butches!!

Slept on this when it came out, great article on butch lesbians (in the Times, it's SFW). Very entertaining 15 minute film along with it and I almost teared up a little to see Jenny Shimizu. I think it was the nostalgia of the CK One ad. I can't believe I wore that stuff!

My no-knead bread is looking really good today. Fingers crossed. I did add just a teeny bit of extra yeast. It still has to do the second rise for about an hour, and then cooking in the cast iron. It's the Jim Lahey recipe.

I really do see a pattern for myself with the beginning of the week being very rough with SUPER high anxiety and then mellowing out towards the end and then a long, boring but relaxing weekend.

new article up!

I wrote a thing for the Bee on what William Rolle is up to, and it has recipes, including for his famous salad dressing, which is super simple. I was so relieved to find out he is stoked.

I also wrote letters to the Cafe Marika peeps and June. June didn't answer, but Eva from Cafe Marika answered, but too late.

LOLing

Working on a thing that the Bee *might* publish (some parts of it fell through) and I'm LOLing remembering how BAR only gave Cafe Rolle 2 out of 4 stars.

Novel, delayed. Everything, delayed.

The Times has a short profile of writer Otessa Moshfegh today. I'm bummed they are delaying the release of her new book. This is part of a larger topic, but people need to accept that something magical is not going to happen this summer that is going to make things like book tours possible. So her new novel was supposed to come out but now is delayed until summer. But anyway, I love her and if anyone wants to borrow her book "Eileen", which is my favorite, I could loan it to you. If you want to do a deeper dive, the New Yorker did a longer profile.

Who runs Bartertown?

Wow two comments on my last post! Exciting! Being sincere!

I am about to go barter something so I thought I would start a list of things I have bartered during the pandemic. There's a lot and I will forget, and I like Heckasac to serve as my external brain. Although I am stretching bartered to include "venmoed money for"

1) Thermometer
2) traded dental picks for yeast and olive oil
3) traded herbs for homemade kimchee (that's the one I'm getting in a few minutes!)
4) Garth Greenwell book for Ocean Vuong book with bonus Lidia Yuknavitch book
5) wheat berries for duck fat
6) bout to buy wine from Chloe Henry (find her on the Gram to buy some wine, tell her what you like) and trade it for an N95 mask
I think that's it, but still, kind of a lot

What have you bartered?

It's all bullshit, sheeple!

Anyone else finding that Mondays are really bad? Garfield? Anyone?

I think it has to do with the news cycle ramping up for the week, going back to work when work is so weird (for those of us working from home) and then also the weekend being over but not really feeling like a weekend. I had a terrible day yesterday, my anxiety was off the freaking charts. Also our expensive baby ear thermometer is so all over the place that every few days I'm not sure if I have a low fever, and that happened yesterday. I feel fine though, hope you all do too.

But today is a Tuesday, Whole different beast, amiright?

I thought I would throw out a couple controversial food opinions, since people are talking a lot about food and cooking. One controversial opinion going around Twitter is that "sourdough is gross". This is happening because there's a yeast shortage so people are making their own sourdough starter. I mean, that opinion is just silly but it got me thinking.

I made meatballs yesterday, and I put a parm rind in the sauce, as the recipe called for. Controversial food opinion alert: I doubt this has an effect on the flavor whatsoever.

Controversial food opinion number two: bay leaves don't do shit. I feel like I've blogged about this before. I have them, I use them, but I doubt that they do anything.

While we are on this topic - epsom salts, what's the deal? Not for cooking, for soaking in. Do they do anything? By what physical mechanism? Do they soak into your skin? And do what? I recently finished the last of mine and someday I will buy more, but I don't think they do anything.

New Bee article!

My writing gigs were starting to pick up right when this thing hit. That will likely dry up but I feel blessed that I have my second article for the Bee this year up online, and in the paper edition on Sunday. Staci O'Toole has gotten a lot of press for her truffle farm in Placerville, and her cute truffle-hunting Italian dog. She even got a big piece in The Guardian. So I took a new angle and talked to the UCD scientist she is working with to figure out how to cultivate truffles in our climate. I had planned to do both interviews in person, but they worked out fine via Zoom. Now that everything is canceled, my weekends are pretty free to write, but of course all the publications no longer have any ad revenue coming in and are in survival mode.

I have one more small thing lined up, for a publication I've never written before, and that will be out in July. That may be it for a while.

old school Heckasac content

Thank you the Four Eyes for reminding me of this video, and also I looked on Heckasac and in 2011 the Four Eyes played it at the Xmas show. How did I forget that??????

Media pairing

Hi Kids,
Just felt like calling you that. So I am.

I'm adjusting to working from home and the wrist rash is better. I did a barre class at home yesterday and now a weird part of my back is sore.

Are you also wondering if Andrew Cuomo's nipples are pierced? Dan Savage weighs in. Spoiler: yes.

Since now all we can do is bake (if we have the ingreidents) and consume media or (sort of) go outside (but not to the beach or state parks!) I am going to suggest a media pairing to you. Is that a thing? Well, why not! It is now.

I suggest that you pair this New Yorker article about avalanches with this funny Swedish movie in which an avalanche is a pivotal plot point. I had to pay 4 bucks on Prime to rent it, but you can get it free from Kanopy which needs a library card which is too complicated so I didn't do it. There is one scene in Force Majeure that had me cracking up so hard, and also it's at a beautiful ski resort in the Alps so it's kind of like a little getaway.

Quarantinotainment for the reblogaissance

I posted on IG about this, but I watched the documentary Marjoe a couple nights ago and it blew my dome. Very entertaining, loved the 70s fashion, and the speaking in tongues church services and the giant Texas hair,etc. It won the Oscar for best documentary in 1972 but I think was a bit forgotten, or maybe I'm the only one who didn't get the memo. It's on Tubi, which is a free Roku channel that has all kinds of interesting stuff, including a lot of obscure documentaries and last night I was watching the Dolemite movie "Petey Wheatstraw, the Devil's Son in Law".

Fun trivia: Marjoe, the documentary subject had somewhat of an acting career after the doc. came out and was briefly married to Candy Clark, of American Graffiti fame. How cute is she?

More quarantotainment: the IG account Comedy Quarantine is doing stand-up sets every day at 7pm and you can tip the comedians on Venmo. Yesterday had Kyle Kinane. Check it out!

Cooking tip: when we were in Oaxaca this year, we were blown away by their use of black beans in the cuisine. One of the dishes was enfrijoladas, which were kinda like enchiladas, but pureed black beans are the sauce. This is a very simple dish and easy to make from non-perishables. Since we are all obsessed with beans now, I would recommend making the beans from scratch so they will taste better. I just cooked black beans with some toasted dried chilies, put em in the blender with the bean liquor and chilies, then fried up some corn tortillas in oil, used some cotija I had left over (but any kind of cheese will do) and then topped with cilantro from our community garden. Here's a recipe.

Maren Ade is the best

Man, I really messed up on that Basha post below. I ass-umed that because a restaurant billed itself as "Jerusalem" cuisine that it was Israeli instead of Palestinian and then even thought their wall hanging was in Hebrew when it is obviously Arabic. Duh. I hope this new (opened in Jan) restaurant can hold on so I can write something about it and educate my dumb ass.

