While San Francisco reels from the release of the second American volume (New York got the first treatment) of the famed Michelin French UberFoodie Guide (French Laundry in. Everybody else can suck it, apparently), I’m left wondering what the MIchelin cadre of food-spys would say about Sacramento’s culinary offerings. From coverage in SF (a lot of it revolving around rightfully or amusingly huffy chefs at local favorites), it seems that Michelin isn’t so concerned about the details anyway - in fact, some of their selections make me think that even if the guidebook ever did get around the Sacramento (highly, highly unlikely), they’d just crib from Sacramento Magazine. And we know how accurate and local-focused THAT is.

A lot of the book’s criticism stems from readers’ opinion that Michelin picks food for travelers and ignores local flare that makes local food, er, local. People get an image of San Francisco food in their heads. But is there a Sacramento food style? Do we have anything homegrown and worthy of pride? A river city fusion of popular traditions? Would anything sold in a restaurant with the word “Fat’s” in the name count?

I only partially kid with the Pancake Circus reference. I love that place. Most lifelong Sacramentans only know it from childhood memories - apparently I’m just creating my own Sacramento childhood in my 20s. Sacramento has some great restaurants. But are they really ours?

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