The big news in my neighborhood is that the cafe in Beer's books is finally open. I haven't even laid eyes on it yet, though. I hear they serve great coffee but they don't start serving until ten. That's too bad because it would make me happy if I could stroll over there before work and pick up coffee and something to eat. They have sandwiches, too. Knowing the southside as I do, I give it a few weeks before it's filled up with old dudes, chillin' all day over a single cup of coffee. Well, it would be like that if they had outdoor seating and the old guys could smoke, anyways. I name the southside the most chill neighborhood, for sure. The sheer strength of chilling that goes on on the corner across from my house sometimes is astounding. Old guys. Squatting. Smoking. Hashing it out. Old ladies. Staring. Arguing. Walking slowly around the block together while waving their arms (to increase circulation, presumably). The, let's say, eccentric, lady downstairs hasn't barged her way into the house for a while, but she was going through this weird phase where she suddenly had thick glasses and a cane and looked 15 years older, but now the glasses and cane are gone and she is once again spryly sweeping the dirt in front of the house with a palm frond all the time. I'm glad to see she recovered her strength. It will come in handy the next time she needs to push me aside when I'm trying to block her from entering my house.
Tonight is Daisy Spot at Old I and I think there may be some frontloading and backloading at my house. It makes me happy that right now I have about 8 bottles of wine in my fridge, and full bottles of courvosier (spelled wrong, i'm sure), hennessey, rum, and portuguese liquor, among other substances. Most of these were gifts, so quit judging me!
This weekend is another bananextravaganza! They are playing two early shows in the Bay Area, one on saturday in some park which should be great since the predicted weather is cold and stormy, and one on sunday at the Hemlock.
Does anyone know when Melange makes the change into Crepeville? I'm afraid it will happen before I've had a chance to eat there again.
Later today I will probably review Bistro 33, the new restaurant in Davis that was opened by the same people that brought you 33rd street bistro and Riverside Cafe. So you have that to look forward to. Don't get too excited.
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13 comments:
I think the change takes place after the new year. But don't worry, if you never eat at Melange again you will have done yourself a favor. It's really terrible now. Even the fruit, which is usually the only reliably good thing there, was bad last weekend.
-Connie
So, see you there Sunday?
-Lois (of Hi and)
Beers just got some outdoor seating so it's only a matter of time now. There's some serious potential for the staring contest of the year since Gam Lei Sig is currently the chilling, smoking, staring spot of choice on this block. Speaking of the Sig, I would invite anyone who's walking by there to take a peek behind the brick wall & see if the crazy smoking device is stashed back there. This thing is unreal. It's looks like a metal bong that some stoner made in welding class & then buried for 20 years. And the old dudes will freely smoke something out of it that's billowing with thick smoke but doesn't seem to have any really strong smell. Which reminds me of the time I decided to go to East Sacramento Hardware to buy parts to make a bong and about 5 minutes in to the guy helping me find everything, he looked at me like a disapproving parent & said "what exactly are you trying to make?". And yes, I busted the age old "science project" excuse.
miller
Of course,same time as usual.
-Connie
If we're going to go into southside minutiae (and why not, it's not like any of us are working), has anyone besides me seen the guy on 10th who sets up his ancient computer outside sometimes? he has been there periodically lately. i love that guy. he seems like a real kook.
i want to see the smoking device! is it stashed outside at night? we should shanghai it to my house tonight because we're going to need all the smoking devices we can get.
I just tried to scope it out but I got stared the fuck down!
miller
i miss Southside a ton. although not blatant, i've even got a neighborhoodie about it.
although East Sac is pretty bitchin. and yesterday when i left for work, there was an ancient sailor type sitting on my front porch, in my pink chair, reading the comics like he owned the place.
i should have asked what he was reading, but instead i apologized for bothering him.
That porch is a big favorite of the random passer-by. I miss the east sac bums. Friendliest hobos around. The homeless dude who sat in front of Pizza Guys playing bongos all day eventually got a job there and has worked there forever now! I really like imagining some Pizza Guys employee quitting & all the other employees being all "well, we could ask the bongo guy".
miller
Hurah for Beers. I thought I'd have to wait for a Bucks to get a coffee shop in the S.Side. Will Beers have pumpkin spice frappicinos,cause it's the most awfull thing ever blended and put in a cup.
The dude selling his computer every week is the neighbood mystic.We talked about all matter of Eastern Wisdom one day and he walks around late at night playing fluttery Chinese melodies on his flute. Southside till Die!
is the ancient computer guy the same guy that waters the tree out front every evening for like an hour?
did you ever hear the story where the lady downstairs from you barged in on jessie and started simulating sex with a rolled up newspaper? it took jess a while to figure out that she was accusing them of flushing tampons down the toilet and clogging up the pipes.
my favorite southside story is the time some random old chinese man walked into my apartment as i was getting ready to take a shower and i just stood there naked and confused until he finally walked out.
oh how i do miss southside.
johnny
I miss seeing drive by shootings at 6th & T. And the smell of pot coming in the house from the park. And a roommate coming in, pulling his gun out, closing the blinds and staring outside.
Random people shooting guns inside and autographing the bullet holes. Seeing how many 8-tracks a .22 would go through. The wonderful sounds of the 4th of July and New Years when the neighborhood would open up with gunfire.
People driving over the curb about 18 times a day, and the pepperpots out on Sundays going to church. Buying beer with the food stamps that Nic paid back a loan with. Dynamiting fish in the pond, which never worked right. Oh, and the naked guy that was hosed down with pepperspray. It didn't bother him and it took 11 cops (I counted!) to hold him down. I didn't realize they actually used a net when trying to catch some happy nekkid guy high on PCP.
It's a wonderful place, but I like my porch on 19th too.
Regarding the bong, there is a farmer at the Sunday market that smokes out of a bong like the one miller describes, but it's a PCV pipe. He is located in the northeast corner of the market.
Johnny, your story had me laughing for 20 seconds! Almost as good as the Kelly Kelly story.
Anna
I miss my flat at 5th and Tee. I shoulda just hunkered down and paid the extra rent after my landlord sold to some a-holes. sigh. All I ever wanted was a coffee and sandwiches shop near by. That didn't have drug dealers...
~Amelie
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