I am currently waiting on a Ticketmaster bot to help me get a refund from that Kings game that they promised me would be here soon over a week ago! I was supposed to go the night the entire season got canceled and I've got money for four tickets coming back. I understand they are scrambling and their business is super effed, but they already said it would be coming and now they are like "I don't see that, let me check our records". Then they said "it will be in as soon as 30 days" which I screengrabbed for next time I have to chat with the bot.

This absolute BABE (which is immaterial, but a fact) is the German director Maren Ade, who is a somewhat unsung genius. She def. got acclaim for her movie Toni Erdmann, which was wonderful, but I feel like she should be up there in the Serious Dude Director canon and it doesn't feel like she is. Criterion has both of her other movies up. They are both insane in their own way. The Forest for the Trees is the story of a socially awkward bumpkin who moves to the city to be a teacher and can't make friends and is desperately lonely. It is so REAL it will kill you. And Everyone Else, which was from 2009 and was the last before Toni Erdmann, has more weird mind-fuck pranks like TE. It's about a TERRIBLE relationship and also feels very real, and the plot involves a German couple on vacay in Sardinia so it kind of feels like a mini (but bad) vacation. I'd like to point out that Ade is only 43, which means that she was like 26 when she was directing Forest, wunderkind anyone? Her new movie is released in April, so if movie theaters still exist then I will even drive to the Bay Area to see it.

post

My wrists are scaly and I've also been getting wrist rashes. I'm very spacey and can't concentrate very well and keep doing weird stuff like today I put dressing on a salad that had dressing on it already and my head feels like it is going to float off my body and I keep worrying that that somehow means I have the virus and also I read that lack of taste and smell can mean you are infected and that made me freak out because my Ezekial bread tasted like cardboard this morning so I smelled my own armpit to prove I could still smell and then remembered that bread always tastes like cardboard.

I am losing weight and looking somewhat stringy and I feel like I have aged rapidly in the last two weeks and my skin is so dry from so much washing because showers and baths and washing dishes are the only things that feel clean. For once my nails are growing and aren't breaking off but then I know that nails trap germs so should I cut them and also I will never be able to get a manicure again so who cares if my nails are finally longer? It's funny to me this is the one thing that has made me lose my appetite, including when I thought I was dying of a tumor (benign) I think I was still eating but things are fuzzy from that time so maybe not.

My sister is out of work, my brother is out of work, my mom reports from coastal Mexico that people are taking it seriously, except their president AMLO who is apparently joking about it. She said she is used to being isolated so this is not that different, but she also went to a flamenco class Thursday I think and is going to the market to get her cat smoked marlin today because she claims that is all she will eat and also she went to the fabric store I think maybe yesterday to get fabric to make my sister a quilt which she does not want so now that I add these things up she is not really staying in at all is she? She said there are no hospitals there which is an absurd thing to say and no tests and I said there are no tests here, or none that I know of so we laughed about how the countries are not so different.

I feel feverish but I'm sure I'm fine.

Talk freekah to me

Guess what you are not going to read about here? Not today!

Good things:

Lean In paid tribute to a trans activist on their Instagram for women's history (herstory) month. That made me smile.

My girl Agnes Pelton getting the respect she deserves in the New York Times, and I did get the new Art Forum with her on the cover at News Beat, and even got to go with Mr. Charles Albright, which was an unexpected treat. Makes me think about the Gorilla Girls work "the advantages of being a woman artist" that says "your career will pick up after you're 80". Well, for Agnes it took until after she was long dead, but hey, better late than never, right!?

And, there's an Israeli restaurant on Fulton I'm SUPER EXCITED about. Learn more after the jump

donut as medicine

I 100% ate a donut today hoping it would cheer me up. I think that's why there were donuts here in the first place. Grim times. This time change is brutal. Cat decided to meow loudly at 545 am. That means it was "actually" 445. WTF was the thinking in that tiny walnut brain? And then factor in the guy screaming bloody murder at 1 am where I almost called the police. Not feeling great. Coping with insomnia by reading tweets about COVID-19 is not recommended by any sleep experts it's pretty safe to say.

I finished The Nickel Boys novel yesterday, by Colson Whitehead. It's short and compulsively readable. I though it was great but insanely grim. I liked it better than Underground Railroad because no magical realism. His author's note after is a must-read and he recommended watching Brubaker so I did. It was also very grim and depressing and also based on a brutal true story. Maybe this is contributing to feeling so down today, ya think? Anyway, two thumbs up but it is hilarious how even though Robert Redford plays a down-to-earth guy in the thick of prison life that he has this golden boy haircut and always has his shirt unbuttoned a bit to show chest hair. It must have been in his contract at this time.

My girl Agnes

Nosferatu at the Crocker was cool. It was just slightly boring, but the Count is super eerie. The Crocker is tying in their silent film series into their big exhibit from Granville Redmond, who was  a deaf painter who was buds with Charlie Chaplin and acted in silent films. He did a lot of California landscapes. They are pretty (dude sure loved California poppies!) but the overall effect is not stirring. One of the most interesting things is that one of the best paintings was from the collection of David Mamet and Rebecca Pidgeon.

Going led to me re-upping my membership because half of the ticket cost could be applied, so that's good. I went to go visit my girl Agnes Pelton' "Winter" painting because it's my fave in the collection and it's currently not up.

I know if Scott is reading this he is thinking I missed it because that has happened before, where I thought it was gone but it was there, but I swear they had a different painting in its place (but thematically similar) and I know it's where the Pelton was because the Georgia O'Keefe was next to it and they get lumped in from studying with same guy. Anyway, hope it is back soon and also Agnes is on the cover of the March Art Forum, which I tried to buy at NewsBeat the other day but which they don't have in stock yet.

And speaking of female painters, and women being underrated in everything, women reading this are probably feeling that bummer feeling from Warren dropping out, where you realize that we will never be seen as equally competent and valid compared to men. Hard to shake that bummer. So many times at work (again yesterday) I am told by people that they have heard other people questioning my competence and qualifications for the work I do, and I just wonder if I was a dude if that would be happening. There is no way to know, so that's why it is crazy-making

anxiety and weekend plans

Had some late night anxiety and insomnia about COVID-19. Worried about an upcoming vacation, that is still a bit away. It could very well be canceled and I have no idea if we'd get any money back at all.  Stocking up on food and cat food. Worried about people I know. I figure I'll just slowly amass some supplies rather than trying to do a run if things explode. I'm sure many are feeling anxiety. And it's worth considering that when we deal with our fear by putting ourselves in the safe group that would probably survive to consider the audience and those within earshot may be in one of  those high risk categories or care about someone who is.

I guess 33rd street bistro abruptly closed down. It's super successful, or it looks like it when I drive by, but the landlord kicked them out. The employees (50 of them) are bummed. They are vowing to reopen in East Sac.

Nosferatu is playing at the Crocker tonight. Think I am going to go. It's such a cultural reference and I've never seen it. There are lots of good shows this weekend. Christine Shields is playing at an art gallery, with Aaron Zeff accompanying. If you've never seen Christine perform you should check it out, and if you have seen it you know you will want to go again.

