Category: Food

Holiday-themed employee meal: Sam’s Hof Brau


cc, by flickr user Willscrlt

My work colleagues and I had our annual holiday outing on Friday afternoon (we’re past the point where I have to make cutesy jokes about how I work at “Sac Rag World Headquarters,” right?). A few weeks ago I had been able to exert my considerable influence over the group to steer the selection process away from the standard trendy and/or awkward fare and as a result, I took my work mates to Sam’s Hof Brau.

I know our fans are familiar with sac-eats’s love of the Hof, and I second everything he says. If they’d let me purchase a dedicated booth I would scrape up the cash to do so. On this particular day the hofmeisters had cooked up some mac ‘n’ cheese, so I had a roast beef sandwich with a side of mac and a green salad. The place was packed with retirees so there was quite a queue and the joint was jumping. The banquet hall in the back was even full.

Afterward, we went bowling with the retirees. The only thing not awesome about the whole thing was how depressing it is walking past the carcasses of the Tower stores (with “Thanks for the memories” still displayed on the marquee at Tower Books). Although a pretty great Goodwill store has opened in the former location of Tower video.

Ernesto’s: Still Not Good (just in case you were wondering)

It wasn’t my choice, really. I had to eat at Ernesto’s today. I had fallen into a gaggle of Ernesto’s gift certificates and needed to spend them. What was I supposed to do? Let them go to waste? Give them to friends?  What kind of punkass friend gives his buddy a gift certificate to a shitty restaurant?

Not me. I had to choke it down myself, and choke it down I did.

Ok, to be fair, Ernesto’s food is not horrible. It won’t give you a ride on the “vomit comet” or the “anal egress express” but it will leave you with a serious sense of “edible amnesia.” Edible amnesia is the condition that occurs when the food that you eat is so bland and uninteresting that you can’t even remember eating it. And that’s where Ernesto’s fits it. It’s Mexican food for people from Slovakia. It has zero flavor, no passion, and  a serious lack of oomph, in fact no oomph whatsoever. It’s like someone back in the kitchen is treating corn starch as a spice.  The sauces are weak and flavorless, the meats bland, and the soups waifish. Yeah I said waifish.

So, just in case you were wondering, Ernesto’s is still not anyplace you’d want to go if eating was your goal. Margaritas aren’t bad though.

Holiday beer tasting at The Shack

The Shack is kicking off December with their annual Christmas and Holiday Beer Tasting this Tuesday at 6pm. If you have not been to one of The Shack’s Tuesday night parties, you are missing out on Sacramento’s best opportunity to try beer that you have probably never had. Every Tuesday, owners Gary and Jen Sleppy feature anywhere from five to a dozen different beers, frequently with a food pairing for the offering, be it Belgian, German, or other.

This Tuesday, The Shack will offer a dozen different holiday beers, mostly Belgians with a few Americans. Chef Sleppy (that’s Gary) will have a buffet spread of food (bigger than appetizers, smaller than a meal) to accompany the beverages, and patrons will also get to take home a Belgian beer glass, all for $25. If you have not been to The Shack in the four years since the Sleppys have owned it, you are missing out on one of the best American pubs in the area, with handmade food and impeccable selection of beer and wine. I am expecting that the evening will be topped with Gary’s homemade truffles.

Check out the list of the delicious beers they expect to serve. A few others will be added before Tuesday. RSVPs are strongly encouraged.

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Revolutionary reds

New ports at Revolution Wine
New ports at Revolution Wines
My favorite thing to bring to my family Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations is a bottle of wine for after dinner. Midtown’s Revolution Wines took care of both holidays for me with a release of an Old World and a New World port.

The release of St. Rey Port also signifies the launch of Revolution’s new port program. Winemaker Craig Haarmeyer will continue to make porto that is Iberian influenced and locally sourced. Vintages will also held back for aging and blending with future vintages.

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Seventy-Five years of Old Ironsides

One of the great Sacramento cultural institutions is celebrating its (her?) 75th birthday this weekend. Midtown Monthly did a great salute to the history of The Old I in their November issue. With the same owners for these 75 years, it is also a celebration of Billie Jean Kanelos and her family. I particularly enjoyed the piece from Kim Kanelos, who began booking music there in the early 90s. Kim is also asking that people post their favorite Old I memories on their Facebook page.

MM hasn’t posted the issue to their website, so you’ll have to keep an eye out for printed material distributed for free throughout Sacramento. The Bee also did a brief interview with Billie Jean and her husband Sam.

