it's just a mellow fire, baby

If this is what I have to do to win best blog next year, I'm prepared to do it.  Anybody got Hef's number?

Wow, of all the weddings in the woods that I've been to, that was by far the best.  The best part was the nuanced fire, which we stoked into a subtle fire, which then fully flowered into a mellow fire.  No  j.k. the best part was Cool 101.  This year I was not drunk enough to drown out Joel with my own singing while he was singing Cat Stevens songs (maybe because they didn't do Moonshadow), which is good because there were a lot of people and I probably would have had to commit suicide the next day from embarassment.

wedding in the woods

uh no, no there isn't

Man, does AP have a sweet gig or what? He gets to review some obscure place in Burlingame (where the hell is that?) and get it printed in the Bee.

That's all I got.  I'll be back on tuesday.  I'm going to a wedding in the woods!

kim's, it's exciting and new

New development on the Corti's front.  And...let the assholeish comments begin!

An awesome new yelper clued me in the Kim's market in Davis and I excitedly headed over there for lunch shortly after I read the review.  As you can see I maybe got a little too excited about the kimchee.  But that whole big jar was only 8 bucks!

They make the kimchee at Kim's and it's pretty good.  It's not as good as my favorite brand, Cosmo, which is so fermented that it sometimes kind of explodes when you open it.  Kim's had none of that fizziness and is not quite hot enough.  Oh well.  But they make a lot of their own pickles in the store, and they are better.  That feast above cost about six dollars.  The plastic clamshell has beef and various banchan, and the lettuce leaf has yummy salty bean paste inside.  The sushi has regular and spicy tuna.  But it's not raw, it's tuna salad from canned tuna.  It's funny but tasty.  It also has lettuce, pickle, fake crab, and some other stuff.  They also had cooked beef sushi, and a small vegetable section in the store, which will be great for cooking future dinners.  I was so excited to find this oasis of culinary quality within the wasteland of Davis that I almost got hit by a car leaving the store.  Dork!

sour brau

I think we've all seen this woman around town, right?

Happy Birthday to Ed C. and belated to EC!!!

I went to June's the other day.  It was fun and she and Dennis were charming, as usual.  This chicken katsu was delicious.  June cuts a chunk of fresh chicken off, breads it in panko and fries it up to order.

I ordered chop suey out of curiosity because I'd never had it.  Can you tell how hot off the grill it was?  It was Ok.  It had cabbage, carrot, zucchini, and pork.  
Sac Brewing Co. has a couple of brews on draft that were made with wild yeast.  They have the Deschutes Dissident, which is the first wild yeast beer that Deshcutes has made and it has been aged for 18 months.  I liked it, but not as much as any wild yeast Belgian.  It was kinda thin tasting and bitter at the end.  I liked the New Belgium one (Eric's ale) better.  It was very wine-like, with a faint fruitiness from the peaches.  Here's a description I found online at "the thirsty hopster" blog.:  Eric’s Ale: “This Peche, or Peach beer, started as an ale aged in 130 hL wooden vessels called Foedres for 3 years. It was then transferred and real peaches were added. A second Strong Golden Ale was brewed and blended back into the sour ale. Subtle peach, tropical fruit and tart aromas in the nose, plus some vanilla and oak. The flavor is a balance of sweet and sour. A drinkable and refreshing sour beer hybrid.”

Sac Brewing Co. is reasonably nice inside.  I sure wish it was downtown!

fargobama?!

Have you guys seen these weird bumper stickers?  I guess no one knows whos making them.

Not to be petty, but I think this article should have made it more clear that these ladies are blogging about places their PR firm represents.  Maybe not always, but it's a huge company so it's hard to tell.

making the news

There's no reason I'm posting this picture.  I just love it. Last night I decided that Mick Ronson is the foxiest Jew since Elliot Gould.  That's saying a lot.

