Nothin' much goin' on around here, just thought I'd post again because I'm getting so many hits today. I feel pressure to post.
That spot on J street that formally housed J. Lee's (good riddance) will soon be home to a sushi place called Kru. The Bee recently had an article on the poor kid that's opening it: http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/columns/sylva/story/12697758p-13550292c.html
It doesn't sound too promising. I hope this is not one of those doomed spots where restaurant after restaurant fails. I fear for him because of his inexperience and because he is veering away form the Cali-style sushi to more raw fish. I just don't know if there are enough diners who want the raw fish. I think they mostly want cream cheese and chicken in their sushi. Maybe if he made a cheddar bacon roll he'd be OK.
I have been hearing good things about Nopalitos, deep in East Sac on J st. right by Sac State. Especially the chile verde. It's one of those weekday lunch-only spots that I can never get to, though. Someday maybe.
Not to turn this into the indie list west, but there's another intriguing show coming up. This one's at Old I. It's a band called Black Mountain that's supposed to be all Zeppeliny or something. And they're playing with Frog Eyes. It's next monday. After last night's show I'll have to see how I feel.
Baby Grand is playing their first live show with my friend Erik as part of the band this saturday. They're playing second so if you want to catch them don't show up too late.
I hope the concept of raw fish has some success too, but you're right, Sacramentans seem to only prefer logs of fried sushi, completely covered in roe and mayonaise. I guess you get more for your money that way.
ReplyDeleteBrew
I never got to try J.Lee. I wanted to though. How was it?
ReplyDeleteI like raw fish. As long as it has chiles and sauce.
I have never gotten to see Baby Grand, so I will definitely try to make it.
i heart raw fish. my family loves napalitos, it is down the block from the fam home. very fresh and tasty the people who own it are very nice. -akay
ReplyDeleteThat's not a doomed location! Celestine's ruled that spot for years. J Lee is a shitty business person. He opened, closed & reopened & re-closed there - he clearly just doesn't have what it takes to run a business. It's more than drinking wine & chatting up the lady customers. I looked him up at my work & he owes tons of money from starting J Lee. He put too much faith in thinking everyone wanted to eat dinner in some hip leather easy chair. I'll bet that new place does OK. There's not a lot of sushi on that end of downtown. But he shouldn't be too stubborn about the purity of the menu if people aren't taking to it. He can keep the raw stuff but augment it with some more trendy dishes.
ReplyDeleteI try to go to Nopalito every Wednesday. I love it! It's hours are ridiculous though. But it's family run & I think they want evenings & weekends for family stuff.
miller
Yaeh. I was gonna say the same thing about Celestins. I think J Lee was just a douchebag.
ReplyDelete-michele
I saw Pink Mountaintops (related to Black Mountain, I believe) and was so not impressed. Pitchfork sucks them off but I found it to be BOR-ING.
ReplyDeleteJ Lee was pretty good; I went there quite a bit for after-work sushi and beer. However, I'm excited about the prospect of a more traditional sushi place. I'm hoping (but not hopeful) that it will do well
ReplyDeletei used to work at celestine's when it was at that location. it got tons of business even though the owner is a complete nut case and drove most of his employees crazy. i never tried out j. lee because i had too many bad associations with that building to ever want to step foot in it again.
ReplyDeletenopalitos is so good. i don't go there often enough. . .especially cause they're never open when i get around that part of town.
All this talk about Nopalitos is torturing me. Can't they do lunch on saturdays?!
ReplyDeleteHey anonymous, thanks for the input about the Pink Mountaintops. I will really have to think about whether that show will be worth attending. Of course, because you're anonymous for all I know your favorite band could be Slipknot or Bright Eyes or something.
Nopalitos is great - I love the veggie tamale thing that comes in a bowl. I just wish they were open in the evening or on weekends.
ReplyDeleteSee ya at the Baby Grand show...