And then Saturday there's a good show at MC Ham's. Vasas, Comedians and Hod and the Helpers. Yay early shows!!!

donations

Even though I voted for Elizabeth Warren in the primary (not Bernie), I am as bummed as any Bernie Bro about the reality that's settling it that is really going to be Biden. But I do think he can win. Sigh. Anyway, I donated to Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham's likely opponents to make myself feel better.

Thumbs up to Invisible Man!

Bon Air is coming back! (?)

Well hopefully. They posted this on Facebook. Dang tho, that is like starting over. Oh now is the sign gone???????

Long as I can grow it my hair

How are everyone's Halloween bands going? Hair is good. I really need to get on finding an outfit. You would think I would have lots of hippie clothes and I do have a fair amount but they are not the right kinds for the movie. I do have very long hair right now, which reminded me to book a cut after the show is over. Food stuff after the jump

Mulvaney's

I ate at Mulvaney's B&L last night. It might seem like I'm doing a lot of fine dining, but Tuesday at Magpie was for a birthday, and then this other dinner had been planned for a while. This dinner was funny because I forgot to make a reservation (I thought I had already done it) so we sat in the "dish room". Mulvaney's has a couple of little nook rooms back through the kitchen. I've been in the conference-room style one because that's where the Baconfest judging goes down. But he also has one in a wine storage room, and then one in the room where they store all their platters and cake stands and stuff. But it has nice lighting and they have candles and it's actually private and fun. On to the food after the jump

Back in the Sac(Bee)

My piece about the Dante Club just published online in the Bee. Some version show a more clickbait version of the headline that says "It's fighting to stay alive", which is an overstatement, but the actual headline says "changing to stay alive". I did not write the headline.

D'oh though I just found out that they last minute canceled their March dinner. Oh well, hopefully some folks will read and will go to the April one.

Went to Magpie last night. Had a wonderful meal. This was the scallop crudo with tomatoes, basil and citrus. Dude, the thinly-sliced scallops themselves were unbelievably sweet and delicious.

Then we got the chicken for two. Truly an iconic and affordable Sacramento dish. $40 and we had enough leftovers that I'm having it for lunch today. That black rice! And they had a good Altamont brew on draft.

Davis gab

Y'all know I won't go to Davis on a weekend, but for those brain fans, or parents of lil brian fans, the Center for Neuroscience (where I worked for yea verily a decade) is having a Neurofest on Saturday, March 14th. One of the talks is "From Dead heads to depression meds, how psychedelics are impacting modern medicine"'=

Speaking of Davis, as I always am, I need to go see the Stephen Kaltenbach exhibit at the Manetti Shrem. I liked the Doug Aitken video installation, mostly because it's trippy and I was in there by myself so it had an infinity room vibe for free, with no line! That's there until June, Kaltenbach just opened so will be there for a while.

I guess my Dante Club article is going to publish in the Bee today! It's in the paper on Sunday. I probably won't be able to read it until Sunday due to paywall.

Shouts and Murmurs or Real Life?

Dang, this article on this Bay Area hairdresser reads like a parody, like a New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs column. Why do people brag about taking baths? It's relaxing but kind of an inefficient way to clean yourself and also, I will drop some country kid cred here and let you know I did not have a shower growing up and that will really take the romanticism out of baths!

And checking out her haircuts, I see she is bringing the mullet back in a big way. I mean, it's been what, since like the early 2000s so it's due. I think many of the after shots have incredibly awkward shapes. I mean, imagine, all these shots are from styled hair, if you have this kind of wavy hair, like I do, on any given day it could probably make some very funky shapes.

Freelance writers I love

Molly Young is fascinating. I won't say I am obsessed because that is creepy. She is extremely funny,  her writing is brilliant, she is beautiful and she has an amazing cat and apartment. That's her cat (and cool chair) above, I will let you snoop the rests on her Gram. She writes a newsletter called "read like the wind" that I subscribe to and you should too if you like to read (fiction, mostly). She just wrote this piece for NYMag on corporate speak and I love it! Here's just one funny quote:

In August, WeWork — recently rebranded as the We Company — submitted its prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The document is just under 200,000 words long, or nearly the length of Moby-Dick, and it reads like something a person wrote in the middle of an Adderall overdose with a gun to his head.

I have heard a lot of these terms in my job, and used a fair number of them and the thing I think she leaves out in analyzing why people use them is that it passes for fun in the sad and un-fun atmosphere that is the modern office workplace. It makes you feel smart in and in-the-know and helps keep impostor syndrome at bay.

I also love Sarah Miller (she lives in Nevada City! and has an Instagram obsessed with her cattle dogs)

And Taffy Akner, who is pretty big time now and wrote an acclaimed novel but also will kind of always be known for her Gwyneth profile.

Jim's good food and Murakami hurts my feelings

Is it just me, or has anyone else experienced getting a little more feminist woke than they used to be and now getting a bad feeling from some Murakami stories? Let me explain, after the jump, also there will be some pictures and discussion of eating at Jim's Good Food last night

Dreams do come true

 It struck me as funny that Babs chose to flop down in the doorway between the dining room and the hall. Totally in the way. Food stuff after the jump

Bottarga is a yes

Bout to go catch the train, which will be late and fill me with rage. But yesterday it took me like 70 minutes to get home in traffic so....omg commute complaining, so exciting!

Here's a great article from Eater about why we can't have nice things - specifically Euro style wine bars. No really, it's more interesting than that may sound to you. It's about why things that are cheap and unpretentious in Europe are often so expensive and fussy here.

Three day weekend but I'm on deadline for the failing Sacramento Bee (so sad about the bankruptcy and hedge fund thing) so I have a bit of deadline dread. Even with only writing a couple of times a year I stretch that dread out as if I wrote all the time!

The Bananas are playing the Knockout tomorrow so I'm going to that. We are going early so hopefully I can grab dinner somewhere good. I might be alone for that part so might be able to just grab a seat at the bar somewhere. Huh, La Ciccia is "rustic Sardinian" fare nearby? I'm super stuck on Italian food right now. I def want "spaghetti dusted with bottarga" tongue wagging emoji

defend blood oranges to me please

Smiller and I did our Valentine's dinner last night. I love a reservation, so the Valentine's crowds are not my problem - it's the fixed menu I don't like. Although, actually now that I look at the Biba Valentine's menu, it looks pretty freaking good, but would be way too much food. Usually I don't like a fixed menu because I don't want dessert, but last night I actually got dessert. Anyway, this is our first course - paper thin slices of raw veal with capers, drizzled with olive oil, thin raw red onion on top, and a few dollops of basil mayo. We got a bread basket too so it was great piled on bread. More after the jump

spin thoughts

I was in the 7 am class today. My fave teacher, and she has the all-rap playlist. I was stoked that she played Kamiyah (do yourself a favor and watch this), then E-40 Choices (I will never not laugh at "Star Wars? Nope. Yoda? Yep") and I felt as close to joyful as my Grinch-ish heart gets, especially that early in the morning, and then she totally bummed me by calling out that she was playing a Chris Brown song and didn't care if that was freaking anyone out. Now, number 1, I wouldn't even have noticed it was a Chris Brown song so did you have to make that a thing. And number 2, now I'm just fixating on picturing Rihanna's poor battered face. And thinking about how the class more than likely has at least one or more domestic violence survivors (it was pretty full, and it's always majority female) and maybe that just about ruined their day.

