Category: Food

The Economy Sucks for Restaurants Too

Much was made of the recent closing of California Fat’s this week, much more, in fact, than the closing of Brother Oliver’s earlier this year. Each establishment was just short of being iconic, but the suburban Oliver’s didn’t quite have the cultural cache that anything with the name Fat attached to it does.

It is, however, not just the locals who are having difficulties in our worsening economy. Within the last few months, we’ve seen the closing of Macaroni Grill on Alta Arden (now where am I going to get chicken parmagiana after seeing dissected bodies? Oh, that’s right, the bodies left town too. Alta Arden is like a ghost town now. Thank God for Chick Fil-A.), Wendy’s on Fair Oaks, and Pick Up Stix everywhere. I’m not saying that some of these national chains will be missed for their standout cuisine, but I’d rather have a chain or big box retailer than an empty storefront any day.

Finger Clickin’ Good

After working all weekend excavating about 10 tons of dirt and clay from my East Sac home, I kicked back with a bucket of chicken from our local KFC:
View Larger Map

This fact gives me my Sacramento tie-in to a delightful story that I just had to share with the rest of the ‘Raggers:

Those of you who have gmail know of the targeted ads posted on the sides of your inbox that “correspond” to the subject of your emails. After writing to one of my Nintendo contacts requesting some information, I noticed a target ad that stated “Like Super Mario Bros.? You’ll love this” with a hyperlink to a flash-based game for the PTEA-sponsored site Kentucky Fried Cruelty, adorably titled “Super Chick Sisters.”

From a quick perusal of Kentucky Fried Cruelty, it looks to be a celebrity-promoted, anti-delicious fried chicken, website spearheaded by the great philanthropist/philosopher Pamela Anderson. Thankfully Pammie also brought her think-tank of great minds to support her cause, including: Pink, Ryan Gosling, and Rev. Al Sharpton. Worthy of note is that the Dalai Lama is also one of those in Pam’s entourage who does not dig on the Colonel, which stunned me because I didn’t even realize that they had KFC’s in Dharamsala, India- go figure.

Continue reading “Finger Clickin’ Good”

Mama Needs A Hoagie.

Yeah, it’s 9:45 a.m. and I’m already thinking about where I can get a true Italian hoagie this far from Philadelphia, but back off: I’m pregnant.  Just be glad you missed yesterday’s frantic run to Starbucks for a combination donut, veggie tray and coffee breakfast.  Anyway there are fake hoagies and then there are the right ones, the ones I haven’t been able to find in California.  Who can point me in the direction of the best hoagie Sacramento has to offer? I’m looking at you, SacEats.

Quick Bites-Now with more Rocklin

Because some places aren’t worth a full writeup.

Blue Sky Chinese Restaurant-7323 Fair Oaks Blvd, Carmichael
One star

Cute, tiny, friendly, and not very tasty.

The sizzling rice soup was bland, the pot stickers were made with an off-puttingly sweet dough (think pork-filled snickerdoodles), the kung pao shrimp was decent enough, but the ultimate disappointment was the General’s chicken, which was basically sweet and sour chicken with a little extra garlic thrown in.

Sorry, Blue Sky. Cole Porter might think you’re charming, but I’ll take a pass.

Spicy Pickle– 1401 O St., Sacramento
Two stars

For a sandwich shop, it’s perfectly adequate.

For a porn shop (which, let’s face it, the name really lends itself to) it’s severely lacking. Continue reading “Quick Bites-Now with more Rocklin”

Rubicon Loves Women!

Today, Rubicon Brewing shows their love for the ladies by featuring 11 beers brewed by women to raise funds for WEAVE. If you did not know, women brewers in the industry are rare, but are increasing in both numbers and prominence (just take a look at the trophy case for Denise Jones, head brewer at Moylan’s in Novato). Come show your support by lifting a glass (or 11 small samples), purchasing raffle tickets for great prizes or picking up a limited edition Women in Brewing T-shirt which is available in any color as long as it is black.

“Parrot” something? Something “Bay” or something?

Help.

What was the name of that bar that was on Fair Oaks Boulevard near Cadillac Drive in the early ’90s?  It got demolished in the late ’90s and became a Smith Barney building, and I believe it’s where Lord Beaverbrooks used to be.

The sign out front had a parrot on it.  I only went there once when I first moved to Sacramento, but it came up in conversation last night, and I’ve been flipping through the rolodex in my brain trying to remember what it was called.

“Boon Boon,” coming soon soon

The thread about lack of good restaurants in Tahoe Park and our ongoing meme of “dead zones” — not to be confused with dead-to-me zones–reminded me of the dead zone that is the seeming former art deco theater building on Stockton and Broadway behind Subway, which just in the last few years has been home to 3 or 4 eating establishments that never saw the light of day. The current business hoping to reverse that trend is going to be called “Boon Boon.” I’ll let you read that name and think about it for a second. Ready? On the count of 10, what comes to mind?

Boom boom, right? Like, “I ate at that new Vietnamese restaurant on Broadway and twenty minutes later I had to make boom boom like rilly bad.”

However, in the interest of the Stockton corridor and good eateries for the greater Tahoe Park area I vow to try Boon Boon at least once. Assuming it does in fact not go the way of Po Boys, Quotes Bistro, and all the other failed restaurants that came before it…

Dead to Me

It’s been a while since I’ve completely given up on a restaurant. I tend to be pretty forgiving, even with some of the worst restaurants in town. There are a few places, however, that I’ve come to dismiss with such completeness that they are, akin to a cheesy father/son relationship film in which the line “I have no son!” is uttered, dead to me.

Fins– Oh fins, you were filled with such promise. I thought that we were really going to work out well, your two new locations being so convenient and everything. Then came the rather disgusting stomach illness of 2006 that almost ruined Christmas. Then came your rather lackluster fish tacos. Then came your latest belly flop when you served me an ahi “sandwich” that consisted of nothing more than overdone ahi, two slices of barely toasted sourdough, and your less than appealing tartar sauce–no lettuce, no onion, no tomato, no nothing–just a side of Sysco fries and three nearly empty bottles of ketchup. Really, would it have killed you to find me the one ful bottle of ketchup in the place? Was it necessary to have me making flatulence noises with my trio of ketchup bottles for 10 minutes rather than rustle me up a new bottle? Are you intentionally bent on making me dislike you? Well, if that’s the way you’re going to be, then we’re through. Kaput. Finito. You’re dead to me. I have no Fins! Continue reading “Dead to Me”

A Tale of Two Sushis: Miso and Ju Hachi

Two new sushi outlets are now open in the greater Tower District/Midtown area, and, despite their differences, each one is in the hands of a seasoned restaurateur.

Miso Sushi– Taking over the digs at 16th and Broadway wasn’t easy. What was supposed to be a quick renovation instead became a half-million dollar overhaul, says owner Roger Lee. As part owner of Silver Sake in Carmichael, Lee knows what it takes to get a restaurant off the ground. What he didn’t count on was the poor shape of the digs he was trying to move into. The previous occupant, Eddie Fong, lovingly ran a small breakfast operation out of the spot for years, but his rather cavalier attitude towards all things health code related didn’t exactly help arrest the decaying process in the already shaky building. Continue reading “A Tale of Two Sushis: Miso and Ju Hachi”