merry fucking xmas

So...we got robbed at gunpoint last night around 9 at 26th and H street.  We were walking back from dinner. It happened really fast. A guy ran towards us with a small revolver and ordered us to get on our hands and knees and give him our wallets, keys and cell phones. We did it really fast and I said I didn't have my phone.  I was worried that would piss him off but he didn't say anything.  He took our stuff and told us to walk away and not look back. He yelled at sm to pick up his keys and he did, but he didn't pick up mine and the guy was like "yo, bro, your keys". So I got mine back too.  I didn't see, but sm saw that there was another guy with him across the street and that they both ran towards J st.  More after the jump

jeez louise

I'm about to go out on a limb with this statement, guys, but the Rolling Stones are really good. They were talking about this song on NPR today. How hot is Mick?

I had to go to Starbucks to get a gift card for my Aunt today and the huge line was disheartening. What the fuck is wrong with those people? Why do they like burnt coffee? I don't think everyone needs to get into super light roasts, which can be too acidic and which I really can't get into, but that coffee is straight charred. My aunt certainly gets a pass because she is old. Is this going to piss someone off? My advice: go to Temple or Broadacre (even though I think those guys kinda suck) and look for a coffee with the description chocolately or rich or something. You just might like it. It's worth at least trying a little bit just not to support a huge crappy corporation that is overwhelming local businesses and blah blah blah preaching to the choir.

Four Eyes Show! Four Eyes Show! Don't miss the first song. Remember how it was truckin' last year?

Arts corner:

Two recommendations:Gerhard Richter documentary that shows how he makes his abstract paintings. Yes, I fell asleep at the end to the sounds of German, but by that time you had seen a lot of his technique. It's really unique and cool and I'm pretty sure he developed it and got all these custom squeegees made.

Not To Disturb by Muriel Spark. What a fucking bizarre book by the woman who wrote The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie (which is pretty cute). This book is the length of a novella so it's a quick read

And in really high brow art I plan to watch both Die Hard and Lethal Weapon on Christmas Eve. I can't wait to see Mel Gibson's butt again and pretend he is not the worst dude on the planet.

ass handed to me

This definitely brought a tear to my eye.  What a wonderful article!!

I sorta got my ass handed to me in this letter about my review of Abyssinia, but I stand by what I said. If he means I made factual errors I wish he had pointed them out.  People who ate with me will confirm that some of them were wayyyy too salty and I love salt.

When does the Four Eyes show start?

cat with stocking

 the lil b stocking was steve's. rip

 ramen from Ryu Jin.  The egg and chashu were very, very good

 tasty yakitori. they had a strong grilled taste and I really liked the ground chicken one

 If I do say so myself, this was one of the best soups I have ever made.  Butter (surprise!) is the key.  It is a variation on a bon appetit recipe.  Cut carrots into 1 inch pieces. put on baking sheet and cover with melted butter, pepper, and salt. roast in a 425 oven for 25 minutes. puree with broth. i improvised and added tahini, curry powder, and cayenne (like EC I like cayenne on most vegetables). we sprinkled with sumac, because i was doing a sort of middle eastern-ish thing and sumac brightened the soup.

wow, lavash bread, why have I never gotten it before? I think it's better than pita.  I did my perfect roast chicken recipe, and made garlic lemon yogurt and we made chicken wraps.  my only regret is that it needed cucumber and mint and maybe a pickle. maybe i could get a takeout order of french fries and stuff them in there if i wanted to go crazy.  does anyone make their own falafel? a recipe would be great.

btw, I told Ryan D. my perfect chicken recipe and I told him 500 which was totally wrong! I pretty much wrecked a chicken last week before I figured that out.  And I fucked up  my oven so bad that now it's setting off the fire alarm all the time.  I was so embarrassed that he used the recipe.

Hoppy Xmas Everybody

So....the Westvleteren release was yesterday.  NPR covered it here if you want to read about it.  Rob at Pangaea said that they had fielded over 250 calls, from all over the US and as far as Japan.  One guy said that his dad was dying and wanted to have a bottle before he died. 

My coworker went to pick hers up at the Davis Beer Shoppe somewhat early yesterday and they had already gotten 200 calls.

Forget about all that hype, because you're not going to be able to get any anyway, and go there and get a Drake's "Pinot to Go", a delicious imperial stout aged in pinot noir barrels. Nice for the season, too.  There is also a Mikkeller Hoppy Lovin' Christmas IPA that's good.

Steve Hansen

I went to the Steve Hansen swearing in and it was so inspiring.  The members of the gay community there were pumped and were easily half the crowd.  The gay men's chorus sang.  A muzak version of Step In The Name Of Love played.  Me and Liv Rickrolled ourselves when Never Gonna Give You Up came on, and OMF did not recogonize it, which is so OMF.  One of the best things about OMF besides being a mensch and so smart is that he is never not OMF, except maybe when he got a Blackberry, but now they are so outdated that they became OMF.  I ate a turkey wrap for the first time and it was ok, all in all, a momentous  night.

KJ made an appearance, to seriously tepid applause when mentioned by Steve.  He stood behind me uncomfortably as if he knew he wasn't welcome at the front.  Wow.  No wonder he doesn't want to be in Sac when he can be hobnobbing with Oprah or whoever.  Steve's speech to the crowd was very informal, and he mentioned the arts and that he is the first city council member of this district to live downtown.  He called his staff onstage and Maya Wallace was the second to get called up.  I bet she will be on the city council someday, perhaps closer than you think.

Crap, when step in the name of love came on, I realized I had heard something about an R. Kelly tour and didn't look into.  Turns out I missed his "single ladies tour" for his album "black panties" in Oakland.  He has announced one tour date in Baton Rouge for 2013 so hopefully he will come to Oakland or Sac.

christmas pics

Yes yes yes! The first season of Girls just shipped from Netflix!!

I haven't been following RV Sheide on twitter (shocker) but Cosmo retweeted this and it's really funny

Kevin Johnson says he no longer wants to be mayor, will pursue career as traveling charter school salesman. sacb.ee/SWBxri #sacramento This is response to that cray cray Bee article in which Johnson pretty much admits he's so ineffective that he's given up on Sac and will just travel around vaguely promoting it to celebrities, sports figures, and politicians.  This fucking guy.  I can't even believe the arrogance.  Re: arrogance, be sure to read Nick article where KJ makes vague, untrue statements about what he's done for the homeless, among other things.  Pictures after the jump

rambler

I don't usually recommend movies, and I'm pretty up and down on Mike Leigh, but, wow, I have to say his early movie Nuts In May is by far the best I've ever seen. I recommend you give it a try.