This reminds me of right when Finding Neverland came out, they instituted an ill-fated "motown ride" which is turns out Motown is not good for spin, but it meant mostly Jackson 5 songs, like multiple in a class.

Obviously art vs. artist is a debate that will never be "solved" but I just think it's different if I may listen to some R. Kelly from an old scratchy CD alone in my car (not saying I DO), but I would not subject anyone else to it!

Now to be even more salty, y'all are serious about this Bernie stuff, huh? This is making me so anxious. I was up at 3 am reading Bernie Twiter and worrying. Someone in NH canvassing said she was talking to a bartender and asked about Bernie and he said he voted for Obama, then Romney, then Trump and now is into Bernie. I can't wrap my head around this. I might vote for him in the primary, though. This is not anti-Bernie, this is a little dash of he is absolutely unelectable and another soupcon of how can this country be so insane to go from Trump to Sanders.

Parasite on top

Yay Parasite, right? It's STILL playing at Tower and now it will probably be there another month so go see it if you haven't.

Here's a story on Eater about business at Chinese restaurants dropping precipitously due to Coronavirus. Some of it might be due to lack of travel during Lunar New Year but some of it might be xenophobia. Get out and support your favorite Chinese restaurant these week!

Kodaiko (stoked)

First, let's get some business out of the way. Can we all agree that a cliche that should be eliminated from restaurant reviews is that something "did not disappoint"? I will vow to try as well.

Second, how Sac is it that a lot of good restaurants are closing but meanwhile Easy on I was packed last night? Pretty damned Sac. Not to mention that the Taco Bell Cantina was seemingly the busiest "restaurant" on K street last night. Let's hope that's novelty alone.

Thirdly, a sandwich spot called "Lo/Fi" has now opened in the former spot of June's. A small part of me was still hoping June's would reopen. You'll have to check it out for me. If it has June's hours then I can't get there since I work in Davis.

Ok, now, Kodaiko, after the jump

Jim's Good Food

I was happily invited to the soft opening of Jim's Good Food last night. They served their butter burger and fries, and a couple other bites. It's where that Coconut Fish Grill place was, near University of Beer. Basic decor inside, the most  notable accent is a swirly wallpaper. There's a mix of booths and tables. Good beer selection on draft, I didn't check out the wine selection. More about Jim's after the jump

#worktweets

I just responded to a Doodle poll with 60 timeslots. This person is clearly insane.

Ready for Halloween for which I will probably not actually dress up?

Man, I have really bad insomnia the last few days. Last night I barely slept and I was having feverish thoughts about what I should post on Heckasac and also Sacramento-related Halloween costumes. I mean, mostly worrying about spreadsheets but the former are the fun topics. I almost just got up and went to work at 4 am but then I decided that was insane and slept from 4-630.

Sac-related Halloween costumes:
Jizz Tree (hopefully everyone gets this)
1987 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee (I'm hoping smiller will do this as a team costume)
Pancake Circus (a clown with pancakes pinned to her)

Then I took notes on my phone on what to remember to post. Grab bag of half-baked ideas. After the jump!

Solomon's

I have been craving bagels lately, and it's been a really long time since I've been to Beauty Bagels. I don't know how I used to get there so often and now it's been too long. Smiller and I went to Solomon's on Saturday. I went to the Davis one twice, and this is now the second time I've been to the K street one. The first time at the K street one I got a lox bagel, which was too piled with stuff for me to enjoy. You can't pile capers on a towering (get it, TOWER-ing) mound of salmon, they will just roll off which is upsetting. Scott got that this time, and it had terrible tomatoes. They were so orange he thought they were more salmon. The salmon was again very good. The bagel not so much, so he bought one to take  home and toast and make sure. I have no idea why it is so hard to make a good bagel but if it was easy everyone would do it, instead of literally like maybe 20 places in America.

I got the pastrami sandwich. The pastrami is very tasty, it's kind of thin-sliced and grilled, which is interesting. The rye bread was dry and almost crumbly, and it needed more mustard. This for $15.99 is a hard sell.

It seems like they are doing a steady business, I sensed tourist in a lot of the customers, which is not bad at all. There needs to be places for tourists to go that aren't lame like PF Changs. The potato salad on the side was great. Unbeknownst to me until I paid, that Topo Chico was four bucks??? They have Zeal kombucha there too and if I had known I was venturing into that beverage price point I probably would have gone for Zeal.

Looks like Golden Bear won the Baconfest again? So that's two years right, although they won it with a different chef last year. I don't think she work for Golden Bear any more. I took a break from judging this year. Maybe I'll be back next year.

Has anyone been to The Good Bottle? Scott and I keep trying to find it when we are riding around and can't. We haven't tried that hard obviously. I'm interested.

Crabz

I would like to retract my comment below about Polanco. No, not about it being meh, which is is, but about the pint size. Scott proved to me using one of our glasses at home that that was likely a pint. I struggle with a concept that toddlers master about container sizes. It's not object permanence, I think that's something else, and I have been over the game peek-a-boo for a long time, but I will often grab the way wrong container to store leftover food. I can't eyeball it.

Cooked these bad boys yesterday, learn more after the jump

Podcast Tawk

This article on The Daily podcast in NYMag has got me shook. Michael Barbaro left his husband for producer Lisa Tobin, who was also engaged??!!?! Who knew podcasts were so sexy!! Dang those long hours in small studios I guess.

I am hooked on a couple true crime podcasts right now, even though for my overall mental wellbeing I want to listen to more music and less murder on my commute. I listened to the Kristin Smart podcast, because I read that supposedly there is going to be a break in the case. I didn't realize that they know who did it but due to police bungling they couldn't arrest the creep.

And now I'm listening to Chasing Cosby too, which is new. So terrible. Thank god for Hannibal Burress (who was so freaking funny at Harlow's last year! I think about his bit about Two Chainz' obsession with a Bentley truck a lot) but it's infuriating that a man had to say something to get momentum going on accusations that were well documented a decade prior. Also infuriating to hear a 2006 grilling that Matt Lauer gave to one of the victims, knowing what we know now about that predator (Lauer I mean).

Speaking of podcasts (which I do, a lot, but hey, 90 minute daily commute), This American Life turned me on to the writing of Robert Walser. That's him in the pic, obvs. This story of his lost (later recovered) writing that he did in a mental hospital is nuts. I'm reading The Assistant and it's really good! Almost done. Nothing happens really but it's very funny and sharply observed. The clerk's petulant rants that keep getting him in trouble are hilarious. I guess he was a favorite writer of Kafka in his day, and keeps getting forgotten and rediscovered. Very relaxing descriptions of parties and meals in a luxurious, but precariously funded, mansion in a Swiss canton (what the heck is a canton anyway and are they only in Switzerland?) The protagonist also shares the author's real love for long walks and there are multiple passages dedicated to walking into and through the larger nearby town.

I ate at Polanco last night. Meh to the nth degree. Meh cubed. It has that taken-from-a-kit type of modern decor. Geometric accents, colorful molded plastic chairs, graffiti-ish mural of beautiful woman. My shrimp tacos governador (Sinaloa-style, with melted cheese, that's their spelling on the menu, rather than gobernador) were not as good as any taco of that style I've had in Mazatlan. The tortilla was thick and borderline stiff, and they were not warm enough and had a runny thin sauce when they should have been small, greasy, cheesy crispy delicious morsels.

