Happy Friday!!

This is the end

Le Bonne Soupe's last day? Can anyone confirm/deny?

look at me pretending it's Friday

I am totally in denial about the Hub closing.  I had gotten so used to it being around to host rad show after rad show.  I can't believe it.  Thanks so much to Rick and others who had put so much hard work into it.  I know there were multiple factors involved.  Seems like the reason the Loft could last so long was Soriano's hard work and the fact that Peter owns the building.

But the Dreamdate/Croissants/Wrong Words show is still happening in Davis, address listed below.

This Movies on a Big Screen movie sounds really good.  I remember tripping out on the VHS cover as a kid. It's actually giving me goosebumps to look at it right now.

Sunday, May 1
7:30 PM
Admission: $5.00
Movies on a Big Screen at The Guild
2828 35th St, Sacramento, CA

The Quiet Earth

This New Zealand indie from 1985 features the great Bruno Lawrence as Zac, a scientist who awakes one day to find that all people have vanished from the face of the Earth due to a global experiment going awry. Zac's mind slowly deteriorates due to the solitude until he stumbles upon another survivor, Joanne (Alison Routledge), and later a Maori (Peter Smith) named Api. The three band together and slowly realize that the forces unleashed by the experiment are destined to happen again.

I'm hungry

Here's the vendor list for the Sacto MoFo on Saturday.  I hope to try Roli Roti.  I think my aversion to waiting in lines might be a problem.  The people who organized this have done an amazing job. Don't forget to bring some food or a baby item for the Sacramento food bank.

OFFICIAL VENDOR LIST
~local trucks~
Miniburger Truck - mini-burgers, tots, fries
Drewski's Hot Rod - pumped up grilled cheese sandwiches, tacos, tots, fries
Mama Kim's
Leaven & Earth - assorted sandwiches
La Piedad - tacos
Chando's Tacos - tacos and burritos

~SF trucks~
Chairman Bao - pork belly, braised pork, sesame chicken, and crispy tofu buns
Roli Roti - porchetta sandwiches and roasted potatoes.
Hapa SF - sisig pork in tacos or plates, lumpia, adobo
Seoul on Wheels
Spencer on the Go - escargot lollipops, lobster cappuccino, braised lamb cheeks, chocolate pudding
Southern Sandwich - BBQ pulled pork, brisket, chicken, beans, salad
Curry Up Now - deconstructed samosa, tikka masala burrito, kathi roti

~other trucks~
Whole Foods - assorted sausages and hot dogs
General Jim's - Philly steak, grilled chicken sandwiches, garlic and chili fries, corndogs

~other vendors~
Chocolate Fish Coffee - drip coffee to order and iced coffees
Yogurtagogo/Freshii - assorted yogurt cups, salads, wraps
The Pizza Company - pizza slices
Emma's Tamales - variety of tamales
Esther's Cupcakes - variety of flavored cupcakes
Fat Face - variety of popsicles

wha?

I was gonna post about the show at The Hub on Saturday.  If I believed in God I would pray this it's still happening.  For my other two wishes I'd ask for a bunch more wishes.  Oh wait, that's a genie, not God.  Same diff.

Dreamdate, The Croissants and Wrong Words.  Dreamdate is finally headlining a show! Now if English Singles can headline another show that would be great. Except maybe there won't be any more shows.

NOOOOOO!!!!

NOOOOOOO!!!!!

thanks, Marcella

First off, that Bill Cunningham event was off the chain.  I think everyone can agree on that.  I'm sure it's cross-linked on every fashion blog in Sac if you wanna see pictures.

 The Lao New Year event at Cal Expo was pretty good.  Not nearly as flamboyant or crowded as Hmong New Year.  I was glad I got in free - it costs 12 bucks!  There were not enough food vendors and the wait at most of them was at least an hour.  I will not wait in line that long for any food, so I may have missed the best food.

 This is chicken larb.  It had skin, gizzards, and meat chopped up fine, mixed with a hefty dose of lemongrass and chopped chilies.  Larb is like the best poverty food: you could  put almost anything there but it's seasoned so well that it doesn't matter.  It can really stretch a little bit of meat, which I think was the point, traditionally.We got two different papaya salads.

