Sugar Rush

One place I always forget about when I've got a sweet tooth, is a place that is THE perfect remedy for such an affliction. Pieces of cake that are bigger than the plate they're on ( like Strawberry Amaretto Poppyseed or Orange Cranberry), pies that overflow from their tins (try Cherry Rhubarb Raspberry or Pumpkin Pecan Cheese), tortes with the perfect flavor combinations (how about Strawberry Kiwi or Chocolate Kahlua Bombe), and pastries and dessert bars that would satisfy the fat kid screaming to come out of all of us (Pumpkin or Lemon). Oh I could go on and on about Rick's Dessert Diner, but a picture is worth a thousand calories:


People, that is what they call Raspberry Diva. While I don't consider myself a big raspberry fan, or a diva (shock!), I do consider myself a fan of desserts that are meant for sharing. The best part about desserts that are meant for sharing, is not sharing them. I eat it aaalllll by myself- feel guilty about it afterwards-but ultimately come out as a better person because I looked a challenge square in the frosting and conquered it. What better place to accomplish that AND gain five pounds than this little 50's style diner on K Street between 23rd and 24th Streets. My friends and I made our way over there after an afternoon of wine tasting in the park (more to come) and cocktails at Mikuni's. Anyone who doesn't want dessert after a day like that is no friend of mine.

We walked in there and got in line with about 10 other people. This place is always packed, especially late-night. Rick's has hours made for days like the one we were having: Open until 1AM on Fridays and Saturdays. The wait goes quickly so you better pick your poison quickly. The glorious options are displayed in two large cases, the first filled with cheesecakes, pastries, pies and dessert bars. The second case has the cakes that are cut into to show the multitude of layers and filings. The Raspberry Diva I chose was poppy seed cake with a raspberry preserves and raspberry buttercream filling, topped with more raspberry buttercream frosting. As expected, it was super sweet, but oh-so-good. Their buttercream frosting is the good, expensive tasting stuff. The kind that doesn't leave your mouth feeling like it just got sprayed with Crisco (don't eat the Crisco!). And the poppy seeds in the cake gave it a nice texture (and a nice surprise later when I smiled and a friend pointed to them in my teeth). Sadly, that night was not a night I accomplished my goal of eating the whole thing. There just wasn't enough room in that tiny stomach of mine (ha!).

Now I don't remember exactly what my friends had (see note above on wine tasting and cocktails), but I know they enjoyed theirs just as I much I did mine. For a peak at how good you could have it, check out their dessert menu here. And let me know when you're going, I'll buy a dessert we can share, then tell you to get your own ;)

1 Down, 2 to Go….

After SpiderWoman, IronWoman and I left de Vere’s, we went to the other side of the block to a personal favorite, Capitol Garage. Located on the corner of a parking garage on 15th and K Streets, this restaurant was the first I ever visited as a newbie here in Sac, so it holds a special place in my heart. It's the perfect spot to grab a bite to eat or sip on a drink during warmer weather. It's got two garage doors in place of two walls on either side of the entrance, and they roll 'em up when the weather is right. It's the best feeling to sit on that patio and get the mix of the AC blowing from the inside and the warm weather of the outside. Kind of like riding in your car with your windows down and AC blasting in the middle of the summer.

This time the three of us skipped the patio and sat up at the bar so I could get a clear view of the TV (and Kobe's butt). I ordered a Newcastle (Gasp! A Beer! I admit, I like the sweet carmel-ly flavor of this one), as did IronWoman. SpiderWoman was thoughtful enough to order some dessert and share it with two willing taste-testers. She ordered the S'more Cheesecake, and it wasn't the first time for either of us. The two of us had gone to the Garage earlier in the week with coupons in hand for a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free” special. Now that’s a real special. We shared two appetizers and the same cheesecake. She was more impressed with it than I was… having had better cheesecake at places like Tower Café, and even the Cheesecake Factory. Not to say this wasn’t good… it’s just not fall-out-of-your-chair amazing. The crust wasn't graham-cracker-crunchy enough for me, and the marshmallow topping didn’t taste enough like a marshmallow. It could have used a good torching on top to give it that campfire taste. However, with a nice drizzle of chocolate sauce across the top, the flavors did all blend together for a sweet treat. Especially after two beers. Yup, I drank TWO beers.

