2007 Subscribers' Choice Dining Awards

Roxy Restaurant & Bar's ahi tuna cones

Michael Powers

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Sacramentans love to eat. With the region bursting with restaurants, we asked our subscribers to vote on their favorites in a variety of categories. Here are their picks, along with a few standout dishes selected by Sacramento magazine's editors.

Best of the Best (Money No Object):

Biba
2. The Firehouse
3. Ruth's Chris Steak House
Runners-up: The Kitchen, Morton's The Steakhouse, Slocum House

Best of the Best (Moderate Prices):

Paragary's Bar and Oven
2. The Waterboy
3. Bandera
Runners-up: Carvers Steaks & Chops, 4th Street Grille, Lucca Restaurant & Bar, 33rd Street Bistro

Best of the Best (Inexpensive):

Jack's Urban Eats and The Old Spaghetti Factory (tie)
2. Cafe Bernardo and Chili's Grill & Bar (tie)
3. Chipotle
Runner-up: Mimi's Cafe

New Restaurant:

Roxy Restaurant & Bar
2. Crush 29
3. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant
Runners-up: BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Mulvaney's Building & Loan

New Downtown Restaurant:

McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant
2. Buckhorn Grill
3. Spataro
Runners-up: Bistro 33 Midtown, Mason's, Restaurant 55 Degrees

Restaurant on the Rise:

Crush 29
2. Roxy Restaurant & Bar
3. Mulvaney's Building & Loan
Runners-up: BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Mason's, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant

Appetizers:

Tapa the World
2. T.G.I. Friday's
3. The Firehouse and P.F. Chang's China Bistro (tie)
Runners-up: BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, Elephant Bar Restaurant

Bagels:

Noah's Bagels
2. Panera Bread
3. New York Bagel Boys
Runners-up: Bella Bru, Nugget Markets, Raley's/Bel Air, Sacramento Bagel, Safeway

Bakery:

Freeport Bakery
2. Ettore's European Bakery & Restaurant
3. Raley's/Bel Air
Runners-up: Grateful Bread Baking Company & Cafe, Panera Bread

Barbecue:

Texas West Bar-B-Que
2. JR's Texas Bar-B-Que
3. Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que
Runners-up: Back Forty Texas BBQ, Sandra Dee's Bar-B-Que and Seafood Restaurant

Biggest Portions:

Claim Jumper
2. The Cheesecake Factory
3. Buca di Beppo
Runners-up: Cattlemens, Lucille's Smokehouse Bar-B-Que, Mimi's Cafe, Morton's The Steakhouse, Romano's Macaroni Grill

Bread at a Restaurant:

Il Fornaio
2. Romano's Macaroni Grill
3. Panera Bread and Red Lobster (tie)
Runners-up: The Firehouse, Mimi's Cafe

Breakfast:

Fox & Goose Public House
2. Mimi's Cafe
3. IHOP Restaurant
Runners-up: Cafe Bernardo, Cornerstone Restaurant, Tower Cafe

Brew Pub:

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse
2. Sacramento Brewing Company
3. Brew It Up! Personal Brewery & Grill
Runners-up: Pyramid Alehouse, River City Brewing Company, Rubicon Brewing Company

Burger:

In-N-Out Burger
2. Red Robin
3. Squeeze Inn
Runners-up: Carl's Jr., Ford's Real Hamburgers, Willie's Burgers

Burger, Non-Fast-Food:

Red Robin
2. Hamburger Mary's
3. Islands Fine Burgers & Drinks
Runners-up: Chili's Grill & Bar, The Firehouse, Squeeze Inn

Burrito:

Chipotle
2. Dos Coyotes Border Cafe
3. Adalberto's Mexican Food
Runners-up: Baja Fresh, Ernesto's Mexican Food, Gordito Burrito

Caesar Salad:

Jack's Urban Eats
2. The Firehouse
3. La Bou
Runners-up: Cafe Bernardo, 4th Street Grille, Mimi's Cafe, Outback Steakhouse, Paragary's
Bar and Oven, Piatti

Caterer:

Classique Catering
2. Texas West Bar-B-Que
3. Chateau by A Shot of Class and Selland's Market-Cafe (tie)
Runners-up: A Chef's Affair, Capital City Catering, David Berkley Fine Wines & Specialty Foods, Ettore's European Bakery & Restaurant

Chain Restaurant:

Romano's Macaroni Grill
2. Chili's Grill & Bar
3. P.F. Chang's China Bistro
Runners-up: BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse,The Cheesecake Factory, Mimi's Cafe

Cheese Plate:

The Melting Pot
2. The Firehouse
3. 58 Degrees & Holding Co.
Runners-up: Biba, Tapa the World

Chef:

Kurt Spataro (Spataro)
2. Biba Caggiano (Biba)
3. Rick Mahan (The Waterboy)
Runners-up: Taro Arai (Mikuni Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar, Taro's by Mikuni), Patrick Mulvaney (Mulvaney's Building & Loan), Randall Selland (The Kitchen)