Sampino’s Deli: a Gem in Midtown Sacramento

Sampino’s Towne Foods is a fabulous gem tucked into a Midtown Sacramento strip center off 16th Street.

When I couldn’t persuade my husband to bring me a sandwich, he suggested I walk over to Sampino’s, an Italian deli and restaurant, in Midtown to grab lunch. I didn’t have a coat, and I didn’t have my car because I wasn’t planning on going anywhere, except to focus on my work at hand, namely selling real estate in Sacramento. We had just returned from driving my husband’s car to his medical appointment after my car suddenly refused to start. The upside is it happened when my car was in my garage in Land Park. The downside was I don’t have Mercedes Roadside Assistance anymore. I use State Farm now because I don’t own a Mercedes.

That’s gonna change, though, when my new Mercedes GLA arrives next month, which is a far cry from my first vehicles, like that 1960 Chevy station wagon I eventually ended up pushing across Colfax Avenue in Denver and abandoning. Back in the day, if my car wouldn’t start, I’d fall into a near heart attack. Worried it would be horribly expensive to fix and where would I find the money? How would I get to work? Extreme panic, end of the world. Fast forward 40 years and now if it never started again, I’d just buy a new car. Funny how our perceptions change.

The Roadside Assistance guy decided it was my battery, and he didn’t need to tow, so he gave me a jump start. I gave him my business card because he’s trying to buy a home in Sacramento and sounds like he is going about it all wrong. Then I immediately drove without my coat to Midtown Autoworks to see Niko. $350 for a new battery. The last time I bought a new battery, it cost me $59, I said. It wasn’t even the most expensive Porsche battery I could get. Niko had to go get it though. So I waited.

No breakfast, and now it was approaching lunch. Tengo hambre. I texted my husband, but he was too busy for lunch and, like I said, he could not bring me a sandwich. He found Sampino’s deli and sent me the address. It was only a block from Midtown Autoworks; I could walk. And yikes, what a gem! This place is off 16th Street in a strip center way at the end. I don’t know how many times I’ve driven past without noticing it. It’s as authentic as Italian gets.

Even though I screwed up and went to the cash register to order lunch instead of the spot I was supposed to be at, the woman behind the counter was very helpful. Everything looked so delicious in the display case that I also ordered a caprese salad to take home for dinner. When you’re hambriento, everything in the display case exudes an extra glow. Particularly enticing; I was mesmerized. Especially the Timbale. Yowza. But I stuck with the steak salad, punctuated by bits of candied cranberries and greens tossed with aged balsamic. I didn’t care how long it took to fix my car. I was at Sampino’s. 1619 F Street, Sacramento.