We stayed at the Garage for the rest of the second half, and lucky for the two Women, the Lakers won. If they hadn’t, I don’t think I would have been game for number three of our 3 for 1 special.

2 down, 1 to go....

3 for 1 Restaurant Special

Ooooh if only the 3 for 1 special was as cheap as it sounds. My 3 for 1 restaurant special did not involve the enjoyment of 3 restaurants for the price of 1. It was more like 3 restaurants in one night. That's how the Saturday of my three day weekend went.

SpiderWoman, another friend and I went out on Saturday night to celebrate all things Lakers. OK,I was the only one interested the Purple & Gold out of the three of us... but that was still good enough for me. SpiderWoman has absolutely no interest in basketball, and the other friend enjoys all sports. Not only does she enjoy watching athletes... but she's one serious athlete herself. So much so that from here on out she'll be called IronWoman.

SpiderWoman, IronWoman and I started out our night at DeVere's Irish Pub on L Street between 15th & 16th Streets. This spot opened up earlier this year, and has been packed ever since. The owners (three guys just as white as me) have said they were looking to open a place just like a pub in Ireland: an extension of one's living room. Perfect! My living room is my favorite place to watch Lakers games... so the three of us waddled inside.

There are two main parts to the Pub: The front has a long bar, and some booths and some pub tables & chairs. If you walk past the front onto the back, there's some more tables and a little bit shorter bar... but there is great service back there. That's where we plopped down, with a large flat screen in plain view. For a drink I opted for a Snake-Bite. A Snake-Bite is half beer, and half hard cider (perfect for me because I'm not so big on the beer). IronWoman had a NewCastle, and SpiderWoman stuck with soda. As for grub, I was saving room for whatever else was coming up that night... and the two Women ordered an Irish-American Grilled Cheese to split. I've had this one before, seeing that I am grilled cheese connoisseur. It's made with Dubliner and American cheeses, and served with a tomato on it (which I usually add anyways). The Dubliner cheese has one of those super-melty consistencies that gets all over your face and hands and whatever else gets close to it. The 'wich is made on your choice of bread... but everyone knows the crusty Sourdough is the best (even if it does cut up the roof of your mouth). This masterpiece also comes with your choice of "Chips or Crisps." The "Chips" are fries and the "Crisps"are potato chips. It's a little backwards, but makes sense if you remember the "Chips" in "Fish and Chips" is actually fries. Both are yummy here either way... the "Chips" being large wedges, served on the crispy side.

Two Snake-Bites and some left over fries later I was ready for a change. It was half time in the game... and when the Lakers changed sides... so did we. We went to the other side of the block to a family favorite.

1 down 2 to go...

The Best Mornings Ever

OK, I'm still working backwards on last weekend's adventures in food. So before there were spiders, milkshakes and burgers... there were coffee and magazines.

My absolute favorite thing to do on a weekend morning (on the rare occasion I am actually in town), is to wake up, walk down to my favorite coffee spot, buy a few mags, and sit back and read and people watch. That's just what I did, and this time joined by my spider killing friend, who from here on out shall be called SpiderWoman.

SpiderWoman and I had plans to meet there at 10:30 Monday morning (remember, it was a three day weekend). I had woken up a early, and decided to go for a little stroll before our planned meeting time. So I laced up my new Nikes (bright LiveStrong Yellow.... LOVE them) and headed out the door. Normally I like to walk through the neighborhoods around me and check out the historic homes and see what's on the market, but Sunday I decided on an easy stroll around Capitol Park. 