 This was at the chicken larb booth, and it looked so good we had to go for it.  Cherry tomatoes, peanuts, and tamarind!

This was the first papaya salad I had., under that chopped cabbage.  It was hotter and fishier than the other one. That's a Lao sausage.  They are shorter and juicier than Hmong sausages, but both types totally taste like lemongrass.

 Deep-fried chicken wings

This is a dessert called kanom klok.  When I tried to order it, I was told by the harried teen manning the booth that there would be at least a 15 minute wait (turned out to be more like 30 minutes) so I knew I had ordered the right stuff.  It tasted like tapioca pudding with coconut milk mixed in, and then fried in these cast iron pans specially designed to make half spheres.  Served piping hot and kind of charred on the outside.  Delicious!  

While I waited I watched the papaya eating contest.  It was kind of weak because no one could eat their portion of papaya salad in the allotted five minutes.  However, as the young Lao dudes scarfed it down to the blared soundtrack of lil Wayne and "teach me how to dougie" I couldn't help but think that about  what a uniquely American scene I was witnessing.  U.S.A! U.S.A.!

Here's a dude grillin' it up

Easter lunch post after the jump!

Lao New Year-get yer Lao sausage on

Just found out about this: A Lao New Year's Festival at Cal Expo tomorrow.  There is going to be a papaya salad eating contest! I don't even want to think about the intestinal consequences of that.

right now!

Holy crap, I forgot.  Liv is about to take to the airwaves on "Insight" about the Bill Cunningham movie.  Stream here:

Ye OIde Davis Beer Shoppe

You know the drill-Bill Cunningham doc. at the Crest tonight.  8 pm for the movie, festivities start at 630.  

The Davis Beer Shoppe is already popping off after just about a month in business, and they deserve it.  It's a great new place.  It's a shame we don't have something like it in Sac--yet!

This guy is pouring me an Upright Four.  They keep most or all of the the beer they have cold, so you can drink it in-house with only a dollar corkage added.

Bucket list item

I just interviewed Neil Hamburger! AND  he mentioned chooz-a-pasta-pick-a-sauce.  He's playing May 6th at the Comedy Spot in Sac.  Look for the interview in the SNR.

I'm just trying to get my space together

Here's my writeup of the movie tomorrow in the SNR.  Don't forget, advance tix on sale at Phono Select and ten percent off merchandise with purchase.

Woah, I just upgraded to the new blogger so that I could add "after the jump" posts (I know, gettin' fancy) and it's kind of blowing my  mind.  Course my mind is easily blown. I like that you can move pictures around more easily. 

Add caption, eh blogger? OK, I got this at the Davis Beer Shoppe

Using the Brew Awareness logo always reminds me of MK, who designed it.  Which reminds me that I found out that he's in a new band in LA, and that his bandmate played teenaged John Locke on Lost!  That's so L.A.!  

So  yeah this is the Upright Brewing Four, I think it was ten bucks at the Davis Beer Shoppe, great, food-friendly beer. Lemony with a nice, dry finish.  If you care about beer, take a gander at this write-up in the K and L newsletter (scroll down for the write-up, he talks about all three beers Upright makes) by Bryan Brick, a dude with super good taste.

And with that, here's my first after the jump!

Happy 4/20!

And it's a happy 4/20 indeed because:
smiller got his license!
AND, we're going to the Grateful Dead Movie event tonight at Downtown Plaza. 7:30. Never before seen interviews with Jerry. Better by your tickets in advance or you'll need a miracle to get in.

Speaking of advance tickets, the dudes at Phono Select wanted me to say that they'll give a 10 percent discount on music if you come in to buy advance tickets for the Bill Cunningham screening to benefit Verge Center for the Arts on Friday. So go in, get a ticket, and buy a record. I just got the new Sonny and the Sunsets LP and it's excellent. Liv said the tickets are selling quick, so maybe think about picking a couple up.

