I made some great pasta with sausage last night if I do say so myself. I could post the recipe if anyone thinks they might actually want to make it, so let me know.
There's an article by Mike Dunne in the Bee today about the history of fine dining in Sac. It's interesting. This is a good quote by the owner of El Novillero, "Ninety-nine percent of our customers know more than me about Mexican food," says Joe Davalos Sr., who in 1970 opened El Novillero along Franklin Boulevard. "They eat at different places every day, but I never go to any other restaurants. I don't know any restaurant besides mine." I would have to agree because the one time I ate at El Novillero it totally sucked and the salsa tasted like ketchup. And don't you El Novillero lovers jump on me. If you like that place you should admit that it's because you've been going there forever and it has good memories for you or something. Cuz there are way better places to eat Mexican food.
It's weird to me that I've eaten at so few of these pioneering Sac places. I've never eaten at any Fat restaurant or Lemongrass or Maces and I've only eaten at Biba once.
Dunne has a little paragraph at the end bemoaning the lack of trained, dedicated servers around here and I'd have to agree. NOT because bad service fucks up my meals all the time but because I think for these upscale restaurants there's no reason that they shouldn't make enough money and be treated well enough that they would want to make it a career. That was an awkward sentence. The Waterboy must be an exception because there servers are knowledgeable, competent, and seem to stay around for a long time. All the sushi restaurants downtown are the worst, probably because they mostly are looking for sexy young girls to staff the restaurants. There's another little part to the article that mentions that Rick Mahan (the Waterboy guy) is looking to open a second location downtown!!!! That's great! I hope it's a more downscale, cafe-type place. I'm guessing it probably will be because otherwise it seems like it would be too similar to the Waterboy.
This dining history thing is a four parter. I wasn't eating downtown in '86, but for those of you who were it might be a walk down memory lane.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
New Edokko same as Old Edokko?
I tried New Edokko last night, and it gets a sideways thumb from me so far. To be honest, I would probably have just said that it's not very good if so many people hadn't chimed in to say they like it. And we ran into Jessica, Rosemary and Nicola there and Rosemary said she eats there frequently, so I'll give it another chance. The fact that I can walk to it quickly makes me really want to like it. I had planned on getting the challenge ramen but I wanted more than just chicken in my ramen so I went for the chanpon men. This was a ramen that was touted as containing pork, shrimp, squid, fish cake and vegetables in pork broth. I ordered it because I wanted a sampling of the various ingredients. It wasn't until after was done eating that I realized that my chanpon men actually only contained pork and three medium-sized shrimp. Lame! I would have said something to the server but I forgot what the menu had promised. The vegetables weren't too exciting, either and the cuts of pork were fatty. The selection of veggies was heavily weighted towards canned bamboo shoots, which are nasty as hell. To me they smell (and subsequently, taste) like pee. I'm making the ramen sound worse than it was. Once I added some of the pepper flakes on the table, which balanced out the flavor of the broth, it was OK. That was eight bucks and it was quite filling. GW got a roll that I can't remember the name of that was crab salad with raw tuna and green roe on top. New Edokko likes the crazy colors. I assume the roe was dyed and it looked a little unsettling. I expected it to taste minty or something. She said her roll was pretty good, but for 9.50 it should have been bigger or had fancier ingredients. I'm not sure how the other ladies enjoyed their meals. Two of them got the I Love You roll, which had a pink soy wrapper. I had a piece and the overwhelming flavor was sugar, which is a little weird for sushi. It had some sort of avocado fish salad inside and was pretty mushy with mayo. They have a decent selection of affordable sake. So this is not a slam, but it didn't impress me. I want to go back and try more of the noodle dishes, including the challenge ramen.
Has anyone tried Sweetfinger restaurant? I haven't been there since it changed names and I think, owners. I'd like to try it but I'm wary. The sign outside is pretty funny. An amateur artist drew a hand gripping some food (I guess the hand represents the "sweet fingers") but it looks more like a crab claw. It was empty last night. And once again, Taste of Thai had about three times as many customers as Chada. I just don't get it.
Warning: rambling paragraph alert. I hope nobody is braving the restaurant crowds for Valentine's day. Worst day of the year to eat out. I guess Josh P. is cooking another meal in Sac and I got a last minute invite (well, smiller did) but I already have plans. I got the Molinari sausage for my pasta at Corti last night, and after work today I'm going to Taylors to have the excellent cheese mistress help me with a cheese course. The cheese selection at Taylors is much better than Cortis. Maybe no one is going to know what I'm talking about here (Ella?), but when I was getting some of that As Do Mar tuna (seriously the best) that I read about on the Cortis newsletter (which they NEVER CHANGE) they had this whole line of Gio's brand canned pate maybe like six different kinds (including lobster) that had the most amazingly designed cans. They were SO COOL LOOKING. My powers of description fail me, but I wish I was all technological and could take digital pictures and post them. There is nothing about thisbrand on the internet that I can find. I will just have to buy them all and display them somehow or have a pate party. In general the designs on all the canned fishes and pates are really rad. Boy this is a pretty exciting paragraph. Jesus.
Has anyone tried Sweetfinger restaurant? I haven't been there since it changed names and I think, owners. I'd like to try it but I'm wary. The sign outside is pretty funny. An amateur artist drew a hand gripping some food (I guess the hand represents the "sweet fingers") but it looks more like a crab claw. It was empty last night. And once again, Taste of Thai had about three times as many customers as Chada. I just don't get it.
Warning: rambling paragraph alert. I hope nobody is braving the restaurant crowds for Valentine's day. Worst day of the year to eat out. I guess Josh P. is cooking another meal in Sac and I got a last minute invite (well, smiller did) but I already have plans. I got the Molinari sausage for my pasta at Corti last night, and after work today I'm going to Taylors to have the excellent cheese mistress help me with a cheese course. The cheese selection at Taylors is much better than Cortis. Maybe no one is going to know what I'm talking about here (Ella?), but when I was getting some of that As Do Mar tuna (seriously the best) that I read about on the Cortis newsletter (which they NEVER CHANGE) they had this whole line of Gio's brand canned pate maybe like six different kinds (including lobster) that had the most amazingly designed cans. They were SO COOL LOOKING. My powers of description fail me, but I wish I was all technological and could take digital pictures and post them. There is nothing about thisbrand on the internet that I can find. I will just have to buy them all and display them somehow or have a pate party. In general the designs on all the canned fishes and pates are really rad. Boy this is a pretty exciting paragraph. Jesus.
YES!!!!!
yes yes yes yes yes! God, I wish I could go to at least one of these. Four nights in London! The album is named Stadium Arcadium?! What the fuck does that mean? So good.
Monday, February 13, 2006
another take on Zokku
That carrot post didn't exactly set the blog on fire, so as you've all probably recovered from that shock, I'll link to the post by a noted Sac chowhound on Zokku. It's much more negative than Mike Dunne's, but as someone else posted, they trust this guy more than Dunne, so it's nice to have another perspective. The happy hour would sound intriguing, except I bet that vinovert is right about the crappy wine list and I don't really like liquor drinks. On the plus side there is that fake boulder, though, and Japanese and Chinese beer is always refreshing, so we'll see, Zokku, we'll see.
aha!
Something I always suspected has been confirmed! By the New York Times no less! Those bags of "baby" carrots are nothing more than regular-sized carrots sanded down to yield several faux babies!!!! I have tasted baby carrots from the ground, and you, fake baby carrots, cannot match that sweetness. The confirmation was buried within an entertaining article about the packaged-fruit industry. This article is written in a really New Yorker style which I enjoy.
damn
I would say my rivercats question has a pretty good chance of getting asked in "what's up with that" this week in the sacbee due to an email I received from Heyamoto. I would never print a private email without someone's permission but let's just say I think she's been reading and she's not amused. This town is too small. And getting smaller all the time.
P.S. and please don't use this little post to begin a slambook on her. I think her writing has been pretty fairly critiqued but there's no need to be mean.
P.S. and please don't use this little post to begin a slambook on her. I think her writing has been pretty fairly critiqued but there's no need to be mean.
top three most hated
No comments but it's dreary monday so I'll press on.
I totally and completely scored at Ollipom this weekend. Sometimes that place really pays off for me. I got two dresses, a skirt and a shirt for 37 bucks which I know does not compare to thrift store prices but I often strike out at thrift stores and scoring at Ollipom completely eliminated my urge to mall shop which probably ended up saving me upwards of a hundred bucks. So I can't afford NOT to shop there. Now that Le Fun is closed it's the only game in town. The Le Fun girl is going to be working there on tuesdays and thursdays and Mike Rafter has moved his skateshop to the spot where Le Fun was.
I was treated to a Chinese banquet at Fortune House (the place across from Target) this weekend, which was quite enjoyable and educational. We started with a jellyfish salad. No offense to those who like jellyfish, but my list of most repulsive foods has now been rearranged. Here it is.
1)jellyfish
2)tripe
3)sea urchin
Of those three, I would try both tripe and sea urchin again, but I don't think I'll ever eat jellyfish again. One of the diners joked "my kids call it rubber bands" and that's exactly what it was like. It was NOT like calimari, it had a very different consistency and it took a turkey burger at Bernardo hours later to finally eliminate the ghostly feeling of it from my mouth. I still felt like I was reliving eating it in this horrible way. The other dishes of the banquet were too numerous to mention, but the standouts were a whole roast chicken, head included with delicious brown skin and a little dish of special salt on the side and a tofu dish with delicious, garlicky greens.
I really want to try Zokku, mostly because I regret that I never ate at Hong King Lum. And because there's a fake boulder. For once, Mike Dunne's review contains actual criticism and suggestions and is helpful. That sucks that they have untrained servers. So many new restaurants suffer from that and while it doesn't come close to ruining the meal, it can be a nuisance. People keep telling me how much they have enjoyed eating at Taka so I want to eat their again soon. I always forget about it and just go to my default choice of Nishiki, but Taka is cheaper than Kru or Nishiki so I should remember it.
Scott and Roger's thing at the Press last night was fun. I got to see a girl in a cowboy hat and flip-flops play air guitar to "green onions". They were playing really good songs, and I got a miller high life tall can with a glass of ice (the smiller special) which was as refreshing as a glass of melted alcoholic snow (hah I just wrote snot accidentally). DON'T GET THE DRAFT BEER AT THE PRESS!! It is disgusting. The bottles are overpriced. The tall cans and the cheap whole bottles of sparkling wine (as discovered by Lisa D.) are the only good deal. Their night is being switched to every other sunday so I guess next sunday (the 19th) is out? Is this right?
I totally and completely scored at Ollipom this weekend. Sometimes that place really pays off for me. I got two dresses, a skirt and a shirt for 37 bucks which I know does not compare to thrift store prices but I often strike out at thrift stores and scoring at Ollipom completely eliminated my urge to mall shop which probably ended up saving me upwards of a hundred bucks. So I can't afford NOT to shop there. Now that Le Fun is closed it's the only game in town. The Le Fun girl is going to be working there on tuesdays and thursdays and Mike Rafter has moved his skateshop to the spot where Le Fun was.
I was treated to a Chinese banquet at Fortune House (the place across from Target) this weekend, which was quite enjoyable and educational. We started with a jellyfish salad. No offense to those who like jellyfish, but my list of most repulsive foods has now been rearranged. Here it is.
1)jellyfish
2)tripe
3)sea urchin
Of those three, I would try both tripe and sea urchin again, but I don't think I'll ever eat jellyfish again. One of the diners joked "my kids call it rubber bands" and that's exactly what it was like. It was NOT like calimari, it had a very different consistency and it took a turkey burger at Bernardo hours later to finally eliminate the ghostly feeling of it from my mouth. I still felt like I was reliving eating it in this horrible way. The other dishes of the banquet were too numerous to mention, but the standouts were a whole roast chicken, head included with delicious brown skin and a little dish of special salt on the side and a tofu dish with delicious, garlicky greens.
I really want to try Zokku, mostly because I regret that I never ate at Hong King Lum. And because there's a fake boulder. For once, Mike Dunne's review contains actual criticism and suggestions and is helpful. That sucks that they have untrained servers. So many new restaurants suffer from that and while it doesn't come close to ruining the meal, it can be a nuisance. People keep telling me how much they have enjoyed eating at Taka so I want to eat their again soon. I always forget about it and just go to my default choice of Nishiki, but Taka is cheaper than Kru or Nishiki so I should remember it.
Scott and Roger's thing at the Press last night was fun. I got to see a girl in a cowboy hat and flip-flops play air guitar to "green onions". They were playing really good songs, and I got a miller high life tall can with a glass of ice (the smiller special) which was as refreshing as a glass of melted alcoholic snow (hah I just wrote snot accidentally). DON'T GET THE DRAFT BEER AT THE PRESS!! It is disgusting. The bottles are overpriced. The tall cans and the cheap whole bottles of sparkling wine (as discovered by Lisa D.) are the only good deal. Their night is being switched to every other sunday so I guess next sunday (the 19th) is out? Is this right?
gayest theater evs!
Hey "J" (the Duvall-meeting poster), I'm surprised you would even hesitate to comment but I'm glad you did. I have somehow been aware of the screenings at the Kabinet, but they don't seem very well advertised so I'm not sure what you've been showing lately or what's coming up. I would love to post about it (and go to a screening) if you'd like to give me the information. After I wrote this I googled it, and lo and behold, there's a website, so here it is. I think sunday at 8:00 is a perfect time for a screening, and I would love to see Metropolis, although to be honest the two and half hour screen time may scare me away but nevertheless I'll try to come to a screening soon, in full Heckasac costume with the cape and the mask and the tube top and rollerskates and everything so you'll know who I am.
Speaking of movies, saw Transamerica last night at the Tower and I give it thumbs up. It's a wee bit schmaltzy at times but it's worth it just for a better understanding of what transgender people go through. Felicity Huffman is pretty rad in it. She shows a real lack of vanity in taking this role. I know I would be embarrassed to admit I look enough like a man to play one with only minimal make-up. In fact this is the first time I've ever admitted in public that I look like a man, and it feels good. But a man that can work a tube top and cape like nobodys business! I realized that the trifecta of Capote, Brokeback, and Transamerica officially makes Tower the gayest theater in town, so take that, Crest! And in more Tower news, local celebrity raconteur Matias Bombal has been hired to work at the Tower and I believe today is his first day, so good luck Matias. The hazing they give the rookies at Tower is brutal and occasionally results in death or permanent brain damage so watch your back. Here's a trick: if they strip you naked and cover you in superkist II while forcing you to sit in the popcorn bin and eat the popcorn and soda they pour down your throat, just go to a safe place in your mind to avoid psychological trauma. A comforting image like a tropical island or your crib works best.
