Hip entertainment, history mingle in Midtown Sacramento

With fewer office buildings and more residences, Midtown has a decidedly different feel than Downtown. The area is mostly contained between S and I streets, extending from 16th Street to 29th Street, with Highway 80 serving as its eastern border. Trees form a canopy over the K Street thoroughfare, shading the sidewalks and creating a neighborhood vibe. Nearly every establishment offers outdoor seating, taking advantage of warm summer nights. If you’re visiting on a Saturday, head to the Midtown Farmers’ Market before it closes at 1 p.m. In addition to farm-fresh produce, it offers a huge selection of baked goods and prepared foods. Lunch (or breakfast): A white-painted railing gives the Porch Restaurant and Bar a vaguely Southern feel; the menu brings this regionality into focus with such options as a shrimp po’ boy sandwich. [...] stop by the Italianate mansion at the corner of 16th and H streets, once again the official residence of California’s governor. By 1849, when the Gold Rush was in full swing, Sutter could no longer pay his workers enough to keep them at the fort, and it was soon abandoned, eventually becoming a ruin. A Sutter District standard-bearer, this spot is an amalgam of the Midtown dining scene: locally sourced cuisine, full-service bar and great outdoor seating. The atmosphere is casual, with long beer-garden-style tables and the aroma of pizza wafting from the wood-fired oven. Each walk is unique, with a map of participating locations posted online on the Monday before the event. Going there on a Saturday night means standing in a fairly long line to order beer, many of them straight from Munich, but the raucous energy is infectious, making the wait less of a chore. Seating 450, its small stage hosts an eclectic mix of acts, from blues musicians to rock cover bands to comedians.