By Gloria Glyer
Photography by ron schwager

A look back at 12 years of dining and dishing with the Divas.

Once upon a time, six women who share a serious interest in food and restaurants started going to lunch. That was 12 years ago. Today, those same six—Paulette Bruce-Miller, Bernice Hagen, Joan Leineke, Gayla Mace, Peg Tomlinson-Poswall and me, known collectively as the Dining Divas—are still lunching together. Because so many readers wonder how it all began, here’s a look at our history.

In 1993, we went to Erna’s Elderberry House in Oakhurst on a food assignment for the now-defunct Sacramento Union, where I ran the food section. We dined, gossiped, interviewed restaurant owner Erna Kubin and collected recipes for the story. It was fun, the story was a hit, and we went on the road for more dining/food stories.

The Union folded in 1994, and we made our first appearance in Sacramento magazine in April 1995. Eventually, we offered our services to local charities, which auction off lunches with the Divas to raise money for good causes. The highest amount ever bid: $2,000.

Choosing an appropriate restaurant for someone who has bid that much can be challenging. We don’t visit a new restaurant until it has been open for at least six months.

We order as much food as we can, plus all the desserts, and pass the food around the table for all to sample. We pay for it all, too—no freebies for the Divas.

Along the way, we look for good, but not obsequious, service from staff. We don’t appreciate servers who want to join our conversation, and we don’t like those who keep asking how we like the food, especially when we’re chewing. On the other hand, checking back to see if we want to order more wine or coffee at the end of the meal is appreciated. Some Divas have threatened to use their cell phones to call the front desk to order coffee.

We believe that a nice ambiance, attentive service, cleanliness and pampering add to the overall dining experience. When someone asks us to recommend a restaurant, we come back with questions: Is it for a special occasion? Who will be dining with you: small children, teens, grandma and grandpa? What’s your budget? What are you looking for: convenient location? Trendy or traditional? Historic or brand new?

Some readers ask why we don’t publish a restaurant guide using Diva reviews. It’s not possible. Looking at the list of places we’ve visited since 1995, I see that many have closed, changed owners, altered their focus, named new chefs, remodeled, moved, etc. By the time we updated each restaurant, the list would be out of date again. For instance, there is a restaurant in Placer County we have contemplated visiting, but each time I put it on the schedule, it changes chefs—again.

What do the individual Divas think about dining in general and eating out in Sacramento in particular? Take a look:

Paulette Bruce-Miller, who does public relations for Crocker/Flanagan, offers cooking classes in her home and prepares dinners for charity auctions, picks The Waterboy and Mace’s as her local faves. Her pet peeves? Snooty waiters, servers with piercings (tongue, nose, etc.) and unkempt uniforms.

Bernice Hagen, who used to run a cooking school and a restaurant and is now co-owner of Poggenpohl Kitchens, calls dining with the Divas “a hoot.” Her most interesting Dining Divas experience was eating at the California State Fair in 2003. “We had everything from barbecued ribs to deep-fried Twinkies (which were quite good),” says Hagen. And she’s convinced that, when it comes to food, Sacramento no longer has to take a back seat to San Francisco. “I would like to see more restaurants doing small plates with more variety of foods,” says Hagen. “I love the way the Spanish do tapas.”

Caterer Joan Leineke objects strongly to restaurants in which some diners have to sit facing the wall. “If they cannot accommodate my request not to be seated at such a table,” she says, “we will dine elsewhere.” Her most memorable dining experience was in France, not Sacramento. “The chef came out and asked what we like to eat,” she recalls of the three-star restaurant. “I pretty much named a lot of things, thinking he would choose two or three. Well, he sent plate after plate of fabulous food. It just kept coming, so we just kept eating. Finally, the chef came walking through the dining room, noticed that we were still there and said, ‘Are you still eating?’ We laughed and slid further under the table, so full of food we could hardly get up—but what an experience!”

Gayla Mace, a real estate agent and co-owner of Mace’s Restaurant, doesn’t like much outside interference in the dining experience. “You go out to dine to take a break,” she explains. “It’s down time and should be respected. That’s why I wish people would turn off their cell phones or go outside to use them." Other pet peeves? “When I go to a restaurant and have a bad meal—maybe the fish is bad—and I don’t eat it, the server should inquire and perhaps offer something else, or at least offer to treat me to dessert.” She’s amazed when the bill still includes the offending item. Conversely, as a restaurateur herself, she believes the diner should tell the staff if there is a problem.

Peg Tomlinson-Poswall, a former caterer and restaurant owner who now offers dinners in her home as auction prizes, remembers special dishes from restaurants the Divas visited during the past few months: “I still think about that risotto at Seasons in Davis, the wonderful tapas at Aioli Bodega Española, the calamari at Biba and anything at The Waterboy,” she says. Tomlinson-Poswall appreciates restaurants that take advantage of seasonal produce. And she hates restaurants that serve tomatoes and mozzarella in the dead of winter. “It just says something about the chef,” she maintains. “Fresh tomatoes should be served only when they are in season.” She’s not a big fan of waiters who introduce themselves and join in the conversation. “I will never forget the waiter who called us ‘you girls.’” (That same waiter told us about his experiences waiting tables in Italy and even showed us photos of his apartment.)

I think the perfect restaurant provides consistently good service, food and ambiance, plus a welcoming attitude.

For the rest of this story pick up a copy of Sacramento magazine's January issue.