Cowtown Eats - Sacramento's Happy Hours

Instant Reaction: Bacon and Butter

Buzz has been growing for former Golden Bear chef Billy Zoellin’s new venture Bacon & Butter. Sharing a space with Club 21 (Bacon & Butter uses it during the day and Club 21 uses it at night), Bacon & Butter has the feeling of a true small business being held together with blood, sweat, tears and a probably a little duct tape. And honestly, that vibe is endearing and you can’t help but root for them.

We arrived on Saturday at approximately 12:30 p.m. The host said the wait for a table for two would be 15 minutes or so, or we could sit at the bar immediately. We opted for seating at the bar. As the waiter was grabbing our menus, Patrick Mulvaney walked in, also looking to grab brunch at the new restaurant.

The space, which probably seats 60 or so with a mixture of booths, high top bar tables and regular height restaurant tables pushed together to form a communal table, has the same look and feel of the porch of The Golden Bear. It’s really the type of places where people eat hung over on Saturday morning, and not the type of place you’d bring your parents for Mother’s day.

Daily Dining News: Sac Bee Takes First Look at Firestone Public House

Sac Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson had a decidedly mixed visit to Firestone Public House. But from reading his First Impression column, it was better than my first visit.

Fortunately, there is plenty to like about this place. The energy is wonderful, the employees are friendly, the food seems promising and the prices are reasonable.

We really liked the traditional take on fish and chips ($14.95) and the thick, tender pork chop ($18.95) with ultra-creamy mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus with cherry tomatoes, sautéed and sweet, scattered atop the slab of meat.

How could we describe the pulled pork nachos? Big and bland and in need of a do-over. As for the pizzas, it's too soon for a verdict, but so far, we're talking about a poor man's version of California Pizza Kitchen. If you're going to succeed as a chain pizzeria, you have to offer better pizza – or no pizza. Inheriting a pizza oven is not a good enough reason to impose so-so pizza on your customers.

Anecdotally, I've heard they're getting better. I've had friends rave about their lobster pizza and gigantic pretzel. I may wait another couple weeks and give them another shot.

Robertson also gives his first impression of Les Baux, the new restaurant by the owner of La Bou ("I wonder if the person who helped develop the sandwiches here has the same aversion to lively flavors as the creator of the pulled pork nachos above.") and Zindagi Indian Bistro in Davis ("Every once in awhile, I get to visit a new spot, taste the food and immediately realize I'm onto something special.").

Read his entire review in the Sac Bee.

More News:

1950s-styled food truck to debut in July - Look for some 1950s flavor to be served with a food truck that's set to debut in July. Papa Dale's Drivin' Diner will take on a rockabilly and hot rod kind of vibe, while serving such comfort foods as Santa Maria tri-tip, meatloaf, mac 'n' cheese, griddled breads and more. Expect menu items to cost $8 to $10. Chris Macias in the Sac Bee.

Where are the Ethnic Food Trucks? - Sacramento has a lot of cultural diversity. We have large Russian, Filipino, and Hmong populations as well as many, many others. So I have to ask - why haven't we gotten more ethnic food trucks in Sacramento yet? Catherine Enfield on Munchie Musings.

Wine and Dine Week Starts Today

Wine and Dine Week is one of the two times a year when local restaurants feature prix fixe menus to try to entice diners to try new restaurants or revisit some of their favorites.

This year, Wine and Dine Week starts Wednesday, May 30 and lasts until Sunday, June 10.

I try to hit two restaurants every year, one near downtown and one further away. In the past, I've been able to discover the amazing Tazzina Bistro in Woodland and Taste Restaurant in Plymouth through Wine and Dine week. I'm hoping to get to try Hawks in Granite Bay this year.

Here are a couple tips to get the most for your money.

1. Menus are posted online. Make sure you take a look at them before you decide to go.
2. Bring a friend so you can taste as much of the restaurant's food in one sitting.
3. If the restaurant doesn't offer options for the different courses, you can still order from the regular menu.
4. Different restaurants have different price points. Ella may be $50 per person with the wine pairing, but de Vere's is only $25 including the wine pairing. There are options for any budget.
5. Most restaurants let you skip the wine pairing, shaving $10 or $15 per person.

Daily Dining Deals: Streets of London, Willie's Burgers, Tuk Tuk Thai

Streets of London is a good bar with a great patio out back. They're one of my favorite places to meet friends for a drink during the summer. Now, you can drink at any of their three locations half off.

• $12.50 for $25 at Streets of London's midtown, West Sac and Folsom locations. Offer expires on Thursday.

