For months, residents of the Arden/Arcade area have wondered what was to become of
the Lyon’s restaurant on the corner of El Camino and Watt. Having stood for over fifty years, the Lyon’s was a unique architectural reminder of a glittering and inventive time gone by. When a crew of demolition workers started to bring the building down in March, rumors flew as to what the new spot would morph into. Mrs. Eats and I really hoped for a Peet’s Coffe and Naia Gelato combo, but both agreed that we’d settle for a Dos Coyotes or even a Fuzio (that’s fusion pasta for those in the know). Well, the bulldozers are gone and the fence has come down and the new location has been unveiled to reveal- TA DAH- extended parking for the Wal Mart. That’s right, the building was demolished so that Wal Mart could have 20 more parking spaces in a parking lot that already sports over 500 spots. Well done Wal Mart. Thanks for keeping the neighborhood relevant.
Happy Memorial Day
This is a packed weekend with the County Fair and the Jazz Jubilee and the wonderful weather. If you’re out taking in the jazz you might run across a rare sighting of sac-eats and CoolDMZ together. Have fun out there and stay safe on the roadways. Also don’t do anything wrong or Ron Jones will be all over your ass.
CBS13: Watch your back, Sacramento
CBS13 last night reported a story about a local mom who left her baby in the car seat, covered by a blanket, while she went shopping. Parents in the audience, and also anyone with a pulse and a lick of common sense, are duly horrified. Fortunately the baby is safe and the mom is out on bail. Somehow the baby was allowed to return home with mom–apparently this is a possibility if authorities determine it’s okay.
But to CBS13, the real story is at the perp’s house. Continue reading “CBS13: Watch your back, Sacramento”
Call Before You Dig
Before you pick up that shovel to start your Memorial Day weekend project in the yard, be sure to call 811 to make sure you won’t be digging into any utility lines that could shut down service to your home or even your entire neighborhood — not to mention risking injury or death to yourself or others around you. Continue reading “Call Before You Dig”
I Heart Armstrong & Getty
If your radio dial hasn’t quite made its way to 650 on the AM, do yourself a favor and move it there between 6am-10am Monday through Friday.
Once Shawn & Jeff left the airwaves, I quickly became a convert to the Armstrong & Getty morning drive program after hearing my friend Elizabeth start virtually every sentence with, “This morning on Armstrong & Getty they were talking about…” Continue reading “I Heart Armstrong & Getty”
Don’t go around in circles for PC repair
Last week I was in need of some specialized computer repair on an out-of-warranty laptop computer. I asked around for recommendations and nothing really turned up, so I took a chance on Circular Systems, also known as that weird little computer shop on 28th and T. I had a great overall experience. Turns out the problem with the laptop’s monitor was fixed by giving the insides a little tuneup, which didn’t cost me much at all. And even though the tech had mentioned the possibility of needing replacement parts and therefore could easily have milked me for those parts and additional labor, he was honest and speedy in telling me he had fixed the problem.
So if you’re in the market for some more advanced PC repair and don’t have a nerdy friend or coworker who can do it for you and you don’t want to take it to Best Buy and can’t use a warranty, Circular Systems is your place.
Circular Systems
455-6888
West Coast Brewfest
This past Saturday, the West Coast Brewfest was held at Miller Park in Sacramento. Within spitting distance of two rather confused whales, I and several hundred of my closest friends partook in that fine summer event, the brewfest. Unlike an Oktoberfest celebration wherein men wear high socks and lederhosen and the women pour themselves into lace-up bodices, the brewfest calls for a completely different wardrobe. The typical brewfest attendee is typically garbed in: for males, shorts, flip-flops, t-shirt sporting comical yet cynical saying and sunglasses; for ladies, shorts/skirts, flip-flops, t-shirt sporting comical yet cynical saying referring to men’s inability to use good judgment when choosing a mate, and sunglasses.
Scott’s Seafood
This is not so much a review as an update.Last year I wrote a simply sashimi-grade review of Scott’s Seafood. Well, that was a year ago and it appears that 
things have gone downhill. The Eats family has ventured to Scott’s twice in the last two weeks and both times been treated to weak service, ill-prepared foods and Golden State Warriors losses. (Maybe Scott’s didn’t have anything to do with the Warriors losses, but they could have at least tried to box out on Carlos Boozer.) I’m hoping that this downward trend does not spill over to the Oakland and Folsom locations, but the Loehmann’s Plaza restaurant is definitely in a freefall.
Two strikes, Scott. One more, and you’re dead to me.
The Squeeze Inn
OK, I will simply and succinctly try to explain the Squeeze Inn burger experience here and leave you to make your own decisions. I would offer a ringing endorsement of the Squeeze Inn right now, but am slightly leery of getting sued when someone goes there on my recommendation and has a massive coronary.
You walk in the front door and scope out the seating arrangement; all twelve stools are taken. That’s right, twelve whole stools in the place, not exactly the acre wide new chain places that you’re used to. You give the evil eye to the two parents who have brought their small Amerasian children because the kids are taking up two stools and chowing down on McDonald’s chicken mcnuggets. Not only is this a slap in the face to the owners of the place, but it’s a direct challenge to anyone who walks in. It says, “Hey look at us, we’re so important that we get to take up precious real estate without even buying a product.†You quietly hope that this whole family gets squat-humped by lunatics wearing Grimace and Hamburglar costumes.
Schedule mixup at San Juan
How bad is this San Juan scheduling mix-up? Actually, that’s not a rhetorical question, I still have no idea how this actually happened. The CBS13 story is very vague:
Some principals told students they could come for a shorter day while other students were taking the exit exams but in essence they needed to be there the whole day for the state required classroom minutes to count.
And those shortened days off added up to 4 whole school days at Encina? Wow. I can imagine being pretty pissed if I were a San Juan parent right now. After all, as we all know, all the schools really have to do is babysit the kids for a predetermined amount of time. I kid the everybody…
But seriously, the exit exams are not a new thing, and neither is the “required minutes of instruction” thing. How could things get this bad? Could nobody remember what they did during exit testing last year? Anybody else got a question?
The Sac Rag 