I started this book, El Narco in Mazatlan because it was at the house where we were staying. It's about the drug wars in Mexico, going back to the very early days. It's fascinating. Mazatlan is in Sinaloa and historically that's been the spot (in the Sierra Madres) where peasant farmers have grown opium poppies and pot. In the 1800s, lots of Chinese immigrated to Mexico to work on the railroads and such, and they consumed opium and even started opium dens, some in Mazatlan!

Then the Sinaloans figured out that they could be making more money off of this and kicked the Chinese out of the business with horrible, racist campaigns. That started the whole deal with the Sinaloan cartels, of which there are three or so now, I think, based in Culiacan, the capitol of Sinaloa.

The really gnarly parts started with the Zetas, who are from the northeast and were started by a former Mexican special forces guy who recruited other military dudes. They are basically a terrorist insurgency at this point, although the Mexican and American government waffle on calling them that because it makes Mexico seem unstable.

The Zetas have been at war with the Sinaloans (who fight among themselves as well) and that's when things have been getting worse and worse.

Nothing the least bit sketchy happened in Maz, and they have gotten a handle on their graffiti problem, which made things appear sketchy last time. My mom claims it's not gang graffiti but I'm not sure I believe that. The only crazy thing is that cops cruise around standing in the back of pickup trucks with machine guns and their entire faces are obscured by black cloth thingies. That looks pretty nuts. It's to protect them and their families from assassination. However, their were less sketchy dudes there than in a typical night walking around Sac. And guys are respectful of women there, I didn't hear any catcalls for any ladies at all, which is certainly different from other areas.

Also: no trace of Montezuma's revenge although I had ice in everything and even ate a pile of lettuce this time and a bucket of salsa fresca and ceviche and everything. People are very careful not to make anyone sick because then they won't get any repeat business and will get a bad rep.

partying - shrimp style

Mazatlan picture post after the jump!  I've been there so many times now that I don't want to repeat too many picture subjects I've posted in the past

I'm back

I'm back from Mazatlan! The honeymoon is over, both figuratively and literally.

There is a really good show on Saturday! Knock Knock, Fort Ancient (Biz's side project) and the legendary Hod from Santa Cruz.  At Midtown Village Cafe, which is turning out to be a pretty darn good venue.

talking turkey

Wow, working hard is really hard. Hardly working is way easier. I was so busy yesterday I didn't even check Heckasac.  Had a good Thanksgiving, just us this year.  The bike ride was the same as always, fun, with the exception of the fact that it was big and slow this year and way less rowdy.  The traffic directing guys they have added are useless and actually make it more dangerous.  One pulled this move of trying to stop us at a green light and wave the cars through that had a red. He really had no authority to do that and both cars and bikes were ignoring him.

I bought a smoked turkey at Morant's this year and I am completely, deadly serious when I say I will never cook a turkey again.  This one was 53 bucks and totally worth it.  I gotta call Dirk and tell him, although it's hard to get that guy stoked.  You put it in the oven for and hour before serving and you get crispy skin!  The leftovers are supreme and don't dry out.

Plus, smoky gravy!  The meat is not overly smoked, hence not dry.

Thanksgiving dinners are ugly but oh well.  I think my cran is the best: rum, lots of zest and orange juice and this year the very special guest star of a tiny bit of cloves.  I wing my stuffing every year and every year it is too dry.  Really crappy, especially left over.  This has applles, pinenuts, italian sausage and thyme.

This is the amount of meat we had left!  Still not sick of it.  Oh yeah, the turkey was not fatty and made really good stock.

The end of turkey talk

do over

I hate last week's posts. Do over.  New karaoke rooms across from the Crest: awesome but deadly.  Full bar, and I get so excited about karaoke that I always go crazy.  Good idea: straight tequila.  Logic: the line for drinks is so long that I won't have to wait in line as often.  That place is a real clusterfuck as far as management, and it's drunken chaos in there.  It seems off the hook popular but I bet it could go under if they don't get it together.  Although the bar seemed to be making money hand over fist.

Yesterday I laid in bed crying and then in the evening watched the dust bowl documentary from Ken Burns.  Dust bowl: hellllsa dusty.  I maybe fell asleep for like 15 minutes of the whole thing, lulled by Peter Coyote's voice, but in general thumbs way up.

piece of crap

After a vaporizer session I foolishly left the room where smiller was spinning fresh reggae (do the kids still say fresh?) and went upstairs to watch the Sofia Coppola movie "Somewhere".  What a piece of garbage, and the worst movie to watch while stoned.  I would zone out on a long scene where he was smoking a cigarette and then zone back in and he would still be smoking it.  This guy was a piece of crap of a human being.  This entire movie was more boring than my most boring moment of my actual life.  And you are talking to someone who loved My Dinner With Andre and that boring Belgian movie that just follows a woman around her apartment for three hours and then she does something shocking in the end.

The Neighbor- I don't imagine you have any eggs, do you?  I want to start on a batch of aged nog and it would be awesome to do it with farm eggs.  I will probably have arugula to give you soon.

I pwned it

Not a very lively week here in ol' Heckasac.  And I do mean ol.  Can you believe how long I've been doing this?  I'd like to remind you that it was way before facebook came and ruined everything in the entire world for everyone.  Too strong?

 And no one has ever come close to matching the regularity of my posts.  Remember all the blogs that have come and gone?  The ones that started off strong and faded away?  Remember when Sac Rag was a big thing?  Oh wait, they are still posting! I'll have to go back to checking.  Although when SNR had a "best of" blogs category, I argued and will still argue that a "blog" with a whole roster of posters is really not a blog.  Remember when I used to start fights with everyone before I knew that people would find out about it?  Remember how through the kind attention of editors such as NM, OMF, AY, RD and RL I have been able to enjoy a successful freelance side line?  Remember that new yorker article about the first blogs? The people who started it were insufferable.  Thanks for sticking us with such a stupid name, you indie wimps.

What is the secret to my longevity, you ask?  Pretty much just saying whatever, good or bad, ego or id, scandalous or mundane, profound (ha!) and cliched, crazy or sane, funny or stupid, wrong or right.  I used to get super embarrassed about most things I posted but now it is such second nature to me. I never think about it.  I probably should.  I transferred my embarrassment to my freelancing.  Usually I can't look at it when it's published and then later I read it and I'm like, that's pretty good.  I was just laughing at my new thing in Edible.  That's right, LOLing at myself, which smiller was LOLing at me for.  Remember how LOLs probably didn't exist when I starting this, let alone ROFLMAO or pwned.

So, this is the end, my only friend, the end.

JK.  I just felt like a walk down memory lane.  Let the trolls spread their vitriol below!