Speaking of movies, saw Transamerica last night at the Tower and I give it thumbs up. It's a wee bit schmaltzy at times but it's worth it just for a better understanding of what transgender people go through. Felicity Huffman is pretty rad in it. She shows a real lack of vanity in taking this role. I know I would be embarrassed to admit I look enough like a man to play one with only minimal make-up. In fact this is the first time I've ever admitted in public that I look like a man, and it feels good. But a man that can work a tube top and cape like nobodys business! I realized that the trifecta of Capote, Brokeback, and Transamerica officially makes Tower the gayest theater in town, so take that, Crest! And in more Tower news, local celebrity raconteur Matias Bombal has been hired to work at the Tower and I believe today is his first day, so good luck Matias. The hazing they give the rookies at Tower is brutal and occasionally results in death or permanent brain damage so watch your back. Here's a trick: if they strip you naked and cover you in superkist II while forcing you to sit in the popcorn bin and eat the popcorn and soda they pour down your throat, just go to a safe place in your mind to avoid psychological trauma. A comforting image like a tropical island or your crib works best.
Friday, February 10, 2006
shelley duvall!
shelley
Originally uploaded by becklerg.
You know I am hard up when I am blogging about celebrities. I watched the Shining DVD and there is an extra little feature that Kubrick's daughter filmed that is mildly entertaining. What blew my mind is how beautiful Shelley Duvall looked in the interviews. She seriously had the most perfect peaches and cream complexion and these giant (OK, slightly buggy) hazel eyes. Kubrick fans may remember that she was a huge pain in his ass and the doc. shows her faking a panic attack or something and laying on the ground to get attention and claiming that her hair is getting ripped out in the scene where she tries to escape through the bathroom window. She claims it's "hunks of hair" and Kubrick holds two strands of hair up to the camera and smirks. I was not able to find any pictures on the internet that are that flattering, though. The End.
friday blahs
Hey look, Mike Dunne wrote a real restaurant review. With, like, criticisms and stuff. I don't know about Sapor. I would try it for sure if I had more money to burn but at thosse prices, I don't know if I need to sample yet another example of New American cuisine in Sac.
Returning music dude J. Griff at the SN&R is soliciting local music to review. The SN&R also gives a little blurb to singer/songwriter/statenet worker Chelsea Wolfe, who I want to check out sometime (musically, that is).
There's a rumor that there may be an Intelligence show in Davis tonight. It's not listed on their myspace page.
Joshua's dinner at Neon's last night was delicious once again. There were some fried garbanzo cakes with a really strong almond cognac sauce. That was awesome. I ate so much that I felt really bad. Like a pinata must feel. He also made a cheesecake with a pomegranate sauce. So good! He's cooking a really big dinner at the dam house tonight, for tons of people. Another highlight of the night was that Heylove gave me high fives and let me rub her belly. There's a couple of pictures of the dinner here and you can see Joshua in his chef's coat.
Returning music dude J. Griff at the SN&R is soliciting local music to review. The SN&R also gives a little blurb to singer/songwriter/statenet worker Chelsea Wolfe, who I want to check out sometime (musically, that is).
There's a rumor that there may be an Intelligence show in Davis tonight. It's not listed on their myspace page.
Joshua's dinner at Neon's last night was delicious once again. There were some fried garbanzo cakes with a really strong almond cognac sauce. That was awesome. I ate so much that I felt really bad. Like a pinata must feel. He also made a cheesecake with a pomegranate sauce. So good! He's cooking a really big dinner at the dam house tonight, for tons of people. Another highlight of the night was that Heylove gave me high fives and let me rub her belly. There's a couple of pictures of the dinner here and you can see Joshua in his chef's coat.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
we need to ask a question
When we think about whether there is such a thing as a rivercat and what the sacramento rivercats might be named after a phrase may come to our mind. The question, "what's up with that?". And the girl to answer our question can only be, of course, Lisa Heyamoto. We will email her directly.
For now, just read Dinger's bio. Did you know he went to De Paw University and majored in claw enforcement? I know at least one person who will think this is funny besides me.
For now, just read Dinger's bio. Did you know he went to De Paw University and majored in claw enforcement? I know at least one person who will think this is funny besides me.
Josh's feast
Joshua Ploeg is a food genius, and I'm so glad I got the treat of having him cook in my home because, according to this website, this is his last tour of this kind. We started out the day with Joshua at two. We hit the Food Source on Stockton first. I really don't shop at that store as much as I should. The produce section is giant, and it's much cheaper than other stores. Joshua picked up tons of stuff for the dinner, from kobocha to chard. Then, we went in search of a middle eastern market for my Iranian-themed dinner and after a false start, smiller hit on the idea of visiting the strip mall that's by the secret thrift store. This strip mall has both an Indian and Middle Eastern grocery in it (two separate stores, obvs). We were able to get everything at the Middle Eastern market so I still haven't checked out the other, but I will. This store was very exciting, with close-packed aisles filled to the brim with exotic spices, canned goods that ranged from fava beans to dolmas, pickles, olives, a full butcher counter that boasted of fresh merguez in that day (that's a tasty lamb sausage that I would definitely like to buy another time) and a dairy case stocked with treats like labneh. I got a wooden mortar and pestle to grind spices for under five bucks and we picked up some rose water for the desserts, among other things.
OK, OK long story short, on to the cooking. Joshua was chomping at the bit to get started so I showed him where everything was in the kitchen and sat back. He was a focused whirlwind for hours on end and I regret that in my anxiety about how I was going to seat everyone in our small apartment I didn't really watch him at work or question him. I hope to take more advantage of his expertise at Neon's mediterranean feast tonight. The salad and starter were ready right on time and somehow we squeezed everyone in and started to eat. The salad was romaine, arugula, oranges, red pepper and dates with a lemon-fenugreek dressing. The starter was roasted and fried kobocha with a spicy, oily dill-yogurt sauce. Joshua also made a spiced flatbread to soak up the sauce that had some interesting grains in it (that he told me the name of and I forgot). The combo of the flatbread and the sauce was one of my faves of the evening. Then we had a lentil and broadbean soup that a trillion different exciting flavors. The main dish was a fake chicken stew with onions, roasted tomatoes, roasted butternet squash, yogurt sauce and the most delicious rice I have ever eaten. He served this all with rosewater lemonade, which would be simple to make and was soooo good. I bet it would be even better with some kind of booze in it. He just used frozen lemonade, rose water and squeezed some fresh lemons in.
The dessert was so fucking good it disappeared quickly. It was a variation on a mamoul, which is a popular Syrian and Lebanese date-filled cookie. I'm telling you, the Lebanese have a way with desserts. This and that one they have at Maaloufs are like my two favorite desserts. He made a shortbread-like cookie with a strong rosewater flavor and stuffed it with a date/orange jam that he made. These were served warm out of the oven and dusted with powdered sugar.
And all this for twelve bucks a person and with the pleasure of Joshua's company! Amazing. His food made me realize how timid I am with spices in my own cooking and how I need to branch out and learn more. Most of the spices he used I have either never heard of or certainly never used. I want to get one of his cookbooks. You can buy his cookbooks here. They have funny titles. He also writes a column in this magazine. And that first website tells you everything else he has going, which is a lot. He tours the world cooking like eight months out of the year. He's an inspiration, for sure.
OK, OK long story short, on to the cooking. Joshua was chomping at the bit to get started so I showed him where everything was in the kitchen and sat back. He was a focused whirlwind for hours on end and I regret that in my anxiety about how I was going to seat everyone in our small apartment I didn't really watch him at work or question him. I hope to take more advantage of his expertise at Neon's mediterranean feast tonight. The salad and starter were ready right on time and somehow we squeezed everyone in and started to eat. The salad was romaine, arugula, oranges, red pepper and dates with a lemon-fenugreek dressing. The starter was roasted and fried kobocha with a spicy, oily dill-yogurt sauce. Joshua also made a spiced flatbread to soak up the sauce that had some interesting grains in it (that he told me the name of and I forgot). The combo of the flatbread and the sauce was one of my faves of the evening. Then we had a lentil and broadbean soup that a trillion different exciting flavors. The main dish was a fake chicken stew with onions, roasted tomatoes, roasted butternet squash, yogurt sauce and the most delicious rice I have ever eaten. He served this all with rosewater lemonade, which would be simple to make and was soooo good. I bet it would be even better with some kind of booze in it. He just used frozen lemonade, rose water and squeezed some fresh lemons in.
The dessert was so fucking good it disappeared quickly. It was a variation on a mamoul, which is a popular Syrian and Lebanese date-filled cookie. I'm telling you, the Lebanese have a way with desserts. This and that one they have at Maaloufs are like my two favorite desserts. He made a shortbread-like cookie with a strong rosewater flavor and stuffed it with a date/orange jam that he made. These were served warm out of the oven and dusted with powdered sugar.
And all this for twelve bucks a person and with the pleasure of Joshua's company! Amazing. His food made me realize how timid I am with spices in my own cooking and how I need to branch out and learn more. Most of the spices he used I have either never heard of or certainly never used. I want to get one of his cookbooks. You can buy his cookbooks here. They have funny titles. He also writes a column in this magazine. And that first website tells you everything else he has going, which is a lot. He tours the world cooking like eight months out of the year. He's an inspiration, for sure.
cat paradise
I want to post about the dinner last night but it will take a bit to write and I don't have time yet. So stay tuned!
Meanwhile, when was the last time you went to Miller park? OK, it's not that spectacular but did you know it has a cat village? There are at least twenty full grown cats of all types living in harmony together. It's beautiful. Some cat lovers have built them a deluxe cat house and they had multiple, heaping bowls of cat chow. It's like a utopia, catopia if you will. And you will.
Went for drinks on the Delta King, too. It was rad. They have overpriced bottles of anchor but really you are paying for the opportunity to drink on the deck of a steamboat. The weather yesterday was so beautiful. It felt like spring.
So LCD got dissed at the grammys? Bullshit.
Meanwhile, when was the last time you went to Miller park? OK, it's not that spectacular but did you know it has a cat village? There are at least twenty full grown cats of all types living in harmony together. It's beautiful. Some cat lovers have built them a deluxe cat house and they had multiple, heaping bowls of cat chow. It's like a utopia, catopia if you will. And you will.
Went for drinks on the Delta King, too. It was rad. They have overpriced bottles of anchor but really you are paying for the opportunity to drink on the deck of a steamboat. The weather yesterday was so beautiful. It felt like spring.
So LCD got dissed at the grammys? Bullshit.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
bonus post
This just in: I have independent confirmation that the Armeniac said "the feeling's new name is Sophia". So there!
This is a bonus, slightly drunken post, because I have wednesday off and will be using it to prepare for the aforementioned, Persian themed feast cooked by my personal chef that I will tell you about on thursday. Me and smiller went to the Waterboy tonight and spent my Christmas bonus plus some and it was so good! I don't want to bore you with the details but let me just say that for a change money was no object so we definitely lived it up as far as the wine list was concerned. We ended with a 1985 Warres vintage port and a glass of banyuls with chocolate brioche pudding. The other standout was the roast squab (damn dirty pigeon!)
with preserved cherries, pine nuts, and foie gras toast. OK, it sounds like a weird combo and it is, but it meshed really well. I love that place. These three posh little kids tried to get a table before us. Picture this little girl's outfit: striped deck shoes, white pedal pushers, Polo sweater over a polo shirt with a popped collar. And getting a table for themselves at like eight at night!
Other than that I have heard that there is a Port Costa extravaganza this weekend that I may take part in and that there is a Smiths cover show coming up at Ironsides? This is the first I have heard of it but I guess that Sophia is playing, among others. Heckamax, do you want Bright Ideas to play that Lyme Regis Knock Knock show or what? Hook it up!
This is a bonus, slightly drunken post, because I have wednesday off and will be using it to prepare for the aforementioned, Persian themed feast cooked by my personal chef that I will tell you about on thursday. Me and smiller went to the Waterboy tonight and spent my Christmas bonus plus some and it was so good! I don't want to bore you with the details but let me just say that for a change money was no object so we definitely lived it up as far as the wine list was concerned. We ended with a 1985 Warres vintage port and a glass of banyuls with chocolate brioche pudding. The other standout was the roast squab (damn dirty pigeon!)
with preserved cherries, pine nuts, and foie gras toast. OK, it sounds like a weird combo and it is, but it meshed really well. I love that place. These three posh little kids tried to get a table before us. Picture this little girl's outfit: striped deck shoes, white pedal pushers, Polo sweater over a polo shirt with a popped collar. And getting a table for themselves at like eight at night!
Other than that I have heard that there is a Port Costa extravaganza this weekend that I may take part in and that there is a Smiths cover show coming up at Ironsides? This is the first I have heard of it but I guess that Sophia is playing, among others. Heckamax, do you want Bright Ideas to play that Lyme Regis Knock Knock show or what? Hook it up!
a message to kru
I am really busy today shaping young minds so I won't have that much time to post. Tomorrow I am having an absolutely absurd number of people over to my apartment for a big feast that is being prepared by a personal chef. It's this guy, Josh who was in Mukilteo Fairies and Behead the Prophet who now tours around cooking for people. The meals are really reasonably priced and I have heard the food is delicious. I am very, very excited about this. I have chosen the African influenced menu. Neon are hosting the next day and I'm going to that, too.
I wish someone from Kru would read this because I have advice for you: 1) drop the big plates section off your menu. My party and everyone else around us was eating sushi. No one is going to Kru to pay twenty dollars for a pork chop. They just aren't. 2) once you get rid of those big plates and you don't have to pay lots of money for the rack of lamb and other meat that no one is ordering and that is going to waste, drop your prices a bit. Your rolls (simple and crazy new style) are tastier than most around town, maybe the best in town, so you have that going for you. But 14 dollars for a roll that doesn't contain, say truffles or caviar or something? That's too much. All your rolls are one to three dollars overpriced and with so many sushi places to choose from downtown that can make a big difference when people are trying to decide where to go. 3) Another benefit of dropping the big plates is that it would give you an opportunity to expand your sushi menu. It doesn't need to be a book like Mikuni's but your fancy rolls are great and I wish there were more to choose from. There are only about 6 rolls. 4) your service is STILL pretty confused. It was like that when it opened and I thought you would figure it out, but like a year later your servers don't seem to know who is supposed to be doing what when. It wasn't that bad, but after all this time there's really no excuse. If Kru did those 4 things, I bet their business would pick up. This post is probably very boring for those who didn't eat at Kru last night, sorry.
