RESTAURANTS

Café Luna. Seasonal Italian cuisine - fresh ingredients with original menu. One of our favorites. 451 Main St., downtown Placerville. 642-8669

Main Street Café. This cozy Cafe serves lunch and home baked goods and features catering, local wines, and gifts. 325 Main Street, downtown Placerville 530-642-1700

Gelato D'Oro Café. Best place for cappuccinos and lattes. This charming Café serves wonderful soups, sandwiches and salads for lunch and crepes for dinner. Sit upstairs and watch downtown go by. One of our favorites. 311 Main, Downtown Placerville. 530-626-8097

Nina's Courtyard Café. A delightful Café featuring specialty soups, salads, hot and cold sandwiches facing a brick courtyard that often features local music. 312 Main Street, #104, Downtown Placerville. 530-642-1074

Lil Mama De Carlo's. Our favorite for Italian dining in a comfortable, family atmosphere. Dinners from 4 p.m. Wed. - Sunday. 482 Main Street, downtown Placerville. Call for reservations 530-626-1612.

Hangtown Grill. 423 Main St., downtown Placerville. 626-4431

Tomei's Restaurant - Bar. Voted 2004 Best Dinner. Casual Fine Dining. Northern Italian Cuisine, full bar and extensive wine list in the historic Round Tent Building at 384 Main Street, downtown Placerville. Lunch & Dinner. 530-626-9766

Centro. 385 Main Street, Placerville. 626-5500. Hangtown's newest coffee spot next to the Bell Tower. Espresso, pastries, coffee. M-Sat. 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sun. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sweetie Pies. 577 Main Street, Placerville. Get in line early for their famous homemade Cinnamon Rolls. Serves breakfast and lunch in a restored Victorian house. A favorite. 530-642-0128

Cozmic Café.This café offers healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Specializing in Smoothies, Organic Coffee, microbrews and local wines. Entertainment on Saturdays. Tour the 1800's mineshaft and imagine life as it might have been. Located in the historic Pearson's Soda Works building, erected in 1859 at 594 Main St., Placerville. 530-642-8481

Tortilla Flats. A family-owned, friendly favorite Mexican restaurant. Try the foot-long burritos, chicken chichichangas, Chili Verde. 564 Main St, Placerville. 530-626-0101

Golden Dragon Restaurant. Our favorite for Chinese food. Features Szechwan, Mandarin & Hunan Cuisine. 1341 Broadway, Placerville. Call for food to go 530-621-1568

Sequoia House . 643 Bee Street, Placerville. Fine Dining in an historical Victorian Mansion, the former Bee-Bennett House. Local and seasonal ingredients paired with wines of the Sierra foothills. 530-622-5222

Casa Ramos. Family-owned Mexican restaurant and bar has become very popular as one of Placerville's newest restaurants. Located next to Best Western Placerville Inn. Take the Missouri Flat Road exit south off Hwy. 50. 6840 Green Leaf Dr., Placerville. 530-622-2303

Durango's Mexican Restaurant . Happy Hour 4-7. A variety of Mexican dishes to please everyone. Beer, Margaritas and tropical fruit drinks. 263 Placerville Dr., Placerville. 530-626-0841

Back Forty Texas BBQ. Authentic Texas recipes made-from-scratch daily. Our favorite for BBQ - very casual, small dining room or take out. 3977 Durock Road, Shingle Springs. [from Hwy 50 - exit Ponderosa Rd/Shingle Springs, go south and turn right on Durock (frontage road to Hwy 50)] 530-676-4040

Zachary Jacques . Country French cuisine with a seasonal prix fixe menu that changes to take advantage of fresh produce and seasonal products. Award winning winelist. Open for dinner Wed. to Sat., 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., Sun. 5 to 8:30 p.m. 1821 Pleasant Valley Road, Placerville. Phone for reservations 530-626-8045]

Poor Red's Bar-B-Q. A favorite Biker's hangout; famous for its "golden Cadillac" drink of Galliano, crème de cacao, half&half and ice. A local favorite gathering place and pub. 6221 Pleasant Valley Rd., El Dorado. 530-622-2901

Apple Cafe. On a hilltop outside of Placerville convenient for Lake Tahoe and Gold Country visitors. Family-owned. Apple-chicken sausage, applewood smoked bacon and homemade apple pies. 2740 Highway 50 530-626-8144

Los Hermanos Tropical Grill and Cantina, 6524 Pony Express Trail, Pollock Pines. Flaming fajitas, homemade tortillas, fresh guacamole, and specialty margaritas. 530-644-8801

Fifty Grand Steak House. Voted 2004 Best Steakhouse. Steaks, Prime Rib, Lobster, Seafood, BBQ Spare Ribs.. 6401 Pony Express Trail, Pollock Pines. [Sly Park Rd. exit on Hwy. 50] 530-644-1580

Sierra Nevada House. Restaurant and Buford's Bar ( a Wild West saloon) featuring steaks, seafood, pastas, salads, local wines and micro-brewed beers. Tuesday to Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m. Happy Hour 4 to 6 p.m. Burgers and ice cream served in The Paddle Bar/Outdoor Café with live music on Fri. and Sat. evenings and a BBQ Buffet. Located at the corner of Hwy 49 & Lotus Rd. in Coloma. 530-626-809