The Pledge

Lance C. is hosting the TinHouse podcast! Hmm...I haven't read any Karen Russell so I'll probably have to wait and read something before I listen to this. I have been reading some Durrenmatt novels (including the one pictured above) which are deliciously trashy. I recommend The Pledge or Traps. Don't buy the hideous movie tie-in edition of The Pledge. Check Beers for a nice copy?

countdown to Friday, Friday gotta get down on Friday

all right, now we're starting the countdown to this Fridays showing of Bill Cunningham New York at the Crest. It's part of the Crest and Verge Center for the Arts quarterly film screening series, so some of the proceeds go to benefit the Verge. Your 15 bucks will get you into the trunk sale beforehand, starting at 630, which has lots of local sellers including Bows and Arrows, Thunderhorse, and other local designers. Also, Hailey Bop is Djing, so have a brew and listen to her way-out tunes. Then, the wonderful, wonderful film is at 8. Afterwards, a panel discussion with some local fashion bloggers including Citizen Rosebud and Juniper James.

Even the trailer makes me tear up!

Here's Iris Apfel, who is in the film because Bill Cunningham always photographs her. Pretty badass.Movies are more fun if you don't read too much about them, however, almost every review of this film has been stellar. Here's one from the Times.

Wow, high praise indeed. Here's a little excerpt from the review that doesn't give anything away:

In an essay in The New York Review of Books shortly after J. D. Salinger’s death, Michael Greenberg described Salinger’s characters as being what Tolstoy called “aristocrats of the spirit” whose “quest is for an almost impossible purity that drives them away from the workaday world, toward a dangerous, self-burying seclusion.” Mr. Cunningham could easily be the eighth Glass sibling, and the other seven would be glad to have him.

chkchkchk

This is pretty awesome. Why are people still trippin' on Nic's shorts? He basically predated the trend but now lots of dudes are wearing shorts this short. Or is that just wishful thinking on my part?

this one is good, too. they kill it at the end.

and I love this! Dan Barnes take note: the bass player is Shannon Sossysyaman's sister

yeah!

I love Burger Records!!!

Between Two Buns: The Burger Records Story from Jack Sample on Vimeo.

why?

What does a girl have to do to find footage of Brewer and Shipley on Top of The Pops? They played "people love each other"-a favorite of mine. I refuse to believe that in the entire internet, which contains such wonders as women having relations with German shepherds, and an entire website of people with Steve Buscemi's eyes photoshopped onto their faces, that no one has uploaded this clip. I don't know if I want to live in a world where that's true.

like, 1945 dude

oh man, this typo made it into the print edition of the Bee about a burglary at Grebitus and Sons:

He said the last break-in at a downtown Grebitus store happened in like 1945 when a cat burglar cut a hole in the roof of the store, then at 1108 J Street. The burglar came down a rope ladder and blew the safe.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2011/04/downtown-jewelr.html#ixzz1JX0fVn00

sad!

oh my got this is so sac (ha, I meant to write "sad" but I wrote "sac")



does anyone have a link to the highlights that they played after this

kitties in space

I was at a get-together last night for the 50th anniversary of Yuri's flight to space, and there was some talk about the animals that were sent into space. Here are some kitties in space suits preparing to go up. This website has more info, including a list of all the dogs names who went up. I like the name Ugolek, which means "little chunk of coal".

There was some discussion of public art going on on the MidMo blog, and someone named Alison chimed in with a link to the SMAC website, which has pictures of all the public art around Sacramento. If you click on this link, you get twenty random images. And you can click again and again or search for a piece of art. It's really fun. If you want more information, like where the art is located, click on the picture.

There was some discussion at the gathering about the worst piece of public art. Somebody voted for Chester Cheetah in the zoot suit, but someone else pointed out that kids love it, so it isn't that bad. What do you think is the worst? I gotta think about it but anything related to funk art is in the running, and I'm not into those jesters at downtown plaza.

