Anthony Williams
Google
Popped in here on a random Wednesday night while cruising the streets for a spot to eat. The atmosphere was so nice that i had to ask if they had a dress code before getting a table; luckily for us, they did not.
We were quickly seated by the friendly front staff and our waiter Tim got us started with a round of drinks while we scanned the menu. When the (immaculately crafted) cocktails came out, they brought out a tiny roll-sexed loaf of freshly-baked bread with butter, a delicious starter to whet the appetite.
After getting our courses ordered with Tim's expert recommendations, I settled in to scan the environment. The restaurant felt like it was flawlessly balanced; warm wood and rustic tones with soft lighting, the music set at just the right level to enable lively chatter without people having to yell over it, and a surprisingly quiet open kitchen in the rear. On the way to wash up in the restroom, I almost got lost after getting distracted by the stunning lobby of the Citizen Hotel that Grange is attached to.
Shortly after I got back to the table, the first course arrived: Soy-braised pork belly over congee. The pork belly was fork-tender and amazing, and the delicately fried and toasted aromatics added a perfectly balanced element of flavor, but what really floored us was the congee; It was soothingly delicious, and so flavorful I could have had nothing but a bowl of that for dinner and left satisfied.
After the course, they brought some more of the tiny bread, which served as a nice palate cleanser. The small size was a genius move; it's the perfect size for a satisfactory snack between courses without filling up.
After a short time of sipping on a fresh round of delicious cocktails, the main course arrived. We ordered the Niman Ranch New York Strip and the Braised Short-Rib over Gratin. The steak was great, and it was perfectly cooked to rare (although I should have ordered med-rare - I've got a Pavlovian reaction to restaurants overshooting their steak temps). But as with the first course, the real star of the show was in the accompaniments; the root vegetable hash and bordelaise sauce under the steak were amazing, and the gratin under the short ribs was jaw-dropping. Grange works absolute magic with the normally muted staples that hold up a dish.
After clearing our plates, we chatted with our waiter Tim over a scoop of blood-orange sorbet. It turns out he had been with Grange since they opened 17 years ago, and was due to retire this year. It takes a special kind of restaurant to keep someone this long, and Tim let us in on the secret; Grange takes care of it's own. Grange provided him with the benefits and pay required to maintain a long and happy career in service. This is a rarity in the restaurant world, and any restaurant that cares for their workers to this extend has my utmost respect.
My final verdict is this; Grange is a hallmark anchor of Sacramento's upper-end dining scene, and along with Ella, helped pave the way for Sacramento to become the great food city that it's maturing into today. If you want to have a flawlessly-crafted restaurant experience where everything is done just right, don't be afraid to drop in.