I went to the open mic comedy night at Bows last night.  I enjoyed it greatly and am really drawn to the spectacle, discomfort and anger of those who are drawn to standup.  I saw two guys do their first standup ever.  One was like an angry car wreck and one pretty  much just read jokes off his phone.  If I was a heckler I would have yelled "do you just google "jokes" and read whatever comes up?"  Host Ray Molina is quite funny and the last guy did like a half hour and was super funny.  I wish I could remember his name.  He was from LA.  There was a donation jar but I don't think these guys could have made any money.  What a perverse thing to be drawn to.

The crowd was terrible, which I think is not typical.  There was mostly silence and then this dreadful table with a  woman who would compulsively laugh loudly, but often at what her table mates were saying and not at the jokes.  She would drown out the jokes and some of the comedians were pretty much forced to remark on it.  I wanted to KILL HER by the end.  Anyway, it's cheaper than a night of theater and pretty much as absorbing if you can stomach secondhand embarrassment.

mouth watering

 Kinda of a rippin it up weekend. Well, mostly Friday.  Flame Club! Yipes.

This is my favorite cocktail in Sac right now.  Hook and Ladder West Indies Sour.  It's St. Elizabeth's allspice dram (a Jamaican liqueur made with allspice berries, lemon simple syrup, and red wine.  It's like a nicely acidic mulled wine.  It has an interesting mouth-drying quality that maybe is an effect of the allspice.  They have a lot of other cocktails that sound good, but I've been there twice and just ordered this one.

TV Dinner

TV Dinner- Really good, the Verge was transformed.  It was super fun to see all the chefs working and bustling.  The servers were so excellent.  I was worried because they were volunteers and I know I would have botched.  I chose the easier job of pouring wine.  This crowd was voracious for white wine so that was hard to keep up and keep cold.  There was a miscommunication where some volunteer opened like 25 bottles of the cab franc, which were sort of hidden behind me so they were all left at the end of the night, open.  Somebody should contact live if they want some tasty cab franc.  The Verge is cold enough that it should be fine tonight and tomorrow.

The menu: based on Rawhide, a show that I oddly loved as a child, smoked chicharrones with the most bomb tartare imaginable piled on top.  I will eat anything placed in front of me so I quickly became the big joke of the dinner when I popped a piece of ash in my mouth, which luckily was not hot, and tried to eat the little crunchy snack I had found.  Then my mouth and face became covered in ash.  Oh well, someone's gotta be the joke.

Second course: green acres.  A lovely crunchy cale salad with roasted root vegetables underneath, and aioli.  There was some cardamom in there.

Thirst course: Hawaii 5-O.  Roasted pork and rice wrapped in banana leaves.  The rice was somewhat sticky and had that lovely tea-like flavor that banana leaves impart.  Scrumptious.  The pork was great and had big hunks of fat you had to wade though.  Our table scored two platters.

The dessert were gelatin-based (Mr. Ed) The carrot tartlets were big hit, they tasted like mini pumpkin pies.  The mint julep jellies were also good and minty.  I didn't like the green apple marshmallows very much. 

The bartenders whipped up a take on Tom and Jerrys.  Hot rum and brandy, spiced with Jamaican red tea (I think that's what they said) and with torched merengue on top.  A lot of the white hairs couldn't deal and ditched them on my dirty glass table, so I expected something overpowering, but they were mild and delicious.  But you have to admit, they were not white wine.

Speaking of the white hairs, an awesome white-haired couple met and then did some heavy petting in the house tableau.  They were the most scandalous and maybe in their 70s? Good for them!

OMG, KZAP is playing the most truly awful jam right now.

ramen

My campaign promise is that I will not post about politics today.

Went to Ryujin Ramen yesterday.  I liked it a lot.  I was mostly stoked that they had tako yaki (fried octopus balls), which I haven't had since I was in Tokyo.  These were maybe not as good, but I liked the pickled ginger with them, it added a little tang.  I also liked that they include the ginger in the spicy ramen, I like the whole egg, the chashu was great, the noodles were firm, which is cool.  I refuse to weigh in on the Shoki/Ryujin debate.  There is room enough for the both of them.  I did just talk to a volunteer from Tokyo moments ago who drives from Davis to Shoki all the time, so there ya go.

There are three good shows on Friday!! Too many.  Orca Team (Scott likes them)/Nacho Biznass at Bows.  The Nachos were really good on Saturday.  La Sera/Dreamdate at Midtown Village Cafe.  It's awesome there's a new good venue and I am stoked to see Dreamdate.  La Sera, meh.  Then, Alkali Flats 10 anniversary at the Torch Club.  That one may be the most fun of all! It starts pretty late and should go on for a long time, so I will catch that for sure.  Every member of the many who have been in the band over the years will do a guest spot. Hopefully they will all jam on "The Weight" at the end or "Knocking on Heaven's Door".

Porcupine Pie

Wow, these are my kind of young ladies. Perhaps there is hope for the youth.

juniper and rye

 I had to go back to Sac State so I could finally get my diploma sent to me (only 9 years after graduating) and it was a trip.  It's a cool/ugly/brutalist  campus.  This is the building where I spent so much of my time.  The funny thing is, the building I have worked in for almost 10 years is just as ugly as this, only with no windows. Sigh.  I should paint a window in front of me.

 I went to Apple Hill on Sunday, I think for the first time.  It's pretty cool.  It must rake in hundreds of thousands a day.  I probably dropped like 60-70 bucks total.

 This caramel apple was sick.   The caramel was really soft, unlike the fair.  It made my teeth hurt, which is weird because I don't think I have any cavities.

 gummi apple

 Apple beer. So funny, it is Coors Light and apple juice. It was not bad despite that combo.

 The famous Marilyn Thomas and her sour cream pies.  Liv Pointed out that she has everything imcluding a pitcher of ice tea that she will pour into your strawberry milkshake.  But strangely no pies.

 Scott went to St. George in Alameda and got me this gin brewed with juniper (of course), caraway and black pepper.  I need drink ideas.  It has an unusual flavor and does not do well in a gin and tonic at all.  It's not as smooth as some of their other gins so it isn't really good straight.

 I tried just gin and bitters, which was good but still too strong.  Anyone got a suggestion?  I think it would be good in a cocktail that traditionally uses rye, but you would have to account for the juniper flavor in there, too. 

Our neighbor brought us two teeny, beautiful trout she caught at Ice House in the morning.  I broiled them with thyme stuffed inside.  It was amazingly good.  The thyme really permeated the flesh, which really suprised me.  What an unexpected treat.

juice juice juice

I know I don't usually post on weekends, but I am avoiding writing a review.  I'm sitting here drinking a Sarasola Basque cider.  Gets the writing juices flowing.\

Speaking of juices, I hella deserved this letter, and I'm tickled to get one.  I actually knew that about early Americans (that they drank a lot because the water was considered untrustworthy) but I spaced.