Lest this sound too negative, I'm thinking about it because of Guphy's post saying her favorite piece of art is the suitcase piece "Samson" at the airport.

fun dish

I took advantage of that half-off dumpling deal at Red Lotus last night. A word of advice: you need a password, which you can get by doing something called "liking them on facebook", or you can follow them on twitter to get it. The waiter let it slide this time, though. Even though it wasn't half off, I love that pork belly/kim chee dish pictured above. I would vote it one of the most fun dishes in Sac. There's something about that glossy little bun that is so satisfying.

I'm sure you all know about the chkchkchk show tonight. I wonder if it's sold out?

shows what I know

Holy crap, this is crazy. I totally thought Stan was one of those old-timey dudes who won't fuck with anything newer than an 8 track player, but turns out he's all computer-y.

thoroughbreds all

DJing on Saturday with Hailey was really fun. I did get a wee bit too drunk because I was nervous. I hope I wasn't being a turntable hog. Things that bring out my hog side: DJing, karaoke (mic hog), certain illicit substances that I won't name, Lays potato chips.

Wait, what? I actually bought the print edition of the Bee yesterday and instead of a BAR review there were snippets by two local bloggers? Is he on vacation? Has the Bee ever done this before? And what is this Sacramento Connect thing? It's "hosted" by the Bee. What does that mean? I have Monday morning questions. Here's a list of contributors. Wow, Sac's own teenage chowhound is living in Cambodia now!

Do you guys know about squarecylinder.com? It's an arts blog by a locally-based writer who has some impressive credentials. I just heard about it, and I'm stoked to check it out. Here's an oldie but a goody, a review of Biggert's show at the Verge. "Wow", indeed. Is that picture of the girl in the bikini wonderful or what? Her expression, the signs behind her, the dog leash trailing off. Perfect.

Also, check out Amanda's art show at Spanglish. She's got works for sale at reasonable prices including the excellent one pictured above. She's recently joined the thoroughbred stable of Verge artists.

kickstarter

C'mon, guys. I know there's still plenty of time, let's fund the filming of The Golden Bouzouki. They are asking for such a modest amount, and I happen to know that the majority of it is going to be spend on mandals for the actors. And of course black beauties to keep Johnny Diamonds in filming shape.

Also Keith Lowell Jensen has a kickstarter campaign to fund a CD/DVD

cracking off

So, yeah, I'll be djing at Fox and Goose this Saturday starting around 930. Just for maybe an hour, then Hailey will take the wheel. I can guarantee I will play this song.

Things were cracking off at the Shack last night. He has some good, hoppy beers on draft (like the Houblon Chouffe pictured, look how cloudy!, and some really interesting bottles, including Cantillon gueze. I got the TBA (turkey, bacon, avocado), which was excellent, as usual. I love their fries. Gary was telling me that he tried to find a fry fryer like the ones they have in Belgium, but he couldn't locate one.

Here's was the scene-it was lively. The fire pit was blazing outside, as well.

Here's Gary thinking about an Alpine brewing beer that he was tasting. It was a doozy. Made with only one type of hop, a Nelson hop. It was soooo fruity, mostly grapefruit. I thought it was ok, kind of hit me over the head with the hop. Gary loved it.

let yourself go

Don't play this video if bodypainted boobs are a no no at your uptight, square place of work (c'mon just sneak it real quick), but this is my inspiration video for my short little DJ set this Saturday at the Fox and Goose. DJ Hayley has kindly asked me to help DJ at her Hullabaloo night. Starts this Saturday at around 9:30. Come say hi. My set will not be that danceable, it's just to warm things up, so have a drink and free your mind.

Wow, I watched the screener of Bill Cunningham New York to get ready for the screening on April 22nd at The Crest and it is fucking heartrendingly touching and inspiring and wonderful. If you don't tear up a time or two I will give you a dollar. This man is a treasure!

Golden Bouzouki Kickstarter

I visited Red Lotus last night for the first time in a while and was gratified to see that it was decently full on a late-ish Tuesday evening. I was a little worried about Red Lotus finding its crowd. For the second time I got fooled into ordering the soup dumpling, in the sense that I forgot that it's not a dumpling filled with soup, rather it's a giant dumpling in a small bowl of soup. The dumpling has a really matzo ball-ish texture that's pleasing. I also got the kim chee fried rice, with house made kimchee. It was fun to puncture the rich duck egg yolk and mix it in. Red Lotus has half off dumplings on Sunday and Monday. That is a screaming deal. I'll be taking advantage of that.

