This past weekend, I went down to Clarksburg to do some drinking. Sacramentans are still largely unaware of the burgeoning wine scene in Clarksburg, only seven miles south from West Sac on Hwy 160. Clarksburg has ten wineries and dozens more vineyards dotted across the Delta landscape. Wines in the Clarksburg appellation are typically fruity and bold due to the prime growing environment. This is a great time of year to visit the area as the weather is mild and the cherry blossoms that line the road have perfumed the air with a scent that makes me want to drink.
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Category: Food
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.
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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**
Dessert contrarianism
All this birthday well-wishing today has given me the confidence to post something I had wanted to hold back on–it’s too controversial, too inflammatory, simply too far. But I must.
Earlier this month, when the folks at my office got a birthday cake for me (and two of my co-workers who also have Jan birthdaze), I was given the choice of cake flavor. I chose lemon cake, since I figured most people had probably eaten their annual allotment of chocolate over the holidays and would appreciate a lighter cake. My choice was almost universally lauded as very wise. When the cake was delivered, the stakes were upped even more–lemon with buttercream frosting from no less lofty an establishment as Rick’s Dessert Diner. Well friends, things turned sour (so to speak) just as the cake was cut–two layers, and skimpy ones at that. And then the frosting-to-cake ratio was way off, like more than 1-to-1. To top it off, the frosting tasted like salted butter had been used rather than unsalted (as I assume you’d want to do).
I’m not saying Rick’s is not the best place in town to get dessert, I’m just saying that in this particular instance, the lemon cupcakes my wife and daughter made me today from a storebought mix were far better than Rick’s lemon cake.
(Another of CoolDMZ’s helpful research findings: Davis Wiki.)
Fusion is in at Isabella’s
Yes, CoolDMZ eats the food. And occasionally it is prepared by someone other than himself or his wife. Isabella’s Friday night was one such occasion. This is the joint in the spot formerly occupied by I believe an American Legion bar and across from the place that I dare not name again because the punks have schooled me good.
Our meal took place nice and early (toddler time) so we had the place to ourselves–a great opportunity to get a feel for the space. Yeah, that’s what we did. The fact that Isabella’s is raised off street level a few feet and is just one giant room makes for a great space. Columns, tall booths, perfect lighting and tasteful decor–it’s a great space. This is why I don’t review restaurants. The food? Pretty good–a fusion of Mexican, Spanish and Italian with some other stuff thrown in there (I’m not big on fusion). I had Chicken Mole, which has chocolate in it, so it’s like dinner and dessert at once.
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Moxie
Moxie holds a very special place in the pantheon of Sacramento restaurants. It’s probably the best eatery in town while keeping a very low profile and offering ridiculously reasonable prices. It’s tucked away in a sleepy midtown neighborhood with neither neon signage nor 2 for 1 coupons in the Sac Bee Ticket section. It is flying, in the words of Amelia Earhart, “below the radar.â€
Here are just a few things I’ve heard about Moxie from various people. Some of these tales smack of urban myth, but the majority, I’ve found to be true:
-Bar none, the best steak in town.
-Oh, try the meatloaf, you’ll love the meatloaf.
-You can order anything. If they don’t have it, they’ll go and buy it at a local grocery store. They don’t care, they’ll cook anything.
-The menu is just a formality; they have about 4 things on the menu and 30 specials every night.
-I’m so happy that the rest of the city hasn’t found out about this place.
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The Search Begins
In a new series of hard-hitting and under-your-skin investigative reports, this author will put his very life on the line to discover the best Fish ‘n Chips joint in Sacramento. Be not worried, fine readers, for I will pit my cast iron stomach against any poorly prepared creature from the sea and come out victorious.
My first foray into Sacramento’s Fish ‘n Chip jungle was made yesterday at our indefatigable Downtown Plaza. On the second floor of the Plaza, west end, next to Johnnie Rocket’s is the Blue Sea Fish ‘n Chips establishment. The Korean couple that ran the place was very friendly and served my order up right away. What they served up could definitely be defined as “Fish ‘n Chips,†but the quotations in this case imply a certain irony in that definition rather that the author directly quoting the company’s sign and therefore indicating that quotation in this article. The fish and fries were tasteless and flavorless and odorless. It was like eating unscented deodorant. To top it off, their tartar sauce tasted of miracle whip and pickled steel-toed boots. All in all, it was a lack luster show by the Blue Sea folks. If I had paid more than $5 for my meal, I would have asked for it back. But, seeing as I was the only person in the shop on a busy shopping day, I bit the bullet and absorbed the loss.
My search continues. Wish me luck, and pray that I don’t have a breading induced heart attack before the mission is accomplished. Cheers.
Blue Sea Fish ‘n Chips
Downtown Plaza , Sacramento
Food* Ambience* Service**
Co-ed washrooms at Mason’s: swanky or skeevy?
From Graswich today I read that the restrooms at Mason’s have 1 set of sinks and mirrors to be shared by men and women. Graswich’s reader, a female, understandably brings up only the makeup issue, but that’s part of a larger issue here: separating the “business side” of the restroom from the sink and mirror means that when you exit the “business” wing it’s clear, you know, what you’ve been doing in there. The great thing about restaurant restrooms is supposed to be that they are multipurpose–powder room, shirt-tucking checkroom, middle-of-horrible date face wash and/or hair pat-down station, in addition to the infamous #1 and #2 that everybody knows takes place in there but thankfully when you exit, no questions are asked. In other words, ew gross, Mason’s! Where do you think we are?
The Sac Rag 