I know some of you check on the weekend, so don't forget the San K., Nacho Business, Knock Knock show tonight.

P.S. I think Thiemann's dinner might sell out, so better get your tix

burgers n' weed

I like Ngaio's new weed column.  He's a good standup comedian too, although I've seen him do a really similar act at least 4 times, including once at Shenanigans that about 4 people were watching, which seemed to make him pretty mad.  I'm going to submit a question right now.  I'll let you know if it gets answered.

I used the Nationwide coupon from the SNR on Sunday.  I love Nationwide! I don't like to argue about the perfect burger because I believe there are different perfect burgers for different burger moods.  This is my neighborhood burger mood.

Speaking of coupons, not just to shill for the SNR but the issue with Jerry Brown on the front, which I think is still out, has a ton of good coupons.  Some of them don't expire.  I think I will use the 2 for 1 Hamburger Mary's one, just like I lived on in the old, super poor days.  I love HM's fries.  Love! Fun burger fact: I have never eaten anything but a garden burger at HM's.  I have no desire to eat their mystery meat.

Thiemann's TV dinner

The TV dinner at the Verge (Nov 8th) gets a writeup in the Bee.  I love how Mike C.'s name is linked, but if you follow the link, you don't actually get anything else.

Foxworthy style

The Grateful Dead night did not live up to my dreams. It was almost entirely taken over by yelling about the 49ers game. I mean, there was a lot of overlap between football fans and Deadheads, but still. And the Rubicon had absolutely nothing good on tap. I did get the idea for a Jeff Foxworthy-style bit (see above, this clip is awesome because of the girl laughing in the background, also the TV joke is one of my faves, classic)  called You Might Be A Deadhead.  I need some help, please.  Here's my only one right now:
If tie dye is your favorite color...you might be a Deadhead.

Also not impressed with the Golden Bear in general.  Any defenders out there?

We Blow Dumb

All right, I wouldn't normally post a picture of myself not wearing pants but I'm pretty proud of my Halloween costume considering I only thought of it the day of the party I was going to.  He played in Oakland on Friday so I'm sure I'm probably not the only one who thought of it.

DUDES! The Rubicon is bringing back their Grateful Dead night in honor of their 25th anniversary! Tonight! I'll be there.  I'm hoping it's so successful that they bring it back as a permanent feature.

English Singles had an off-the-chain show on Friday at the Pole Line house.  This is a great new house.  Well, actually the show was completely off the chain before the Singles played, and then the cops came and then half the people left, and then they all came back just as the Singles were ending.  Typical Singles luck.  However, the kids still went crazy and hoisted Smiller aloft while he was singing.  He reclined and looked very casual

English! Singles! Tonight!

At the Pole Line house in Davis

Punks Sing The Banana's Nautical Theme On A Cruise

Did you guys ever see this? Some people covered Nautical at a talent show on a cruise ship

hungry

 I bought the Michael Ruhlman 20 recipes book, not because I know who he is, but for his chicken recipe because people kept writing about it and it is, indeed, the bomb.  And the easiest.  I'll give it to you.

First, let your chicken sit out for at least an hour, which you should always do so the inside won't be cold. I'm sure you know that.   "Rain down" salt on the bird, like really rain it down. Coarse salt.  Either truss the legs or put a lemon or onion in the cavity (I went with a scored lemon). 

A huge part of the appeal of this recipe for me is that you roast it in a cast iron pan.  I love using cast iron for everything.  If you want to make a pan sauce for the bird, snip off the wing tips and put them in the pan, and throw the neck in, too.

Pre heat oven to 450.  Throw in the bird, breast side up, for an hour.  That's it.  4 pound bird or slightly smaller.

 I accidentally paid 8 bucks for these potatoes at Whole Foods but at least they were really good roasted with thyme and whole cloves of garlic.

 Here's the chicken.  Dude, the skin!!!!!!! That black looking stuff is thyme, not pubic hair.  That's what this chicken is all about, a huge sheet of crispy, salty golden skin.  And juicy breasts.  However, you do sacrifice the quality of the dark meat.  The tops of the legs get overcooked, but the thighs are fine.

Ugly picture of delicious sauce.  You  just make a gravy by reducing the pan leftovers a bunch of times with wine and water, adding onions and carrots.  Fuck this was good.  I gotta try some more recipes from this book.

TV Dinner video made by Ryan D.

King Tuff loves Sac

I tried a place last night that I am psyched to review.  I won't give out the name, but it is close to The Mushroom cocktail lounge, which, sadly, looked like it has closed down.



Crap, King Tuff is playing Bows when I'm outta town.  Oh well, I'm happy for Bows and Clay, who booked it.  Harlows was such a rager I doubt it could be topped.  But I really am soooo bummed.  Have fun at it, rest-of-the-world.


Don't forget that TV dinner!! Buy tickets at the link that's listed!! Mike T. really wants his friends to be there most of all!

KZAP radio commercial from 1985

TV dinner

Do you guys know about this yet?  I urge you to go.  Mike Thiemann is teaming up with Verge and Edible Mag, with the generous support of the Selland family to serve a wild dinner that is going to based around a 60s TV vibe.  The dinner will be based on TV dinners and will include multiple courses and cocktails mixed by Chris Dolley, Ella's bartender.  TV dinners became my family's jam when the coherence of the family unit was disintegrating (my teen years) so I have pretty strong memories of them and associate them with sadness.  They are pretty much sadness in a tray.  Add to that my chubbiness and my savoring of the mac and cheese and apple crisp portions to get a clear picture.  Come to think of it, I'm eating an Amy's organic lunch in my jail cell-like breakroom today so perhaps I have not come so far after all.

P.S.-there's a visiting scholar from Brazil at my work today who taught himself to speak English from watching Friends.  He keep calling me Smelly Cat.

rare hand-screened Bananas shirt

Don''t miss out on the auction for the rare Vintage Bananas shirt on ebay.  It is currently going for 21 bucks with 10 bids.  Hand screened is a pretty funny claim.  Like, as opposed to factory screened?

English Singles have two shows this week the one of Friday is at Poleline house, which is a new house to me.  If anyone wants to take the train to Davis for this show, I can probably pick you up and take you there and  be designated driver home, so people let me know.  I have room for a few, and this will be a good show.  House shows are the best! 

On Saturday they're playing in Stockton which is pretty darn cool but I don't know if I can go because I have a lot of writing to do.  This is my way of breaking this to smiller.

 I am bummed to miss Phil's thing at the Midtown Village Cafe this Friday because Christine Shields is playing.  As I've said before her  LP is super good (hope she brings some to sell) and it is PERFECT for today's weather.  In fact I will listen to it when I get home.  I harnessed the mighty power of the News and Review this week to promote his Friday night gigs, which brought...no one.  Sigh.  Is everyone just turning straight to Ask Joey?

