Tag: Holidays

El Patron Cinco de Mayo Festival

This weekend, you could put on a sombrero and drink a Corona Light like a guero. Or, you could go to the best Mexican restaurant in town and enjoy the widest selection of premium tequila in the area. It is up to you, hombre.

El Patron at 66th and Folsom is one of our few establishments serving gourmet Mexican cuisine, and they will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo all weekend. With more than 40 brands and 100 different 100% agave tequilas, you owe it to yourself to enjoy a taste of real cultura Mexicana. Check out the schedule of events.

Continue reading “El Patron Cinco de Mayo Festival”

Let the Year End Lists Begin-Best Meals of 2007

My Top Ten Meals of 2007

10.  The chile colorado at Sal’s Tacos.  Whether it was the fantastic flavors or the drunkenness achieved at the West Coast Brewfest, this had to have been the best Mexican meal of 2007.

9.  Due to its consistency rather than one-time superiority, the Drunken Pig Tostada at Sacramento Brewing Company.  As always washed down with a Celtic Amber.

8.  The small plate of orichette at Mulvaney’s B&L.  Tender, delicious, sublime.

7.  The apple cider doughnut at Rainbow Orchards.  Sure, it’s not a meal, but you can always eat four more and call it a meal. Continue reading “Let the Year End Lists Begin-Best Meals of 2007”

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

In the Sacramento area, people who hate Christmas hit ones of Nativity displays every year. What are they after? Baby Jesus, of course:

Baby Jesus was stolen from the nativity scene of an Orangevale family’s front yard.

The family did not notice that Jesus was missing right away because the thieves left everything else, the manger, Joseph and Mary.

The family was not just robbed of a figurine, they were robbed of a tradition.

The ChlubDon’t be another “The family”. Introducing the CHRIST CHLUB! Lock down your Baby Jesus in this festively decorated kevlar-coated security lock, now available in Rudolf Red! Guaranteed indestructible and tamper proof. This tasteful anti-theft device has been designed with your Nativity scene’s – and your family’s – security in mind.

Don’t let those Grinches steal your Christmas! Secure your Baby Jesus with the CHRIST CHLUB, and save Christmas. Yes, little Timmy, it is Christmas time in Sacramento again.

Davis Ranch: the best tree bargain around

The Cool family are early Christmas tree people. We are also heavily into Thanksgiving, so care is taken to not go full-bore until Black Friday. But basically as soon as the dishwasher is loaded on Thanksgiving it is Christmas in my house (not that it was my dishwasher).

We are enjoy slaying our own tree, and this year we set our sights on Apple Hill. We missed peak apple season this year so we were excited to make the drive. While there are plenty of lots and a nice website to help you find them, once we got up there we realized the prices are considerably higher up there. Continue reading “Davis Ranch: the best tree bargain around”

Thanks for Giving

Hungry?‘Tis the season for giving thanks for what we’ve got.  ‘Tis also the season for reminding ourselves that others don’t got nearly as much as we got. So the inevitable question arises in this season of bounty, “What can I do to help share that bounty with others?”  I’m so glad you asked.

Sacramento is rife with opportunity for donations of time, money, food, or all three.  While some high profile Thanksgiving Day events like Run to Feed the Hungry are chock full of volunteers for “day of” activities, help is still needed for set-up and registration.  If you’ve got some free time and want to help with the race, click here to help out.

Other opportunities can be found throughout the city, through a variety of organizations.  One of the best resources for finding volunteer opportunities is Hands On Sacramento, a volunteer coordination organization.  Hands On can match you, or even your whole family, with a one-time or ongoing volunteer opportunity that fits your interests and skills.  If you’re outside of Sacramento, check the Governor’s official volunteer site, CaliforniaVolunteers.org.   It’s a great resource for volunteering throughout the state, especially during emergency situations like the recent fires. Continue reading “Thanks for Giving”

The Pumpkin Farm


The Pumpkin Farm

Reviewing pumpkin patches is a hard racket. Unless the pumpkins are visibly rotting or parking costs more than Arco, you’re pretty much dealing with a numbers game, balancing cost versus amenties until the cows come home. (If they actually have cows though, that’s a definite plus.)

The Pumpkin Farm is located in scenic Citrus Heights, California, otherwise known as that big area out there beyond the mall. But seriously, you find yourself “way out there” in what seems to be Kentucky before you know it.

Continue reading “The Pumpkin Farm”

Oktoberfest!

This weekend, we’ve got two local Oktoberfest celebrations for your pleasure.

Turn Verein’s Oktoberfest is a long standing Sacramento tradition, with the dancing, the oom-pah-pah, food, beer and wine. If you have never attended, you are definitely missing out.

Brew It Up is also hosting a strong Oktoberfest for a second year, with fifteen hand crafted German-style beers, food, dancing under a Munich-style tent and more of the oom-pah-pah. Reservations are recommended for dining. If you want to try the beers, they are on tap right now. O’zapft is!

Prost!

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

When we moved into our official married couple house just before Christmas, we noticed that our cross-the-street neighbors still had pumpkins on their front porch. Since they have the most beautifully updated house on the block, keep their yard immaculate, were the first to welcome us to the ‘hood, and seem to be awesome people in general, I didn’t think much of it. I figured the pumpkins had been there so long that they didn’t notice them anymore.

Continue reading “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!”

Camellia Day

CamelliaYou might not know of this particular claim to fame, but it makes sense that Sacramento is officially Camellia City of the World. You also might not know that today is Camellia Day. One thing is for sure. You can’t miss the fact that there are probably a million of these brightly hued flowers blooming across the city, as they always do in the waning days of winter.

Camellias are native to Southeast Asia and first came here, like many other things, during the Gold Rush. Colonel James Lloyd Lafayette Franklin Warren came out West from Boston in 1851 to open, among other retail establishments, a seed shop. A year later, he imported the first batch of camellia seeds into Sacramento and they quickly took root as one of the favorite local blooms.

Continue reading “Camellia Day”