It’s time to get organic

Frequent Raley’s shoppers may have noticed a new coffee brand on the shelf. And let me tell you, it’s pretty dang good …and local.

“…Now Sacramento-based Beantrees is taking its line of organic beans from the coffee stand to the checkout stand in an exclusive deal with West Sacramento-based Raley’s. The arrangement marks Beantrees’ first entry into the retail grocery aisle, right next to coffee giants Starbucks Corp. and Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc…”

At $7.99 for the 12oz bag, it’s a great price for some great coffee. Their online prices aren’t too shabby either.

Demented and sad, but social*

This article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle posits that each city can be likened to a type of kid at any given high school. LA is the cheerleader with the nose job; Chicago is the keg-tapping linebacker; San Francisco is the misunderstood artiste with multi-colored hair.

Of course, Sacramento is not mentioned, but I opine that we are the kid whom everybody knows, but isn’t the one to get asked to the prom right away (if at all) — the kid who’s friends with the cool kids, but there’s not enough room at the cafeteria table, so he/she sits on the edge with one buttcheek hanging off the end of the bench.

*Free drink for the first person to identify the source of this title, if/when we ever have a SacRag happy hour

Fish & Chips- Foxy & Goosey

Next stop on the battered and fried tour, Fox & Goose. I’ve always heard that the Goose’s food is great, and they constantly win awards for their brunch, so I’ve been looking forward to this one. To tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed, not as disappointed as I was to learn that Jaime Lee Curtis was born with a penis, but disappointed none the less.

The meal started out well with the authentic pub tradition of ordering food at the bar along with a pint of John Courage. The first bite was like biting into a soggy towel; the flavor was fine but the fish was, there’ no other word for it, mushy. It kind of squirted out between cracks in the puffy, tempura-like breading. The tartar sauce, seemingly a mix of 111 parts mayo 1 part relish, was dangerously warm and starting to separate. The chips were overly crispy and a little light on flavor. Overall, I was bummed. The textures were off-putting and the risky tartar sauce was disconcerting, even for a mayonnaise hound like me. I love F&G for their good prices, great service and wide selection of British brews, but fish & chips is not something I’d recommend there.

Fox & Goose
10th & R, Downtown Sacramento
Food** Ambience**** Service****

Sacramento, get a hold of yourself

As we discussed earlier this week, Ikea opened today to the public and, shocker, there were a flood of folks waiting in line to get in.

From cbs13.com:

Customers have been camping out for days, others for hours and hundreds more are lined up in the cold this morning waiting for their chance to shop at IKEA. The Swedish furniture chain is opening is 27th store in North America today in West Sacramento.

Hear that Sacramento? The 27th store in North America. The Emeryville location has been open for years with little to no fanfare. So what gives? And it is a Wednesday, you know, sometimes referred to as a "work day" which really has me scratching my head.

After opening ceremonies that included the Swedish National Anthem, sawing of a log and lots of free IKEA goodies, the doors opening about 15 minutes early. Many customers are sporting yellow IKEA ball caps and women dressed in traditional Swedish costumes are entertaining the crowds.

What in the name of Pippi Longstocking is going on here, people? Somebody, set me straight.

Remember bouncy balls?

Tramp Stamps

I sure do and going to a pizza parlor or gas station was a real treat when Mom or Dad would shell out a nickel or dime for me to get a shiny new ball from the machine. Ah, those were the days, right? And if you were really in luck you’d come across the coveted Super Bouncy Ball machine.

Well, my friends, as you can tell from the photo, times, they have a changed. These were found at the Taco Bell on Fair Oaks and Arden. Man, nothing says being a kid more than tramp stamps and dollar signs!

A flood of attention

As most of us have heard, Arnold the Governor has been lobbying in DC to get some federal support for our flood control system:

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will visit California to get a first-hand look at the state’s levee system, Gov. Schwarzenegger announced.

Of course, Chertoff wouldn’t commit to a specific time to visit the soggy state. I heard he’s waiting for better weather, because, you know, it’s not worth surveying our flood control systems while we’re being threatened with, like, flooding.

In other flood-related news, the Sacramento Business Journal and the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce are holding a holy-crap-what’ll-happen-if-it-floods breakfast (at $50 a pop but $40 if you register before March 8) at the Hyatt Regency on March 15. We may drown, but not without making sure we’ve partaken of the most important meal of the day.

Skating with (would be) celebrities

Skatetown Shot

I had occasion to visit Skatetown in Roseville this past Saturday. Unfortunately, I was unable to use the free skate rental offer mentioned in a previous post. I could have used it though as it is $10 to skate these days (including rental). Who knew? Who also knew what a fuster cluck it would be out there, too? Good gravy, as you can see by the photo, there was little room for error. How the ice wasn’t littered with severed fingers is beyond me. I witnessed no fewer than 5 “close calls” where someone would take a header with arms out stretched only to have Apollo Ohno come whizzing by with hands tucked behind his back, etc.

What really got to me, however, were the jack holes that thought they would use this time to practice their axels and salchows. And then get irritated when someone was in the way of their landing. Very comical, I must say. I don’t go to the McDonald’s playland to practice my tumbling, right? Ok, once, but Tricks was closed!

Update: Due to technical issues beyond our control, comments made by Runnergirl and SinghCity were lost today. For comedy relief, I’ll attempt to recreate…