Speaking of the SNR, I was soooo surprised that The Grange has quietly gotten really good.  I want to try their ribeye with red wine butter.  I have had some really crappy meals there before the new chef, including a mediocre breakfast and a dinner with the weirdest service I have ever experienced.  They literally left the menus on the table in the way the entire dinner, which took at least two hours and our large table spend hundreds of dollars and did not get any attention and was not even able to flag down a server to take our order.  It was complete chaos.  I have a huge soft spot for the Citizen and Grange there since we stayed there before and after our wedding and woke to a room service breakfast sent by the most thoughtful friends ever.  Also, the bartender is great there although the drink list is totally boring.

Wow, I again missed Screature by about 20 minutes.  It's like god (or the devil) is causing me to miss this band. 

irritation

Lotta good stuff going on this weekend.

Phil Franklin's night at the Midtown Village Cafe, starts at 8, 1827 I st, donation.  Peggy Banks will sing, and boy can she belt 'em.  It's pretty amazing.  Then Buk Buk Bigups, which I think is just Phil and Aaron  now?

Tomorrow, Four Eyes show at Naked Lounge on H st (wow, lots of walkable shows for me!), uh oh, 8 dollar cover.  Sac is too cheap for an 8 dollar cover.  Me and smiller fight about this a lot.  He thinks all shows should be 5 bucks or donation.  I think all shows should now be 10 dollars since this is the cost of one mixed drink or one sandwich these days.  To put my money where my  mouth is, I will pay two dollars extra at this show.  Luckily, smiller does not read this blog anymore so I don't have to worry about this irritating him.  It's his version of letting yourself go after you get married, which is fine because I wear yoga pants about 80% more than I used to.  They are cute ones!  I predict that someone else will be irritated by this paragraph, though.  My point is, and I have argued it here before, that's it's not fair for show prices to be stuck at 5 dollars for the last 25 years just because of the existence of five dollar bills.  If 8 dollar bills existed that is what shows would cost.  Who could argue that that is fair?  And yeah, bands could make more merch but not every band is a band people want to wear tshirts for and not every band can afford to put out records.

Sunday is the True Crime thing at the Sac Living Library series at Time Tested.  It is going to be off the chain.  It was in the Bee and we know the mighty  power the Bee wields with the white hairs.  I would love to go but I never feel like doing that on a Sunday and I predict one would have to get there early to get a seat.  Maybe they should move to a bigger venue?  OMF has a strong personal interest in true crime, as do I. 

big sur!!!

Just got back from camping in Big Sur.  It's a shag there but the minute I get there it's all worth it.  I can sit on a cliff and watch the ocean there for hours.  The beauty of the morning light is only rivaled by the beauty of the evening light.  It is so hot there in October!

We had an evening of making up Grateful Dead jokes, so I will share my best one with you:

Q: What's the difference between a Deadhead with a tab of acid and a Deadhead talking about the Dead?
A: At least he might drop the acid.

There were a lot of other really good ones.  Some pictures after the break

leetle joke

How stoked am I for the new bike lanes downtown? Really stoked.  Even though the lines are not painted in yet, it's already way better to ride G st up to 16th, where the bike lane used to start.  9th and 10th are like a dream.  In fact, I am so stoked that I cannot even contemplate anything that is going on in the presidential race. I'm all like Pee-Wee Herman style, where I plug my ears and go "lalalalala" until it goes away.

Hear ye, hear ye, I am now proclaiming that I am absolutely going to Leap in the Dark tonight, despite my five hours of sleep.  Since I am saying it, if I were to not go I would be revealed as an old lady who never goes out anymore, which I am decidedly NOT.  So come party down with me, and bring me an adderall or vicodin so I can stay awake. Ha Ha I guess I am joking. 

violent post, sorry

A pet peeve of mine (I know you're thinking, "oh joy, another pet peeve") is when people, especially food writers say they're "obsessed" with something.  It's always "I'm obsessed with baking the perfect bread", "I'm obsessed with making the perfect omelette." (those are two really common ones).  Oh really? Here's the dic def of obsession:

1. Compulsive preoccupation with a fixed idea or an unwanted feeling or emotion, often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety.

2. A compulsive, often unreasonable idea or emotion.

 

It is also a specific psychiatric term:

 

 1. (Psychiatry) Psychiatry a persistent idea or impulse that continually forces its way into consciousness, often associated with anxiety and mental illness

 

OK, so we can all agree that it's hyperbole to use it all of the time, not to mention cliche.

 

I will not claim to be obsessed with the Miami drug culture of the mid-70s to 80s, but I am certainly damn fascinated.

 

1) Watch Cocaine Cowboys

2) Why the fuck has no one made a movie about the female Godfather, Griselda Blanco?  Is it because she was in hiding in Columbia for so many years so the movie wouldn't have a strong ending?  Well, guess what, karma is a bitch and she just got gunned down by one of her enemies.  So get writing, Hollywood.   I love gangster movies and she is the ultimate subject.  She was a fucking psycho, had good style, younger lovers, hundreds of millions of dollars, assassins who did things such as bayonetting a guy in an airport, etc.  She moved her operation from Miami to California, and then when she got busted she lived like a queen inside prison (got to have sex, wear whatever she wanted, etc.) and operated her drug empire from inside.  She started wars with other cartels seemingly for fun.  Oh yeah, and did I mention that she made a documented attempt to kidnap JFK junior so she could use him as a hostage to get out of prison?

Does anyone know of good books about this subject or about Mexican drug cartels?

Sammy Hagar's Rockin' Beach Bar and Mojo Dojo Cabo Wabo Wango Tango

Here is my review of SHRBBAMDCWWT, exclusive to Heckasac:

11 stars out of 5
dinner for 14: whatever amount VM put on his credit card

When you enter SHRBBAMDCWWT you are immediately visually caressed with images of the Red Rocker in flowing white pants and shirt.  He apparently sat for a photo session in this same outfit where he did such things as sit on the beach and pretend to cut, and even ride on, sugarcane stalks.

Why sugarcane?  Because Hagar is now primarily shilling Sammy's Beach Bar Rum, which raises the question: how much fucking money does this guy need?  A few years ago he sold an 80% interest in Cabo Wabo tequila to a huge conglomerate for 80 MILLION DOLLARS!! And meanwhile Davis Lee Roth is out there trying to become an EMT or martial arts instructor or whatever just to pay the bills. It ain't right.

