So, the fair is pretty fair this year. I actually greatly enjoyed my day at the fair this week. They’ve revamped a number of items and restored a few that were missing from last year’s festivities. The animals were cute as always (why do they have to be so tasty?), and the mullets were out in force. One major disappointment though came from the bobsled ride. This is the ride where you go around in a circle crushing the person on the outside while ridiculously loud classic rock shatters your eardrums. Well, times are changing my friends. The basic ride hasn’t changed much, other than a paint job that now suggests a surfing theme rather than a bobsled theme, but the atmospere has completely been ruined. Rather than the Ratt and Scorpion and G&R that we were looking forward to, our musical selections were “Over My Head” by The Fray and “Stars are Blind” by Paris Hilton. Let’s just say that sound of Paris Hilton’s highly modified voice at 150 db is not my idea of “Big Fun.” But that’s not what you want to know; you want to know where to get the best lard infused, grease forward, atery hardening goodies that you’ve been waiting all year for. Well, here you go:
Continue reading “Fair Enough”
Author: sac-eats
Updates on the Refabbed SSW Midtown
I don’t really know what to call the area southeast of the Capital, but let’s not quibble. I’m here to let you know what’s going on in that unnamed corridor:
1) Paesano’s new venture, “Pronto,” (“Real Italian, Real Fast”) is getting ready to open any day, improper grammar or not. A quick conversation with the manager of the enterprise (a fellow JHS alumn by the way) says that they’ll be open by next Monday for sure. So drop by the 16th and O St location for a quick meal. The menu on the wall looks like a sandwich and salad heavy mix with only a few pasta dishes and full entrees. One of those entrees, however, is bacon wrapped meatloaf. SCORE!
2) The old Icon on 15th and R is slowly coming together as a combo locale akin to Monkey Bar/Cafe Bernardo. From the signage on the windows it looks like it will be a Bar15/Cafe Bernardo combo. (Hey, if it ain’t broke…) Let’s see if this incarnation can coexist with Empire, since no other restaurant entity has made it so far in that spot. Good luck, Randy.
Spirits Are High at “Streets”
On August 1, Streets of London opened their full bar. That’s right, full bar. Prior to Tuesday, only beer and wine flowed through the jolly, unwashed customers of the local watering hole. But now every reveler can bask in the glory of cosmos and lemondrops while listening to the Stones on the jukebox. Don’t expect Tom Cruise and Brian Brown behind the bar just yet, though. Information gleaned from my last visit (including the comment from one of the bartenders, “Is Crown Royal whiskey or Scotch?”) indicates that the lovely barmaids still prefer the ales and lagers to the multi jiggered cocktails. So, things might change a little at the convivial joint, but odds are most things will stay the same (especially if they continue to fry everything, including the cocktails, in the same oil they’ve been using since the Clinton administration).
Highway BBQ Robbery
Just a quick note about “Sacramento” magazine’s recently published list of best restaurants in town: A) Please note that this is mostly a reader’s list of “bests,” and therefore represents the eating habits of sacmag’s demographic, namely upper class women over the age of 35. (In much the same way that SNR’s lists always slant towards bars and restaurants within a 4 block walk from their midtown offices) B) The editor’s, bless their hearts, have tried to pepper the list with “editor’s picks” spread around the “greater Sacramento area.” C) While this list identifies a number of chains as bests (Ruth’s Chris, BJ’s Brewhouse and Mimi’s Cafe), the number of chains referneced actually is down from previous years which means that either local restauranteurs are doing a better job getting the word out, or that the sacmag readership is getting more adventurous in their tastes. D) Texas West BBQ is NOT the best BBQ in Sacramento, it’s not even the 5th best. It’s not good. Try JR’s, Everett & Jones and Sandra Dee’s. Texas West is simply the only BBQ in town in affluent areas and therefore always gets the nod from sacmag’s readers. Do not be fooled.
Don’t Like the Heat? Try 58°.