They serve Knee Deep Breaking Bud, which is tasty but for 7 bucks it was served in a short glass that I guess is a 12 ounce pour. So they went one better (worse) than the cheater pint that is not really 16 ounces and just thought they'd serve a small glass. It's fine, just another passionless spot in Sac.

Bye bye Luke Walton?

I went to see the King's lose to the Mavericks on Wednesday night. The nosebleed seats were 20 bucks. As a verrrrryy casual basketball fan I was aware that the big deal was that Luka is on their team and we passed on him as our draft pick, but if he had come here we would probably have made him terrible.

The most notable thing about the game was Luke Walton getting booed when he was introduced. Let's get rid of this guy. For multiple reasons.

We ate at the new Jimboy's at DoCo. Pretty standard JB, both my beef and bean tacos were good. No beer and no El Gordo on their menu. It was not crowded despite the game.  Will someone start a Change.org petition to get a Jimboy's in the arena?

The Agnes Varda autobiographical doc. was really good, although I could have taken less on her foray into visual art and installations that she got into later in life. It seemed great for her financially, since the Cartier foundation was financing it and she kept referencing them buying her pieces, but I found her art to be clumsy and not compelling. Her movies, however, I have to get to know better! I have mostly seen a few shorts through the Verge when they showed them. I want to watch Vagabond for sure, and the hippie musical one.

Turnout was huge last night at Verge. Felt almost at the capacity as far as seats being filled.

food for thought on food writing

A friend sent me this LARB (who knew there was an LA review of books? There's some joke about LA "culture" that could go here. I guess those jokes are outdated now that LA is such a cultural and food hub, but I'm thinking of the movie LA story) long think piece on "The midlife crisis of the American restaurant review"

Maybe only KW and I will take the time to read it, you could also just skip to the writer's recommendations at the end if you don't want to read. I would add to the author's points that the length of restaurant reviews has been cut at many publications due to what I call the blurbification of writing that the internet has led to. So now even print pubs mimic the blurby feel of online pubs. At SNR I argued against word count cuts that kept getting tighter and tighter for the weekly reviews.

I agree that 2018 was a watershed year in food writing, and honestly I do feel pretty irrelevant to the conversation right now and that's ok. The world moves on.

Gioia is spot on about how the reviews that are pans bring out creativity that the raves rarely do. Food writers would do well to try to tap those same creative juices and humor for a positive review.

That said, some of the suggestions are kind of silly. Writing about an area (a few restaurants with some kind of overarching theme) with context and having more roundtable-type reviews are good suggestions. I think everyone likes reading roundtable discussions. I would often write what I called "roundups" for MidMo, but they centered around a certain cuisine or dish, so it might be deeper to write about a geographic area with context. I mean, a lot of food writers do roundups, I didn't invent it, but that was how I wrote the majority of the food coverage in MidMo so that's why I'm mentioning it.

Varda by Agnes on Thursday

Hey, how great that Jeffrey Day is keeping up his blogging and has a couple new posts linked on his blog at right. On Saturday I also checked out the Thiebaud-curated show at Elliot Fouts (cool to see original Krazy Kat artwork!) and the Axis show. When I arrived at Axis a young woman (maybe one of the artists?) was singing a song and accompanying herself on what I think is either a lyre or that instrument that Spock played once on Star Trek. The Axis show is cool and also don't forget the Verge movie night is this Thursday (that reminds me, I need to get a ticket online - members are free). It's the doc "Varda by Agnes" and is her final film, about her career. Right, did she make it? Or did someone make it about her?

I went to Waterboy last night. If you want to hear about it, it's after the jump

Rolle too!

I don't want this reblogaissance to solely consist of being sad about restaurants that are closing, so hopefully this trend will end.

Rolle announced he is closing Cafe Rolle. I'm not sure if it's already closed or if maybe we can all go grab one more salmon sandwich. Read more after the jump

#spintweets

I'm doing this fitness challenge thing this month at my spin studio. I'm supposed to go to spin 20 times this month, and then do something else on my own every other day. Anyhoo, I always have ideas for tweets about spin when I'm in spin, because it's hot and traumatic in there so my mind is active aka freaking out.

Couple/three problems with this:
1) I stay off twitter because it turns your brain into garbage
2) I am bad at tweeting so no one likes my tweets and also I often feel like I don't really "get" twitter and am doing stuff wrong
3)What if something I write goes viral for the wrong reason?

I had a great idea to generate some of the content that you readers are all demanding: write my spin tweets here! Part of the reblogaissance can be destroying twitter by bringing tweets to blogs. If we had all never stopped blogging we might not have Trump for president so I am just trying to do my part.

Oh boy. This is going to be....something.

Here's an idea I had for an old one, that is no longer topical at all:

Avicii dying was like 9/11 for spin instructors.

Here's one I texted to Matt R. previously, but that I would like a wider audience for:

Most of the inspirational stories that the instructors tell either involve moving to LA or moving back from LA

That's all I can remember now. A lot of them are just fantasies about tweeting about this one instructor (who I avoid) that makes the room so disgusting and hot that when you go to pick up the weights they are dripping with someone else's sweat. And she keeps the class late too! Can you feel my petty outrage? Feel it.

Can't wait to post more #spintweets

WHY

Maybe 2 or 3 times a year I get restaurant food so bad that I go through at least a couple of the 5 stages of grief. Today I went through anger and now that I ate this monstrosity and I'm not hungry: sadness. Read more about this tragic food-like item after the jump

Reblogaissance: Day 1

Halloween band calling is going on over on the website. The theme is Soundtracks 2. Should be good. I really want to be a part of Reality Bites in that I want to sing backup for Lisa Loeb and also do my Janine Garafalo (no idea how to spell) imitation but I am not going to call it.

New year, Day 1 of the Reblogaissance. And in the spirit I have changed up the blog links at right. I eliminated all the ones without recent posts and added a new one. Jeffrey Day works in communications at UCD, for the College of Letters and Science. Before that he was a longtime arts journo. He always has great recommendations for art and especially classical and new composers, which is an area of art I know nothing about. I hope you keeps blogging!

Yolkie has kept up Best Summer Ever, and also DB consistently is still writing about movies. I kept up the Halloween show ones, cuz, nostalgia.

too stupid to be true

The new Boulevard Park newsletter has a somewhat innocuous listing about an upcoming forum regarding the train station. It has this rather casual statement " Ironically, Union Pacific’s decision to move the train tracks quite a distance away from the old station means that a new one must be built closer to the new tracks. Hence there is a need to find new uses for this terrific building and for the area immediately around it, which will gain even greater importance as an intermodal transportation hub."

WAIT HOLD UP, NEEDLE SCRATCHING ON RECORD SOUND. Are you telling me that since they moved the goddamned tracks ridiculously far that now they have eventually rendered this beautiful, functional building obsolete and freed it up to be a series of failing business!?! This is worse when they took our (not beautiful), functional bus station out of downtown and moved it out to Richards boulevard and now the building is STILL EMPTY.