I wish someone from Kru would read this because I have advice for you: 1) drop the big plates section off your menu. My party and everyone else around us was eating sushi. No one is going to Kru to pay twenty dollars for a pork chop. They just aren't. 2) once you get rid of those big plates and you don't have to pay lots of money for the rack of lamb and other meat that no one is ordering and that is going to waste, drop your prices a bit. Your rolls (simple and crazy new style) are tastier than most around town, maybe the best in town, so you have that going for you. But 14 dollars for a roll that doesn't contain, say truffles or caviar or something? That's too much. All your rolls are one to three dollars overpriced and with so many sushi places to choose from downtown that can make a big difference when people are trying to decide where to go. 3) Another benefit of dropping the big plates is that it would give you an opportunity to expand your sushi menu. It doesn't need to be a book like Mikuni's but your fancy rolls are great and I wish there were more to choose from. There are only about 6 rolls. 4) your service is STILL pretty confused. It was like that when it opened and I thought you would figure it out, but like a year later your servers don't seem to know who is supposed to be doing what when. It wasn't that bad, but after all this time there's really no excuse. If Kru did those 4 things, I bet their business would pick up. This post is probably very boring for those who didn't eat at Kru last night, sorry.
Monday, February 06, 2006
correction
In the interest of journalistic responsibility I'd like to correct my earlier post that the Feeling have changed their name to Sophia. This falsehood was presented to me as a fact by a certain wily Armenian. The Feeling still doesn't have a name. I am voting for Bearhead. It's not that bad.
fuck the phenomenauts
Bananas at Gilman was almost single-handedly ruined by the Bananas best friend and worst enemy, who is a dangerous superfan that I shall not name here (you guys don't know him and I wouldn't want to embarass him too much if he should happen upon this entry). Next time Mike R. Mike is going to bring a set of handcuffs so that we can safely shackle him to something. This way, he can watch but he can't ruin the show by taking the mic away from Mike and/or tacking him periodically. By the end of the show the superfan was being held down by four different people, one on each limb. Oh yeah, and I hope some Phenomenauts fans read this so they will know that that band is the biggest bunch of jerks and total Ds ever. Way to drive a giant bus to your show in Berkeley when you live in Berkeley. Way to sell craploads of terrible looking merch plastered with your logo that is a weak ripoff of the Pixies logo. Way to have terrible songs about robots in space. Way to play forever even though the show was running late. Way to pull a rock star trip and rant at the poor Gilman guy about how the set up was unprofessional and how you don't do it for the money, you do it for the kids. Well, the Bananas are also in it for the kids, because the kids have the money, and you may have heard that first you get hard, then you get the money (too bad Dillon doesn't read heckasac). P.S. your website looks like shit, just like all your hideous merch.
I pussed out on going to the Alkali Flats but I heard it was really fun so I wish I had gone.
Champagne brunch on the Delta King was fucking fun and I highly recommend it. The "champagne" flows very freely and food was pretty darn good. And you are on a boat so you can say ahoy and pretend your food is asking you for permission to come aboard. I found out that the Delta King has a regular bar and I plan to go there a lot when the weather gets warmer. I think you can take your drinks outside.
I pussed out on going to the Alkali Flats but I heard it was really fun so I wish I had gone.
Champagne brunch on the Delta King was fucking fun and I highly recommend it. The "champagne" flows very freely and food was pretty darn good. And you are on a boat so you can say ahoy and pretend your food is asking you for permission to come aboard. I found out that the Delta King has a regular bar and I plan to go there a lot when the weather gets warmer. I think you can take your drinks outside.
this just in!
There is a rumor that chkchkchk is in negotiations to go on tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers this summer. This is a good fit because 1)they have a detailed uplift mofo party plan (I've seen it) and 2)Nic is sometimes known to rock out with his cock out (or sometimes just his nads out when he used to wear those pants with the hole in the crotch-which was a long time ago but we can't let him forget it). Let's hope the funky monks and the funky punks can become one this summer. I will be in the front row!
A couple of engagements were announced this weekend, but since I don't want any haters to accuse me of gossip I won't say who just yet, I'll just say congratulations and please invite me to the wedding so I can catch the bouquet for the zillionth time.
A couple of engagements were announced this weekend, but since I don't want any haters to accuse me of gossip I won't say who just yet, I'll just say congratulations and please invite me to the wedding so I can catch the bouquet for the zillionth time.
Friday, February 03, 2006
good news for those with four grand extra a month laying around
You might be saying to yourself, "I have three to four thousand dollars a month left over from my job as a lobbyist, lawyer, or other professional and I need a luxury loft to live in that is within spitting distance of some terrible urban blight". Well, now you are in luck. Also, sorry Ella, but soon there will be restaurant named Ella in Sac. I actually talked to the owners (the ones that also run Sellands) about this place a couple of months ago and it stands a chance of being good, but does Sac really need another place that could call itself an "American Bistro"? How about a French bistro instead? Because there are none around whereas you can huck a rock and hit another place to get a rib eye with mashed potatoes or a grass-fed burger or some crab cakes in lemon garlic aioli, etc., etc.
what kind of sweaters do pirates wear? ARRR-gyle!
Although I was pretty absorbed in my food I couldn't help but notice some of the crazy "fashion" at Mason's. The bar was packed with young professionals in their finery. The women were suprisingly pirate-y. Women only wear jeans to dress up now, it's like a law or something. No dresses, no skirts, just tight as fuck jeans, often cropped with high skinny boots, which accounts for the pirate effect. Or the boots are tucked in. This look is still ruling over everything. The only other kind of pants that are acceptable are the loose, flowy harem style pants that make everyone watch your butt jiggle (it's not just me who watches, right?) and that go waaayyy up your butt when you stand up. These are also somewhat pirate style. Tops are your standard glittery boob tops. Implants and fake tans=in.
OK, for what to do this weekend, Feeling show tonight at Distillery if you are not punk enough to hack it at Gilman and watch the Bananas. Tomorrow, Alkali Flats show. Sunday I am going to a champagne brunch on the Delta King! Exciting and I will probably do some serious napping after to get ready for DJ Roger and DJ smiller's new pop night at the Press. That's right, sunday night! I don't know if this night has a name or website or schwag yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon. They need to think of something catchy like Daggers! or Vicious! like, oh I don't know, Vicious Electric Daggers! Or Watch Out For That Sharp Edged Thing! It Will Cut Your Clothes But In A Sexy, Shredded Way! Or, Tetanus Shot!!
OK, for what to do this weekend, Feeling show tonight at Distillery if you are not punk enough to hack it at Gilman and watch the Bananas. Tomorrow, Alkali Flats show. Sunday I am going to a champagne brunch on the Delta King! Exciting and I will probably do some serious napping after to get ready for DJ Roger and DJ smiller's new pop night at the Press. That's right, sunday night! I don't know if this night has a name or website or schwag yet, but I'm sure it's coming soon. They need to think of something catchy like Daggers! or Vicious! like, oh I don't know, Vicious Electric Daggers! Or Watch Out For That Sharp Edged Thing! It Will Cut Your Clothes But In A Sexy, Shredded Way! Or, Tetanus Shot!!
mason's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My friends, Mason's is the real deal. Forget the hype, forget the breathless heyamotoizing about how cool it all is, just eat the food and you will be entranced. It is one of the top five restaurants in Sac for sure. I'd put it neck and neck with the Waterboy, and I don't say that lightly.
There was some trouble with our reservations at the start, but they were accomodating and nice about it. We got seated at a rad table that was really comfortable and seemed semi-private due to a couple of walls that separated us from most of the diners. Our waiter was a local musician and I won't name him, I'll just call him CFC cuz he used to be in corpse fucks corpse. He was an excellent waiter and immediately put us at ease.
Unfortunately, Mason's doesn't have their current menu online (just an old one) so I'm going to have to go from memory about what we ordered, and maybe my fellow diners can comment if they have time. We started with the Japanese pumpkin salad. There were chunks of pumpkin battered and lightly fried under a mound of shaved Granny Smith Apple, in some kind of viniagrette that had a faint hint of cinnamon. It looked beautiful and the still-warm pumpkin contrasted nicely with the apple. We also got the chicken liver mousse terrine. It tasted rich and livery (which is a flavor I love) and melted in your mouth. They didn't give us much crostini to put it on, but the server was quick with the bread and it was great on that, too. Both of these appetizers were very generously sized. In fact, there was so much liver I wouldn't recommend ordering it for less than a party of four or I'm sure you would O.D. on it. Our third appetizer was a chorizo-stuffed squid, which was enticing as described but fell short in execution. The dish also came with clams and red and yellow peppers in a tasty broth, but it only came with like two large bites of the stuffed squid for thirteen bucks.
Mason's has a pretty long wine list, and they have a surprising amount of affordable bottles. I asked our server to recommend a good, inexpensive red and we decided to go with the Justin Paso Robles Syrah, which we liked. Smiller also got a glass of the Avalon Cabernet, which I liked even better. The only problem with the wine list was that they only had one sparkling wine by the glass, and it was eleven bucks (I think the wine list I linked is also not current). That's not acceptable!
Most of the entrees sounded enticing so it was hard to choose, but two people got the sturgeon, one got the short ribs, one got the rack of lamb, and I ordered the ciopinno. The short ribs were insanely good. They came in a brandy reduction accompanied by gorgonzola-walnut ravioli. I wish I had ordered those. Once again, the portion was very generous. You could just go order this and a glass of wine and be full. The sturgeon was also great. The flavor of the lamb was delicate and delicious. My ciopinno was not quite as good as the other entrees, mostly because of the damned chorizo that also kinda wrecked the stuffed squid. The chorizo was in hard, flavorless cubes and was not spicy at all, although it was advertised as such on the menu. Also, the clams tasted less than fresh. However, the white tuna and king prawns were good and the saffron broth was the best part, so I soaked most of that up with the bread. All in all, it was a mind-blowing meal and worth every penny. And it wasn't even as expensive as it probably sounds. I got all that for 45 bucks and that was with a generous tip for the server.
Later I'll post about the crazy Sac fashion parading through that place and all the stuff going on this weekend.
There was some trouble with our reservations at the start, but they were accomodating and nice about it. We got seated at a rad table that was really comfortable and seemed semi-private due to a couple of walls that separated us from most of the diners. Our waiter was a local musician and I won't name him, I'll just call him CFC cuz he used to be in corpse fucks corpse. He was an excellent waiter and immediately put us at ease.
Unfortunately, Mason's doesn't have their current menu online (just an old one) so I'm going to have to go from memory about what we ordered, and maybe my fellow diners can comment if they have time. We started with the Japanese pumpkin salad. There were chunks of pumpkin battered and lightly fried under a mound of shaved Granny Smith Apple, in some kind of viniagrette that had a faint hint of cinnamon. It looked beautiful and the still-warm pumpkin contrasted nicely with the apple. We also got the chicken liver mousse terrine. It tasted rich and livery (which is a flavor I love) and melted in your mouth. They didn't give us much crostini to put it on, but the server was quick with the bread and it was great on that, too. Both of these appetizers were very generously sized. In fact, there was so much liver I wouldn't recommend ordering it for less than a party of four or I'm sure you would O.D. on it. Our third appetizer was a chorizo-stuffed squid, which was enticing as described but fell short in execution. The dish also came with clams and red and yellow peppers in a tasty broth, but it only came with like two large bites of the stuffed squid for thirteen bucks.
Mason's has a pretty long wine list, and they have a surprising amount of affordable bottles. I asked our server to recommend a good, inexpensive red and we decided to go with the Justin Paso Robles Syrah, which we liked. Smiller also got a glass of the Avalon Cabernet, which I liked even better. The only problem with the wine list was that they only had one sparkling wine by the glass, and it was eleven bucks (I think the wine list I linked is also not current). That's not acceptable!
Most of the entrees sounded enticing so it was hard to choose, but two people got the sturgeon, one got the short ribs, one got the rack of lamb, and I ordered the ciopinno. The short ribs were insanely good. They came in a brandy reduction accompanied by gorgonzola-walnut ravioli. I wish I had ordered those. Once again, the portion was very generous. You could just go order this and a glass of wine and be full. The sturgeon was also great. The flavor of the lamb was delicate and delicious. My ciopinno was not quite as good as the other entrees, mostly because of the damned chorizo that also kinda wrecked the stuffed squid. The chorizo was in hard, flavorless cubes and was not spicy at all, although it was advertised as such on the menu. Also, the clams tasted less than fresh. However, the white tuna and king prawns were good and the saffron broth was the best part, so I soaked most of that up with the bread. All in all, it was a mind-blowing meal and worth every penny. And it wasn't even as expensive as it probably sounds. I got all that for 45 bucks and that was with a generous tip for the server.
Later I'll post about the crazy Sac fashion parading through that place and all the stuff going on this weekend.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Okay...
I saw on Postcards from Sac that Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab for Cutie are playing Sac so out of curiousity I followed the link to pitchfork that says they're playing the memorial hall at the sac convention center? Say what?
karlos!
Illustrious Tower Theater worker Karlos is in this week's News and Review story on the minimum wage. The pictures are miscaptioned online and he's indentified as a different guy. Other than that, this one's kinda boring. Jackson Griffith is back. Kate Washington reviews a place with tortas bigger than your head.
alkali flats
You probably can't read this because I don't know how to adjust the size but here's the flyer for the Alkali Flats show. Here's the info on the Brick Shot House.
in bad company
I feel strangely lightheaded. I have a weed hangover. I don't know how you stoners do it. I watched that movie In Good Company and if it is possible for the Shins to cheapen themselves any more than they did in Garden State then they did it in this movie. This movie is such test-marketed focus-grouped crap and it's really poorly directed. It's a clear rip-off of Cameron Crowe's style. Considering how shitty his movies usually are, that's pretty pathetic. I included those links to imdb because the message boards are always entertaining and this one where they discuss the "this song will change your life" scene from Garden State is classic.
Does anybody know the details of the Alkali Flats show on saturday? I might want to go to that. The Flats are fun to watch.
UA theater in the Arden Fair Mall is continuing on its trajectory of becoming the Birdcage Theater of the 2000s by showing one old movie every thursday at 10:00. Tonight it's the Shining. I want to go but I'm eating with a big party at Mason's tonight. If I restrain my wine intake (which would be a financially wise choice) I may be able to drive there.
Does anybody know the details of the Alkali Flats show on saturday? I might want to go to that. The Flats are fun to watch.
UA theater in the Arden Fair Mall is continuing on its trajectory of becoming the Birdcage Theater of the 2000s by showing one old movie every thursday at 10:00. Tonight it's the Shining. I want to go but I'm eating with a big party at Mason's tonight. If I restrain my wine intake (which would be a financially wise choice) I may be able to drive there.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Voisin can't let it drop evereverever
Voisin can't resist taking a crack at Arco in today's column about Artest. Here she is beating the dead horse:
Arco Arena is still ancient and creaky and full of leaks, but for the first time in a long while, the old building shook and shuddered, often erupting into spontaneous emotion.
Ancient? A bit of an exaggeration for a building built in 1988, no?
Arco Arena is still ancient and creaky and full of leaks, but for the first time in a long while, the old building shook and shuddered, often erupting into spontaneous emotion.