Get ready for a shocker: all the food and drinks have a beach theme.  All of the drinks are sweet, and all the food has a sweet touch, perhaps to go with the general sugarcane theme.  Everyone just orders the nachos because why would you order anything else.  Out of the three plates of nachos I sampled, miller got screwed on his and they were the least good.  He will tell you all about it.  VM got a blue drink, I got two red drinks and two shots of cabo wabo.  It goes down as easy as a groupie on Hagar.

On the back of the menu there is a short explanation of Hagar's philosophy, including, "It's been a sweet life" (no fucking shit) and "a man is never so tall as when he kneels to help a child".  That latter statement has something to do with his vague children's charity which we were speculating might just be giving kids Cabo Wabo tshirts.

There is a downstairs bar area and then two upstairs areas with balconies.  Those are the best because you can look down on everyone, both literally and figuratively, and see the full extent of all the Roseville-based cleavage.  After an endless setup, a cover band took the stage called The Spasmodics.  They are kind of a like a poor mans Wonderbread Five, with a "nerd" theme that is cynically calculated and an offense to real nerds everywhere.

OMG I just discovered something amazing!!! This terrible cover band is just exactly copying this other, Texas-based band, down to the costumes!! WTF! It is def not them, because I looked at their calendar and they were in Austin on Saturday.  This is blowing my mind.

Anyhoo, this cover band did not cover any Van Halen songs (although they did do the Scorpions and AC/DC, again WTF), but on Thursday a band called Hot for Teacher played. 

In between the two sets, music was played, and after four drinks, of course I am going to start getting down when they play "I Keep Forgettin'"  What lady my age could resist that smoothest of jams?  A woman on the floor, who I had just witnessed smash a martini glass and then almost kneel in the broken glass spotted me up on the balcony, ran up, and started dancing with me.  Next thing you know, she is pushing her butt up to me against the balcony and slinging a leg over it to give everyone downstairs a full crotchal view.  I don't think tequila body shots were involved, but I cannot completely rule that out at this time.  Then, she gave me a hug and ran back down.  I think I can say that both of us partied fully in the spirit of SHRBBAMDCWWT in that perfect moment.

P.S.-Each table has a bottle of Michael Anthony's hot sauce, which is delicious and which traveled home in my purse.

reductive

oh man, I looked at my rundown so far on SNR and I am giving too many stars.  I can't tell you what a reductive pain in the ass stars are.  Part of it is that boom off the bat I reviewed some of my favorite places (Asian Cafe, Duc Huong, and Tacos and Beer, and also my favorite place in Davis last week (zen toro), and then my favorite old school place: the Willo this week).  I guess the big surprise for me so far stars-wise was giving 3 to firestone, just because they have pulled off a sports bar so damned successfully. the week after next (the 18th) I'll be reviewing a place that so far I'm surprised I like so much, so that will be another pretty starry review probably. But I am going to hit it up two more times.

enron

LOVED The Master. Loved.  Weird, not realistic in any way, not a single character is likeable or can be identified with.  I do not care. What an imagination Anderson has.  What acting.  Oscarworthy from Amy Adams (I was suprised) Phillip Seymour Hoffman and ESPECIALLY Joaquin Phoenix.  Insane. Loved the clothes and set design, too. A strange movie about very little, just up my alley.

!!! is playing tonight at Harlow's with G. Green.  I'm going to try so hard to go. It will be a valiant struggle.  If I do, I will probably have a cocktail at Shady Lady if anyone is down for that.

I saw the play Enron at Cap Stage.  It has a long run for them; I think until October 21st.  Definitely worth seeing although there are some problems, more with the play than the production.  It's a flashy play, with dancing and people in raptor masks (which is one of the most bad-ass parts) but it is too long and the last half hour or so loses the thread.  The playwright is a young British babe (31) and I am just biased about her ability to understand this American story that was going down when she was like 15 although I guess the blowup was when she was 19.  She has said she viewed it first as a musical, and then someone (teacher or something) read it and said it was a tragedy.  I don't see Enron as a tragedy, except for the workers who got screwed and they are barely present in this story. Only as tokens.  My biggest problem is with the composite female character.  She is wearing a horrible cheap blond wig, she has no range as an actress, and I don't think she fairly represents the women involved in this story, especially the only truly honorable figures - a women who blew the whistle and the female Forbes reporter who broke the story.  All of this will be so boring to you if you have no plans to see this play.

All of this is kind of a long-winded way to recommend the documentary The Smartest Guys In The Room, especially if you are going to see the play.

too damned big

Jesus H. Christ on a crutch, the croissants at Old Soul are so big they look like Dungeness crabs in pastry form.  That is just wrong.

Speaking of supersized things, bars have to chill with their giant martini glasses!!  How about you give me 4 ounces less of liquor and charge 8 dollars instead of ten?  I should not be drunk and get a headache from one Gibson.  I can't help that it's my favorite drink.  Maybe I will start bringing my own old-timey martini glass.  The Grange has the St. George gin, which has strong juniper and caraway notes, and pours slightly cloudy, probably from the rye.  Fucking great, and it only costs about 33 bucks.  I can't believe people pay bank for Sapphire.  Also, Grange has Drake's Aroma Coma on draught right now and it's delicious.  I'm so glad this beer is getting distribution. I think it's at Pangaea right now too.  If only it would replace the mediocre Lagunitas IPA on local taps.  I think Grange has North Coast Scrimshaw, the Lagunitas and Aroma Coma right now.

Smiller went to Nic's DJ thing and said it was fun.  I forgot about it and fell asleep by ten due to the giant Gibson.  Bummer.

get to know this good time guy

Nic is djing the Dive Bar tonight! Scroll down for details.  So cool! I wish I didn't have to work tomorrow so I could take advantage of the 5 buck Jameson shots.  I will try to drag my ass out there.

Midtown Village Cafe (formerly Butch N Nellies, formerly Mondo Bizarro) is doing some interesting stuff.  They are having Friday night month-long residencies of different artists.  This month it's Phil Franklin.  Do you know this guy?  You should get to know this good time guy.  Look at the line up for the month! The last Friday his partner, Christine Shields, is playing and I have mentioned before that she has put out a wonderful, wintry album.  A full-length LP that is cohesive and all good.  How rare is that in this day and age.  It's wintry as hell, so buy one in anticipation of cold weather, if it ever comes.  I'm sure she will have LPs for sale there.  Phil is putting together grab bags for attendees!

food and art

 food and art pictures today.  here is the chicken dish from Red Rabbit.  It was good, but don't you think it's time to move on from summer vegetables? I am sick of them.  But it is still as hot as summer.

 I cannot get enough of this egg burger with manchego.  Vega egg!  And a nice-sized green salad can be a free substitute instead of fries. With green goddess dressing.