Speaking of foxes with curly hair, smiller on news 10. Blink and you'll miss him.  

politico post

So....RTL and Ancient Sons (it's armeniacapalooza!) at West Capitol Bowl tonight. Go to this show. It will be fun. I will be out of town. Also, if you don't agree that West Sac is the Best Sac, Baby Grand is having their CD release show at Old I. And will be on NPR today at 2, right? I'll link to the archive of that later.

I was listening to wednesday's Democracy Now this morning, and they have these two economists on who were tearing shit up. Here's the link to the transcript. I found it interesting that they are the only ones I've heard disagreeing with the media party line that the government HAD TO bail out AIG. This was my favorite part:

AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, John McCain tried to strike a populist tone on the campaign trail. 

SEN. JOHN McCAIN: While employees, shareholders and other victims are left with nothing but trouble and debt, the people who helped cause the collapse make off with tens of millions in severance packages. Disgraceful. I’ve spoken out against the excess of corporate executives, and I can assure you that if I’m president, we’re not going to tolerate that anymore.

AMY GOODMAN: Professor Hudson? 

MICHAEL HUDSON: That’s his constituency. His constituency are the people who have caused the crisis. That’s who he’s representing. Now, of course, you’re not going to come in and say, “I’m going to support the people who have caused this crisis at your expense.” If you’re going to bail out your constituency, you’re going to say exactly the opposite. So what he’s saying has no reality at all. 

These are the people who sang, “There’s no money for Social Security. We’re going to have to privatize it. We’re going to have to turn over your Social Security to Bear Stearns, to AIG”—to the very people who have shown how they’re mismanaging money. Imagine if the Republican program had gone through and Social Security had been privatized and these were the jokers who were managing your Social Security. They’d stick you with the losses. 

So, these are his constituency. He knows he’s not telling the truth. He’s not paid to tell the truth. He’s pretending that it’s a crisis that has to be bailed out, that it’s the financial system. But it’s not the financial system that’s being bailed out; it’s the debt system. And it’s the debts that the homeowners own and the industry owns. And now the government is coming on the side of the creditors, who are going to close down the industries, sell them off to pay the debts, foreclose on the houses, sell them off to pay the debts. And the economy is going to shrink and shrink. That’s the program that they’re standing for. 

get freaky in the club

OMG, I am totally LOLing at this R. Kelly interview.  If you can watch the beginning of this clip, please do.  It is so classic when the the guy asks, "do you like teenage girls?" and R. Kelly hesitates and says "When you say teenage, how old are we talkin'?"

I got his album "double up" recently and there are two super good songs on it. I'm a flirt.  Click for the video. 

Of course it goes without saying that T. Pain's part is weak.  Can he just die already?  The other song that's good is Freaky in the club.  That should have been a hit.  I wish I had the CD case for Double Up here because he has the funniest dedications to his four kids.  It's as if he's never met them.  He says stuff like "I hear you're getting real good at playing with your dolls.   I'm proud of you".

look a real post

Do you like blurry pictures?  Good, cuz my camera does too.  Here's a fabulous shot of the inside of Pho King #3.  I know it's a really cheap thrill, but if you attempt to pronounce "pho" correctly (kinda like phuh?), that name is pretty funny.  PK3  has some nice fake fruit inside, but that's about it for decor.  It's no frills.  The people there were very nice on my visit.  I was there for one thing and one thing only.