More Deals:

• $3 for $7 at Willie's Burgers Mofo. Offer expires on Friday.
• $10 for $20 at Tuk Tuk Thai restaurant in Natomas. Offer expires on Saturday.
• $10 for $20 at Giovanni's Pizzeria in South Land Park, East Sac. Offer expires today.
• $10 for $20 (New Groupon users | existing users) at L&L Hawaiian BBQ on Florin Road. Offer expires on Thursday.
• $15 for one admission (New Groupon users | existing users) (a $30 value) to Sactopalooza Spring Party at the Sacramento Zoo.
• $10 for $20 (New Groupon users | existing users) to Nothing Bundt Cakes in Roseville. Offer expires on Friday.
• $12.50 for $25 at Bidwell St. Bistro in Folsom. Offer expires on Friday.
• $10 for $20 at Harvey House Restaurant in Old Sac. Offer expires on Sunday.
• $10 for $20 at Sandra Dee's BBQ & Seafood. Offer expires on Tuesday.

Looking for more deals like this? Check out the Cowtown Eats guide to saving 50 percent at good restaurants.

Meet Phyllis Newton, Candidate for City Council

 

Phyllis Newton, has been an attorney for 23 years specializing in the representation of urban design professionals, is the fourth participant in the Cowtown Eats Meet the Candidate video series. She lives in Sacramento’s Land Park neighborhood with her husband and two daughters. Now a nineteen-year resident of Sacramento, Newton has been civically engaged with the City of Sacramento for nearly a decade.  She has served on numerous city commissions and advisory committees concerned with managing the growth of our city while enhancing and protecting the environment and quality of life in our neighborhoods. Newton graduated Cum Laude and With Distinction in Political Science from Sonoma State University in 1987. Soon after, she earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

For more information, visit PhyllisNewtonForCityCouncil.com/.

Previous videos in the Meet the Candidates Series:

• Terry Schanz
• Steve Hansen
• Neil Davidson

Daily Dining News: RIP Lounge ON20

I guess we should have seen this coming when chefs Pajo Bruich and Mike Ward left Lounge On 20 three weeks ago. Lounge ON20 served its last drink on Saturday night, reports Chris Macias in the Sac Bee.

Following the departure of Bruich and Ward, Lounge ON20 reverted to a bar food program and emphasis on its nightlife offerings.

"There were a lot of factors (behind the closure), but at some point you have to look at things realistically," Mackani said.

Lounge ON20, at 1050 20th Street, was Mackani's second Sacramento restaurant to fold. He's the former owner of Restaurant 55 Degrees on Capitol Mall, which shut down in 2008 after nearly three years in business.

The pending closure of Lounge ON20 has left Mackani frustrated. He's now planning to move from Sacramento to San Francisco.

At the end of the piece, seems to blame his multiple restaurant failures on the city. "Sacramento needs to grow up," says Mackani. I think it's Mackani who needs to look in the mirror if he wants to know why he's failed -- twice. Under Chef Bruich, Lounge ON20 had great food, but those who can afford to spend $120 on dinner for two don't want to do it in a club setting. It's not that Sacramento can't afford that price point -- see the successful Ella, Mulvaney's, Waterboy, etc. -- but that we didn't want to spend that kind of money on what you were offering where you were offering it. I wish Mackani good luck in San Francisco, but as we've seen, when one restaurant fails, another takes its place and often with something better.

Read the entire article in the Sac Bee.

More News:

Sacramento restaurants decry 'Yelp extortion' - Restaurant owner Sonny Mayugba was given an offer he almost could not refuse two weeks ago. Not by a local gangster, but by a user of a popular online review site, Yelp.com. Mayugba said the user threatened to blast the Red Rabbit Kitchen and Bar at 2718 J St., which Mayugba co-owns, on Yelp because he believed he and his party got food poisoning from their meals. Timothy Sandoval in the Sac Bee. Follow up story on KCRA. (Video)

Folsom Tahoe Joe's closes, refers customers to Roseville restaurant - The Tahoe Joe’s Famous Steakhouse in Folsom closed this week. The location at 191 Blue Ravine Road closed Monday following years of slow business. Business for that restaurant is being referred to the Roseville Tahoe Joe’s location, which remains open. Mark Anderson in Sac Biz Journal.

Daily Dining Deals: Sandra Dee's, Kamon Sushi, Squeeze Inn

Memorial Day kicks off the summer BBQ season, but good BBQ takes hours of low and slow heat. If you want to skip the hard part and get to the delicious part, there's a great deal at Sandra Dee's today.

• $10 for $20 (New Living Social users | existing users) at Sandra Dee's Bar-B-Que & Seafood at 15th & F. Offer expires on Sunday.

More Deals:

• $10 for $20 (New Groupon users | existing users) at Kamon Sushi at 16th & X. Offer expires on Sunday.
• $10 for $20 at Squeeze Inn in West Sac. Offer expires on Tuesday.
• $7 for $15 at 524 Mexican Restaurant at 12th & E. Offer expires on Wednesday.
• $20 to get 2 for 1 burgers at Jim Denny's, Ink Eats & Drinks, Squeeze Inn West Sac, Nationwide Freezer Meats, Hot Rods,  Alley Katz and more.
• $20 for $40 at the 1-4-5 Club in Rio Linda. Offer expires on Monday.

Looking for more deals like this? Check out the Cowtown Eats guide to saving 50 percent at good restaurants.