 There is always some Chinese joint in the gas station directly across from my work.  The first one that I know of was Hometown Cafe, which has some Taiwanese specialties. They got props from Corti once in print and were successful enough to get a place on E st. in Davis.  Now it's Gold Something and it seems to be Shanghainese.  If that's how you say it. Nice dumplings.  Pictured above are the pork and cabbage. Those were some thick, homemade wrappers and were a tiny bit underdone, which is probably not typical.

 The guy told me to order the spicy wontons, which were garnished with chile oil and dried shrimp.  I got like 26 big dumplings for less than 12 bucks.  I ate so many!!

 I went to the Steve Hansen fundraiser at Hot Italian.  Their pizza is pretty good.  The bartender mixed me a refreshing Campari spritzer.  How can you not vote for a guy who would commission campaign signs from a bunch of local artists. Don't remember who this is.

 Nate, obviously

 not sure

 Ianna Frisby

 Gipoa Fonda

 um...Speaking of art, went to see the Cindy Sherman show at SFMOMA and I am still meh on her.  I saw the Film Stills at the MOMA a jillion years ago and was not impressed then, either.  A big gripe of mine is that they in no way resemble film stills to me.  That's not a small gripe since the usual copy on the series is how much they evoke film archetypes.  What archetypes? The housewife who has spilled her eggs archetype?  And film stills are often an action scene where something is happening, often with more than one character.  Would they really just be a woman sitting on a wall? Who would want to see a film because of that?  She has obviously been very, very influential but her work does nothing for me.  Her later stuff of society women is called either cruel or compassionate according to who is talking but I just see artifice and makeup.  It distracts.  And don't get me started on the clown series.  That's some juggalo shit.  It's not original to say that birthday clowns are sad or creepy.

New lamp from Scout Living! I love it.  I want to start buying this kind of hard 70s looking stuff (think slimy bachelor pad or Terence Conran) before it gets too expensive.  I was buzzed shopping which is dangerous. This lamp was 65 and it's very solid and well-constructed.

get to know me

I call this picture "the 70s". That's me and my mom in the upper left.  I don't know who the other couple is, but they are pretty badass.  I just emailed my mom to find out.  I predict her answer will be "I don't remember".  And no, she does not have Alzheimer's.  She just can't remember anything.  I once watched her cousin thank her for taking her to see The Doors in Hawaii and my mom said, "I've seen The Doors?"  Drugs aren't really the excuse, either.  I don't think she did that many drugs. This picture must have been taken in 1975.

Oh no! The Campbell's plant is closing! Terrible for those workers.  I read a business article about Campbell's experimenting with kicky ethnic flavors in single-serving bags.  I hear the death knell sounding.  All the old ladies who use the soup as a sauce are dying out.  Fun fact: my household was pretty snack-free growing up so sometimes, as a chubby tween, I would eat a can of mushroom soup right out of the can as a snack. No water, no heating, can marks still intact.

a first

This has got to be a first: even I'm not checking heckasac.

 It's a combo of way busy at work (that's the number one factor), with more writing for SNR, and just general topic fatigue after all these years.  There are, sadly, no shows I've been interested in, so that's gone.  Local politics are not really pissing me off (except Breton's valiant crusade to convince us that all homeless people are scary criminals - what a great Catholic he is!)  WWJD, dude.  Jesus would straight up stop feeding those homeless people.  But I have heard the Northgate bike area has gotten gnarly, and that was really sad that guy got stabbed (but did not die). no, wait, that sounds like I'm sad he didn't die.  You know what I mean!

Tomorrow I'm going to see some live comedy and check out a restaurant to review.  It's at punchline.  I'm sorry to be a dick, but sell me on anything being good at Comedy Spot?  Be honest, not just  nice.  I have not seen anything, I just don't understand why so much of it is sketch and why they don't get touring comics.  Someone explain this to me?

Everyone has probably stopped checking. 

cool guy

I haven't had a lot to post this week, obvs.  JayBiz and Knock Knock have a show tomorrow at a place called Midtown Village Cafe at 18th and I?  What the heck?

Also, Verge rummage sale all day today and all weekend.  With ice cream!

The Master opens at Tower today! They better make it look good, and not super dark.  Maybe I'll watch it at the Varsity in Davis.  Killer Joe opens today at the Crest, which doesn't look that good, but I want to see it because I saw the crazy nasty play.  P.S.-go see the Enron play at Cap Stage!

I profiled the guy from Wonderbread 5 for 15 minutes because I saw them and their rabid fans at the State Fair.  Laugh if you want but this guy is cool and he's turned his cover band into his only job and he owns a house in Sausalito! And other members of the band own homes in Napa.

dude loves cats

 bsssh pleeze.  picture post after the jump!

angry?

Lest you think my boundless anger about the moving of the train platform is unfounded, here is where the train lets you off in the afternoon.  Can you even see the station?  Look really hard.  Sacramento, I have been to Grand Central Station, I have taken trains at Grand Central Station, and you are no Grand Central station.  So angry.

Ate at Bistro Michel for the first time last night, with mixed results.  That place is really weird.  My steak frites were quite good, served with a curry ketchup.  The steak was topped with fine herbe butter.  The mussels were ok, served with fennel and pernod, however, they kind of wrecked that with wayyyy too much cream.  Not necessary.  The server seemed hellbent on getting us really drunk, and I blame my current headache on the nasty free glasses of Ficklin chocolate "port" that they served us.  I get offended when people call something port when it's not from porto.  I guess I have a lot of anger inside.  He also gave us a free Duchess de Bourgogne beer.  This was in addition to a bottle of Gigondas for four and a glass of rose for me.  Then at the end of the meal our server completely abandoned us to drink beer with his friends on the curb (which is kind of awesome) but we had to go inside eventually after waiting for the check to be taken for like half and hour.  The dinner took three hours.  Which is fine.  That area is weird.  Magpie's new little place is open right there.

BTW, Ficklin "port" are opening a tasting room at 20th and I?  Good luck getting Sac into wine.  I'm convinced that will never happen.

realize it, dudes

You know whose bread is not good?  Village Bakery.  It's really light.  No seriousness to that bread.  I don't understand how people make bad bread.  How do they not know it's bad?  If you don't know what to do, just rip off the Tartine cookbook or something.  Or how about the Big Sur Bakery one?  God their bread is awesome.  That Zen bread or whatever is amazing. And why can't anyone make any goddamned spelt?  In Scandinavia, it almost goes without saying, all the bread is good. That said, cutting down your bread is sure an easy way to lose weight.  And beer intake.  Come to think of it, most brewers make bad beer and they don't realize it. 

time machine talk

My embarrassing drunk convo used to be about my love of yoga and my "practice" and now it's moved onto my love of the Grateful Dead and specifically Jerry.  But seriously, if I had a time machine I would
1) kill  Hitler
2) go to this one Grateful Dead show in the early 70s, Scott, if you're reading, remind me of the date?  It is sickkkkk. Phil bombs dropping everywhere during St. Stephen.

