Author: sac-eats

The New Corner Store

For those of you Arden/Arcaders, I know you can’t wait for the newly built retail location on the corner of Fulton and Munroe to fill out. A Unocal station was abandoned years ago at the same spot and was torn down last year so that a basic stucco 4-business strip could be erected. Already, we have two storefronts moving in, one is La Bocca coffee and tea. I, for one, and ecstatic that we’re finally getting some coffee in the neighborhood. The Peet’s and Java City across the street and the two Starbucks less than 1/8th of a mile away are just taking up space. Good planning, La Bocca, the only area more saurated with coffee is Juan Valdez’s outhouse.

Oh yeah, the other store soon moving in, a Verizon cell phone store. Thank god! The three cell phone stores also within 1/8th of a mile were far too inconvenient for us. Is this just bad planning, or is this our new version of the “Corner Store?” Do we need coffee, cell phones and nail salons on every corner? Is each so geographically different and neighborhood specific that we need these services on every corner? I posit that in our suburban, car-centric culture, we are supersaturated with these types of services while we are totally deficient in the following: delis, bar/lounges (open for lunch/dinner, pub-style), men’s clothiers, parking, social clubs and a place where you can buy cards, flowers, gift cards and have a gift wrapped in under 10 minutes. What do you think?

Fish & Chips- Foxy & Goosey

Next stop on the battered and fried tour, Fox & Goose. I’ve always heard that the Goose’s food is great, and they constantly win awards for their brunch, so I’ve been looking forward to this one. To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed, not as disappointed as I was to learn that Jaime Lee Curtis was born with a penis, but disappointed none the less.

The meal started out well with the authentic pub tradition of ordering food at the bar along with a pint of John Courage. The first bite was like biting into a soggy towel; the flavor was fine but the fish was, there’ no other word for it, mushy. It kind of squirted out between cracks in the puffy, tempura-like breading. The tartar sauce, seemingly a mix of 111 parts mayo 1 part relish, was dangerously warm and starting to separate. The chips were overly crispy and a little light on flavor. Overall, I was bummed. The textures were off-putting and the risky tartar sauce was disconcerting, even for a mayonnaise hound like me. I love F&G for their good prices, great service and wide selection of British brews, but fish & chips is not something I’d recommend there.

Fox & Goose
10th & R, Downtown Sacramento
Food** Ambience**** Service****

Fish & Chips-Streets of London

OK, so I’m not exactly a “regular” at Streets of London, but I do go there about once a week, especially for the Sunday Night Pub Quiz. I’ve never been a huge fan of the food, but would be remiss if I didn’t at least give their Fish & Chips a try on my latest food hunt for the best Fish & Chips in Sacramento.

Well, I’ll have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The fish was excellent, very flaky and tasty, breaded just right and fried to perfection. The tartar sauce was good by me, being a mix of mayonnaise mixed with mayonnaise mixed with stone ground mustard mixed with more mayonnaise. The chips, however, were a disappointment, a bit soggy, a bit burnt, a bit unappealing. Oh yeah, and did I mention that we also destroyed Edie Lambert and her trivia group there last week. Looks like I’m branching out from trouncing sports personalities to just demeaning local media personalities. Paul & Jen, want to get back in the spotlight? BRING IT ON!

Streets of London, 18th & J Sacramento
Food*** Ambience**** Service***

limage problem

So, in trying to enjoy some “romancified” good times with the soon-to-be Mrs. Eats, I decided to wine and dine her at a spot that I’ve written about before, L’Image. I was able to get 6:30 reservations several days in advance and looked forward to a hearty and romantic French dinner about which we would reminisce into our old age. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out so well. First of all, the quiet, too quiet atmosphere of the place made us uncomfortable, and the $65 fixed menu didn’t do much to rouse the passions in either of us. The service was exemplary though; too bad the food couldn’t live up to it.
Continue reading “limage problem”

Straight Man in a Lesbian World

Catchy title, eh? This is just a quick tip o’ th’ hat to our watier on Saturday night at Isabella’s. Apparently due to some internal miscommunication or massive lesbian influenza pandemic, one lone man was left to wait on every table at Isabella’s last night. Oh yeah, did I mention it was second Saturday too? So that only means that every single table was full. That man was one of the hardest working waiters I’ve ever seen and deserves some high praise as he was not only out of breath, but exceedingly polite and patient with each of the 50 or so patrons in the dining room. The food was absolutely fantastic, the service, despite it’s obviousness lack of personnel, was spectacular (drinks were on the house) and the evening memorable. So thank you, harried waiter. We appreciate your fine work and dedication. I hope you got to keep every cent of every tip you made last night. You earned it.

Isabella’s
21st St between L and K, Sacramento
Food**** Service**** Ambience**

Fish and Chips, Rubicon Style

Per a suggestion from Stickie, I dropped by Rubicon Brewery yesterday to try their fish and chips. I’ve never been a huge fan of Rubicon’s beer, finding their brews to all slant towards the bitter side, and not just regular beer bitter but the kind of bitter you get when your girlfriend breaks up with you right before prom night and instead goes with the rich captain of the curling team and they spend the whole night kissing each other, with tongue, in the center of the dance floor while you’re left standing there with a $50 corsage that is dying right in your hand, dying like a small bird dropped from its nest and left to die on the pine straw coated floor, or be eaten by ravenous foxes, crunching the little bird’s bones in their mouths like birdie flavored pretzels. That kind of bitter. Anyway, about their fish and chips:

Not good. I was served fish “sticks” and waffle fries with my bitter, angst-ridden beer and was not happy. The batter was heavy and was more bread crumby than corn mealy. The fries were chewy and undercooked and the children behind me were as annoying as children in a bar could be. So, in conclusion, Stickie, thank you for the recommendation, I’m sorry I didn’t realize that your only other exposure to fish and chips had been at Adalberto’s. I don’t think I’d recommend Rubicon to anyone…ok, maybe I’d tell that whore from the prom to go, but that would be about it.

Rubicon Brewing Company
Capitol Ave at 20th St, Sacramento
Food * Beer * Service **

The Further Adventures of Fish and Chip

H. Salt Esq. is a venerable eyesore in what is otherwise a neighborhood of eyesores. Wedged between an alley and a motel that undoubtedly rents by the hour on 16th between E & F, this venerable chip shop dishes out the goods to diverse clientele. Now, I’m not sure if that precise location counts as part of Alkali Flats, but it’s definitely not the Riviera.

On my recent visit to H. Salt Esq. word of the day had to be “diversity.” Picture the scene: a Korean husband and wife serving English style fish ‘n chips to a mostly African American customer base including one guy who was a dead ringer for Flavor Flav wearing a long Jesuit swim team coat with those sunglasses that have a little piece of leather around the rim that kind of lays flush on your face. To top off the scene, picture the walls of the place decorated in a kitschy array of London town memorabilia faded from years of neglect and grease-laden air and the kitchen decorated in Oriental beaded drapes and Buddha statues.

Despite the general weirdness of the scene, though, the food was pretty good. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, and the fries were pretty weak, but the fish was very well done and not too battery. All in all, an interesting experience in both fish ingestion and people watching. Two down, 1500 to go.

H. Salt Esq.
16th st, Sacramento
Food** Ambience*** Service**