Ancient? A bit of an exaggeration for a building built in 1988, no?
a match made in hell
I am proud to note that whenever someone searches for the lyrics of "kokomo" heckasac is generally the first thing that comes up, if they search for it by typing in some of the lyrics, which probably means that they heard the song and liked it but can't remember it.
That reminds me of a thought I had about what would be the world's most loathsome hypothetical couple: Joan Baez and Mike Love. Just thinking about that makes my skin crawl.
That reminds me of a thought I had about what would be the world's most loathsome hypothetical couple: Joan Baez and Mike Love. Just thinking about that makes my skin crawl.
wired and tired
I am so wired on coffee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been making Peets at home lately but I decided to go in today and get my usual triple shot and I feel insane.
So The Feelings new name is Sophia, correct? Not Coco Shwa? What do you guys think about that? I know this has been a hard process for them. Paul said Sophia means wisdom or something in some language.
We watched the game at Dragonfly last night, which, if you can get a seat at the bar where the TV is not obscured by the hanging lights is an OK place to watch a game. It's really not that crowded most of the time, and they have Chimay and 1554 on draft. Their wine list is crap, however and way overpriced so I ended up getting a tiny, precious bottle of Moet for 12 bucks. It tasted so good that I can't be mad at the price. And those little bottles are at least a glass and a half. We split the Sacramento roll and even thought someone pointed out to me recently that those big rolls with sauce kinda taste the same no matter what the ingredients are, this one was unusually good. It freaks me out though because I checked my bank account today and I'm pretty sure the bartender padded his tip. I can't believe he would do that so it's probably that I was drunkenly generous.
The Kings looked good last night and they won after being up by a few points for the whole game. Bibby was confident, Artest got excellent penetration, which is nice, and that geeky guy with the funny haircut scored like 21 points. What's his name? They had hustle for a change.
The Bananas are playing Gilman this friday and they will have a few copies of their Nautical LP to sell. It's a limited edition put out by some Italian chick (I don't know the full story but maybe smiller can fill me in-ew that sounds dirty-oh i forgot it's his day off) but this guy in LA is going to put out all the albums on LP eventually so don't worry.
Shaun Slaughter posted on the DIY list that this saturday at Vicious (in Old I) Kid 606 is the guest DJ, which I guess is a big deal to some. I was trying to figure out what his deal is so I looked for his website which led me here to a TERRIBLE manga style illustration that is kinda NSFW and really doesn't make me want to go see him DJ. The site hasn't been updated in ages but in 2002 he was playing all over the world. I don't know, what I've heard about him sounds interesting.
So The Feelings new name is Sophia, correct? Not Coco Shwa? What do you guys think about that? I know this has been a hard process for them. Paul said Sophia means wisdom or something in some language.
We watched the game at Dragonfly last night, which, if you can get a seat at the bar where the TV is not obscured by the hanging lights is an OK place to watch a game. It's really not that crowded most of the time, and they have Chimay and 1554 on draft. Their wine list is crap, however and way overpriced so I ended up getting a tiny, precious bottle of Moet for 12 bucks. It tasted so good that I can't be mad at the price. And those little bottles are at least a glass and a half. We split the Sacramento roll and even thought someone pointed out to me recently that those big rolls with sauce kinda taste the same no matter what the ingredients are, this one was unusually good. It freaks me out though because I checked my bank account today and I'm pretty sure the bartender padded his tip. I can't believe he would do that so it's probably that I was drunkenly generous.
The Kings looked good last night and they won after being up by a few points for the whole game. Bibby was confident, Artest got excellent penetration, which is nice, and that geeky guy with the funny haircut scored like 21 points. What's his name? They had hustle for a change.
The Bananas are playing Gilman this friday and they will have a few copies of their Nautical LP to sell. It's a limited edition put out by some Italian chick (I don't know the full story but maybe smiller can fill me in-ew that sounds dirty-oh i forgot it's his day off) but this guy in LA is going to put out all the albums on LP eventually so don't worry.
Shaun Slaughter posted on the DIY list that this saturday at Vicious (in Old I) Kid 606 is the guest DJ, which I guess is a big deal to some. I was trying to figure out what his deal is so I looked for his website which led me here to a TERRIBLE manga style illustration that is kinda NSFW and really doesn't make me want to go see him DJ. The site hasn't been updated in ages but in 2002 he was playing all over the world. I don't know, what I've heard about him sounds interesting.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
blogs that matter
I have to go to an undisclosed remote location today from whence there can be no blogging. To amuse yourself in my absence, read this article about a bunch of blogs that you've probably never heard of.
nominations are out!
The Academy Award nominations are out. I'm sure the Barnseyard will have a lot to say about that. I'm happy that Terence Howard got nominated (although that past anonymous commenter who compared Hustle and Flow to a VH1 movie will probably not be happy). It's weird that Jake G. got supporting and extra dumb considering that William Hurt's scenery-chewing-few-minutes-with-bad-Philly-accent from History of Violence is in the same category. At least William Hurt didn't get nominated for Syriana, which he was also terrible in. Unless the category was "most pointless cameo" and then he would be a lock. He should go back to pretending to be a monkey. Now that was a movie! Glad to see that History of Violence got a couple noms, too. I think it's weird that every year I have usually not heard of the foreign pictures that are nominated considering that I go see a lot of foreign movies.
I am watching a Kings game tonight for pretty much the first time this season. I am hoping to get back into it this year. We'll see. For those of you without cable, what's your favorite place to watch? Every place I can think of has some problem that makes it less than ideal.
Oh yeah, and just a tip, if you ever use your ATM at any Arco stations in the area, I would check your bank balance if I were you. Some people pulled a big scam and recorded PIN numbers to steal out of people's bank accounts.
I am watching a Kings game tonight for pretty much the first time this season. I am hoping to get back into it this year. We'll see. For those of you without cable, what's your favorite place to watch? Every place I can think of has some problem that makes it less than ideal.
Oh yeah, and just a tip, if you ever use your ATM at any Arco stations in the area, I would check your bank balance if I were you. Some people pulled a big scam and recorded PIN numbers to steal out of people's bank accounts.
Monday, January 30, 2006
picture for brew
sienna-hayden-shirt06
Originally uploaded by becklerg.
This is mostly for Brew because of our shared hatred of Sienna Miller. Is this the outfit of a fashion icon? Leggings, Hayden Christensen's shirt (apparently she is banging ol' grease cauldron now), and Uggs! Where's her mother's Moroccan belt now?
And for another rant, can you think of anything more maddening than being stuck in a parking lot waiting like five minutes for some bitch to vacate the spot in her giant Dodge SUV which is taking so much time because 1)she has crammed it into a compact spot and 2)she is on the phone?!? Luckily I am all Zen and shit so it didn't phase me at all.
that's wild
Does anyone else think it's crazy that Animal Collective is playing Sac on a saturday and at the Fillmore on a sunday?! (I wish I had an interrobang key on my keyboard). We have to represent. I hope a lot of people go. Tickets are finally on sale for the Fillmore show.
Lyme Regis were on fire again on saturday. I love seeing them play. Their songs are so catchy that I have to remind myself that they are not covers of classic songs, well except for rose in spanish harlem which they do a rad version of. I couldn't really see but there was a rumor that Smitty came out of a cardboard birthday cake wearing a diaper during the Losin' Streaks. Let's hope it was a clean diaper.
I ate a Pho Bac in honor of Lunar New Year and it knocked my socks off. There are a few cheap restaurants around town that I started eating at back when I was a vegetarian (I know, can you believe it?) and sometimes I fall into this pattern of ordering the same non-meat things I used to get at them. Pho is one, Willy's is another (I've never had a real burger there, only the triple cheese). At Pho I always got the veggie pho, which I'm sure has a meat broth. Anyways, at the urging of smiller this time I tried rare beef pho. It came out with slices of raw looking beef on top. I was kinda grossed out, but the beef is sliced so thinly that as soon as you dunk them in the broth they cook slightly. The beef wasn't melt in your mouth tender, but it was tender enough and fun to eat. The broth was totally beefy and good. We also got chicken bun something something, which is a cold noodle salad with charbroiled chicken. It was a great meal.
I bought a French cheese last night at Trader Joes that I have had before called St. Nectaire. It is usually a good, stinky cows milk cheese. I put my groceries in the trunk and when I got home and opened it I thought to myself "something is rotten in my trunk" which is entirely possible because my car is a trash heap. When I got inside I realized it was the cheese! Brew and I decided that it smelled like (this is gross-don't read on if you can't handle NC-17 language) if a guy had jizzed into his buttcrack and then went and worked out for a few hours. I tried eating it and I have never eaten poo but now I think I know what it's like. It went straight into the trash. Do my cheese expert readers (and I have a few) have any opinion on this? It didn't make me sick so I guess it was OK to eat.
Lyme Regis were on fire again on saturday. I love seeing them play. Their songs are so catchy that I have to remind myself that they are not covers of classic songs, well except for rose in spanish harlem which they do a rad version of. I couldn't really see but there was a rumor that Smitty came out of a cardboard birthday cake wearing a diaper during the Losin' Streaks. Let's hope it was a clean diaper.
I ate a Pho Bac in honor of Lunar New Year and it knocked my socks off. There are a few cheap restaurants around town that I started eating at back when I was a vegetarian (I know, can you believe it?) and sometimes I fall into this pattern of ordering the same non-meat things I used to get at them. Pho is one, Willy's is another (I've never had a real burger there, only the triple cheese). At Pho I always got the veggie pho, which I'm sure has a meat broth. Anyways, at the urging of smiller this time I tried rare beef pho. It came out with slices of raw looking beef on top. I was kinda grossed out, but the beef is sliced so thinly that as soon as you dunk them in the broth they cook slightly. The beef wasn't melt in your mouth tender, but it was tender enough and fun to eat. The broth was totally beefy and good. We also got chicken bun something something, which is a cold noodle salad with charbroiled chicken. It was a great meal.
I bought a French cheese last night at Trader Joes that I have had before called St. Nectaire. It is usually a good, stinky cows milk cheese. I put my groceries in the trunk and when I got home and opened it I thought to myself "something is rotten in my trunk" which is entirely possible because my car is a trash heap. When I got inside I realized it was the cheese! Brew and I decided that it smelled like (this is gross-don't read on if you can't handle NC-17 language) if a guy had jizzed into his buttcrack and then went and worked out for a few hours. I tried eating it and I have never eaten poo but now I think I know what it's like. It went straight into the trash. Do my cheese expert readers (and I have a few) have any opinion on this? It didn't make me sick so I guess it was OK to eat.
tax time
Just a quick post for now because I want to do my taxes. I'm glad that I paid enough this year to buy a soldier in Iraq at least one piece of substandard body armor.
I am not sure what Boing Boing is but here is a link to a thing they did on the vintage signs of Sac. (from slopdawgjr. and the chick list)
Is Jason D. back from 'nam? Or were you there for lunar new year? Cheung Hing was off the chain because of the New Year. People were crowd surfing the roast ducks to the back of the line.
Charles wants to plan a Halloween in July show and the theme is going to be "missing" because of the year that there was no Halloween show. It can be bands with missing members, bands that lost a member, it's pretty broad. He wants to know what people think about this. Two bands that immediately came to mind are Pink Floyd and the Manics. It would be cool if someone did the Manics. It seems that the theme this year for the real Halloween show is going to be "gay". All your favorite gay artists! I must give myself credit for thinking this theme up and I'm very excited about it. Especially since smiller is going to do Janis Ian!
I am not sure what Boing Boing is but here is a link to a thing they did on the vintage signs of Sac. (from slopdawgjr. and the chick list)
Is Jason D. back from 'nam? Or were you there for lunar new year? Cheung Hing was off the chain because of the New Year. People were crowd surfing the roast ducks to the back of the line.
Charles wants to plan a Halloween in July show and the theme is going to be "missing" because of the year that there was no Halloween show. It can be bands with missing members, bands that lost a member, it's pretty broad. He wants to know what people think about this. Two bands that immediately came to mind are Pink Floyd and the Manics. It would be cool if someone did the Manics. It seems that the theme this year for the real Halloween show is going to be "gay". All your favorite gay artists! I must give myself credit for thinking this theme up and I'm very excited about it. Especially since smiller is going to do Janis Ian!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
fuckin' job!
Fuck my work today!
The duck from Cheung Hing was amazingly delicious. We ate every bit of crispy skin and every morsel of meat.
In other eating news, I'm going to Mason's next week and to Biba within the next couple of weeks, so you can expect some reviews.
I have tomorrow off so I hope you guys can find stuff to talk about without me. There's a Lyme Regis/Losin' Streaks show on saturday for OMF's eighty-eleventh birthday. I thought I would be out of town but due to a storm you may see me there. There's a show listed at Junta tomorrow night. Who believes that that one is going to happen? The Bananas have a show coming up at Gilman pretty soon. I promise I'll remind you as it approaches. Also, I have seen the Nautical Rock and Roll LP (not yet available to the general public) and it looks and sounds great! And some are on blue vinyl!
This Bee headline says "world awash in a glut of wine". I'm glad to find that it's not just me.
Happy Lunar New Year to those who are celebrating? Does anybody know if any local restaurants have special menus?
Gotta go! I'll be back on monday!
The duck from Cheung Hing was amazingly delicious. We ate every bit of crispy skin and every morsel of meat.
In other eating news, I'm going to Mason's next week and to Biba within the next couple of weeks, so you can expect some reviews.
I have tomorrow off so I hope you guys can find stuff to talk about without me. There's a Lyme Regis/Losin' Streaks show on saturday for OMF's eighty-eleventh birthday. I thought I would be out of town but due to a storm you may see me there. There's a show listed at Junta tomorrow night. Who believes that that one is going to happen? The Bananas have a show coming up at Gilman pretty soon. I promise I'll remind you as it approaches. Also, I have seen the Nautical Rock and Roll LP (not yet available to the general public) and it looks and sounds great! And some are on blue vinyl!
This Bee headline says "world awash in a glut of wine". I'm glad to find that it's not just me.
Happy Lunar New Year to those who are celebrating? Does anybody know if any local restaurants have special menus?
Gotta go! I'll be back on monday!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
barley wine, feelin' fine?
Not to rub it in to a certain someone who's going to miss out on this, but Sac Brewing co. is having a barleywine festival. Unfortunately it's only at their town and country location. That's dumb. Here's a cool nytimes article from today on barleywine.
I have to go. I strained my back lifting my laundry (yes I am a wuss, did I ever pretend otherwise) and I want to go home and take a muscle relaxer.
Back tomorrow and I will review the roast duck from cheung hing! That is, if the guy that serves doesn't refuse to sell it for me for some reason I won't understand.
I have to go. I strained my back lifting my laundry (yes I am a wuss, did I ever pretend otherwise) and I want to go home and take a muscle relaxer.
Back tomorrow and I will review the roast duck from cheung hing! That is, if the guy that serves doesn't refuse to sell it for me for some reason I won't understand.
