Serious, traditional poutine, north of the border.

Kupros, if you haven’t heard, is the new restaurant on 21st Street between Capitol and L. It’s a beautiful update of the building that used to house Cheap Thrills used clothing store. Kupros labels itself as a gastropub, which brings with a it a whole host of connotations. But first, what is a gastropub?

The agreed upon definition of a gastropub is: a pub that specializes in finer than average food. That’s pretty much it, but that’s not really it. Here are some of the connotations, fair or unfair, that come along with the label: beer, wine, European focus, ridiculously good simple food, grease, gravy, low-lighting, wood panelling, classic design, plain paper menus, and edgy chefs with beards and striped aprons.

Wonderfully, Kupros hits on almost every one of the connotations that comes with being a gastropub. The food was pretty darned good, with some homeruns and a few infield singles. The potted rabbit (part of the charcuterie plate) was ridiculously phenomenal. We all made satisfying carnivore noises while crunching it’s meat between our canines. Even the ladies at the table who swore they would never eat a creature so cute inhaled the little bunny like doughnuts at a cop shop. Continue reading “Kupros: What exactly is a “gastropub”?” »

I get a little cringy when people call me a “restaurant critic.” I’m comfortable with “food writer,” but “restaurant critic” has such a host of connotations — none of them particularly good — that I try to stay away from the term. Think “restaurant critic” and you don’t think of someone fun, laid-back, drinking a beer and asking you if your sister is still single. No, you picture a fussy, possibly mustachioed, narrow-shouldered, whiny loser who will pick apart everything that the waiter (who will also be  picked apart, by the way) brings to the table. 

I mention that because as a diner I’m pretty uncritical. I let a lot of stuff slide. I don’t give much of a care is service is good, or bad, or horrendous as long as the food is good. There are, however, a few things that drive me f’ing bonkers, and I’ve been running into them a lot lately.

Crappy Bread- Uh huh. I’m looking at you, Plan B, you, Sweetwater, and you, Cafe Marika. It’s really not hard to order good bread from a good bakery. You have absolutely no excuse for the doughy, cold, chewy slices you’re trying to pawn off as dinner bread. Honestly, just buy rolls from Safeway and heat them up. Odds are they’re better than the 1) frozen dough that you’re cooking before the shift starts, 2) cheap bread that you’re using for way too many days, or 3) the misguided crap that you’re trying to make yourself. Call a bakery. Don’t be a hero. Or a tightwad. Continue reading “Super Unimpressive Restaurant Trends” »

Over a year ago, I had my first experience with Masullo, the small, upscale pizzeria on Riverside Boulevard. I sung its praises on this here weblog  and vowed to return often to sup full on Masullo’s perfect pies.

Well, until last weekend I hadn’t been back once. Don’t ask me why. Life just has a way of moving right by you like a slick river of slurry underneath your feet as you stand in front of the slurry outflow of the slurry plant in slurry county USA. Slurry aside, I was a bit anxious about revisiting the pizza purveyor, worried my memories of the place wouldn’t quite add up to the reality. It turns out that my memories, instead of hyperbolizing the savory goodness that lies behind Masullo’s simple glass door, had dulled like…some…uh…thingamajig that gets dulled by slurry. Masullo is as fresh and vibrant as ever, pumping out pies that touch that little inner pizza child in all of us (and not in an SVU way). Continue reading “Masullo:Revisited” »

This year’s Jubilee was a rousing success. Great weather, huge crowds, and incredible music.
Every year there seems to be some old song that everybody plays; this year it was “I Would Do Anything For You.” Also each year there’s a band that knocks me on my ass; this year it was the New Orleans Ale Stars who knew how to milk an old Dixieland standard for all it was worth. And every year there are myriad “Jubilee moments” that make the whole thing worthwhile; this year my favorite such moment was Ralph Reynolds of the Reynolds Brothers getting a young boy so excited about playing the washboard that the poor tyke got a nosebleed. Don’t let anyone tell you that jazz isn’t dangerous.

Drop by any STJS run venue from 5-7 and get all drinks $2 off. I’m at the whistle stop seeing the inimitable Reynolds Brothers. Drop on by.

Great to see on a warm May day. Lines out the door at almost every venue. STJS might just turn a profit this year.

It’s 5 o’clock right now. Jubilee happy hour. All drinks $2 off. There’s nothing better with a cold discount pint of Mirror Pond pale ale than a few smoked shrimp from Laszlo’s Gourmet Smoked Fish on Front Street. Smoked yumminess.

First set of Jubilee found festival emperor Bob Draga playing with Sacramento 32 year old wunderkind Jason Wanner. Not exactly the most exciting gig bit not bad for a Friday afternoon warm up.
But the set I’m at now is rocking. The band: Coronet Chop Suey. Check them out if you get a chance.

I’m not sure what “live-blogging” actually is. So I may not be doing it right. Is it just having conversations with people face-to-face? Because if that’s the case, then that’s just “talking.” Seems like you don’t need a two-word techno phrase to describe that.

Anyway, I’ll be updating this here blog with my favorite acts, favorite eats, and favorite old-ladies-with-flapper-dresses-and-parasols throughout the weekend, so be sure to check back for up to date Jubilee info.

Here’s tip number #1, if you’re not jazzed out by 10pm any night this weekend, check out Bill Dendle and Eddie Erickson on the Delta King. They’re heroes of mine and fantastic musicians and hilarious entertainers and generous benefactors to animal rescue charities and beings whose mere presence can make the sun rise and set and Capricorns.  Check ‘em out.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out Nick Brunner’s show “Off-Air” on Capital Public Radio, you really should. Nick does a great job of putting together quality music, live in-studio performances, and wit and wisdom rarely seen on midweek NPR programming.

I might recommend also, that you tune-in to this week’s rather outstanding show since it features one of my favorite bands, my band, The FreeBadge Serenaders. If you are a fan of a) depression-era ditties, b) household implements put into service as musical instruments, and c) gratuitous references to Keith Lowell Jensen (where ya’ been KLJ?) then this is the broadcast for you. In addition you can catch tracks from bands with beards like “Broken Social Scene” and “LCD Soundsystem.”

Click. Listen. Enjoy. Sassafras.