Shamrock’n Sacramento 2023 Weekend

Sacramento is a short drive from San Bruno and we often head up there because my best friend lives there. On a bad day, it’s taken us a little over three hours but on a good day it’s only been an hour and 45 minutes. It’s a great place to spend the weekend. Being the capital of California, there’s actually a lot to explore there.

Since 2013, I’ve participated in almost every Shamrock’n Sacramento Half Marathon, which is held the Sunday the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day. It was a great choice as race #2 in my quest to level up in the Half Fanatics running club since the course is mostly flat and easy, and it’s fairly pretty running through the town and around the Capitol. This year in 2023, the original course flooded with all the rain so on the morning of the race, they moved the course, and both Wave 1 and 2 started at the same time.

I wish I would have been able to spend the whole weekend up there this year because there is plenty to do in Sacramento if you can go up Friday night to Sunday. Unfortunately, I was busy on this particular 2023 race weekend so I didn’t plan a full weekend in Sacramento for the race, but if I had the time, I would have done something like the below.

Friday Night Time

• Sure, lets carbo load a little early with tacos. We always go to Mas Tacos on a Friday night if we want to brave the traffic, and head up there after work and picking up the kiddo. Mas Tacos has the best cocktails and tacos, which are unique with an Asian twist in many of them. Pre-pandemic, Mas Tacos had the most awesome late night happy hour. Understandably, the days of special deals are long gone  for most restaurants.

Saturday Day Time

• You can have a fantastic Mexican brunch at Tres Hermanas (on K Street), serving up home-cooked Mexican fare like Menudo, Chicken Mole, and Camarones A La Diabla. I’ve eaten here on many visits to Sacramento. There are cool shops to walk around in the area. Here’s my Yelp review of Tres Hermanas.
• Another option is brunch at The Porch. They serve delicious Chicken and Waffles, Shrimp and Grits, and great cocktails. Here’s my Yelp review of The Porch.
• After brunch at either place, walk around the Rose Garden at the Capitol. It’s beautiful there. Plus, we should all walk around the Capitol since it’s our state capital! Then head to the California State Railroad Museum. This museum is awesome with so much history to learn about. Walking around through all the stores in the area is fun. Evangeline’s has the best costumes and gifts. You can get drinks and snacks at the Rio City Cafe once you’re done window shopping.

Saturday Night Time

• If you have the energy, head out to Roseville for some finger food and a round of golf at Top Golf.
• I didn’t go to Top Golf on this visit, and instead, opted to carbo load and have a casual evening, so I made reservations at La Trattoria Bohemia, a restaurant serving Czech and Italian Cuisine. The food was fantastic and the portions were huge. I had the Chicken Paprikash and asked them to serve it with Gluten Free pasta. It was a great choice! You can read my La Trattoria Bohemia Yelp review for more details.

Sunday Day Time

• I ran the race deck out in my green!
• Brunch at Mimosa House in Sacramento. You can celebrate here with a mimosa and a great brunch! Their Millionaire Mimosa is fancy looking and yummy. Here are my photos from Mimosa House on Yelp.
• I took a shower and then got a manicure and pedicure. I wanted to go to Asha Urban Spas but they were booked.

Sunday Night Time

• Aioli is one of my favorite restaurants in Sacramento as is Hook & Ladder. All these places have great food, wonderful service, and yummy cocktails. I used to love Hock Farm but they are permanently closed.
• Head home.