This blurry soup called bun rieu.  The menu describes it as "tomato vermicelli" soup, and it is, but it's so much  more.  In addition to the hunks of pink tomato-the tomato was terrible, but at least the fact that it cooked a little bit in the broth helped-there was blood cake (dotted with holes like red Swiss cheese), two quail eggs (what a treat!), fried tofu cake, and best of all, a big, greyish, crab/pork meatball.  The broth was quite fishy, or actually quite crabby, or maybe shrimpy?  From shrimp paste?  They gave me lettuce and cabbage to put on the top, and I like the way the lettuce cooked in the broth.  It was great.  Everyone enjoyed their food.  The rest ordered pho (great broth, although Pho Saigon I think has the best pho I've had so far on Stockton), pork chop with rice, and chicken bun.  Everytime tripe is listed on the menu it is listed as "bible tripe".  I don't know if that is a real thing or what.
Remember that wine sale at 58 Degrees I mentioned?  It's a doozy.  There are some great deals to be had, and it continues the rest of September.  The wine on the second from left was 40% off eleven bucks!  The wine second to right was decidedly not on sale, but I'm so excited they have it!  That was my favorite kind of vinho verde I had in Portugal.  Although in Portugal I think it was like 3.80 euros maybe.  At 58 Degrees it was 17 bucks.  That's kind of too much to pay for vinho verde, but who can put a price on a memory?  Who can catch a falling star?  Who can take a nothing day and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
Perhaps MH can weigh in on purchases?  I'd like to know about the one on the far left and the one in the middle.

who's that on your party barge?

In these troubled financial times, we can all drown our sorrows a little more cheaply for the next two weeks, because 58 degrees is having a harvest sale.  Selected wines are 20-40% off.  My wine rack is looking a little empty right now, so I'll be heading over there, hopefully tonight.  

I was stoked to get to go out on a boat on the river on saturday.  People are big into "funny" boat names, only some of which are actually clever.   This one was good, and what a cute boat!

This person is probably a zinfandel lover, be sure to say it out loud to get the "joke".
This, I had to take a picture of because it's actually a suntracker brand party barge.  Don't be confused by the boat in the background, the party barge is merely an open platform with low barricades around part of it.  Perfect for partying, right?  Everyone will get third degree sunburns and then fall off the boat and drown.
There's no better way to accessorize a houseboat than with a confederate flag.  Here are two separate houseboats that both sport one!
This houseboat is decorated with a paper mache orca on the front.
This boat has its own small boat.
We docked our boat and went and had a drink at Le Rivage.  That's right, I was living the high life briefly, before it was yanked out from  under me this morning when my hedge fund lost a fortune.  I can highly recommend the margarita mas fina from there.  It was strong as hell.  

Jackson Griffith is stoked on Ahoy.  He wrote something really nice about their show.

MD liked Masullo's.  Not really a glowing review, but positive.

babs is killing me

Happy birthday Heckamax! Does this end the summer birthday rush yet? Jeez.

I'm kicked off my computer so I can't think straight. All I've got is this streetcarnage clip, which is the first one that has ever made me laugh. I watched it twice and I may make it thrice.

Anything goin' on this weekend?

ah, thrice! It's killing me the way she says "hi barry" in that little girl voice.

homemade with cheese!

It was smiller's birthday yesterday, so we started off the day right, by going to Cookies for a homemade with cheese. We also went so that we could eat probably the last Muzio buns we'll ever eat. Tuesday was the last day of the bakery. I asked the Cookie's owner and she said they are going to get buns from a company that a former Muzio baker started, so maybe there won't be much difference. The Muzio bun is certainly integral to the delicious character of a Cookie's burger. They have a unique, chewy texture. I think a homemade is not quite as good as a Whitey's special, but I like the variety that Cookies offers. I got an ostrich burger.

I thought this story in the bee about a fracas at the l street lofts is interesting, because it provides some information about how these things are selling. I always wonder that about the various developments around town. Like those fake brownstones on s street. That development seems to moving really slowly. What if you bought one and they don't sell enough to build the whole thing? The naked backs of those fake brownstones look cheap and terrible, yet they sell for more than nice houses on the grid. I saw an ad (maybe on the back of mm?) for one of the first loft places that was built, around 6 years ago, it faces the light rail tracks. It's a duplex, I can't remember exactly where it is. Anyways, it's silver metal and wood and it's pretty cool looking, but it's selling for way more than a much bigger 1920s era house in east sac with a backyard in the same ad. Who the hell would choose the loft?