I am not a “wine snob.” I am not even a “wine connoisseur.” (so much so that I had to spellcheck “connoisseur” (and lookup the symbol for ° (which I’ve now assigned to a shortcut key (ctrl+D, if you’re ever using my computer)))) What I am is a “wine drinker.” This is not a specialized classification nor a advanced designation. I just know that there are some wines that I like and some that I’m not a big fan of; which is why, 58° is such a wonderful place. Without knowing much of anything about wines, you can go there, taste a variety of different mashups and not break the bank. They thoughtfully offer wine by the glass (6oz.), the taste (3oz.) or by the bottle (750ml).
Continue reading “Don’t Like the Heat? Try 58°.”
Shhhhh…Don’t Speak
A coworker actually just said, without irony or self-awareness, “Hot enough for ya’?”
This phrase, outside of Antarctica, really lacks the punch it did 500 years ago. Especially in a town known for heat, we should really shy away from it. Don’t you think?
There are enough bosses, family members and complete strangers who solidly fill the “Having-Fun-Yet-Not-If-I-See-You-First” school of humor crowding our daily lives. Aren’t there?
It’s ok to think those folksy heat comments about whores and churches and frying eggs and hell and the devil, but it’s really better if you keep them in your head for now. Thanks.
Something’s Fishy Here
Somewhere between the mega-chains and the mom ‘n pops lies a gray area of eateries. They have multiple locations and standardized menus, but they lack the corporate consistency and allow for variations between outlets. They are…duh,duh,duh…the regional chains!
That’s right, I’m talking about Piatti, Bandera, California Cafe and, my personal favorite, Scott’s Seafood. (Sorry, did I just blow your mind? You didn’t know that Bandera was part of the “Los Altos Grille” chain? Well wake up and smell the jalapeno cornbread sucker!)
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Saturday Night Charity Event and Fish Fry*
Just a plug here, but it’s for a good cause:
–Saturday, July 8- Red Ribbon Comedy Event-The Sacramento Comedy Spot presents an evening of sketch & improv comedy to benefit the AIDS Walk-SF
-All proceeds go towards AIDS Walk
-Featuring the Free Hooch Comedy Troupe
-8PM @ the Clarion Hotel- 2600 Auburn Blvd
Tix are $10 @ the door or presale at http://www.saccomedyspot.com
*there will be no fish fry.
Tale of Two Sushi’s
Just ate at Taro’s this week, the hip Mikuni outlet at Arden Fair. It lived up to expectations, and those expectations were that it would be almost exactly like the other Mikuni outlets. I was not mistaken. Except for a few quirky menu additions, including a few dessert options that I’ll have to try on my next visit, and a few high-priced rolls that include such items as CA caviar, beluga and a 2 karat diamond, the menu is fairly familiar and pretty accessible. I had a fantastic sea steak salad and tuna ngiri with chopped jalapenos. My one complaint was that even though the main dining area had plenty of open tables, the hostess insisted on sitting us at a high-top bar table where the setting sun was coming through the windows like some Buck Rogers death laser.
Good food, fun ambience, mediocre service.
Taka’s sushi on 18th and S has closed and is looking for a new location. According to the Bee, arguments with the landlord peaked and they shut the whole operation down for the time being. If you ask me, it probably also had something to do with the comically large amount of roe that was included with almost every signature roll.
We’ll probably be seeing Taka’s reopen closer to midtown, but some might say that area is a little super-saturated with sushi already.
4th of July Traditions at the Mall
So, the Mrs. and I went with some friends to dinner (thanks Mike, for picking up the tab) at California Pizza Kitchen at Arden Fair mall. (Go for the Jamaican Jerk chicken pizza, it’s great: chicken, peppers onions, jerk sauce and of course, bacon. The waiter didn’t appreciate my aside when I asked him how the Jamaican Jerk compares to the Haitian Asshole.) Anyway, we wound up taking so long that we were sitting with a ringside seat when the Cal Expo fireworks went off. It was rather entertaining, watching 4th of July fireworks from the window of a chain mall restaurant, entertaining and relaxing.
The point of this, though, is to chronicle what we saw on our way out of the Arden Fair parking lot:
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The Sac Rag 