Speaking of taking advantage. Bachelor Buddies 3: The Golden Bouzouki is currently in pre-production and they have launched a kickstarter campaign. The prizes are amazing.

this is the end

Here's a wrap-up on the vacation photos. After bidding goodbye to all the gnomes, dwarves, etc. in Houffalize, we cruised through picturesque Roche en Ardenne, which had a lot of Battle of the Bulge commemorative stuff all over the place.

Nice river.
Nice castle. There's supposed to be a ghost in it.
This is a pate d'Ardenne sandwich. I don't know what makes it Ardenne pate but it was deeply piggy and had sliced eggs on it.
Oops, put these in the wrong place. This was from our room in the village of Blaugies, home of the Blaugies brewery. It was killing me that Crims was on but it was DUBBED into French

taxidermy in Roche en Ardenne
Then we got to Blaugies, and our B and B operator was nowhere to be found. So we hung out on the back porch with the best cat ever, Pollix! Sorry Babs, this cat was the best. And you wonder why she has issues?
The Blaugies brewery has a nice restaurant in town.
Phallic pork sausage. So good.
Also, awesome steak and of course a boatload of fries
They cook the meat on a grill in the middle of the restaurant.

Here's the Blaugies brewer. He used to be a gym teacher. Their Saison and and Moneuse on draft were unbelievably good. Phenomenal. Totally different than in the bottle. We told the brewer and he said, "you know what they say-there are two things in life that you can't understand-yeast and women!". Har. What about women with yeast infections? I didn't ask him that.

The next day we went to the Dupont brewery in Tourpes.
They have a sick little bar. It was pretty empty.
They don't serve food, but Dupont makes cheese. Dupont also makes bread but we didn't see any for sale and the bartender laughed when we tried to order a cheese sandwich off the menu. Belgian businesses are a mystery.
I don't know why this is sideways! It wasn't when I was uploading it. Fuck, I'm sure you've all stopped reading by now, but we went to this cafe in Denderleeuw, which is pretty close to Brussels. It's called De Heeren van Liedekercke. It's in beer guidebooks because it's famous for its beer and wine list. It is totally worth a visit! Great food, charming little place, amazing beer list. They'll let you buy stuff to go, too. Long story short, this is a potato gratin with Orval cheese and beer and ground meat!!!!! I'm hungry.
They have a lot of aged Orvals, I bought a five year to go for cheap. Aging Orval is this deal in Belgium. Maybe I'll write about it sometime. I want to buy a case of it and age it. I took this picture because you could see the dirt and dust on it.
Then, we went back to Gooik because De Cam Geuzestekery was open. De Cam makes gueuze and kriek but they don't export to the U.S.

De Cam was the only place we ever got our drinks in the traditional ceramic crocks. Most people just serve it in glassware now, of course. Their kriek was unbelievable. Really intense cherry flavor.

The gueuze was really good. I am running out of adjectives. Good great awesome
Here's their glassware. We couldn't get our paws on a glass to bring home, alas.

Now I'm skipping. This is back at Moeder Lambic in Brussels, the one in St. Gilles. They make this cheese snack called Pottekeis that is traditionally paired with gueuze. It has soft white cheese and lots of spring onions in it.

Flea market in Brussels
We went back to Cantillon, but just to have a bottle of brew, not to take the tour. This brew Mamouche was made with elderflowers and it was delicious and wonderfully vegetal. We could not find any to bring home.

We ate lunch in the Middle Eastern part of Brussels again. At this place, we picked out raw seafood and they fried it for us.
This was like the world's best sloppy joe. Those are green olives.

Here's the view from our terrace in the Ukkle area of Brussels. This is a secret back area that you can't see from the street.

Fantome beer
Another special Cantillon beer
Last meal in Brussels-Tunisian lamb and couscous
That's all foks