Biba Caggiano

Sacramento has been fortunate enough to have attracted many well known chefs over the years, but probably the most well known chef, is Biba Caggiano. Her Biba Restaurant has been a landmark in downtown Sacramento for over twenty years. When you walk into her restaurant, whether she is there or not, her presence is undeniable. Everyone talks in hushed voices and each waitress and waiter are dressed in white chef's uniforms with white linen towels folded over their arms. Tables are situated at discreet distances from one another so that no one overhears what is being said at the table next door. The food is as pleasing to the palate as it is to the eye.

What caught my eye this weekend, however, was not her restaurant or her food, but her home. The Sacramento Bee ran a story about Biba and had pictures of her home that I fell in love with. The contrast between the deep red wall and the clean white trim is stunning, and well, BOLD. Obviously, her flair for color in her culinary dishes has spilled over into interior design.

Biba and her husband live in a small, 1930s home in an area of Sacramento called, 'the fabulous 40s." It is a section of town that you cannot touch without plunking down over a million dollars. It is the architecture of these homes and the quaint neighborhood that brings many Sacramentans on frequent drive throughs.

Oh, and there is one more thing I like about Biba - she is a friend of Martha's!