You can just look at The Bank to see why Sacramento does not need more of this type of cavernous, echoey business space.

This is just awful and I feel like it can't possibly be true. It's too stupid. Or is it?

Restaurant closings and mind openings

(stole this pic from liveformusic.com)

I saw a somewhat unexpected Instagram post yesterday that Mother has closed and now today news that Cafe Marika has closed as well. Jeez, brutal year for change in Sacramento. I'm sad about Mother, that was a real Sacramento classic, and we only get like one of those a year that feel like permanent fixtures. I would say Canon was probably that for 2018 and Pizza Supreme Being for 2019.

I am very glad I went to Marika a couple times in 2019. I'm happy they are retiring, and not shutting it because it went out of business. The loss of June's continues to reverberate in our community as well, especially since we didn't get to say goodbye.

On a happy note, Dead & Co. put on a great show for NYE and I'm so glad we went. It was at Chase Center, but serendipitously (how to spell?) Matt R. lives in the neighborhood and wanted to go. They played from 8 until almost 1 am, with long breaks. I was grousing about a particularly long break, which went from like 11:20 to almost midnight, but then it turned out that was because they were setting up a FULL SIZED BIPLANE to fly on a track over the audience, with Trixie Garcia sitting in it waving. It has a stealie painted on the side and an iridescent lighting bolt on the front. Then Wavy Gravy and Bob Walton came out dressed as baby new year and father time and Walton gave the trippiest, slowest countdown ever that probably had little to do with the actual time it was. Oh, also, like 20 flappers came out and danced the Charleston. And then they did a killer 3rd set and encore. So yes, it was worth it and also, yes I do love John Mayer now so deal with it.

The 3rd set was:
Sugar Magnolia
Uncle John's Band
Scarlet Begonias
Fire on the Mountain
Sunshine Daydream

Encore:
Touch of Grey

Movies of 2019

It seems like everyone is talking about movies everywhere I go and I'm loving it.  Not only my friends, but even strangers, like the checkers at the co-op debating the merits of the Lighthouse with a customer. I think this is an indication that peak TV is over. I mean, sure, a lot of movies were released on streaming this year, but I'm not counting those movies in my year-end wrap up. Look it's my wrap up and I can do what I want.

EVERYONE is talking about Uncut Gems, but smiller and I are supposed to see it together and he has very specific times he will go see movies so I haven't seen it yet. I did watch an earlier film of the directors' yesterday: Daddly Longlegs. Wow, disturbing. I also saw Good Times when it came out and their junkie movie too.

Here are the movies I saw in the theater in 2019. A couple were released in December 2018:

The Souvenir 1
Once Upon a time in Hollywood 2
Pain and Glory 3
Parasite 4
Arctic 5
Destroyer 6
Hustlers 7
The lighthouse 8

Booksmart 9
Climax 10
Greta 

Everybody Knows

The Beach Bum

Amazing Grace

High Life

Non fiction

The last black man in san Francisco

Midsommar

The Farewell

After the wedding

Ad Astra

Honey Boy

Knives out

Bombshell

Little Women  

Vice

My favorite movie of the year, or maybe the movie I was most affected by was The Souvenir. I was gratified to see it made Obama's list and also cried inside to think that he used to be our president and he liked this and Booksmart. I mean, he liked the Irishman but I won't hold that against him.

Arctic hit my personal sweetspot of realistic hardship movies and Mads Mikkelson. I am somewhat embarrassed Climax is in my top ten but I'm being honest.

The worst movie I saw was probably After the Wedding. Non Fiction was not great either. Ad Astra was also lacking. Everybody Knows had dumb plot twists. Vice was meh, I will lump it in with Bombshell as "explainer movies your mom will like because they make her feel smart". Sorry to project my mom on you.

Beach Bum was entertaining but I felt nothing for it just like most of Harmony Korine's movies. Midsommar was fine but too derivative.

Highlife was the biggest fall from a director's last film, given that Claire Denis had just come off Let the Sunshine In

Destroyer was the movie I thought I hated but can't stop thinking about. The movie that made me feel the most pure movie-going joy was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The movie that I saw on streaming that I wish I had gotten around to seeing was Serenity. That movie is fucking bonkers watch it right now. I had actually meant to get to it but it was only in theaters here like a week.

Video game mouths and weird glowy eyes

So smiller and I tried to watch the Irishman on Christmas Day eve. I say TRIED because after about an hour we tired of the horrible video game mouths and weirdly watery eyes of the CG actors. I really don't understand how people were able to look past that in regards to that movie, or why they would want to. If you liked it can you tell me how you dealt with how strange their faces looked and moved? Especially we all know how those actors looked at those ages, that just made it worse. The plot seemed pretty tired too, but I couldn't assess it properly because I was distracted. We switched to Season 2 episode 1 of the Sopranos, which we are rewatching and I remembered that pretty soon they'd have the episode where there was some CGI with Tony's mom that I remember as being terrible! But she is still alive in Episode 1, which is also when Janis comes back and is an excellent episode.

The NYTimes has this gross article about "ghost kitchens" which is a phrase I have been seeing around for a week or so so I had to read. It's kitchens where delivery food is made, sometimes under the rubric of a well known chain, like Sweetgreen. Did I use rubric right? I think this is a nasty way to eat, and it's hard to understand why people wouldn't just make some quick pasta or something, but I also live in a place without real weather, so I guess I can't judge. Getting to and from work in the snow would probably drain my desire to also shop or go out to eat. The worst part of it is a quote from David Chang, who invested in a ghost kitchens venture that failed a few years back,

"For the time being you still need humans to make food and to process it,” he said. “It’s not like being at a warehouse at Amazon where you’re taking something out of a box and putting it into a bag."

For the time being??? Wow, David Chang you are really showing your passion for food here! Can't wait until robots are making our meals and you can get super duper duper rich.

Last day in Mexico: Tlaquepaque

I don't know about you, but whenever I think about the word Tlaquepaque, I get the rap song "Laffy Taffy" stuck in my head. And since we bought a magnet at Tlaquepaque, I see it on our fridge multiple times a day, so I think of this song a lot. You're welcome. Learn about Tlaquepaque after the jump

Guadalajara: we continue to pay respect to maiz

 There are so many rad looking houses in Mexico, of course. This one had this really pale yellow, like lemon meringue accent paint everywhere. More cool houses and sandwiches after the jump

Guadalajara: I wait in line for lonches

So there I was in Guadalajara. I'd eaten two breakfasts, which added up to the best breakfast, and we were heading to the main government plaza in Guadalajara. I knew I wanted to go to the museums and galleries located in the Hospicio Cabanas. It's a gorgeous building built in the late 1700s/early 1800s that was a hospital and is now a cultural instiute. There was a rad exhibit on the yarn art of the Wixaritari, sometimes known as Huichol.

Guadalajara is cool, part 2: the day of good grub

I had read that due to the mining industry in Jalisco, Guadalajara has Paste shops, which are the Mexican take on Cornish pasties!! Since Smiller is Welsh we like to think of them as Welsh pasties and he was intrigued. Turns out that they make an awesome breakfast and they are about a dollar each. Want to see? After the jump

The wild card: Guadalajara

Whatever your destination in Mexico, if you fly out of SMF you are often on the red eye direct to Guadalajara. I had never had G. recommended to me as a vacation destination, but its easy access via flight and the fact that it's the second biggest city in Mexico piqued my attention.