Fresh and Onlys are playing Tuesday night at the Blue Lamp with G. Green and Terry Malts.  I'm glad this got moved from the Ace of Spades, that would have been an echo-ey disaster.  Fresh and Onlys are HELLA GOOD, my friends.  That said, I may not go because it's in my contract that I don't have to go to the Blue Lamp more than once a week or I have to go on suicide watch.

BAR reviewed both Giovanni's this week.  I have eaten at both and it failed to make any impression.  What do you guys think?

I am not being paid by the Bee to say this

Wow, Bites is on fire!  And he's woken the sleeping Bee up, too.  How's this for a quote, from K.J.'s attorney,

"People are curious about all sorts of things, that doesn’t mean they have a right to know them,” said Hiestand. “There are a lot of nosy people, the K.J. haters, who have nothing better to do than to ask for more than the law requires. But we have no plans to deviate from what the law requires.”
Doesn’t the public deserve more disclosure than that? Bites asked. After all, this is the mayor of the city.
“What the public deserves is what the law requires. If the public wants more disclosure, the public should change the law,” Hiestand said.

Okayyy.  That really sounds like someone with nothing to hide!  We need to throw this fucking bum out.  And meanwhile, instead of being in Sac to deal with the heat he's getting, K.J. is at the DNC.  He's a fake Democrat, what the fuck is he there for?  Oh yeah, to schmooze and get donations, the things he's best at. 

I know this is a flip-flop for me, but can I urge you all the subscribe to the Bee?  Hear me out: it's imperfect, yes, but it's still the best place to get your day-to-day news about Sacramento.  Also, and this is highly subjective, but I really look forward to reading it every day over coffee.  Sure, sometimes that takes less than 5 minutes, but for the price, that's not bad.  And, New York Times crossword puzzle.  C'mon.  It's like 3 or 4 bucks a week.  Try it!

bad night for trying things

The lack of comments makes me feel like no one is reading this thing, so I feel weird, but then I just looked at my stats and I see people are looking, but I guess there is just nothing worth commenting on.  Oh well, I guess I'll just soldier on.

I had a pizza emergency yesterday and had to buy a slice at Luigis or risk starving.  Wow.  The crust seemed like it was molded from sand.  Or maybe from one of those bleached cow carcasses in the dessert that had been pulverized, shaped into a pizza-like wedge, and then further dehydrated on the face of the sun.  It was that dry.  I was in the mood for an oily, cheesy slice, and instead I got crust that sucked the moisture from my body, a layer of cheese that was perhaps 20 microns thick, and no discernible sauce.  What kind of pizza is this?  What style is it?  Who in their right mind would make or sell such a pizza?  Are we all just cogs in god's giant machine or do we have free will?  These are the questions this slice raised and I still feel unsettled.

It was a bad night for trying things, because I also tried the Ruhstaller HopSack beer.  Zuh? WTF? not LOL, at all.  Fresh hops were supposed to be involved with this beer somehow?  Perhaps the bottle was molded from them because the beer showed no signs of it.  Nastay.

get your island on!

 Nuff said.  Picture post after the jump!

secret good restaurant

Has anyone else noticed that Red Rabbit has secretly gotten better?  I can't review it cuz Greg Lucas did not that long ago.  So, number one, it's a local spot for me.  I am all for a neighborhood spot that's maybe not the best place in the world, but that is walkable, and, as with Red Rabbit, is open every day and pretty late, etc.  But at first when it opened I really wished that the food was better.  I got stuck ordering the veggie burger because nothing else appealed to me that much.

Recently I realized, hey, they have a super good bar and bartenders, so right under my nose I now have a place to go get an excellent cocktail.  That's something I've wished for for years.  I don't like dive bars really.  Their cocktail list is not too exciting, so I just go with a cocktail in mind.  Lately I've had a good Manhattan and last night a Last Word.  And all the cocktails are 7 bucks, not bad.

When I had my birthday on the back patio (they did a great job) I discovered that their "street" tacos, especially the tongue one, is DELICIOUS.  I wrote a little blurb about if for the SNR best of issue, and when I asked the chef about the prep I found that it's labor-intensive.  There's over a day of brining, and then a bunch of other stuff I detail.  Sure, it's 6 bucks for two, but 3 bucks each is not that crazy.  Next time I am going to see if I can order two tongue ones.

I've been wanting to try the burger with a Vega egg.  Vega is a great company, so that's pretty awesome.  The patty was a little too thick and the bun disintegrated but besides that it was excellent.  Heirloom tomato, housemade pickles, an array of cheese choices (I will always go with Manchego). 

SM got the house salad and it was kerazy.  Almost too crazy but admirable.  They use Del Rio greens and it changes a lot, but I'm pretty sure that the predominant green was full-sized shiso leaves, like not baby tender ones, but big old strong intense ones.  With flower petals and it always has Green Goddess dressing and how cool is that?

So anyway, if you wrote it off, maybe check it out again.

tour de wha?

Sac has been in the nytimes 3 times lately.  well, kinda.

1) adam pechal on the foie gras thing
2) jay howell (ok, used to live in sac) in a piece on a smug young couple. jay is mentioned in the same breath as chris johansen, no less.
3) the davis tour de cluck got a major mention, with a mention of a fat face popsicle only without saying it was from fat face.  bummer.  in picture 5 on the slide show you can see the popsicle, the fat face logo, and jeff melendez in the background

liv is doing a "chat back" with elaine o'brien at the showing of "red" at the b st. theater tonight.  It's a play about Mark Rothko, two-person.  I'm excited to see it.

picture post

 tie dye tomatoes!

 garden tomatoes!

 ralph lauren sweaters!

 poo in a styrofoam container! j.k., delicious beef and chicken kabob from Mediterranean market

 I made sauce and froze it.  Too lazy to can.  First, boil the tomatoes quickly and then plunge into ice water

 easy to peel at that point.

 saute some onions in a little butter until soft, throw in your diced tomatoes and stand back and let nature take its course

 no caption needed. double cute

 I bought this stuff at Mediterranean market.  It's balls of tangy sheep milk in oil, with thyme and other spices.

 toast up a pita and shove this inside and you'll be stoked, maybe with some Persian eggplant pickle?

 My pies are looking better ever since I figured out to add more water, and freeze the dough for a little while right before rolling it out.

 This was peach.  I peeled them the same way I peeled the tomatoes.

 I bought rye, so that I would have the ingredients to make a sazerac.  I couldn't stand to just rinse the glass with absinthe, so it was really absinthe-y

Pie in a bike basket it a risky proposition