Dylan doc.
I guess blogger is scheduled to go down at 4:00 so you better get your fix of heckasac in before then. Unfortunately I'm really fucking busy today as the rat brains are not going to process themselves. Started watching that Bob Dylan doc. last night and of course as everyone has said it's totally amazing. All the folk and country performance footage is so exciting to watch. I already bought a CD of the craziest guy (John Jacob Niles). Check that Henry Miller quote on the website! I'll post a couple of rad pictures of ladies I want to check out.
This doc got me and smiller talking about the issue of "authenticity" in music and how like Devendra Banheart gets dogged for being a trust fund kid or whatever and how people bag on other new folk artists for putting on a front or being fashiony or whatever( wow that's two too many whatevers, whatever!). Not like any of these people are at the Dylan level but it's just interesting to think about in the context of watching Dylan try to style himself after Woody Guthrie so much that he's even trying to talk like him and looking at Dylan's outfits when he was young which are so rad and which he obviously put so much thought into.
This doc got me and smiller talking about the issue of "authenticity" in music and how like Devendra Banheart gets dogged for being a trust fund kid or whatever and how people bag on other new folk artists for putting on a front or being fashiony or whatever( wow that's two too many whatevers, whatever!). Not like any of these people are at the Dylan level but it's just interesting to think about in the context of watching Dylan try to style himself after Woody Guthrie so much that he's even trying to talk like him and looking at Dylan's outfits when he was young which are so rad and which he obviously put so much thought into.
odetta
I think this lady is pretty famous but I had never heard of her. She performs a song called "the waterboy" in which she kinda barks. She's intense.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
twenty bucks!
Does anyone want to make twenty bucks and get a free brain scan? I think that getting an MRI is relaxing but it's not for the claustrophobic. And you get to see your brain. Mine looked kind of shrunken and asymmetrical. If you want to do this, contact mariann at mlowenthal@ucdavis.edu You can do it in Sac near the medcenter.
probe mag
I have so much work to do but I don't wanna!
I didn't know that Aaron Probe has a website but thanks to Smitty posting those picture links now I do. Heather was right about Mike being too skinny in that picture. Dude, eat a sandwich! Probe was a magazine that really used to offend me back in the day when I was more Riot Grrly. I was offended because it featured naked punk girls, at least one of them a young girl that I saw around Sac. This was way before suicide girls or anything and it was pretty controversial. Times have changed and now this wouldn't bother me. Oh yeah, the mag also had articles. I don't remember them too well except that one time Aaron wrote something about sexually satisfying a woman and I remember thinking he was pretty right on. Here's the link, the pictures are NSFW.
I didn't know that Aaron Probe has a website but thanks to Smitty posting those picture links now I do. Heather was right about Mike being too skinny in that picture. Dude, eat a sandwich! Probe was a magazine that really used to offend me back in the day when I was more Riot Grrly. I was offended because it featured naked punk girls, at least one of them a young girl that I saw around Sac. This was way before suicide girls or anything and it was pretty controversial. Times have changed and now this wouldn't bother me. Oh yeah, the mag also had articles. I don't remember them too well except that one time Aaron wrote something about sexually satisfying a woman and I remember thinking he was pretty right on. Here's the link, the pictures are NSFW.
not much to write so i'll pick on heyamoto
I feel so boring. I absolutely cannot compete with drinking King Cobra blood (hope it tastes better than the King Cobra I've had). Hell, I can't even compete with eating a burger wrapped in a donut wrapped in a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Smitty, you should post some pictures.
Speaking of strokes (sorry Luther), did anyone catch that Ariel Sharon article in the New Yorker? That's the most pro-Sharon piece I've ever read. Hell, I almost wanted to sit down with the guy and share a Luther burger! The New Yorker is going to get some letters about that one. Nice how they act like he was a pretty OK guy and only refer to the Palestinian cause as the "Palestinian issue".
Also speaking of Strokes, has anyone heard the new Strokes album?
Live crabs are 3.50 a pound at the Asian food center and they are at their peak of deliciousness. It's about 8 bucks for a giant one.
I was browsing through the Bee columnists, and I found out that Heyamoto has started a new column called (get this) "what's up with that?". You can send her questions. Here's her bio from the site:
Lisa Heyamoto has always regarded her apartment as a poorly equipped rest stop to be visited before and after a night out on the town, which is why she still can't believe she is being paid to go hang out in clubs. She's a recent transplant from Seattle who is always 15 minutes late, won't let anybody forget her birthday, and is one of those people who knows the words to every song but doesn't really know how health insurance works. She has an affinity for cheap beer and salty snacks, and is far too likely to play Def Leppard's "Photograph" on the jukebox if someone hands her a quarter. She would like to live on a boat someday, but can't imagine where she'd put all of her shoes.
If she has already mentioned it, this chick loves shoes! And partying! And she shares the sentiment of all the readers who can't believe she gets paid to write about shoes and partying! Awesome!
Speaking of strokes (sorry Luther), did anyone catch that Ariel Sharon article in the New Yorker? That's the most pro-Sharon piece I've ever read. Hell, I almost wanted to sit down with the guy and share a Luther burger! The New Yorker is going to get some letters about that one. Nice how they act like he was a pretty OK guy and only refer to the Palestinian cause as the "Palestinian issue".
Also speaking of Strokes, has anyone heard the new Strokes album?
Live crabs are 3.50 a pound at the Asian food center and they are at their peak of deliciousness. It's about 8 bucks for a giant one.
I was browsing through the Bee columnists, and I found out that Heyamoto has started a new column called (get this) "what's up with that?". You can send her questions. Here's her bio from the site:
Lisa Heyamoto has always regarded her apartment as a poorly equipped rest stop to be visited before and after a night out on the town, which is why she still can't believe she is being paid to go hang out in clubs. She's a recent transplant from Seattle who is always 15 minutes late, won't let anybody forget her birthday, and is one of those people who knows the words to every song but doesn't really know how health insurance works. She has an affinity for cheap beer and salty snacks, and is far too likely to play Def Leppard's "Photograph" on the jukebox if someone hands her a quarter. She would like to live on a boat someday, but can't imagine where she'd put all of her shoes.
If she has already mentioned it, this chick loves shoes! And partying! And she shares the sentiment of all the readers who can't believe she gets paid to write about shoes and partying! Awesome!
Monday, January 23, 2006
weekend stuff
I'm rather busy this morning so just a quick post. Man, the weather is sublime. I had to check the varmints this morning and I record the temperature when I'm there and it's about 10 degrees warmer than it has been and there's that nice crisp wind. I'm taking a walk today, for sure! What if I had said fo shizzle, wouldn't that have been funny? I guess I just did. Not funny.
Had the burger at 33rd st Bistro this weekend and it was very tasty but as I try burgers at many other places I'm always happy to note that I like Nationwide best. When I first made that declaration I hadn't eaten many burgers around town so I could have been wrong but I wasn't. The meatloaf was crazy good, too. And it's open until ten on weeknights and eleven on weekends. That place is pretty great.
I also ate at Alonzo's (5649 Stockton Blvd, near Fruitridge) which all Mexican breakfast lovers should try sometime. This place is packed with a loyal clientele, including folks who bring in pots for the staff to fill with pozole that they take home. The pozole here at six bucks a bowl was far superior to the 13 bowl at Zocalo. No surprise there. I also love their chilaquiles.
The Feeling was on fire at the Fox and Goose this weekend. Everything I keep trying to write sounds like music critic crap and I keep erasing it, but let's just say it was an intense performance. A lot of people turned out for the Harvester reunion so it was a good crowd. We tried and failed to get into Catfight. Sad. I heard it was fun and that the dancefloor was packed during Lisa D's set.
I watched a Belle and Sebastian video comp thing yesterday and was reminded again how rad they are. Their videos are all grainy and homemade and starring the band and their cute friends. And that's all I have to say about that. Should that be my new catchphrase? I could end every post with it. Or maybe it should be fo shizzle.
Had the burger at 33rd st Bistro this weekend and it was very tasty but as I try burgers at many other places I'm always happy to note that I like Nationwide best. When I first made that declaration I hadn't eaten many burgers around town so I could have been wrong but I wasn't. The meatloaf was crazy good, too. And it's open until ten on weeknights and eleven on weekends. That place is pretty great.
I also ate at Alonzo's (5649 Stockton Blvd, near Fruitridge) which all Mexican breakfast lovers should try sometime. This place is packed with a loyal clientele, including folks who bring in pots for the staff to fill with pozole that they take home. The pozole here at six bucks a bowl was far superior to the 13 bowl at Zocalo. No surprise there. I also love their chilaquiles.
The Feeling was on fire at the Fox and Goose this weekend. Everything I keep trying to write sounds like music critic crap and I keep erasing it, but let's just say it was an intense performance. A lot of people turned out for the Harvester reunion so it was a good crowd. We tried and failed to get into Catfight. Sad. I heard it was fun and that the dancefloor was packed during Lisa D's set.
I watched a Belle and Sebastian video comp thing yesterday and was reminded again how rad they are. Their videos are all grainy and homemade and starring the band and their cute friends. And that's all I have to say about that. Should that be my new catchphrase? I could end every post with it. Or maybe it should be fo shizzle.
Friday, January 20, 2006
eat at dad's
Hey! Dad's deli got a write-up in the Bee. I'd post a picture but some baby might start crying about it.
Oh shit, and Harry of Harry's cafe got badly burned at the restaurant and has been in the hospital.
Oh shit, and Harry of Harry's cafe got badly burned at the restaurant and has been in the hospital.
weird forest
Local label Weird Forest (this is Chad's label, right?) has an impressive website and has been putting out some stuff (local and otherwise) that has garnered all kinds of attention (local and otherwise). I've seen the Inca Ore release up close and it's a really cool looking record. A giant pink and blue cat's eye. I can't speak for the content.
there is money, spend it! spend it! spend more!
I'm not a super-big shopper except of the thrift store variety (OK, and the H and M variety) but I was perusing Jane while running an errand and they had this website listed with some amazing socks, so I'm giving you the link. I just bought three rad pairs for 21 bucks and shipping is free!
stuff to do
There is some controversy about whether or not I really had to take down that Sacbee photo. I did it because he said he had already contacted blogger and that same day the template of my blog kept going haywire so I was paranoid the two things were connected and I took it down. I tried to email the jerk from my non-Davis account (which has my full name, which I didn't want the jerk to have) and it bounced back as a non-valid email address.
So turns out I'm not leaving town this weekend. I may go to that Fool's show tonight, but I didn't know until I saw it in the News and Review that that video game band (the Advantage) is playing. That means it will be packed and I really don't care about that band. But maybe I will go early-ish to see the Two Gallants.
Saturday there are competing shows. Looky Loos, Harvester, and the Feeling at the Fox and Goose. Supposedly starting at nine and it's three bucks. I'd be interested in knowing the line-up because I have something else I have to do that night. Also, the Megacools are playing at the Distillery with Teenage Electric Bedroom (fucking horrible name) and the Black Jetts (not much better). This show starts at regular late Distillery time and is six bucks.
Also on saturday, as homzee pointed out, is the last Catfight. Big deal you say? Well I agree except Lisa D is djing it and she is a great DJ. Homzee said she will go on after midnight. It's at the Golden Bear. Five dollar cover. A chance to bust out out your silver eyeliner and shredded clothing, or whatever it is the kids are wearing these days.
So turns out I'm not leaving town this weekend. I may go to that Fool's show tonight, but I didn't know until I saw it in the News and Review that that video game band (the Advantage) is playing. That means it will be packed and I really don't care about that band. But maybe I will go early-ish to see the Two Gallants.
Saturday there are competing shows. Looky Loos, Harvester, and the Feeling at the Fox and Goose. Supposedly starting at nine and it's three bucks. I'd be interested in knowing the line-up because I have something else I have to do that night. Also, the Megacools are playing at the Distillery with Teenage Electric Bedroom (fucking horrible name) and the Black Jetts (not much better). This show starts at regular late Distillery time and is six bucks.
Also on saturday, as homzee pointed out, is the last Catfight. Big deal you say? Well I agree except Lisa D is djing it and she is a great DJ. Homzee said she will go on after midnight. It's at the Golden Bear. Five dollar cover. A chance to bust out out your silver eyeliner and shredded clothing, or whatever it is the kids are wearing these days.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
this couple is a do
You know how it is, you're surfing the net and next thing you know, a news and review feature leads you to the online photo gallery of the local club catfight, which I would never ever go to. And then I saw this cute couple. And in the tradition of Vice do's and don'ts I'm calling them a "do", especially the girl. I like her style. Hopefully, catfight won't email me and threaten me with a lawsuit for using this picture. You should go to the link and click on it (like you care) because it uploaded so small. Is there anyway to alter the size of the photo on flickr?
infotainment for you
The internet is blowing up over this clip of a performance by Lil Wayne and Robin Thicke (Alan Thicke's son and a blue-eyed soul singer). I was skeptical but it's pretty bad-ass. You should watch it. I think Robin Thicke is totally cute but only if he's gay (I prefer my blue-eyed soul singers to be gay, I don't know why).
Since I got the link from the Fader I noticed that this month they have an article on Bloomington and how indie it is. That town loves the Bananas and it's pretty cool for a town in Indiana.
Since I got the link from the Fader I noticed that this month they have an article on Bloomington and how indie it is. That town loves the Bananas and it's pretty cool for a town in Indiana.
the problem with Persian food
Kate Washington reviews a Persian restaurant in the middle of nowhere this week. She wonders why there are so many woefully underpatronized middle eastern restaurants in the area. I totally agree that this is true and this is my theory about why this is so. Most places, especially Persian places, are trying to be too fancy. I think this is kinda touching because I imagine that most of the owners are immigrants (I'm just assuming here, some could be native Iranian-Americans) and I think that they are nostalgic for the fancy places that they would go to for special occasions back home. These restaurants are often in cavernous, mostly empty spaces, and they have gaudy decorations and sometimes slightly stiff, formal service as K.W. mentioned. I have also found that middle eastern restaurants are more likely than even really fancy restaurants to make you feel bad when you are splitting something or just want a salad. The owners often seem disappointed that you are not there for a lavish feast with your whole family. It's understandable that this is what they want, especially because they probably think that if you can attract those out for a celebratory family meal this will translate into more money for them, but the problem is that everyone is not always in the mood for a big feast. The only restaurant that I have seen this work well for is Famous Kabob, which is an established and long-standing place, and it is usually packed with Persian families. I bet there is all kinds of street and cafe food in Iran that is delicious, and the owners of these restaurants probably ate that food on a daily basis back home. I wish there were some Persian restaurants around with food like that! There is just no reason that a plate of chicken and rice should be over 12 bucks. It is really simple food. And how much could it cost to make homemade yogurt? I'm guessing not much. You are really paying for the high rent and incidental expenses. So that's what I want, a little hole-in-the-wall, greasy, humid little Persian place downtown to hit up for lunch all the fucking time.
nothing to say but i'm saying it
Allright already, no one is posting on their blogs hardly so I guess the onus is on me. Did I use that right? I like the sound of it. Put your onus on me.