That made it somewhat of a wild card for the last three nights of the trip. Would it be fun, or just a huge traffic-y metropolis?

Answer: FUN. More after the jump

On to Puerto Escondido!

We reluctantly said goodbye to Oaxaca city and that great patio, and left on our way to Puerto Escondido, on the Oaxacan coast. We took a tiny plane. You can see my view of the pilot there. Notice the co-pilot seat is empty, finally proving all the bumper stickers true. Did we survive? Find out after the jump

Last day in Oaxaca

 On our last full day, I headed back to the Reforma neighborhood (about a mile from the Centro) to check out Itanoni Antojeria and Totilleria. This spot is only open for breakfast and lunch and I knew this was my last chance. I'm so glad I went. Looking into it I see it is Alice Waters' fave Oaxaca spot (check out that pic of the egg frying on the comal!). See more of Itanoni after the jum

Mexican non-alcoholic beverages are a whole world to discover. This one is called tascalate. It's a mix of roasted maize, chocolate, pine nuts, achiote, vanilla and sugar.

Oaxaca: Monte Alban ruins and I bought a hat

After our full-day tour, Scott skipped out on a visit to the Zapotec ruins called Monte Alban,. It's about a 30 minute bus ride up the hill from Oaxaca and the driver just said to meet him back in 3 hours. The site is gorgeous and so was the weather.

Besides the small museum, this is the first part you walk into. It's a ball court. A cursory search does not reveal the name of the ball game, but it was probably played with a rubber ball. More about this site after the jump

Yes, still in Oaxaca! and still eating

 La Biznaga is a fancy place in Oaxaca and I must admit I was pretty skeptical about it but it turned out to be one of my favorite places I ate. We had dinner there and it was dim, so I borrowed this picture of their smoked marlin tostadas from this blog. More Biznags after the jump

Non Oaxaca Post

Have you been reading Inside Land Park (or East Sac) lately? They are doing some serious muckraking, especially in regards to Steve Hansen and the bike trail. Graswich and Steve Hansen seem to be openly feuding. I'm definitely concerned about the fencing off the bike trail issue, but more than that, I'm concerned about what I'm reading about Steve Hansen's attempt to keep the press out of a recent public meeting and bar a photographer from taking pictures. I hope someone at the Bee or CPR picks up this story and runs with it.

As a BIG fan of the movie Silent Light, I decided to watch director Carlos Reygadas' newest, a 3 hour movie called Our Time from 2018. I believe it never played Sac, or I blinked and missed it.

He starts really, really strong, with gorgeous ranch footage filmed in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. He's got Malickian ways with filming nature, clouds, light, flora, fauna, the whole deal. I feel it was a mistake to cast himself in the lead. He said it was for financial reasons. He also cast his real wife and kids. His wife is good in it - he lacks onscreen charisma.

The movie is a bit of a slog. It's about a longtime couple's open marriage, and how a crush starts to upend it. It got mixed-to-bad reviews and a lot of criticism about the cringe-y power dynamics. He seemed pretty pissed off in interviews that people took it to be a male vs. female struggle. He saw the couple as equals, and that it was just a power struggle, but that gender roles were irrelevant. Yet the movie literally ends (this is not a spoiler) with two bulls fighting. How is it not about machismo and you end it like that???

I think he's a genius based on Silent Light so I'm still following his career. I think this movie would have been stronger as a two-hour movie with a different male lead. But I'm glad he's making movies and I hope he's at work on another one.

Oacaca, another day, I think 4

After I got back from Oaxaca/Jalisco I continued reading this Paul Theroux book about his recent driving trip through Mexico, with an emphasis on Oaxaca. It's a fun, discursive, informative book. It's a little on the curmudgeonly side, and he does some harsh critiques of other books about Mexico and also his take on tourists spending a tiny bit of time in Mexico and thinking they know or can explain it. I will try not to fall into that trap!It's interesting to get his take on a lot of what we experienced, including the sites in this 9 hour slog of a guided day trip we took.

I won't go into visiting the Tule tree, which has the world's biggest trunk. It's a Montezuma cypress, in the town of Tule. Welll, there, I guess I just did go into it. It's a big-ass tree! More after the jump

Oaxaca Post Day 2

Here's the patio from our AirBnB. IT was a sick spot, and had beautiful plants.

 Oh my god, why won't blogger let you position the photos better! This is ridic. Oh well, let's get into early 2000s nostalgia for this look

Patio pic. More after the jump.

Oaxaca Part 1

The struggle is real to post instead of using Instagram. I want to single-handedly lead a blog revival and a mass abandoning of the Gram and FB. 2010s nostalgia is peaking right now so let's bring back blogs! BUT blogger makes it nigh impossible to easily post photos whereas it's so easy on Instagram and you get so much social validation from it instantly! I mean, my serotonin will barely be affected by this post unless you comment so what's the point????

Nonetheless I will soldier on because when destiny calls one (to lead a blog revival), one must answer. Oaxaca report after the jump

grab bag post

The food writing world is all abuzz this week about Pete Wells' one star review of Peter Luger steakhouse in Brooklyn, which has been around since 1887. It was a moderately fun read, not that crazy. The best line was about the shrimp in the cocktail tasting like latex. I've never been to Peter Luger, at first because it was way out of my budget, and now because I only go to NYC every couple of years. It sounds like the kind of place that is right up my alley as far as being old and crotchety and having grumpy servers.

Eater Podcast had a discussion of it, and I felt very validated for my love of old places, as I wrote about in Eater (plug, plug) (which I still have not been paid for BTW). They talked about all the reasons they love Peter Luger that are not just about having the very best steak in the world.

For Halloween I watched 1 1/2 scary movies, the half was The Cell. I saw this movie when it came out and I forgot about how bonkers it is, and how repulsive as well. I have a newfound love of J Lo from Hustlers but she is so ridic in this, and it's not her fault. The director's leering gaze permeates how she is filmed. She literally has on pink lip gloss in bed alone!! Gross.

The other scary move was Insidious, from the Conjuring dude. I like all his dumb movies. And as a lady, I like Patrick Wilson.

Smiller and I saw The Lighthouse at Tower. I find it very amusing that he was getting The Nurse (directed by conjuring dude) and The Witch (actual high quality movie) mixed up and thought we were seeing a Nurse-related movie. He also did not realize that it starred Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe until the end credits rolled. Nevertheless we both enjoyed it a lot, and I'm so glad I saw it on the big screen as I 100% would have fallen asleep watching it at home. The guy working the ticket booth was very nice and told Smiller that all the Hitchcock movies have been selling out, which is cool. I'm stoked Parasite came out today and will see it soon for sure.

Best lunch dish

In an Ouroboros-like loop, I was reading an article on Chuck E. Cheese robots, which made me think about Pizza N Pipes in Sacramento, which made me start googling it, which quickly led me to this post from almost 9 years ago where I was thinking about the same thing. Alas, the "amazing photo" I linked to is no longer available. This was clearly before millenials killed the word "amazing" for me.

Speaking of amazing, check out this amazing (terrible) food photography. I am thinking about getting an iPhone 11 for the better photos, but my 8 is FINALLY paid off, so I am hesitating.

