CAPITAL CITY FOR SPORT OF ‘POWER LUNCHING’

SACRAMENTO — Politicians come and politicians go, but Frank Fat never falls out of favor.

Not the name of some glad-handing pol, Frank Fat’s is an ever-crowded and stylish restaurant in the heart of Sacramento. For 47 years this restaurant has been popular with politicians, while the popularity of other establishments wax and wane with the political tide.

Longtime watchers of the capital lunch scene say that restaurants here have undergone a definite change in style since the days of the Brown Administration. Menus have gone from alfalfa sprouts to steaks, and decor has become increasingly formal. Some of the Brownie haunts, such as the Torch Club (1612 L St.) are still visited for old times’ sake, but they are no longer the places to see and be seen.

Visibility is important in the capital city, where “power lunching” is a popular sport. Lunch spots here are judged not by the quality of what they serve (which can be very good), but in the words of one wag, by three other things: their proximity to the Capitol (all restaurants mentioned here are within a few blocks), the size of their liquor cabinet and the number of stairs one must negotiate on the way out--presumably to the next watering hole.

Frank Fat’s (806 L St., (916) 442-7092) is one of the best places to run into a member of the governor’s cabinet. They are found up front, where a big corner booth is usually reserved by high-profile movers and shakers. There’s a middle dining room for comfortable, medium-visibility eating. For those who crave privacy, there are booths located in the rear of the restaurant.

Lunch patrons will enjoy Frank Fat’s Chinese offerings; the sang gai see chow mein, ($7.90) is highly recommended. But one lobbyist, who estimates his monthly expenditures here at $600 to $800, gives his highest marks to New York steak, Frank Fat style.

Picketers--and the lack of unionized staff--don’t seem to deter anyone from lunching at A Shot of Class (1020 11th St., (916) 447-5340), Sacramento’s answer to some of the tonier places in San Francisco and the Southland. Politicos of all stripes dine here, although some speculate that, because of the picketing, fewer Democrats do.

The restaurant’s interior is cavernous. It is always packed. While dining is in the open, the tables are adequately spaced for privacy and the ambient buzz of voices drowns out everything else.

Like the Art Deco interior, the food is pretty and innovative--at least by Sacramento standards. Entrees run from a gingery-sweet and tender game hen with plum sauce ($6.95) to creamy, very garlicky tortellini Alfredo ($5.95), with portions unusually generous.

If restaurants have gender, then Brannan’s (1117 11th St., (916) 443-2004) is unequivocally male. There’s lots of wood in the paneled bar area, where most lunches are served at the bare-topped wooden tables. The bar is the focus of the room. Political barflies can sit on three sides of it and eye each other--very important in a town where eyeing and being eyed is part of the game.

The food at Brannan’s is no-nonsense and unadorned. For lunch, there are sandwiches and, for those unafraid of falling asleep at their desks, heartier entrees like New York steak ($8.25) or Brannan’s stew ($5.95).

Brannan’s is especially hot at cocktail hour, between 4:30 and 6:30. With fund raisers occurring every night in this city, it’s a convenient stopping-off place between work and the first reception. It’s also one of the best places to run into a legislator or two.

“Lunchtime is one of the few interludes we have between committee meetings,” Assemblyman Jim Costa of Fresno remarked when we ran into him at Pennisi’s Cafe (corner of 11th and J Streets, 446-6988). “If you go to the right place, though, you can get a few things done during lunch. This is one of them,” he said.

Pennisi’s still bears some of the vestiges of its past life as an old-fashioned soda fountain: sparkling white decor and a black-and-white linoleum floor. Lunchers here can still order the country-maid memorial milkshake ($2.50) or hot fudge sundae ($2.95), if so inclined, but the rest of Pennisi’s eclectic menu is a far cry from the old days. Multinational selections include hot sausage with fettuccine ($6.50), mousaka ($5.95) and a selection of sandwiches and salads.

Pennisi’s is not the most private of lunching spots. “I’d go there if I just wanted a good lunch and to make one or two points,” says one lobbyist.

Posey’s Cottage (1100 O St., (916) 444-6300), a Sacramento institution, is conveniently located near state offices and on the other side of the Capitol. Something must draw all these lunchers here--it can’t be either the atmosphere or the menu. The brick facade “cottage” and coffee shop interior evoke a pancake house. That something is Posey’s back room. Most of the political action takes place here rather than in the establishment’s dining room. The Derby Club, the elite of Capitol lobbyists, meets here each Tuesday behind closed doors.