Babe alert! Do you like to look at hot babes? No? Why not? Well I do and I'm sick of you judging me about it. Just take an internet gander at Luba Hegre and you will see a hot babe from Kiev. None of these pictures are going to be SFW, I'm warning you. Luba she does not like to wear clothes. She finds them confining.
I got a mention in Bites today. I didn't catch that Bites had caught on to the crappiness of Lisa Heyamoto's writing. Now that it's been in a legitmate media outlet I'm sure she will get wind of it and maybe her editor will rein her in a bit. Speaking of ed's at the Sacbee, did you catch that cease and desist order I got from the photo editor on that old Jazz and Pizazz post? What a weiner. Why couldn't he just ask nicely?
Babe alert! Do you like to look at hot babes? No? Why not? Well I do and I'm sick of you judging me about it. Just take an internet gander at Luba Hegre and you will see a hot babe from Kiev. None of these pictures are going to be SFW, I'm warning you. Luba she does not like to wear clothes. She finds them confining.
I got a mention in Bites today. I didn't catch that Bites had caught on to the crappiness of Lisa Heyamoto's writing. Now that it's been in a legitmate media outlet I'm sure she will get wind of it and maybe her editor will rein her in a bit. Speaking of ed's at the Sacbee, did you catch that cease and desist order I got from the photo editor on that old Jazz and Pizazz post? What a weiner. Why couldn't he just ask nicely?
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
total lie
from a new york magazine article about chan marshall and the live show where she had a meltdown:
This show changed her reputation, unfairly, from eccentric to full-on crazy. But Chan says there’s a reason for what happened that night. Before the show, when she ran upstairs to get her guitar, “this guy was there who I had known for a long time. He was on drugs and telling me crazy stuff. He had a gun and was trying to tease me that he had power.” Eventually, he let Chan go. But the whole time she was onstage, “I thought he was going to shoot me.” Two months later, she adds, the man shot both of his parents and himself. Only his father survived.
sure. maybe she should write a memoir about it.
Let me just say I love New York Magazine.
This show changed her reputation, unfairly, from eccentric to full-on crazy. But Chan says there’s a reason for what happened that night. Before the show, when she ran upstairs to get her guitar, “this guy was there who I had known for a long time. He was on drugs and telling me crazy stuff. He had a gun and was trying to tease me that he had power.” Eventually, he let Chan go. But the whole time she was onstage, “I thought he was going to shoot me.” Two months later, she adds, the man shot both of his parents and himself. Only his father survived.
sure. maybe she should write a memoir about it.
Let me just say I love New York Magazine.
ny times food article, sometimes it's soooo hard to think of a heading!!
Oh my God, I am going to visit one of these restaurants when I am in NY. For those of you who don't want to log in (but you should, I can't do it justice) it is about the enticing food of Bukharian-speaking Jews. Most of the restaurants are in Rego Park, Queens. They also give props to a restaurant that the writer says is the best Afghan restaurant in NY, Bahar in Elmhurst.
music links
Josh Reynolds is relating his story of going on a date for a NY Post feature in chapters. This will give you a clue how the date went-at one point he had to ask "what can I talk about that won't bore you?". Yikes.
Lyme Regis at Gilman was really good despite the signature muddy Gilman sound. Their songs are great. The single is supposed to be on sale at Beers now and I'm guessing they might have it at Time Tested. What shows do they have coming up? Anyone?
This weekend there are a couple of good shows but I will probably be out of town. Two Gallants are playing at Fools on friday. When they played at Puppet Towne I got there too late. Did anyone see them? The Feeling (now Coco Shwa????) are playing on saturday at the Fox and Goose. I always like shows at the Fox and Goose. It's warm in there and there's beer.
Do you want to hear a good new band? Do you have speakers on your computer? Go here and click on "you broke my heart". This band (Lavender Diamond) are playing the Arthurball, (in L.A) which has a good lineup. I wish I could go because I have this weird feeling I'm never going to get to see Joanna Newsom live again.
Oh yeah, and Christian K., what's up with clubber? Is the column just ending? Are you doing something new instead?
Lyme Regis at Gilman was really good despite the signature muddy Gilman sound. Their songs are great. The single is supposed to be on sale at Beers now and I'm guessing they might have it at Time Tested. What shows do they have coming up? Anyone?
This weekend there are a couple of good shows but I will probably be out of town. Two Gallants are playing at Fools on friday. When they played at Puppet Towne I got there too late. Did anyone see them? The Feeling (now Coco Shwa????) are playing on saturday at the Fox and Goose. I always like shows at the Fox and Goose. It's warm in there and there's beer.
Do you want to hear a good new band? Do you have speakers on your computer? Go here and click on "you broke my heart". This band (Lavender Diamond) are playing the Arthurball, (in L.A) which has a good lineup. I wish I could go because I have this weird feeling I'm never going to get to see Joanna Newsom live again.
Oh yeah, and Christian K., what's up with clubber? Is the column just ending? Are you doing something new instead?
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
drats
I had potentially expensive car troubles bright and early this morning which did not exactly put me in a chirpy mood. So no chirping from me today. I'll post after lunch, which is when I'm supposed to find out how much it's gonna cost me.
Friday, January 13, 2006
jazz and pizazz
I noticed this lady earlier on the sacbee.com site and I almost mentioned this picture, but then when I saw the paper copy and the ginormous full-color photo of her on the front page I had to say something. This lady has pizazz to spare. Medicare Part D has screwed her but they can't keep her from wearing a sparkly tank top. She's rad. This is the quote from her:
She said she survived the first week of January without needed medications because of the beleaguered program and was able to get the prescriptions filled this week only after hours on the phone.
"I had to make a bunch of calls. I was on the phone for three hours on Monday. I was sweating it all weekend," she said. "They screwed us over."
news and review bits
The dishes at Mason's sound creative and scrumptious (I'm always searching for new food adjectives but for some reason most of them give me the heeby jeebies, including scrumptious. maybe i should shorten it to "scrump" but that sounds like some hip hop sex thing). I'm glad that acres of cleavage are de riguer cuz I've got a good half acre all to myself. My only complaint about Kate Washington's review? She used ginormous! Just like Lisa Heyamoto!
I heard a couple of complaints about the clubber this week so I checked it out and C.K. it's pretty clear you have been phoning it in the last couple of weeks. I know you are a busy guy and I bet you've been occupied with school or something. As far as trying to coerce people (especially musicians) into going to shows, people go see shows because they want to, not out of obligation. The band has to be good (according to whatever your taste is) and then they will get good word of mouth, and then people will start going to their shows. And I do refuse to leave downtown to see shows, for the most part. Is there a suburban venue that's not a total shithole?
I heard a couple of complaints about the clubber this week so I checked it out and C.K. it's pretty clear you have been phoning it in the last couple of weeks. I know you are a busy guy and I bet you've been occupied with school or something. As far as trying to coerce people (especially musicians) into going to shows, people go see shows because they want to, not out of obligation. The band has to be good (according to whatever your taste is) and then they will get good word of mouth, and then people will start going to their shows. And I do refuse to leave downtown to see shows, for the most part. Is there a suburban venue that's not a total shithole?
Aquarium ensemble show?
Any progress on that show for Ursula? I know a mansion that would be an excellent place for it but it's really not fair that the occupant has to host every single local event. He always has to step up, it's time that someone else does.
I followed my own advice and checked out Time Bandits (920 12th st.) the other day. They are having a big moving sale and this saturday they are open until 10:30 for 2nd saturday and will have their basement open for fixer-upper type deals. I'm in with the owners so they took me down to the basement and I got an awesome set of four matched dining room chairs that need some work for fifteen bucks! They're 50s era and so rad! And the dudes are cutting a piece of plywood free of charge for me so that I can fix one of the seats and they gave me advice on refinishing them. These guys rule. So if you like 50/60s modern stuff go there soon. In two weeks they are moving to 36th and Broadway.
I followed my own advice and checked out Time Bandits (920 12th st.) the other day. They are having a big moving sale and this saturday they are open until 10:30 for 2nd saturday and will have their basement open for fixer-upper type deals. I'm in with the owners so they took me down to the basement and I got an awesome set of four matched dining room chairs that need some work for fifteen bucks! They're 50s era and so rad! And the dudes are cutting a piece of plywood free of charge for me so that I can fix one of the seats and they gave me advice on refinishing them. These guys rule. So if you like 50/60s modern stuff go there soon. In two weeks they are moving to 36th and Broadway.
lyme regis tonight!
I have scientifically determined that I have to miss two days of work in a row to come back to a crapload of stuff I have to do. I haven't even had time to read the comments on the last post!
Lyme Regis tonight at Gilman. I think lots of people from Sac are going. Everyone should carpool and go. It's gonna be great. And just think you can sit at the Pyramid brewery and drink good brew and you won't even have to hang out with the Gilman riffraff or use the gnarly bathrooms.
I'm reading the Grapes of Wrath. If you haven't heard of this hot new book it's really good and you should get yourself a copy. The author was recently on Oprah defending himself against charges that he exagerrated (boy is that spelled wrong) and that the depression really wasn't that bad.
Brace yourself for the news that Vientianne is closing in summer 2007. If you haven't been there you better start going now because you're going to kick yourself if you go right before they close and you don't have the opportunity to eat the most delicious food ever a million times. According to Ella, the kids don't want to take over the business and the parents are moving back to Laos. I have discovered new delicious dishes there that are so good that they blew my mind. I already knew about the magnificence of the pork and jelly noodle-stuffed chicken legs but now I have eaten the Ultimate Sausage (look, some James Frey-style capitalizing). It's a dish called the Asian Sausage. It looks like they make it there because it's rough and homemade looking. It's a pork sausage that has the most intense lemongrass flavor ever. It's one of the best things I've ever eaten. I also tried the garlic quail which is delicious and so fun to eat because they bring you a pile of tiny barbecued limbs that look like rat parts or something. It's so cute! The quail meat is dark and flavorful without being overly gamey tasting. We all split the coconut ice cream at the end which is so fucking tasty. We got two appetizers, four main dishes, three drinks, and two desserts all for fifteen bucks apiece. That place is incredible.
I also went to Andy Nguyen for the first time in a long time and while I was disappointed to see they still haven't got their service together, the food is great and so healthy. They have gotten some new types of fake meat, including fake shrimp that is pink and white and looks real. Once again, my favorite dish is the crepe.
Lyme Regis tonight at Gilman. I think lots of people from Sac are going. Everyone should carpool and go. It's gonna be great. And just think you can sit at the Pyramid brewery and drink good brew and you won't even have to hang out with the Gilman riffraff or use the gnarly bathrooms.
I'm reading the Grapes of Wrath. If you haven't heard of this hot new book it's really good and you should get yourself a copy. The author was recently on Oprah defending himself against charges that he exagerrated (boy is that spelled wrong) and that the depression really wasn't that bad.
Brace yourself for the news that Vientianne is closing in summer 2007. If you haven't been there you better start going now because you're going to kick yourself if you go right before they close and you don't have the opportunity to eat the most delicious food ever a million times. According to Ella, the kids don't want to take over the business and the parents are moving back to Laos. I have discovered new delicious dishes there that are so good that they blew my mind. I already knew about the magnificence of the pork and jelly noodle-stuffed chicken legs but now I have eaten the Ultimate Sausage (look, some James Frey-style capitalizing). It's a dish called the Asian Sausage. It looks like they make it there because it's rough and homemade looking. It's a pork sausage that has the most intense lemongrass flavor ever. It's one of the best things I've ever eaten. I also tried the garlic quail which is delicious and so fun to eat because they bring you a pile of tiny barbecued limbs that look like rat parts or something. It's so cute! The quail meat is dark and flavorful without being overly gamey tasting. We all split the coconut ice cream at the end which is so fucking tasty. We got two appetizers, four main dishes, three drinks, and two desserts all for fifteen bucks apiece. That place is incredible.
I also went to Andy Nguyen for the first time in a long time and while I was disappointed to see they still haven't got their service together, the food is great and so healthy. They have gotten some new types of fake meat, including fake shrimp that is pink and white and looks real. Once again, my favorite dish is the crepe.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
From The Desk Of Heckasac's Tired Lapdog:
It is with a heavy heart that I report that Heckasac has taken the day off. Not to be confused with yesterday, when Heckasac took the day off. Is it just me or is Fat Tire the worst beer ever?
miller
miller
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
show problems
Does anyone know what's going on with the show tonight at the G street pub now that the touring bands can't make it? Is it just the Rege? In that case, what time will it start?
got some time on your hands?
I've never heard of this James Frey book "a million little pieces" but I'm learning today that it was the second best seller of last year behind the new harry potter. The Smoking Gun is debunking the fuck out of it. Very entertaining.
show tonight
I ate dinner at 33rd street bistro last night. Their salmon nicoises salad is fucking good and it's a full meal unless you're starving, for ten bucks. Not too bad. I've eaten a lot of the sandwiches and salads there, but has anyone eaten the big plates? Like the steak and stuff? I balk at the prices, but everything I've had has been good so I want to go for it. They have a meatloaf that's mix of ground lamb and pork sausage!
Tonight is Lyme Regis at G street pub. There are two oi bands playing with them. Here are there websites with music samples. Maybe the Giant Haystacks aren't oi. I must confess I have only a vague idea what oi is anyway and each time I type it it looks funnier. Lyme Regis is playing this friday at Gilman, too.
Tonight is Lyme Regis at G street pub. There are two oi bands playing with them. Here are there websites with music samples. Maybe the Giant Haystacks aren't oi. I must confess I have only a vague idea what oi is anyway and each time I type it it looks funnier. Lyme Regis is playing this friday at Gilman, too.
get to postin'!
I just did my morning round up of local blogs and hardly anyone ever posts besides me! Entertain me!
I saw Brokeback Mountain last night and it really is as good as everyone says. I never would have believed that Heath Ledger could give such a great performance. It's great! Go see it.
For you architecture buffs, I stole this link from the chick list. I haven't had time to read it yet, but it tells about a common Sac architectural style. I think a bunch of these houses are in Davis, too.
I saw Brokeback Mountain last night and it really is as good as everyone says. I never would have believed that Heath Ledger could give such a great performance. It's great! Go see it.
For you architecture buffs, I stole this link from the chick list. I haven't had time to read it yet, but it tells about a common Sac architectural style. I think a bunch of these houses are in Davis, too.