new article

The LA Times did a great article about Corti Bros. Ruth Reichl said she calls him when she wants to know anything about food! Do you think that this would be enough to prove to some curmudgeons that this is about more than yuppies having to drive a few extra blocks for food? Probably not. Probably nothing would prove that to them.

sutter's landing

Even though it was a 150,000 degrees on saturday, it didn't occur to us to go swimming until almost 7, and it is sadly starting to get dark around that time now. We rode our bikes to Sutter's Landing, and saw Livmoe on her way out as we were coming in. Have you ever been swimming there? It seems miraculous that there is a place to go swimming so close to downtown. Just go over the levee at 28th and C.
Be sure to properly inflate your lobster. Inadequate lobster inflation causes hundreds of deaths each year.
I swam out for a bit, but the bottom is gross and mucky and when it got over my head I ended up in a kelp forest that was creeping me out because it was too dark to see. I kept reminding myself that it was not someone's hair I was brushing up against. Or was it? Anyways, check out this spot before it cools off! It's warm and slow and wide.
I missed the Ancient Sons show because I am a jerk. How was it?

Ancient Sons CD release!

Tonight.  Old Ironsides.  9 pm.  Seven bucks.

I went to Sunrise Rollerland last night, which is faaarrrrr from downtown, but the skating including rental was only five bucks.  Skating is really fun and my favorite part is observing the skating nerds in their natural habitat.  Calling them nerds makes it sound like mocking, but I find it really touching to watch these folks, often pushing middle age (who are probably not so cool or graceful off the rink) lace up their skates and become dynamos that have the kids' jaws dropping.  One dude last night, probably in his 40s, had slicked back hair, a dingy wifebeater exposing some chest hair and pleated black Z. Cavaricci style pants.  He was like the king of the rink, doing splits, chatting up the girls (I was pretending he was not hitting on them).  There was another woman that was doing so much emoting in her dancing, a lot of imaginary rope pulling and graceful spins.  

here's the button!

I'm ordering it for Charles right now.

r5 party

The Corti rally was quite dramatic and emotional, and I got even more emotional when my grocery items quickly tallied up to 50 bucks!  A tear may have been shed.  You'll be reading more from me abou the rally later....the sacbee even has video!  Speaking of the sacbee, did you notice they got rid of their ombudsman?  That is terrible.  In his final column the dude quotes the publisher's memo as saying one of the reasons he wasn't really needed was because the bee has reader comments!  Wading through the comments thread always makes me feel like I need a spongebath.

The new MM is so good.  I probably always say that.  I love the cover, I love Guphy's story on corner stores, DB's film roundup is funny as always, Tony King's coverage of R5 is heartwarming (their anniversary party is this weekend, no lineup listed anywhere I can find, but there are bands saturday and sunday including Boyfriendz).  Boyfriendz is also playing West Capitol Bowl on friday, and The Ancient Sons CD release is that same night at Old I.

FFT said they got 150 to see Matt and Kim last night which is great for the Fungarden!  Let's hope the sound was better than it was on tuesday.

power to the people!

I won't lie, I feel terrible today. I am thisclose to having a hangover, which I never get! Those beers at Luigi are extra big or something, or they're making Bud Light stronger than they used to. That was a very pleasant show last night, with good bands and friends to chat with. I feel like a jerk for not watching The Intelligence, but I was planning on going home and got sucked back into Luigis for more beer. I finally had a slice there and I thought it was underwhelming. The dough was raw in the middle. I hear that it's better for takeout.

But the bigbigbigbig news is in the Bee today. Corti's isn't moving! It's a Christmas miracle. I'm going to the rally thing today, but before I found out about the new development I was joking that it was going to be a Corti's riot and that Darrell would be dragged out by the police in those plastic cuffs screaming "hell no, I won't go".

fungarden tonight

There's a super good show tonight at the Fungarden. Standard Tribesmen, English Singles and The Intelligence. Starts at eight for real. Over before eleven for real. If you haven't seen the Standard Tribesmen they are worth checking out.