Month: November 2008

Morton’s Ready to Open in New Digs

The folks at Morton’s were gracious and generous enough to invite me to a free preview lunch last week, and I was stupid and dull enough to find myself out of town on the day of the event.  Thankfully, a friend and local eating enthusiast Paul Somerhausen from Sacramento Epicureans took up the mantle and went in my place.  Here’s his report:

I was lucky enough to get to sample the new location of Morton’s Downtown. They are now located at the base of a new office building on the corners of 6th and Capitol, and it is a major improvement to the previous location. The old restaurant had the feel of an old Chicago mobsters hang out, and was about as easy to find. This new place is wide open, with big tall windows that leave plenty of light in. Also, the soft tones of wood, the huge temperature controlled wine room, and the big hanging lamps adorn this establishment and make it feel bright and welcoming.
Continue reading “Morton’s Ready to Open in New Digs”

A fire inside?

Today is Sacramento’s first “Stage 1 – No Burn” residential wood burning restriction. This means that “…burning is prohibited when air quality is forecast to be 36-40 micrograms per cubic meter unless EPA certified fireplace inserts or stoves, or pellet stoves are used. First time violations will result in a $50 fine or a requirement to attend compliance school, fines for subsequent violations will be higher.”

The funny thing about this policy is that the Spare The Air site states “Sacramento County Only” as the area affected by this law. But, when you scroll down a bit you find this detail:

    Check Before You Burn is in effect in Sacramento County and its cities: Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Galt, Isleton, Rancho Cordova, and Sacramento.

Does “Sacramento” mean anyone with a Sacramento, CA mailing address? Folks who are normally under the City umbrella can burn away? I checked the FAQ document and still couldn’t find anything concrete. Granted, I am not the brightest bulb so if I am missing this important detail, please comment.

Carousel coming to the zoo

KC zoo
Carousel Works’ work at the Kansas City Zoo

According to the Sacramento Zoo email newsletter, the Zoo is planning to add a carousel by next spring.

Yes! A carousel at the Sacramento Zoo! Well, not quite yet… By next spring, we will have a beautiful carousel located in our shaded Redwood Grove area (where the Magellanic Penguin temporary exhibit was previously located). This carousel will feature 32 carefully hand carved animals from the skilled craftsmen at Carousel Works – maybe your favorite animal will be one of them!

The carousel is being crafted by Carousel Works out of Mansfield, Ohio. At approximately 300 feet apart, I’m going to make the bold proclamation that this carousel and the one at Funderland are the two carousels in closest proximity to each other in the entire world. Prove me wrong. Roadside carnivals don’t count.

If you ice it, will they come?

At the risk of being out of touch with the what’s *really* happening in Sacramento, I mention this sacbee.com article about a new outdoor ice skating rink scheduled to open Friday in Folsom. The details can be found at visitfolsom.com.

This article makes me wonder, however, if it is a smart idea to spend money on “extras” like this in an effort to boost local business.

    A report from Folsom city staff puts the total cost of operating the rink for two months during the holidays at $248,000 – $68,000 more than it is predicted to bring in.

I get that the intent with this project is encourage folks to shop and eat locally, but could the $248,000 be better spent helping local businesses lower their prices? Decrease their lease payments? Or is just full steam ahead and let’s see what happens?

Especially with the news that so many of the region’s cities are scrambling to save money and cut corners.

    In an effort to control costs, Folsom has a freeze on hiring and discretionary spending, Miller said. But even that won’t be enough to close the budget shortfall, which could be as much as $5 million for the current year if the city were to do nothing.

Your thoughts?

Gay Marriage, Boycotts, Banana Splits

If you haven’t driven down Arden Way in a while then you may not have seen the protest going on in front of Leatherby’s.  Why protest delicious ice cream, you ask?  Well, it appears that the Leatherby family and business donated almost $20,000 to the Yes on 8 cause.  The Leatherby’s, an immense Catholic family, are seeing some blowback from their financial support of a proposition that some see as an issue of opinion, and others see as an issue of basic human rights. Continue reading “Gay Marriage, Boycotts, Banana Splits”

Sacramento gets the “Colbert Bump”!

After being twice admonished by reader Brambles for not blogging the KJ appearance on Colbert (I think partly I blanked because it was supposed to be on tonight, and not on the 11th) I finally checked it out. Thank Jeebus for the online television. I myself have gone without cable for a few years now and mostly not had to look back, what with the plethora of online options, and the sublime unintentional comedy of “One Tree Hill.” Next week: a 1920s fantasy episode written by Chad Michael Murray. That is can’t miss TV right there. But I’m digressing…

Continue reading “Sacramento gets the “Colbert Bump”!”

FREE car washes for veterans at Harv’s today

flag car
This guy probably gets
free washes everywhere

Today is Veteran’s Day, and Harv’s Metro Car Wash will be offering free car washes for veterans.

[Harv’s co-owner] Aaron Zeff and business partner Doron Levitan are both veterans themselves. Zeff trained locally at Mather Air Force Base before its closure and finished his career flying the supersonic RF-4 Phantom.

Harv’s Metro Car Wash
1901 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.446-0129
http://www.harvscarwash.com