refreshing, like a Prairie Field soaked under a citrus Sun * The Molly American Red Ale! More body, more taste, and yet still light * The (916) Pale Ale! I think my favorite of the night, and the one that will ring me back to New Helvetia; and finally, * The Homeland Stout! This was a pleasant foundational brew, and is it was, this was the featured foundation that all the *Coffee*-brews were based upon during this Beer Week 2015. Good stuff too. KUDOS A big shout out to Jessica L. for creating such an awesome UYE and to Katie G. for incorporating such a fun Baby Shower component to the evening's fun! THE LOWDOWN New Helvetia is a great place to gather for some fun celebrations!

I love this city I've been here several times for work and play. I have taken in many shows here…read moreto include The Lion King ,The Phantom of the Opera ,and How I Learned to Drive.This past trip I wanted to bike the city so I can get to more places, quickly. Unfortunately parking in the city is non-existent, even if you just want to commute around. This city is more walker friendly than in previous years, though it still is not bicycle friendly. My advice is to take the train in and walk the city. I hope Toronto joins with other major cities and becomes more bicycle-friendly. I ended up abandoning my plans this trip and moved on to greener pastures.

I'm always down for a good brunch, and thanks to Priya R., I was able to experience that at the…read morebeautiful Sienna in EDH. First impression when I walked in to this Tuscan-styled restaurant was, "wow, this is nice". It's an upscale environment with a casual vibe. I loved it. I felt like I was at a posh resort somewhere, not within any close radius to Sacramento (that's a good thing), but where flip flops were acceptable attire. Keep in mind this was brunch. I'd definitely dress up for dinner though. Let's keep it classy, folks! All the staff were friendly and welcoming, from the hostess to the omelet chef to our server Silas. He was great at refilling our bottomless mimosas (included in the $23/person buffet). Our party of 8 was seated in the semi-private Coriander room, aka "the fish bowl". It's floor- to- ceiling glass walls gave us enough privacy to really enjoy each other's conversation and not be distracted by any other patrons. I felt like a very important person as I was eating my 3rd plate of buffet food and sipping on my mimosa! Food was delicious. I had no complaints about anything I tried-and I pretty much tried everything. Don't judge. The "usual" breakfast items included diced country potatoes, bacon (OMG SOOO GOOD), sausage links, French toast (perfectly done), waffles, biscuits and gravy (different from any other b&g that I've ever had and worthy of a "must try" label), cinnamon rolls, and a made-to-order omelette station. They also had eggs benedict and a veggie benedict (tomato/spinach/egg), a refreshing spinach and mandarin orange salad, caesar salad, fresh fruit salad, bagels and lox (beautifuly rolled up smoked salmon and capers and a bowl of whipped cream cheese), a pepperoni flatbread (a little too greasy) and a breakfast flatbread. But the real brunch winners for me were the blackened pork tenderloin over mashed potatoes and the chicken enchiladas. The pork was tender and well seasoned and the garlic mashed potatoes had a perfect consistency. The enchiladas were thick and full of cheese, green chilis, and moist chicken. Sienna provided a a perfectly relaxing, intimate, and fun way to get to know my fellow Yelpers Priya, Devo and Scott, Frankie and Manolo, and Angel. Thank you all for a wonderful brunch!