Monday, January 09, 2006
heartwarming story
Last post of the day. I'm not one to post wacky news stories but this one is just too good. This guy had caught a mouse in his house and he thought he'd kill it by throwing into a fire in his front yard where he was burning leaves. The mouse caught on fire, ran back into his house, and burned it to the ground.
tortas de vermin
Oh man, I was investigating this place called las tortas chilangas that's on 5045 franklin because everyone on chowhound is talking about it and I came across a health department report that said it was closed recently due to a lack of vermin control. That's not very appetizing but other than that it sounds interesting. Here's a post
I've been there once so far. Had the "Argentina," a torta with Milanesa, Quesillo, and Salchicha. The Salchicha tasted like chicken hot dogs. The whole thing came hot off the grill, literally too hot to handle. It had some onions and pickled jalapenos, but no condiment that I can recall. I would definitely go back to try something else (that doesn't have Salchicha in it!). They also have Parrillada, Pambasos, and Huaraches on the menu. I've heard of Pambasos, but what are Parillada and Huaraches?
I've been there once so far. Had the "Argentina," a torta with Milanesa, Quesillo, and Salchicha. The Salchicha tasted like chicken hot dogs. The whole thing came hot off the grill, literally too hot to handle. It had some onions and pickled jalapenos, but no condiment that I can recall. I would definitely go back to try something else (that doesn't have Salchicha in it!). They also have Parrillada, Pambasos, and Huaraches on the menu. I've heard of Pambasos, but what are Parillada and Huaraches?
who's the fool?
Some lawyer type with the handle "fool" is commenting incomprehensible stuff on some posts from last week. What the hell is this person talking about? I instantly get too bored to read it. Can someone decipher it for me? Am I gonna get sued? Is this spam?
King's Palace?
Has anybody been to King's Palace on Stockton? The chowhound board is talking about it and it sounds intriguing. I guess they specialize in seafood. Here's what the Bee says:
King Palace - Chinese5829 Stockton Blvd., (916) 456-8888: Fresh seafood is the specialty. Crab, Maine and Pacific lobsters, fish, prawns, clams, oysters, scallops and squid can be prepared in a number of Asian styles. ****/$-$$ - A.P.
The sacrag got a taste of heckasac style controversy when one of their writers posted a review dissing both Daisy Spot and I can't believe it's not comedy. Glad to see someone else catching some shit for a change.
There are two good shows this week. Lyme Regis tomorrow in Davis at the G street pub with the Giant Haystacks and Hard Skin. Show starts at nine, I think the Rege plays in the middle.
Wednesday is Megacools and Four Eyes and Secretions at Old I.
King Palace - Chinese5829 Stockton Blvd., (916) 456-8888: Fresh seafood is the specialty. Crab, Maine and Pacific lobsters, fish, prawns, clams, oysters, scallops and squid can be prepared in a number of Asian styles. ****/$-$$ - A.P.
The sacrag got a taste of heckasac style controversy when one of their writers posted a review dissing both Daisy Spot and I can't believe it's not comedy. Glad to see someone else catching some shit for a change.
There are two good shows this week. Lyme Regis tomorrow in Davis at the G street pub with the Giant Haystacks and Hard Skin. Show starts at nine, I think the Rege plays in the middle.
Wednesday is Megacools and Four Eyes and Secretions at Old I.
restaurant round up
I did some adventurous eating this weekend and I had mild food poisoning twice. I guess that's the tradeoff. I went to La Favorita by Florin mall and had a bomb-ass meal that included a shrimp tostada and goat tacos. I think it was the shrimp that did it that time. They serve goat tacos (tacos de birria) at Favorita on saturday and sunday. Does anyone know what birria de chivos is? I got nothing on google. I think it's some kind of goat soup. If you've never had the ceviche tostada at Favorita I recommend it.
The second bout of sickness I think stemmed from a salmon BLT at Bernardo. There's a chance it came from a corndog at Denios. I know that most of you would be quick to point the finger at any food from Denios, but this corn dog was so good I refuse to believe it made me sick. Denios was the best as usual. I ate mini-donuts from the mini-donut trailer, tasty tamales (both these places are at Auction Town) across the street, and the aforementioned corn dog. I scored on records, and got a cool lamp base for a buck. The trick for Denios is to go with Ella because she is like a divining rod of good stuff. If you don't know Ella you may not want to even bother going.
I also ate at Tamaya again this weekend and I can't make up my mind whether I think it's good or not. I've been there three times so maybe the fact that I'm not sure should make it three strikes, they're out. Nothing was that great except the unagi nigiri, which was the best I've ever had. If you love unagi then you should try theirs. We also got a bottle of sparkling sake which was pretty interesting. It tasted a bit like sparkling cider.
I think I forgot to mention that I tried Lucca again recently after swearing it off because of the intense saltiness of their food. I got a pasta with tomato sauce and added spicy sausage. The dish was tasty but, once again, the sausage was like a fucking salt cake. There were also capers in the sauce, which added to the effect. Smiller agreed with me that the salt was intense. What the fuck is up with their chef? Is he/she a smoker or something? LAY OFF THE SALT SHAKER. It was still a pleasant meal but I rarely eat there because of this persistent problem.
I also did saturday morning dim sum at Cheung Hing market again and I have to reiterate that you must try it! I snuck a peek into the back and there were half piggies hanging on hooks! Brew said she's seen them delivering entire pigs with hair and everything in the morning. The plump chickens and ducks hanging behind the counter look delectable, too. They have this ancient chopping block where they hack up the meat when you order it.
The second bout of sickness I think stemmed from a salmon BLT at Bernardo. There's a chance it came from a corndog at Denios. I know that most of you would be quick to point the finger at any food from Denios, but this corn dog was so good I refuse to believe it made me sick. Denios was the best as usual. I ate mini-donuts from the mini-donut trailer, tasty tamales (both these places are at Auction Town) across the street, and the aforementioned corn dog. I scored on records, and got a cool lamp base for a buck. The trick for Denios is to go with Ella because she is like a divining rod of good stuff. If you don't know Ella you may not want to even bother going.
I also ate at Tamaya again this weekend and I can't make up my mind whether I think it's good or not. I've been there three times so maybe the fact that I'm not sure should make it three strikes, they're out. Nothing was that great except the unagi nigiri, which was the best I've ever had. If you love unagi then you should try theirs. We also got a bottle of sparkling sake which was pretty interesting. It tasted a bit like sparkling cider.
I think I forgot to mention that I tried Lucca again recently after swearing it off because of the intense saltiness of their food. I got a pasta with tomato sauce and added spicy sausage. The dish was tasty but, once again, the sausage was like a fucking salt cake. There were also capers in the sauce, which added to the effect. Smiller agreed with me that the salt was intense. What the fuck is up with their chef? Is he/she a smoker or something? LAY OFF THE SALT SHAKER. It was still a pleasant meal but I rarely eat there because of this persistent problem.
I also did saturday morning dim sum at Cheung Hing market again and I have to reiterate that you must try it! I snuck a peek into the back and there were half piggies hanging on hooks! Brew said she's seen them delivering entire pigs with hair and everything in the morning. The plump chickens and ducks hanging behind the counter look delectable, too. They have this ancient chopping block where they hack up the meat when you order it.
Friday, January 06, 2006
cannoli
a call has gone out on chowhound .com for cannoli in Sac. I don't know of any. Can anyone help this person out?
lomo argentine grill
At the risk of this woman reading this somehow and taking offense, I've got to say her writing is terrible. It's blog-level writing, at best (I'm including myself in there but this is all off-the-cuff and I don't have to answer to any editor). I'm sure she can do better. It's clear she's just trying to be cute. She used "ginormous" for fucks sake. She was also responsible for that atrocious Park Downtown (you know the complex that masons and ma jongs are in) article in which she kept using the royal we. This current article is kind of a review of Lomo Argentine Grill, the restaurant that replaced Jazzmens Art of Pasta in Old Sac (now there's a sentence). I say kind of a review, because in characteristic style she doesn't really say anything about the food. Ok, she does say "super-yummy steaks". Someone get Kate Washington a job reviewing food at the Bee. She's tons better than their two writers. The only thing that I'm really stoked about at Lomo (cuz I'm not a big steak lover) is the upcoming sangria bar on the back patio.
I got crabs at SF supermarket
The comments are still trickling in on the FF imbroglio, including one busting my chops for the nth time for that old True Love thing. In the lack of any public statement from Nilesh and without having heard anything I can only assume that he still stands behind his statement and that he is continuing to call for a boycott of Fools.
And speaking of ancient gossip, now you can hear about it straight from the source.
It's awkward to segue from that, but the show must go on here at Heckasac. Get ready for some juicy gossip about some juicy crabs I ate last night. The market on Broadway was sold out of crabs so we decided to go to SF supermarket on Stockton and Florin. If you haven't been to this place then you haven't sampled the fantastic cultural diversity of this area of Sac. They have everything from cute, dirt-cheap little plants to a full meat and fish counter, a BBQ takeout area, gold jewelry, top shelf liquor with prices that rival the locked case at Cortis, everykind of crazy canned fish, vegetable and packaged sauce you could ever want, dishes and pots and pans, and a cheap produce area with stuff you can't get anywhere else. The live crabs were slightly more expensive here than at the place on Broadway. The were about ten bucks each but totally worth it. When you go to check this market out you should eat at Hong Leong sandwiches in the same complex first for delicious Vietnamese sandwiches, shop at the market, and then head to the secret Salvation Army tucked away there (unless it's sunday, I hate how they're closed on sunday!) As we drove towards the supermarket down Stockton I got so excited about my New Year's resolution to eat more Chinese food because there are about a trillion places I need to try. I noticed two noodle houses that I have to go to, one of which is a Lollibowl attached to the Lollicup franchise of tapioca drinks. I'll just throw Vietnamese into the resolution, too.
Once we got home, Grace dumped the poor critters into cold water and turned up the heat. When it started boiling we timed them for ten minutes and then took them out and had a feast. She made a great dipping sauce that perhaps she could post the recipe for? It's her dad's recipe.
In bad news for Tower workers, Brokeback Mountain opens there today and I can't wait to see it. D.P. noted that the sold-out screening from the other night was not so bad despite the giant crowds because the patrons were so happy to be seeing this movie. That's touching. No, I'm serious, it is.
This just in: Crab dipping sauce recipe
1 part soy sauce to 1 part regular vinegar
minced ginger
pinch sugar
dash sesame oil
I know, it's ridiculously simple but delicious. Grace's dad owned a restaurant in College Greens when she was a kid.
And speaking of ancient gossip, now you can hear about it straight from the source.
It's awkward to segue from that, but the show must go on here at Heckasac. Get ready for some juicy gossip about some juicy crabs I ate last night. The market on Broadway was sold out of crabs so we decided to go to SF supermarket on Stockton and Florin. If you haven't been to this place then you haven't sampled the fantastic cultural diversity of this area of Sac. They have everything from cute, dirt-cheap little plants to a full meat and fish counter, a BBQ takeout area, gold jewelry, top shelf liquor with prices that rival the locked case at Cortis, everykind of crazy canned fish, vegetable and packaged sauce you could ever want, dishes and pots and pans, and a cheap produce area with stuff you can't get anywhere else. The live crabs were slightly more expensive here than at the place on Broadway. The were about ten bucks each but totally worth it. When you go to check this market out you should eat at Hong Leong sandwiches in the same complex first for delicious Vietnamese sandwiches, shop at the market, and then head to the secret Salvation Army tucked away there (unless it's sunday, I hate how they're closed on sunday!) As we drove towards the supermarket down Stockton I got so excited about my New Year's resolution to eat more Chinese food because there are about a trillion places I need to try. I noticed two noodle houses that I have to go to, one of which is a Lollibowl attached to the Lollicup franchise of tapioca drinks. I'll just throw Vietnamese into the resolution, too.
Once we got home, Grace dumped the poor critters into cold water and turned up the heat. When it started boiling we timed them for ten minutes and then took them out and had a feast. She made a great dipping sauce that perhaps she could post the recipe for? It's her dad's recipe.
In bad news for Tower workers, Brokeback Mountain opens there today and I can't wait to see it. D.P. noted that the sold-out screening from the other night was not so bad despite the giant crowds because the patrons were so happy to be seeing this movie. That's touching. No, I'm serious, it is.
This just in: Crab dipping sauce recipe
1 part soy sauce to 1 part regular vinegar
minced ginger
pinch sugar
dash sesame oil
I know, it's ridiculously simple but delicious. Grace's dad owned a restaurant in College Greens when she was a kid.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
lame post, but i'm bored!!!
This is the longest day ever. I refuse to believe that it's only three thirty. I say fuck that!
The megacools tour kick-off show is tonight at the Distillery. Like I said, I'm planning on going to the four eyes/megacools show at Old I next week. There's nothing else this week. Daisy Spot has a bunch of shows coming up, including one in early March with Baby Grand at the Fox and Goose. That one sounds rad. There's a Lyme Regis show coming up at Gilman on the 13th, that should be fun. Here's a link to smartguy records, who put out their single. It has an MP3 of their great song "it starts with the band". Here's a review from dusted:
New Sacramento power-trio action consisting of Jason Patrone and Ed Carroll (ex-FM Knives, one of the finest pop-punk bands of the last 10 years) and Tristan Tozer of Pretty Girls. Though they play one unreleased Knives song, this is a slightly different flavor of animal, leaning towards less frantic, more composed Brit-punk sounds a la Chisel, Supergrass or the Jam, but with all the noise and chaos you’d expect intact. Determined instead of frantic, and somewhat more polished than expected, this is a winner, esp. the anthemic “(I’m Not Livin’ in the) USA (No More).” Proof that northern California is still the hotbed for great genre music, maybe more so than any other city in America. Edition of 500 (100 clear vinyl copies for mailorder only – check with the label for availability).
In eating news, I do whatever the new york times tells me and will be journeying to Oto's Japanese market down on Freeport after work with Grace to try to find the much-hyped liquor Shochu. I haven't really heard of it, but according to the article it has been more popular in Japan than sake since 2003. It can be distilled from such a variety of things (such as rice, barley, sweet potatoes and more) that I don't understand what the common factor is that makes them all shochu. I will probably buy an assortment of tasty snacks and some sake. They have a great seafood selection. I'm also getting live crabs from the Asian market across from Target (can't remember the name right now) and will gently and reverently boil them to death for my culinary enjoyment.
The megacools tour kick-off show is tonight at the Distillery. Like I said, I'm planning on going to the four eyes/megacools show at Old I next week. There's nothing else this week. Daisy Spot has a bunch of shows coming up, including one in early March with Baby Grand at the Fox and Goose. That one sounds rad. There's a Lyme Regis show coming up at Gilman on the 13th, that should be fun. Here's a link to smartguy records, who put out their single. It has an MP3 of their great song "it starts with the band". Here's a review from dusted:
New Sacramento power-trio action consisting of Jason Patrone and Ed Carroll (ex-FM Knives, one of the finest pop-punk bands of the last 10 years) and Tristan Tozer of Pretty Girls. Though they play one unreleased Knives song, this is a slightly different flavor of animal, leaning towards less frantic, more composed Brit-punk sounds a la Chisel, Supergrass or the Jam, but with all the noise and chaos you’d expect intact. Determined instead of frantic, and somewhat more polished than expected, this is a winner, esp. the anthemic “(I’m Not Livin’ in the) USA (No More).” Proof that northern California is still the hotbed for great genre music, maybe more so than any other city in America. Edition of 500 (100 clear vinyl copies for mailorder only – check with the label for availability).
