Memory Dump: 10 meals in 25 words or less

I’m cleaning out my wallet.  It’s stuffed like a $10 panini with receipts from dinners and lunches collected from places all around the region, places about which I’ve had the best intention of writing incisive, clever reviews, reviews filled with heart and soul, wit and wisdom, reviews that would make men weep and ladies swoon, perfect little dollops of prose that would leave the faintest hint of ginger in the reader’s mouth .

I’m never going to write those reviews. So here’s the quick version on ten different joints with a totally arbitrary star rating for each.

The Counter– Sure it’s in Roseville. But it’s an incredible burger and freshly made ice cream shakes. Where’s the argument?  3.5 stars.

Cheffery’s– Sweet potato fries are heavenly. Wine pours are exceptionally heavy. What more do you need?  3 stars

Taste of Brazil– You get a ton of food for the $30 price per head. Only about half of it is good. Fantastic spot if you’re going low-carb. 2.5 stars. Continue reading “Memory Dump: 10 meals in 25 words or less”

UPDATED – Jerry Houseman’s pro-tax rant VIDEO

Jerry Houseman, SCUSD board member
Jerry Houseman,
SCUSD Board Member

At last night’s SCUSD board meeting, during which the board voted to close 4 schools, the thing that really caught my attention was member Jerry Houseman’s comment on the proposal for school closures. He took the opportunity to rail against the Tax Day Tea Party protests and Fox News, yelling at the assembled school parents and other taxpayers that the reason the district is in such dire straights is that people in California don’t want to pay taxes. The prospect of an elected official — charged with spending millions of taxpayer money — browbeating his constituents to cease their resistance to higher taxes while they have the gall to take advantage of a public service like education, is pretty frightening. I think perhaps he was out past his bedtime.

Continue reading “UPDATED – Jerry Houseman’s pro-tax rant VIDEO”

SCUSD votes to close 4 schools

After a marathon meeting this evening the Sac City Unified School Board has voted to close four schools for the upcoming school year. The board decided to spare Mark Hopkins — which had been on the chopping block as of Wednesday — but that school will most likely close after next year. Genesis High School, and Alice Birney, Lisbon, and Thomas Jefferson Elementary schools will close; the district believes this will save $1.5 million.

NorCal’s Newest Growth Industry, Chop-Shops

According to people who know stuff about things, we NorCal folks are a bit plagued by a rash of auto thefts. A recent study found the top ten cities in which your car is most likely to get stolen.

Good news: Sacramento wasn’t in the top ten.

Bad news: almost every surrounding city except Plymouth, was.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, Modesto has the highest rate of car thefts in any American city. Stockton comes in at #6. SF Bay area comes in at #7, and Fresno rounds out the list at #10. What can we take from these statistics? I say if you’re leaving Sacramento, take a train.

Of all the rotten luck!

The Gaslight Anthem
The Gaslight Anthem.

Depending on how you look at it, either due to extreme good fortune or some severe karmic missteps in Sacramento’s past, Wednesday night held possibly the best night of live music in Sacramento’s history (for the indie pop/rock set):

  • Jenny Lewis at 6:30 PM at Empire
  • The Gaslight Anthem at 7:30 PM at the Boardwalk
  • The Hold Steady at 9:00 PM at Harlow’s

All three come highly recommended by basically anybody who has heard them. If it wasn’t for the Boardwalk being way out in Karma-knows-where, I suppose an enterprising hipster could have made all three performances (and then commit ritual suicide, obviously) but I think they probably had to settle for Ms Lewis and The Hold Steady and paying lots in cover charges.

Continue reading “Of all the rotten luck!”

Leave the kid alone

I’m all for civic pride, but come on people.

You can continue to badger Dustin Pedroia if you:

  • Have never made a disparaging remark about the place where you grew up and how eager you were to leave
  • Have never made an offhand remark when you were young (or even not so young) that you wish you could take back
  • Have never thought that someone’s words could be taken out of context or interpreted differently when retold by a different person
  • Think that a 25 year old who earned the American League Rookie of the Year and American League MVP titles, who is making millions, and who is living in one of America’s most wicked cool cities wouldn’t draw comparisons to his current situation vs. where he was raised

Just chill, or else this person might make a new video (warning: salty language!)

Sacramento’s Assembly Race begins!

Just when we are recovering from Obamafever, our next election is already looming. Today, Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson announced his candidacy to represent California’s Ninth Assembly District, which includes 90% of the City of Sacramento and two-thirds of Florin. This seat will be vacated by Dave Jones, who is termed out and plans to run for State Insurance Commissioner.

Dickinson and City Councilmember Kevin McCarty have both been making the rounds at mixers for young politicos to recruit young talent for the upcoming Democratic primary. McCarty is expected to announce his candidacy soon, while Councilmember Lauren Hammond remains quiet after her announcement in January. The winner of this primary is the clear favorite to retain a solidly Democratic seat. McCarty has the interesting potential to be the third consecutive District 6 Councilmember to win this seat. Jones succeeded Senator Darrell Steinberg in both the Assembly and the City Council.

New Eats: Magpie, De Vere’s, and Hot Italian

Even with TVs, radios, and all other media trying their hardest to remind us constantly of the sour economy — I mean really Betty Crocker recipe book, is it necessary to try to come up with a “cheaper” carrot cake recipe for hard times? — there are always things to celebrate. In this case, we’re going to celebrate some good new eats.

Magpie Caterers Market and Cafe– Opened just last week in the barely finished new retail row at 14th and R, Magpie already has fans. Count me as one. Picking up where nearby neighbor Dad’s Sandwich Shop leaves off, Magpie goes for the slightly higher scale ingredients, preparations, and prices. The grilled ham and cheese is stuffed with imported camembert and shaved Niman Ranch ham, the roast beef with melted blue cheese and imported mustard. The salads feature elegantly tidy mixes of baby greens and baby breads prompting baby cooing noises from the customers who eat them. Whether you’re a dive devotee or a dining room diva, this place just flat out rocks. I mean really rocks, rocks like the Flintstones, rocks like granite, rocks like Rock of Ages being performed at Red Rock by Rockapella. Continue reading “New Eats: Magpie, De Vere’s, and Hot Italian”

UPDATED: Media disconnect in the Tracy case

SEE UPDATE BELOW. Obviously we want the media to publicize Amber Alerts and report on murders. But there seems to be a disconnect between the media’s tendency to tout its own policies on not reporting certain details of crimes and its tendency to run for days with details of other crimes. What has happened in Tracy is completely devastating. When a story starts its life as an Amber Alert, but ends up being a story about a grisly murder, shouldn’t the media not want to have the victim’s face and name and the unspeakable details about what happened to her plastered all over the front page and sold as the top story?

Continue reading “UPDATED: Media disconnect in the Tracy case”

Request to radio traffic reporters

As I’m driving around, slightly zoned out (but not so zoned out to be a danger to myself or society), the traffic reports are usually the same, so I don’t pay too much attention.

There are, however, instances where a reporter will give information on a major accident or hazard that is sure to clog up the roads for some time, and the reporter rarely repeats where this incident is located. He or she will just say, “So stay clear of THAT area!” and move on with the rest of the scoop from the (insert sponsor’s name here) traffic center.

All I ask is that they simply wrap it up by saying, “Again, that’s on northbound Watt near Folsom” or wherever the incident is.  I find myself having a DVR reflex, like I’m reaching for a phantom remote to hit the back-up-15-seconds button to hear the location. Alas, there is no such technology in my rig.

Am I just being picky?