Wow! Taste of Land Park was such a wonderful time!…read more So, I just relocated to Sacramento from the Bay Area this year. I heard about this event in my 'hood from little signs posted around. Not sure where else they advertised, but there was a pretty healthy crowd. I heard from one of the vendors that over 600 people showed up! And one of them was fabulous Yelper Karen K. (+ her husband :) who I got to meet for the first time - pretty sure I heard people raving about her fly sunglasses all over the event ;) I love food tasting events like these and have been to several in the Bay Area. I gotta say, Taste of Land Park can compete with the best of them. Not only was the entry price cheaper ($45!) than the tickets usually are for this sort of thing, the portions were HEFTY at every vendor, there was a huge variety of food available and the vibe was super chill! It really felt like a neighborhood event - it wasn't in the middle of Land Park, which made a huge difference. It was just on 10th street in the middle of people's houses, which gave it a secluded block party feel. Shoutout to the band playing - they were pretty legit and had a horn section! Also, no long lines!!! A chronic problem at these events is that you end up waiting in huge lines at each vendor, and by the time you're through the line, they've run out of food anyway. Lol. Not the case at ToLP - vendors were super well prepared & generous. Pretty sure I could've gone for seconds at almost every vendor if I wasn't so freakin' stuffed after the first go around! Ernesto's Mexican even gave away free tote bags to bring food home with!! I'm not much of a drinker, but there were also a lot of wine tasting options available. I only sampled one glass of wine (told you I'm not a big drinker) and it was awesome. They also had a local craft vendor section, but the prices there were a little out of control. One pillow was as much as the entry ticket to Taste of Land Park! Lmao. Passed on those... I didn't see a sign/brochure with all of the vendors listed, so here are the vendors I remember: + Vic's Ice Cream: Man, they even gave each person a cone. They had four flavors, I had the raspberry ribbon which was delicious & my new flavor pick when I go there. I need to give Vic's major props as I just went to an ice cream social for the Belle Cooledge Library that they also sponsored. Gotta love a business that gives back to the community! + Raleys: Had a serve yourself bar with fruit, multiple desserts, cheeses, olives and flavored water. They had a blackberry & goat cheese crostini that was one of my favorites of the event. + Nugget: They had HUGE portions of grapes! Also a huge variety of cheeses, desserts and some selections from their deli section. The supermarkets really turned up!! + Ernesto's Mexican: Like I said earlier, they gave out tote bags which was awesome. I really liked their rice! + Burgess Burgers & BBQ: One of the most popular vendors at the event. Despite their popularity, they never had a huge line and served people super quickly! I didn't try any of their BBQ but their potato salad was REALLY good and the coleslaw had a great flavor too. + Selland's Market: Really enjoyed the noodle salad here. They had a couple other salads to choose from. + Freeport Bakery: Always a favorite!! They had a really huge variety, I had the fruit tart and buttercream cake which were delicious! They encouraged people to take multiple cakes which was so generous! + Masullo's Pizza: Instead of pizza, they served their bread with a variety of dipping sauces. Good choice and great flavors! + Can't remember the name of the bistro, but they served a salmon dish that seemed to be the crowd favorite. It was a delicious & refreshing choice for the hot day :) + Oh yeah, and someone served a very spicy olive pasta... can't remember who, but it was good. Sorry, since I didn't try most of the wine, I don't remember who was there. Lol. Now that I think about it, there wasn't a single bad dish served. The food was really on point! Taste of Land Park was a great intro to Sacramento food & a wonderful way to show off the neighborhood. I'll definitely be returning next year! See you there Karen :)

Most certainly a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities. This leads to some amazing food options…read more Little Saigon is a favorite district. The Mexican food is well represented in multiple areas. Soul food and the likes are abundant in the oak park area. Some rougher areas for sure. Still lots of smiles and pleasant folks to make it worthwhile.

Nothing Better Than Delicious Community Events!…read morehttps://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/armenian-food-festival-greek-hellenic-center-and-hall-sacramento?select=hEcpoKEt-vfz3c7P4guz9g&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w SITREP Today's Armenian Food Festival is TOTALLY off the hook! Lunch and Mid-Afternoon snackage has been fantastic! And from the point of my writing here during the 5 o'clock hour, there is still time to grab a fabulous dinner this evening! THE SETUP I've been to a few other Armenian Food Festivals every couple of years or so over the last decade and I'm happy to report this by far is THE BEST one I've been to. All of them have been fun, tasty & rewarding, but the organizational metrics for this one were incredibly effiencient. To start out with: * Centralized Entry points, both into the Greek Hellenic Hall (the wonderful host) entrance, as well as into the food stations. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/armenian-food-festival-greek-hellenic-center-and-hall-sacramento?select=urMJhxFArnwLH7O9UGn98g&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w * Incredible food station servers jumping right onto getting you what you need * Kitchen-to-food-station runners coming out with new trays of food, PRONTO! * FAST register checkout that easily adds up food items by their predetermined costs * Options with To-Go containers (ME) as well as plates * Talented DJ keeping the musical aura alive with a variety of songs & beats, both traditional and contemporary. THE FOOD! I had my favorites as you can see in my pics! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/armenian-food-festival-greek-hellenic-center-and-hall-sacramento?select=f_ZThFxLUF86PkGZmnLBHg&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w But there was so much more to enjoy as well! (And to be honest, I did NOT go anywhere near the desserts - by choice). THE LOWDOWN If you're reading this within the hour of me posting this, GET OUT THERE NOW! There is FOOD APLENTY TO ENJOY! If you're checking this review out in the coming days & weeks, remember to include this fun festival on your Fall itinerary for next year. :)

The food was over priced and some of it was cold when served. The cheap styrofoam plates were…read moreawful. The music was loud and distorted. Lamb shanks were OK, but a bit salty. Lamb kebabs were dry and overcooked and COLD. Rice pilaf was mediocre and very dry. The tabouli had too much parsley and hardly any bulgur wheat grains! We make much better Middle Eastern food at home! Sorry Michelangelo --- the Greek Food Fest in ROSEVILLE is much better, had more authentic food!