By Gloria Glyer

A seasonal menu is the star at this sophisticated Davis restaurant.

When the Dining Divas walked into Seasons in Davis , owner Tamas Torok moaned. “Oh, no,” he said. “This is the second day of our new menu.”

After assuring the staff we would keep that in mind, we ordered a feast-full of choices from Chef Jonathan Nieto's menu, which was divided into starters and salads, wood-fired flatbreads and sandwiches, and entrées.

After settling in in the sophisticated dining room, we had a bit of bubbly—Mumm Cuvée Brut Prestige—to celebrate guest Wendi Mentink's birthday. Diva Joan Leineke also picked the St. Supéry 2002 Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley) and the Saintsbury Garnet 2002 Pinot Noir (Carneros). The wine list includes bright, lively reds with generous fruit profiles, as well as fuller-bodied reds with richer, more concentrated flavors and complexity. Seasons also offers a slightly tart, made-to-order frozen lemonade.

For starters, we ordered a selection of artisanal cheeses accompanied by eucalyptus honey (sweet but not saccharine), a sprig of raisins on the vine—what a novelty, and the raisins were good, too—and bruschetta. We also had cubes of grilled portobello mushroom on a rosemary skewer with al dente asparagus, prosciutto and pecorino cheese, all splashed with a dash of balsamic vinegar. A salad of designer beets in three colors, teamed with tender artichoke hearts, fava beans, feta cheese and a citrus dressing, was a taste treat. Crispy calamari, barely but distinctively breaded, topped a salad of arugula with a tangy lime-leaf vinaigrette. What made each starter distinctive were the dressings—each different but complementary to the specific ingredients.

The flatbreads—thin-crusted, plate-sized, pizzalike treats—showed imagination. Toppings included spring onion, portobello mushrooms and fresh mozzarella on one; pesto and olives on another; and smoked salmon, organic baby greens, Quark cheese (a soft, spreadable German cream cheese) and Tobiko caviar on a third. The first combination couldn't have been better, especially the mild mozzarella. However, the caviar overpowered the smoked salmon, making for an unpleasant taste.

From the sandwiches and entrées, we ordered the barbecue-pork sandwich on a Village Bakery bun, which was almost too bulky, served with an arugula salad refreshingly dressed with a vinaigrette that offset the barbecue sauce. The accompanying housemade fries were crispy and addictive. The juicy Black Angus chuck burger was prepared medium-rare, and it perfectly filled the bun, which oozed with tomato and cheddar, along with lettuce, onion and pickle. It, too, came with those wonderful fries. The burger was a worthy choice, even though the menu has so many more imaginative items. This is the place to order a burger for yourself and pasta for your companion and switch halfway through.

According to The Classic Pasta Book, garganelli are hand-rolled tubes of pasta. Now, I cannot tell you if Seasons' version were hand-rolled, but I can tell you they were delicious, especially prepared as they were with artichokes, seasonal fava beans, garlic, dried figs and a sprinkling of bread crumbs.

The saffron-tomato broth served with the pappardelle (wide noodles) and mussels could have been more distinctly seasoned, but the mussels were perfect. Peas, chorizo and aioli completed the dish, which was served with crostini for broth sopping.

But the star of the entrée list, according to most of the Diva lunchers, was the artichoke and English pea risotto with organic beets, arugula and a Parmesan crisp. Creamy and flavorful, not soggy or bland, the risotto had crunch and color, and the combination of the peas, the delicate artichoke hearts and the bright arugula made for a stellar dish. It cost $10.75 at lunch, and if you have ever tried to make risotto, you know that's a bargain.

In the dessert department, my top choice was the Scharffen Berger chocolate brownie with caramel ice cream, although the warm apple-ginger crisp with vanilla-bean ice cream and caramel swirls was good, too. The banana in the warm bread pudding tasted fresh, rather than the overly ripe banana sometimes used in this type of dessert. Blood orange “jewels”—snippets of the citrus—topped a very intense chocolate terrine; crème fraîche ice cream accompanied the strawberry-rhubarb napoleon; a trio of sorbets included an intense mixed berry; and a citrus relish topped the vanilla pudding.

Serving with aplomb and professionalism was Amanda Peckham, who joined the staff when Seasons opened last fall. A graduate of the University of California, Davis, Peckham is taking a year off before beginning her search for a job in publishing.

The Divas Speak

Peg Tomlinson-Poswall, Joan Leineke and Bernice Hagen gave high-fives for the risotto. “This may be the best dish the Divas have had in 2004,” said Tomlinson-Poswall. “I would order this twice in the same day,” Hagen chimed in.

Tomlinson-Poswall chose the brownie and apple-ginger crisp for the best desserts, but she didn't care for the banana bread pudding—or for the abundance of caviar on the smoked-salmon flatbread. Of the burger, she said, “It was wonderful, but I would never choose it with all the other amazing dishes.”

For the rest of this story pick up a copy of Sacramento Magazine's July issue.