Their November festivities culminate this Sunday from 1-6pm with DJ Larry Rodriguez and plenty of celebratory food and drink specials.

Old Ironsides
1901 10th Street

No Impact Week: I Join a Global Experiment in Sustainable Living

NoImpactManInspired by best-selling No Impact Man, on Sunday I joined other world citizens to commit to a week of no-impact living. Over the course of eight days, my husband and I will attempt to follow the project’s guided steps and 1) consume less, 2) create less trash, 3) use less transportation, 4) eat locally, 5) reduce energy use, 6) use less water, 7) get involved with an environmental group, and 8) reflect on it all.

You can get involved, too! I signed up online. After that, the project provided me with an online guide containing detailed instructions for the week—with strict orders that it not be printed, of course. According to the helpful tips, as we progress through the week, we’re supposed to gradually decrease our environmental footprint, eliminating as we go.

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Ridiculous Sale On Easton Wines

I’ll keep this brief. If you like Barbera as much as I do (for a previous article on Barbera, click here), Easton Wines in Amador Co. is selling a case, a g-damned case, of their 2003, g-damn 2003!, Barbera at $129. That’s less than m’f’ing $11 a bottle for those of you that went to fundamentalist Christian schools. Jesus Christ and all the saints and Mary and Joseph and all the myrrh you can shake a stick at, that’s an insane deal.

A) This is probably one of the best Barberas made in California. B) It’s stupid cheap. And C) See A and B.

It’s a beautiful time of year to head up to Plymouth in Amador County. Drive on up with one of your many days off in the next few months and grab yourself one of the best wine steals this year. For maps, product info and events, check out Terre Rouge/Easton Wines at terrerougewines.com.

Sacramento Beer Week

Mark your calendar for the first annual Sacramento Beer Week, February 24-27 2010!

Following in the footsteps of incredibly successful beer weeks from San Francisco and Philadelphia, Sacramento area beer folks are planning the first annual Sacramento Beer Week for February 24-27, 2010.

This is nothing more than a mark-your-calendar kind of advisory, as this event is still in the early planning phase, but it would be interesting to hear from readers about what kind of events you would be interested in attending. Beer history? Brewing demonstrations? Food and beer parings? Beer sampling? Beer pong tournament? Pub crawl? Beer trivia contest?

If you are interested in hosting an event for Sacramento Beer Week, drop me a line at Stickie(at)sacrag(dot)com with your idea and I’ll pass along any serious inquiries.

La Fiesta Reopens!

Track lighting illuminates the goodness of La Fiesta. Are those AC thermostats I see?
Are those AC thermostats I see?
As commenter Junior reminded us today, one of our favorite Taquerías reopened its doors yesterday after becoming of a victim of an everyday occurrence here in Sacramento.

Just as we were there when they first opened their doors, SinghCity and I enjoyed our favorite burrito today in the renovated digs. You’ll be happy to know the menu has been upgraded, the ceiling fans seem to be new, AND they have what appears to be thermostats that may or may not control the conditioning of air (see photo)! You summer patrons will surely appreciate that one.

While we enjoyed the taquería down the street, we are really glad to have The Party back within walking distance.

Hoptoberfest at Rubicon

While dodging the ghosties, ghoulies, and drunk drivers this weekend, beer lovers should take note of Rubicon‘s annual Hoptoberfest celebration. Throughout October, they have featured pale ales, IPAs and double IPAs from brewers across the West Coast. This weekend, all of these beers will be available along with two versions of one of Rubicon’s hoppiest offerings, Hop Sauce.

In addition to well-known standouts from Anchor, Speakeasy, Bear Republic, Firestone Walker, Lagunitas and Deschutes, make sure you sample some great beers that are rarely seen in the area. Sierra Nevada’s new Estate Harvest Ale is creating a huge buzz among beer lovers and is in limited supply. Russian River is best known for the legendary Pliny the Elder, but less appreciated is their stellar house IPA. Moonlight Brewing Bombay by Boat has been a Bay Area favorite for almost two decades but Sacramento native Brian Hunt generally limits his distribution to that section of California. Another Sacramento expatriate, Matt Sager, brewed the impressive Hopsaur for Great Basin. Iron Springs Casey Jones Imperial IPA will make you want to drive that train up to Fairfax to check out their small brewpub with an incredible beer menu.

Complete list of Hoptoberfest offerings after the jump.
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