State Fair Opens Friday

poppyIf there is one thing you can count on, it is the presence of your old pal Stickie at the California State Fair. I’ll try to keep you updated about cool stuff, but I urge you to check the daily schedule at their website to keep abreast of the hundreds of events.

Wednesday at midnight is the last day to buy discount tickets, including the $36 adult season pass. This weekend features Smashmouth (who have apparently moved to Stockton and have quietly been playing with local acts when not on tour), The Doodlebops (who I find to be a creepy Canadian offspring of The Wiggles and GWAR, but kids seem to dig them) and the fantastic Weird Al, who very amusingly got blamed by local morons for attracting some unsavory elements to last year’s closing weekend because he is a rapper.

Tears and Anguish: Restaurant Closings

Here’s a quick recap of restaurant closings cum real estate opportunities in the area.Closed...for good.

East West Steak & Sushi Buffet- El Camino Ave
As mentioned previously this frightening gastronomic nightmare is no more, opening up more than 8000 sq ft of restaurant space. Maybe we should reopen a Shakey’s there?

IHOP-El Camino Ave
It appears that the IHOP at Watt and El Camino has gone from “Under Renovation” to “Scary and Derelict.” Feel free to contact the national HQ of IHOP to let them know that this building falls far short from fresh ‘n’ fruity.

Angel’s Fresh Mex- 16th St
My tears threaten to short out my keyboard as I write these words. Angel’s is closed. Those tortilla wrapped bundles of goodness that I have come to count on for weekly sustenance are gone. My heart is breaking like their soft, supple tortillas never did. We will miss ye, Angel’s. Continue reading “Tears and Anguish: Restaurant Closings”

Boon Boon: Your Asian Fusion Connection

spicy noodles
spicy noodles, posted by Yelper Linda C

I always felt bad that I had teased the folks at Boon Boon, especially after a commenter pointed out that the restaurant is named after the owner’s mother. The fact that several commenters on that post remarked on discussions with the staff at Boon Boon is very telling about the kind of place Boon Boon is. I’m glad that I finally checked it out, because this is a little gem of a place.

This is the right kind of fusion for me–it’s not so much specific menu items that are tweaked, it’s the menu as a whole. Thai favorites like curries and pad thai are alongside spaghetti and meatballs and “Southern Great Steak” (“A great recipe from a Southern Attorney who bring on tasty Prime selected quality Rib Eye beef same grade as 5 stars steak house with half the price, come with pan fried butter herbs potatoes, and mixed steamed veggies.”)

Continue reading “Boon Boon: Your Asian Fusion Connection”

SN&R “on” best burritos

kitty burrito
kitty burrito

Just in time for this week’s News & Review, I’d like to react to last week’s cover piece on burritos written by Ben Russell. Russell really seems to know how to turn a phrase, and the piece is actually incredibly informative. For example it confirmed my preference for Guerrero’s tortillas as the best tortillas at your local supermarket (or your massive soulless food chain, whatever your preference), and it taught me that the word for people from the state of Jalisco in Mexico is Jaliscenes.

Continue reading “SN&R “on” best burritos”

Tripping the light fantastic

Why is it that we can be out in public, hear a song we like, and purchase it instantly from our iPhone, but it still takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get a green light at certain intersections? I know of at least one awful light, perhaps the worst intersection ever: Sierra Boulevard and Howe Avenue.

The greater Sierra Boulevard area was the haven for many of my friends way back in our single days (including the more-than-a-friend sac-eats) so there have been countless hours lost while sitting on Sierra, waiting to turn left onto Howe. The poorly timed signal almost threw off the benefit of the location’s close proximity to our leisure activities like the bike trail, Thursday nights at Mace’s, and the formerly quintessential singles’ joint: the Lucky supermarket at Loehmann’s Plaza.

It’s practically more time conscious to drive east on Sierra, turn right on Fulton (no right turn on red, mind you), and go west on Fair Oaks, rather than wait for the left at Howe.

There have got to be other lights like this in the region, so do us all a favor and let us know the ones to avoid and any recommended alternative routes.

JACKPOT @ Blue Lamp Sunday, early show, $5

Having just returned from a massive road trip, I’ve got my favorite local band Jackpot on the brain. For some reason whenever I hit the road in Norcal it makes sense to have Jackpot on the stereo. Something about the mishmash of sounds–on “Shiny Things” and “F+” at least–and Rusty Miller’s creaky voice and memorable lyrics is quintessentially Sacramento to me. So Jackpot was in frequent rotation up through Glenn, Tehama, Siskiyou Counties and into Oregon. (Also: “The House at Pooh Corner” read by British actor Peter Dennis. Melancholy but hilarious.)

Continue reading “JACKPOT @ Blue Lamp Sunday, early show, $5”

Sac State’s Roadside Attraction

Sac State’s new digital billboard overlooking Highway 50 is scheduled to go live today with a barrage of advertising to simultaneously distract and educate drivers, raise much needed funding and refresh the public debate about the new University branding, logo and tagline that “Leadership Begins Here”.

If you have not seen the sign, it looms 55 feet above the freeway and has a 48 by 14 foot digital face. This sucker is big. It makes me wonder if CSUS hired the same folks who design advertising for casinos. Not the ubertrendy manscaping and fake boob casinos, the ones on rural highways filled with old people. The good news is that it features new LED technology that allows the contrast to brighten or dim depending on changes in lighting conditions. Hopefully it will be less obnoxiously intrusive than the one bordering Cal Expo, which tends to lull and hypnotize me with giant images of Monica Woods and Dale Schornack.

As many as 8 ads will rotate every 64 seconds. It will also provide public information such as traffic updates, road conditions and amber alerts. Clear Channel owns and operates the sign, and has entered into a 25 year lease with University Enterprises with an initial $750,000 payment. President Gonzales has put aside almost half of that amount in an account dedicated to funding research and travel to academic conferences.

(Note: Clear Channel says that it will go live today as it did not go live yesterday.)

Bee to Voters: Budget Woes Are Your Fault

In a front page story today, the Bee chastises voters (presumably some of whom, you know, work at the Bee) for making the state “ungovernable” with our insistence on both mandatory spending and no tax increases.

Only 4 percent [of voters], according to a recent poll, have a “great deal” of confidence that lawmakers can do the right thing on the overdue spending plan.

But the same voters have passed laws that virtually guarantee annual spending increases for education, severely restrict what can be cut from transportation and local governments and make it virtually impossible to raise taxes.

The research that must have gone into pinpointing the voting records of every single California voter boggles the mind. Especially since nobody born after 1960 can be blamed for the passage of Prop 13 in 1978.

Continue reading “Bee to Voters: Budget Woes Are Your Fault”