I have been thinking about this Cash for Clunkers program for quite some time and was meaning to write about it on this here web log. Luckily, the folks over at cockeyed.com did the work for me and wrote up a great article. Nice work, guys.
As the owner of a clunker that still manages to get good gas mileage, I was disappointed to learn that I do not qualify.
You’ve probably already seen this, but Good Day Sacramento and Mark S. Allen made TMZ (again) today with this deliciously awkward clip in which Mark S. Allen tries an awkward put-down on Joan Rivers and Rivers responds by dropping an F-bomb on live morning TV.
grungy sunny Anaheim, CA where we visited the fabulous Disneyland Resort. On our second day in the park, while passing through Adventureland, who should I pass shoulder-to-shoulder with than Sacramento’s own Mark S. Allen. Adventureland, of course, is a major traffic bottleneck, so I didn’t have the time or energy to stop him or track him down.
By the way, a good method for renewing your appreciation for the wonderfulness of Northern California is to visit Southern California.
Even if Albert and Gloria Kutternig didn’t make some of the most decadent morsels this side of Vienna, their story would still be worth telling. You see – Albert is a world-class pastry chef trained in the finest kitchens in Austria; his wife, Gloria, is a globetrotting ballerina originally from the Philippines. The pair met in Venezuela, traveled the world, got hitched in Austria, and wound up settling down in the quiet college town of Davis, California. If this were a human interest piece, there would be more than enough interest to go around. But alas, this is a culinary article, and this amazing pair isn’t being covered for the sweetness of their tale, but rather the sweetness of their pastries.
Konditorei Austrian Pastry Cafe in Davis creates treats in the Austrian tradition, which is quite different from the American tradition. Gone are the syrupy sweet confections, buttercream frostings, corn syrup, and dense cakes that we come to expect from the neighborhood bakery. Instead, these continental delicacies are crafted from light – almost ethereal – creams, sugars, fillings, sauces, and sweet cheeses.
Continue reading “Konditorei: Pastry Perfection”
SacBrew will host their first IPAllooza tomorrow, featuring 30 India Pale Ales from across California and beyond. I can already feel my taste buds dance and my liver complain.
For the uninitiated, the IPA is a liquid celebration of the Humulus lupulus, commonly known as the hop. Hops have been used for hundreds of years to preserve beer, but their intense flavor made them a welcome and mandatory addition to the ancient recipe of water, grain and yeast. Dozens of different hop varieties are used based upon their acid content, which imparts different aromas and flavors that can be bitter, sweet, floral, fruity or any combination of the above, depending on the type, the amount used and the skill of the brewer.
The India Pale Ale originated in the British Empire, which added copious amounts of hops and alcohol to reinforce their standard pale ale for the long journey to the troops occupying India. Today, the IPA is unofficially the official beer of the West Coast, with hundreds of different versions brewed each year. Year after year, brewers attempt to out-do each other by packing as many hops as possible into their creations while keeping the beer delicious, resulting in styles such as Imperial IPAs, Double IPAs, Triple IPAs and the paint stripping Quadruple IPAs. Aficionados of such beers have dubbed themselves Hopheads.
Continue reading “IPAllooza at SacBrew!”
I was reviewing my monthly cell phone bill the other day. I receive it online so I usually take a quick peak at the charges and make sure nothing out of the ordinary is going on. I came across the “Sprint Surcharges” listing and thought I’d click the “Show Details And Explanation of Charges” link. Good night. And I quote …
Sprint Surcharges are rates we choose to collect from you to help defray costs imposed on us. Surcharges are not taxes or amounts we are required to collect from you by law. Surcharges may include: Federal USF, regulatory charges, administrative charges, gross receipts charges, and other charges incurred to recover costs associated with governmental programs. The amounts, and the components used to calculate Surcharge amounts, are subject to change.
Seriously. No euphemisms? No fancy technical terms? Just one notch away from “We are being effed by the man, so we are now effing you.”
If you review your SMUD bill, you may also come across the “Monthly Service Charge” of $5.00. You know, a charge to bring you electricity or gas which they charge money for and receive a profit from. Who couldn’t use $5.00 extra a month for funsies?
Have a deeper look at your monthly bills and let me know if you come across any similar charges.
P.S. Simply by calling a few of my regular service providers and inquiring I was able to reduce a few monthly charges. Remember, they won’t come to you to offer you a savings. It takes work, but is worth it in the long run.
Good news/bad news:
Good news first. Jim Kozimor, beloved sports announcing personality here in Sacramento, has gotten a chance at a second go-around with KHTK 1140. His new show, starting today, will air weekdays from 12-4 and will undoubtedly feature Kozimor’s candor, humor, and boyish good looks. Most of Sacramento was sad to see Kozimor laid off from the Maloof Sports and Entertainment broadcast team, and is happy to see Koz back on the air. While there’s no official name yet for the new Kozimor show, we at the ‘Rag suggest the following: “The Offical Report of Koz-ickstan,” or “The Kozy Korner”, or “The Sunshine Happy Goodtime Hour.”
Bad news. One of the reasons that this opportunity opened up in the first place is that the Mike O’Meara show, formerly the Don & Mike show, has been dropped from the Washington station from which O’Meara broadcasts. Many of us were devout listeners to the rowdy, smart, and media-centric show out of D.C. and will be sad to see it go, probably for good.
Sacramento needs a mascot. A crusty old prospector? A river otter? Wine grapes? A vampire?
Have a great celebration, Dinger, and go Cats!
If we were to be honest with ourselves for just a moment, we’d readily admit that we live in the deep, enveloping cleavage of the bosom of great wine. Just barely peeking out over the plunging neckline of our beautiful valley, we can see some of the best vineyards in America staring back at us. And while Zinfandel, Cab, and Chardonnay get all the attention and all the praise, it is the simple Barbera that I seek out every time.
An Italian grape, Barbera is a foundational piece of many Italian table wines. Following suit, it’s been grown predominantly in the Central Valley as a blending grape in jug wines. (Shout out to my boy Carlo!) But in recent years, winemakers in Amador, El Dorado, and, to a lesser but by no means less successful extent, Paso Robles have taken the Barbera and turned it into an absolutely yummy single varietal that, in my mind, kicks the pants off of most zins, pinots, and cabs.
What does Barbera taste like? To be honest, it tastes like the cloudy mists of the firmament wrapped in bubble gum and dusted with cotton candy kisses. However, some have also described it as an inky dark, velvety wine with balanced berry sweetness and almost no tannins; it’s eminently drinkable and, like most Italian wines, very food friendly. Take your pick of descriptions. Wine, after all, is a subjective beverage.
Where do you find good Barbera? One place you’ll rarely find it is on a restaurant’s wine list. The Firehouse, for example, whose wine list runs over 80 pages, has only a handful of Barberas from the U.S. and Italy. On last check, Biba’s wine list had two. L Wine Lounge, whose wine list admittedly is about variety and quality over quantity, carries only one. Same with The Kitchen. Continue reading “Barbera: A Local Treasure That Needs To Be Treasured”
I know this is not necessarily a laughing matter but I can’t help, well, chuckling a bit whenever a headline has the word “sickened” being used for its literal meaning:
1 Sickened By Odor In Rancho Cordova Building (KCRA)
Are investigators considering the person who tipped them off as a person of interest, on the legal theory of He who smelt it, dealt it?
The Sac Rag 