Best Celebrity Perk:

beantrees fine organic coffees

Oprah's chef, Art Smith, named this coffee one of the 12 things he can't live without. Chef to the stars Jaime Laurita serves the brew to Aerosmith, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Sarah McLachlan. The coffee company's founders, Barrie Gromala and Joyce Lemley, brewed up the idea for their 100 percent organic and fair trade coffee in 1993 in a River Park home and started serving it at espresso bars inside companies such as Intel and Hewlett-Packard. The company has since gone wholesale. (One Beantrees store remains at 925 L St. in Sacramento.) Today, Beantrees is the official coffee at the corporate headquarters of Yahoo. It's served at restaurants, resorts and entertainment venues throughout the country. You can find the artisan-roasted beans in Raley's and Bel Air markets or purchase them at beantrees.com 

Most Tile-ish Eatery:

sal's tacos

There's another Kings hangout in town. Only you won't find Peja and Vlade sitting in a booth&emdash;you'll find them hanging on the walls. The former Kings players are part of a collection of vibrant mosaic portraits that line the walls and ceiling of Sal's Tacos in West Sacramento, a 26-year-old local haunt favored not only for its tasty taquitos but now for its bright dcor. Owner Salvador Galvan crafts each tile mosaic by hand (which can take more than a month) in the wee hours each morning in his garage before heading to his eponymous restaurant off the I Street Bridge. Prompted by a how-to book his daughter gave him 10 years back, Galvan discovered a talent with tile that has transformed his eatery into a jewel box of figures, faces and scenes. (400 C St., West Sacramento; 916-372-3892)

Best Reasons to Cheer:

stellar student athletes

Winning isn't everything for Tony Kays, Cristina Hibbert and Lindsay Haupt. These three student athletes not only led their teams to victory, but also broke a few records while they were at it.
Lindsay Haupt, a junior on the women's intercollegiate volleyball team at Sacramento State, conducted her team to their ninth straight conference championship and was the first underclassman (at the time) in 43 years to win the Big Sky Conference MVP award in volleyball&emdash;all while maintaining a GPA above 3.5.
Tony Kays is a senior at UC Davis and the football team's wide receiver. He's made a record 93 catches in his career, breaking the school record of 76. He was named All-America by three different media organizations and All-Great West Football Conference first team for the 2005 season.
Cristina Hibbert, an American River College student, took the women's track and field team to the top of the scoreboard at the Big 7 League and the Northern California Championships. She also broke five school records and is listed in ARC's All-Time Top 10 in 13 events.