Your Local Foodie Roundtable

As a show of online unity heretofore unknown in the world of
Sacramento food writers, we present you with a roundup of opinions from some of the best and most dedicated foodies in the
Sacramento region. Seven of the most influential food enthusiasts in the area were asked for their opinions in a short poll about some of their favorite restaurants, dishes and local ingredients. Their answers may shock you (unless of course you are already devoted fans of their work, in which case their answers will seem mildly redundant to you, but hey, if you’re a fan, than be a fan all the way and drop the attitude.) The participants in this poll were Melly Elliot, moderator of the Sacramento Food Forums, www.sacramentofoodgroup.org; Garrett McCord, writer of Vanilla Garlic, www.vanillagarlic.blogspot.com; Ann Martin Rolke, writer for Sacatomato.com, www.sacatomato.com, and writer of Hands Off Cooking, available at www.handsoffcooking.com; Jennifer Cliff, writer of Sacatomato.com and publisher of “Edible Sacramento,” http://www.ediblesacramento.com; Paul Somerhausen, founder of the Sacramento Epicureans dining group, www.sacramento-epicureans.com; Kristy DeVaney, writer of Cakegirl’s Cakery, www.cakegrrl.com; and Greg Sabin, food writer for the Sac Rag, www.sacrag.com, under the name “sac-eats.”

Here is the poll:

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You can call me Betty (Giraffe)

Tortoises
Give… us… nametags…

Checking out the Zoo yesterday with my mom and my daughters I realized something about zoos that for some reason I’ve never thought of before: they never show the public the animals’ names. I’m positive that the zookeepers know each animal’s name, and granted it would be difficult to explain which zebra is which, but wouldn’t it introduce an extra element of fun to the proceedings? “Ooh that one must be Sally, because that stripe below her ear has a little crook to it”…

Is this something you see at other zoos? The new penguin exhibit does show the names for each bird, and it is extremely difficult to tell them apart. But it is fun and the names are cute. I’m telling you, this could be a hit.

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Some 80’s Comedians Are Still Funny

Thursday night brought long time comic Will Durst to Sacramento.  Now I’m not as up on stand-up comedy as I used to be (anyone else remember Stand-Up Stand-Up on Comedy Central in the early 90’s), so I wasn’t too sure if Mr. Durst, a purely political comedian who was still telling Reagan jokes the last time I saw him, was still funny.  Turns out he is.

Thursday night’s event at Marilyn’s was a celebration for the “Comic Press News,” a local rag that focuses on nationall political cartoonage (DMZ, remember having to read those things for Carmazzi’s civics class?) which has now changed its name to “The Humor Times.”  The evening was opened up by the local Free Hooch Comedy Troupe, who did some edgy and very salient sketch comedy for the sparse crowd.   Then Mr. Durst came on the stage and did a good hour of solid, current political humor that really killed.  (My favorite local joke of the evening was, “I love Sacramento, I really do.  And I would live here in a second except for one small thing-August…which here happens to last from April to September.”)

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Speaking of NorCal sports…

Northern California’s only NHL hockey team, the San Jose Sharks, have reached round two of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs, and are currently leading the Detroit Red Wings in that best-of-seven series 1-0 in games. The next game is tomorrow night.

The Sharks have had a strong season. After eliminating the Nashville Predators in the first round, San Jose and Detroit are renewing old playoff hostilities:

The teams also have some playoff history dating back to the Sharks’ post-season debut in 1994. San Jose shocked the top-seeded Wings, ousting their highly favoured foes in a seven-game classic.

However, the Wings returned the favour the following season, sweeping the Sharks in the second round.

If the Anaheim Ducks (who play in the same arena that is the rumored future home of the Sacramenno Kings) dispatch with the Vancouver Canucks in round two and the Sharks get by Detroit, it’s quite conceivable that round three of the NHL playoffs will feature an all-California Western Conference Final, with the NorCal Sharks playing the SoCal Ducks. Those would be some bragging rights. The winner of that series would then go on to play in round four – more relevantly known as the Stanley Cup Final – against the best team in the east.

GSWs’ hoop dreams come true tonight

Run TMC
Run M and C and their
terrible terrible friend

I’m gonna “show my Norcal” today and throw a shout out to the Golden State Warriors, my — and probably many Sacramentans’ — first favorite basketball team. The team will host its first playoff game in 13 years tonight.

The Bee’s report by Scott Howard-Cooper highlights an expected 50% increase in season ticket holders by the start of the next season that got a jump-start even before the playoff berth was official. That’s great news for a franchise that has been in the dumps since dumping Chris Webber. Hey, wait a minute…

“You’re showing your Sacramento”

Once I heard this phrase tonight, I couldn’t wait to get home and write about it. It was stated by the promotions person at Marilyn’s downtown when someone who was involved in our conversation griped about having to park (gasp!) two blocks away. He said, “You’re showing your Sacramento.”

I laughed, knowing exactly what he meant. It was akin to the first time I read the tagline, “If you live here, you’ll know” at the top of the sacrag homepage.

In what ways do you or your loved ones show your Sacramento?