In eating news, I do whatever the new york times tells me and will be journeying to Oto's Japanese market down on Freeport after work with Grace to try to find the much-hyped liquor Shochu. I haven't really heard of it, but according to the article it has been more popular in Japan than sake since 2003. It can be distilled from such a variety of things (such as rice, barley, sweet potatoes and more) that I don't understand what the common factor is that makes them all shochu. I will probably buy an assortment of tasty snacks and some sake. They have a great seafood selection. I'm also getting live crabs from the Asian market across from Target (can't remember the name right now) and will gently and reverently boil them to death for my culinary enjoyment.
nar mp3s!!
I'm ready to get back to posting my regular stream of gossip, drivel and slander. Here goes:
Scott S. and some guy named Ryan have started a new mp3 blog. The first post has 6 essential Nar tracks. Download them and burn a CD like I did. Scott S. also has another all-music blog.
Scott S. and some guy named Ryan have started a new mp3 blog. The first post has 6 essential Nar tracks. Download them and burn a CD like I did. Scott S. also has another all-music blog.
good morning, hopefully
Man, I had a pretty crappy day yesterday because of this and I'm hoping today will be better. I was afraid of what people might write when I had left work for the day and I was thinking of taking the whole thing down when I got to work because the discussion may have run its course. But then of course that would include taking down Nilesh's original statement and what Eason wrote and what Liz wrote, which I think are good for people to read and think about on their own. I was however disappointed to see that people are posting anonymously in response to my last post. I would like to point out that the anonymous posts are usually of a significantly lower caliber than the ones attached to a name. Like I said, if you can't stand behind it, don't write it.
I know that Eason was trying to get ahold of Nilesh in person and I hope he was successful. I am not going to boycott Fool's Foundation. Before you get pissed about this remember that it's easy for someone who doesn't go there anyway to declare they are going to boycott it. I am not saying that I am satisfied with Eason's apology. That doesn't matter. It only matters if Nilesh and Sandra are satisfied. It's Liz's gallery. It's a good thing for Sac. Those who don't attend or who do who would like to fight racism could find more productive ways to do so than shutting down a small, rad independent business. I could give you an example but there are a million. That's not to say that it's OK for this gallery to support racism just because it also does good things. I don't believe that they do espouse racist views or support those who do. If you do believe that you can boycott it.
I was heartened to see that they are also open to entering into a discussion about the Abu Ghraib musical. I'm not saying it should be immediately censored (and R.E., you were pretty quick to hurl that PC term at me and others. I think that term has been leached of all meaning and that liberals should think twice before using it on each other. I'm sure we're in the same place politically), I just had some trepidation about how it would be handled. It's OK for people to discuss their feelings and thoughts about that. Is any discussion automatically censorship?
I know that Eason was trying to get ahold of Nilesh in person and I hope he was successful. I am not going to boycott Fool's Foundation. Before you get pissed about this remember that it's easy for someone who doesn't go there anyway to declare they are going to boycott it. I am not saying that I am satisfied with Eason's apology. That doesn't matter. It only matters if Nilesh and Sandra are satisfied. It's Liz's gallery. It's a good thing for Sac. Those who don't attend or who do who would like to fight racism could find more productive ways to do so than shutting down a small, rad independent business. I could give you an example but there are a million. That's not to say that it's OK for this gallery to support racism just because it also does good things. I don't believe that they do espouse racist views or support those who do. If you do believe that you can boycott it.
I was heartened to see that they are also open to entering into a discussion about the Abu Ghraib musical. I'm not saying it should be immediately censored (and R.E., you were pretty quick to hurl that PC term at me and others. I think that term has been leached of all meaning and that liberals should think twice before using it on each other. I'm sure we're in the same place politically), I just had some trepidation about how it would be handled. It's OK for people to discuss their feelings and thoughts about that. Is any discussion automatically censorship?
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
can't think of appropriate heading for this
You guys should read Nilesh's comment on the last post. D.P. had asked me if he could publicly comment on this incident and I asked him not to because I felt that Heckasac wasn't really the correct forum for it and I encouraged him to talk to the involved parties directly if he felt that strongly about it. But I like and respect Nilesh and since he and Sandra were the directly injured parties I respect his right to post what he did. It was an ugly incident (I of course slept through the whole thing) that marred a party that was otherwise chock full of good vibes. There was drunkeness and confusion because it all happened around 300 am, so I wasn't sure exactly what had happened but the whole thing sucked and I would hate for the result to be Nilesh feeling uncomfortable anywhere he chooses to go in Sac. If anyone from Fools would like to comment this would probably be a good time to do it. And I have to say that in addition, everyone I've talked to about the upcoming Abu Ghraib musical that was mentioned in the Bee article has expressed trepidation about how it will be handled. Of course, that's just incidental to what happened at the party, but Nilesh brought it up and I'd have to second his concern.
I must add that I feel a little queasy letting someone be called out by name on this, especially someone who I barely know. You may recall that last year I told about a local DJ who had used a racial slur and had been fired from his night at the Press Club. I didn't use his name (although it wasn't that hard to figure out) because I wasn't sure that it was really my place to fuck with someone like that. I'm not the all-seeing eye of Sauron or anything. You'll have to tell me what you think. And PLEASE, no anonymous comments. Pick a somewhat identifiable nickname if you must, but don't just go off anonymously. If you can't stand behind what you say then don't say it.
I must add that I feel a little queasy letting someone be called out by name on this, especially someone who I barely know. You may recall that last year I told about a local DJ who had used a racial slur and had been fired from his night at the Press Club. I didn't use his name (although it wasn't that hard to figure out) because I wasn't sure that it was really my place to fuck with someone like that. I'm not the all-seeing eye of Sauron or anything. You'll have to tell me what you think. And PLEASE, no anonymous comments. Pick a somewhat identifiable nickname if you must, but don't just go off anonymously. If you can't stand behind what you say then don't say it.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
capital tea garden
Whenever I step out onto the porch of my new place I smell a delicious smell. It comes from Capital Tea Garden on T and 11th. I thought that nobody ever eats at this place but the smell was making me curious so I asked around. I got mixed reviews and decided it was best to try it for myself. The first time I went I got crispy duck, winter melon soup, and garlic bok choy. The veggie section on the menu is very sparse so we inquired about additional greens instead of bok choy and were told they had mustard greens (which were not on the menu). We ordered those but still got bok choy. Oh well. It was OK, very garlicky but also quite tough and not fun to eat. The winter melon soup was flavorless and gelatinous with small bits of duck floating on top. However, the crispy duck was the bomb. I enjoyed the flavor more than any duck I've ever eaten, probably because it wasn't very gamey. The cuts we got were not very meaty. I would have liked more duck, but it wasn't very expensive so I didn't feel ripped off. It came with a sweet dipping sauce that was a perfect accompaniment. Did I spell that right? I hate that word. The market around the corner, Cheung Hing, serves food in the back and shares the kitchen with Capital Tea Garden. Ella picked up some dim sum there on new years day to go along with the brunch feast I was making. She got pork shu mai and shrimp har gow. They were so fucking good! She also got a bunch of steamed pork buns. She said it helps to order all the stuff in Chinese so they know what you're talking about. Like if you just say shrimp dumpling they might not be able to help you, depending on who's working. The buns are something like Char Shu Bao. She also recommended the soy sauce chicken and the BBQ pork and seconded my rec of the crispy duck.
As I said this goes along with my new year's resolution to eat more Chinese food. I love living in Sac and one of the only things that occasionally gets me down is having to eat at the same few restaurants over and over if I don't want to drive into the burbs. I have not had a lot of luck with Chinese restaurants because I usually just try the same few things that I know and I already know what they taste like and that I will like them but not love them. A lot of Chinese restaurants have a different menu for more adventurous eaters (sometimes written only in Chinese) and I want to broaden my horizons. So far it's going great. I'll keep reporting back.
As I said this goes along with my new year's resolution to eat more Chinese food. I love living in Sac and one of the only things that occasionally gets me down is having to eat at the same few restaurants over and over if I don't want to drive into the burbs. I have not had a lot of luck with Chinese restaurants because I usually just try the same few things that I know and I already know what they taste like and that I will like them but not love them. A lot of Chinese restaurants have a different menu for more adventurous eaters (sometimes written only in Chinese) and I want to broaden my horizons. So far it's going great. I'll keep reporting back.
squirrel trouble
Man, I wish I could post but I gotta go check out some hot squirrel-on-squirrel action. Hopefully I'll have time this afternoon to tell you about a delicious spot for dim sum. 2000-sex is my year for Chinese food. My two new years resolutions are to stop flipping people off so that I don't get beat up and to eat more Chinese food. And to get in shape to run the New York marathon. Psyche!
Monday, January 02, 2006
Pardon me, is that Disaronno you're drinking?
My hits are way down because of my vacation and the fact that most people are off today and also because I mostly just post links to craigslist anyways, so I keep wavering about posting a real post. And by real post I mean telling you crud like where I ate recently, what happened at all the parties I went to, and what is coming up in Sac this week. I'll leave it for tomorrow I guess. But for now I'd like to tell you about a trendy new drink that is sweeping Sacramento. Or at least my kitchen. It is a liqueur called Disaronno. Chris O. brought it to my Halloween party and said he mixes it with Dr. Pepper. I tried it recently and it is delicious. No matter how much liquor you pour in, it still mostly just tastes like Dr. Pepper. It's also good on the rocks (so smooth! so cloyingly sweet!) and Ella C. advised me to pour it into my french toast batter (that sounds dirty) which I promptly did to the delight of all eaters.
lists, if you care to read them
I guess you're supposed to do this before the end of the year, but in case anyone is interested I'll post a couple of lists.
Top 10 movies of 2005-I'd like to note that last year I saw 74 movies and this year I saw around 45. There were a couple of different reasons for this but the big one is that this was an annus horribilus for movies, indie, foreign, and mainstream. The stream of crap has been unrelenting. I just can't muster up an iota of enthusiasm for dreck like King Kong or Revenge of the Sith, or even for minor crap like the Family Stone or Aeon Flux. That said, here are my top 10 for this past year
1. 40 Year Old Virgin-just rewatched it again yesterday and it's still hilarious and touching.
2. Hustle and Flow-I got so excited when Leon DJed a song for this movie at the Christmas party and it got me thinking about it all over again.
3. Capote
4. Walk the Line-flawed, but the musical sequences were as exciting as attending an great live performance
5. A History of Violence
6. Grizzly Man
7. The Passenger (a re-release of a minor Antiononi movie from 1975 easily trumps most of the stuff that came out this year)
8. Jarhead
9. Mad Hot Ballroom
There isn't really a movie good enough to round out the 10. And nothing at all came out this year that rivals last years best, Eternal Sunshine. Although if memory serves I may have ranked Before Sunset over that (which is also great), but after review Eternal Sunshine I feel that it's a classic and I'm not sure Before Sunset will hold up in a second viewing.
and they don't deserve to be on the top 10, but I thought the two best action movies of the year were:
1) War of the worlds
2) Red Eye
and just lazily naming albums off the top of my head without thinking about it too hard, my top 2 that came out this year were 1) animal collective feels and 2) the finches six songs ep.
Top 10 movies of 2005-I'd like to note that last year I saw 74 movies and this year I saw around 45. There were a couple of different reasons for this but the big one is that this was an annus horribilus for movies, indie, foreign, and mainstream. The stream of crap has been unrelenting. I just can't muster up an iota of enthusiasm for dreck like King Kong or Revenge of the Sith, or even for minor crap like the Family Stone or Aeon Flux. That said, here are my top 10 for this past year
1. 40 Year Old Virgin-just rewatched it again yesterday and it's still hilarious and touching.
2. Hustle and Flow-I got so excited when Leon DJed a song for this movie at the Christmas party and it got me thinking about it all over again.
3. Capote
4. Walk the Line-flawed, but the musical sequences were as exciting as attending an great live performance
5. A History of Violence
6. Grizzly Man
7. The Passenger (a re-release of a minor Antiononi movie from 1975 easily trumps most of the stuff that came out this year)
8. Jarhead
9. Mad Hot Ballroom
There isn't really a movie good enough to round out the 10. And nothing at all came out this year that rivals last years best, Eternal Sunshine. Although if memory serves I may have ranked Before Sunset over that (which is also great), but after review Eternal Sunshine I feel that it's a classic and I'm not sure Before Sunset will hold up in a second viewing.
and they don't deserve to be on the top 10, but I thought the two best action movies of the year were:
1) War of the worlds
2) Red Eye
and just lazily naming albums off the top of my head without thinking about it too hard, my top 2 that came out this year were 1) animal collective feels and 2) the finches six songs ep.
ouch
I was perusing the sac rag and I noted that I recently got zinged. Cool DMZ mentioned smiller's post and this was someone's comment:
Not to worry, Mr. DMZ, I think the personals section of craigslist was down that day. What was heckasac/miller going to do for material?
Posted by: ditshisturber on 12/30/05 at 09:53 AM
I wish there was some way I could instantly calculate the percentage of my blog posts that involved craigslists personals, I would guess over the last year and a half it would amount to about 2% or so of my posts, and usually when I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for content at the end of the week, so there, jerkoff. Don't think I missed your weak dis.
Not to worry, Mr. DMZ, I think the personals section of craigslist was down that day. What was heckasac/miller going to do for material?
Posted by: ditshisturber on 12/30/05 at 09:53 AM
I wish there was some way I could instantly calculate the percentage of my blog posts that involved craigslists personals, I would guess over the last year and a half it would amount to about 2% or so of my posts, and usually when I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for content at the end of the week, so there, jerkoff. Don't think I missed your weak dis.
limping back
Roaring back? More like whimpering back. Poor me. It's hard to get up in the morning after 9 days off. I promise I'll warm up by the end of the week but you're going to have to cut me a little slack. These holidays have been a whirlwind of food, friends, and frappucinos. Well, the third factor was really booze but I was trying to be alliterative (hey, whaddya know, that's a real word, I just looked it up). I have heard that there are a million trillion pictures of everything that went on at various sites, so as soon as I feel mentally strong enough to handle seeing unflattering pictures of me being wasted (dude, I was soooo wasted) at various locations, I'll check those out and link them.
In the meantime, how about this weather, huh? Rainy enough for ya?
In the meantime, how about this weather, huh? Rainy enough for ya?
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