 Anyway, it ain't pretty but this is the saaj chicken shawarma wrap from Tanoor Halal (on Arden). DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS BURRITO-LIKE DISH. It is currently my #1 fave lunch dish. I had to go twice in a week.

It looks exactly like a Jimboy's burrito, no? It has a tangy pickly sauce in there with the meat and it is ADDICTIVE. Is saaj the name of the bread/wrap? The regular shawarma is served on samoon bread, which is also good, but this is the king.

I reviewed this place as one of my later SNR review, but they changed their super cute sign since then, and also eliminated the breakfast item that I raved about.

Restaurant closure

I LOVE Co Do Deli, especially their Mi Quang noodles. I consider these to be an iconic Sac dish, and the best example of this in Sac that I've had. The place is usually crowded, and a lot of folks are getting this dish.

HOWEVER, when I tried to go the other day it had been closed by the health department. Looking on line it may still be closed right now. It was inspected on 9/13 and closed, and reinspected the next day and still closed.

The culprit? Cockroaches. In April they got a conditional pass, but then cleaned up for later in April. In that case it was some minor improper temp. items.

I wonder if I can go back?? I want to but I don't know how I can not think about this.

Restaurants we've lost

It's been about six months since I posted, and, by coincidence I just watched a Mads Mikkelson movie the other day. I watched the 2006 Danish version of After the Wedding. I don't really want to see the new version with Michele Williams because it's not getting good reviews. The Danish version is pretty soapy! Lotta implausible twists.

I'm on deadline for a new writing thing that I can't share yet, but it's got me thinking about restaurants we've lost. There's a lot. I know that change is inevitable and businesses close but jeez.  I thought I would start a list just to share memories. Add yours as well! With Biba's passing (RIP) who know if it will stay open or remain as good. I know she hadn't cooked there in a while. The son wants to sell Zelda's too so I wouldn't be surprised if it got bought by some bland restaurant group

• Ha, I use bullets (some would say overuse) so much at work. I'll use bullets on the blog too!
• It seems like June's Cafe might be closed. I am hoping it will reopen but Mike C. keep checking by for me and it keeps still being closed. This is tragic.
• Market Club. Had breakfast there with Natalie the day I got married (2012). Only ate there a couple of times, but it was charming.
• Italian Importing Co. I don't think I ever ate there honestly, or maybe once? I am pretty picky about sandwiches
• 524. This one hurts. I should make it out to the remaining one on Northgate but man the Yelps are bad! I ate there one millon times when I was a poor student
• Pho Bac on Broadway. That was my introduction to Vietnamese food and it used to be hella good! It got hella bad. Saigon Street Eats (not good) is closed and now it's empty and slated to be demolished.
• Luigi's: the Stockton Blvd. one was never a big fave of mine (I prefer Roma's for that kind of cheesy pizza) but now it's sold to investors. Haven't been since it was sold
• New Canton. Used to be the best dim sum. Now my pick is Asian Pearl 2000
• Nationwide Freezer Meats. This one hurts too. It was never the same after it moved.
• Squeeze Inn. I only went to original one once. 
• The Rubicon. No love lost for me on those Cisco waffle fries. I'm glad Alaro seeems to be bumpin'
• The original Luis'. Ok, that was not that great either, but all those pictures of Luis were the best
• Trails, then became Shoki, now burned up. Sad
• I'm sure I will think of more!

It's a Mads world

I am 100% going to see the new Gaspar Noe movie at the Tower tonight even though it is probably trash. I loved the trash that was Love. I like Noe movies better now that they are not so violent. Tower has been on a good run lately and it's making me happy. Arctic was really good and I'm happy I caught it in the two weeks it was there. Madds Mikkelson is one of my favorite actors.

I went to see Dolls House Part 2 at B street last night. The acting was very strong but the popularity of that play escapes me.  in 2018 is was the most produced nationally. I think it could possibly because it makes people feel smart because they understand the reference to the original Doll's House? People love to feel smart (me included). Other than that, it's pretty damned slight.

The truly remarkable thing about last night is that I heard activity from six different phones during the play. Two different  phones rang, two phones received pinging texts, one near me did the full vibrating ring-to-voicemail and someone's iphone alarm went off for quite a while! Totally outrageous. I've never seen anything like it. Dave Pierini intro'd the play and he didn't tell people to turn their phones off so that probably accounts for it. In 2019 I guess you have to tell the Boomers (ok, one young girls phone went off, too) explicitly to take out their phones and turn them completely off.

Oh, the Bee. I fear you are not long for this earth. Not only do I miss deliveries probably once every couple weeks, even though it's quite expensive to get delivered, today an entire section was missing from the paper. I have been seeing frequent typos, sometimes on the front page, and recently they reran an entire food article that they had just run two week prior, as if no one would notice.

The Bee ran a piece today on local activist Berry Accius' quest to eat at a black-owned restaurant every day in Feb for Black History Month. The article had this quote,

'There were some judgment calls, too. Rob Archie owns Pangaea Bier Cafe and co-owns Urban Roots Brewery & Smokehouse, but Accius said he forgot about them because neither feels particularly “black.”

You can kind of feel the residue that it’s black-owned. You can feel it from the vibe, the music, the people, the food,” Accius said. “More than likely, if you go to a black restaurant – whether it’s Caribbean-style or African American food, which is considered soul food – there’s going to be some staples. You’re going to have mac and cheese, you’re going to have greens, you’re going to have a fried chicken, you’re going to have some kind of barbecue.'

I can't comment on that judgment call of course, but it would have been appropriate to ask Rob to comment, and also calls to mind the delicious mac and cheese and BBQ that I just had at Urban Roots the other day.

Tuesday ramblins

I have at least 12 minutes to kill so I will write a post. I am about to leave work but leaving right at 5 is a fool's errand (fool's journey?) because that is right when students all leave class so you will be stuck waiting for them to cross and they will all be on bikes and hoverboards and motorized skateboards and whatever and looking at their phones so you will be there a WHILE.

It is so dorky and good that the UCD Chancellor is having William Shatner speak on campus and also screening Wrath of Khan at the Mondavi. I would go, but it's on a Saturday (I avoid Davis on the weekends) and it's 55 bucks. But still, cute!

I don't have the steam right now for another Laos post because blogger still makes it pretty hard to upload photos. I'm going to Puebla and Mexico city in late April so I'm excited about that. I was just looking at the fancy architect-designed museum of the baroque in Puebla, which I will definitely go to. And eating mole obviously. Other than that, not too planned yet.

It's kinda cheesy that people are getting excited about the Michelin guide coming to Sac. That thing is so musty and dusty it should come with a sneeze guard (don't think about that too hard). But if chefs are excited to get a star, that's cool.

I've been seeing all the Instagram posting about Billy Ngo's ramen popup. I will wait for it to open on K street. All the ramen looks really good. I was skeptical about expensive ramen until I ate at Ramen Shop in Berkeley. If it can be that good, I'll pay close to 20 bucks for it. Hopefully that price will be hearty enough to be mostly a full meal, though. Those bowls at Ramen Shop are pretty light. But that gets into the debate on what types of dishes diners expect to be a bargain and what they will pay for.