I live right across from the park, and if you walk the path all of the way around it, it's just over a mile. That's why it's a favorite for runners and walkers alike. Plus, there's only two spots where you might have to wait at a crosswalk (both are entrances to the Capitol's underground parking garage). Anywho, I started my walk around there, and observed the following: a wedding in progress (the Rose Garden is a constant merry-go-round of weddings in the warmer months), a horse taking a potty break (CHP offices patrol the park on four legs), and a tourist yelling at a homeless person. Ah, what a beautiful day.

Thirty minutes later I made it to my destination: Peet's Coffee. Oh Peet's, how I love thee. I got stuck on Peet's after trying their sugar-free-nonfat mocha. If you think it sounds less than appettezing, that must be because you've tried the same thing at Starbucks. If so, you'd be right. BUT, this version of the 195 calorie drink (medium, no whip) does not taste like chemicals, as its counterpart does. This one tastes like the real thing. So much so that the first couple of times I ordered it and tasted it, I went back to them and asked if they were sure they made it sugar-free-nonfat. They assured me it was, and I have been a loyal drinker ever since. 

Now the best part about the Peet's that I frequent, is that it's built in this complex that takes up an entire block between J and K streets. It's part of the MARRS (Midtown Art, Retail and Restaurant Scene) building. There are nine different businesses that open up onto a huge wooden deck. Peet's is on the end of the building, and therefore gets a nice large chunk of the deck, with MARRS supplied chairs and tables. This is the perfect place to sit down with your drink, as evidenced by the steady stream of people rotating out of the tables with their dogs/lovers/friends/laptops/small children. 

SpiderWoman and I stepped inside to place our orders. They already knew what I wanted (they always do) and started my order right away. SpiderWoman ordered a hot chocolate and savory ham and cheese muffin to boot. Once we got our orders we stepped outside on the glorious deck. Of course the tables were all taken, so we wandered down a bit and took a seat on a bench. We chit-chatted and I tried a bit of the muffin. To her dismay it wasn't warm (and Peet's advised they did not have a microwave), but still pretty tasty. It wasn't so much a muffin as a really dense bundle of goodness. It had small chunks of ham, and the amount of cheese inside made it really thick. Probably not the healthiest choice, but worth the calories. 

After SpiderWoman left I headed right next door to Newsbeat. I'm pretty sure Newsbeat has every magazine ever made, and can print up any Newspaper that is published. I like to go in and scour the fitness section (wishful thinking), home section (more wishes) and local publications. This time I picked up Sacramento Magazine (where I read about Burgers & Brew), and Sactown Magazine.

Magazines in hand and sugar-free-nonfat-extra-hot-mocha in my belly, I opted to head back home rather than wait around for a table to open. So I walked back, fully satisfied with what I had accomplished already that day. After all, it's was a holiday. The fact that I even got dressed was a miracle in itself. Little did I know I would nearly die that night (see below).

Starting From the Bottom

So let me tell you (all two of you, three if I count myself) about my last great adventure of the three day weekend. Don't worry... you won't miss anything. I'll work my way backwards. I know you were worried.

Anyways, on Sunday I had promised myself I wasn't going to eat crap and wasn't going to spend money on crap. Lord knows I had done that enough already. So when I read about a new restaurant JUST down the street from me-- owned by the same people that run Crepeville (you'll def hear more about that)-- I knew I couldn't resist. The place is called Burgers & Brew, and served just that. It just opened about a month ago, next to stand-by's R15 and Cafe Bernardo. Also, its located right underneath some awesome condos that just opened, and are practically all sold (think exposed brick walls, ducting, plumbing, huge windows, roof-top deck, floor to ceiling kitchen cabs). Back to the food...

So I stopped by and ordered at the counter. I later found out they have table service in the evenings. And by later I mean a coupe of hours later when I went back for more (More on that sad story tomorrow. It has something to do with spiders). I ordered a Bacon-Jalepeno Cheeseburger. It came with regular fries, so I of course upgraded to garlic fries. Let me tell you about these garlic fries. They were the best. Ever. They weren't like fries you get at other places, with the garlic chunks so big they burn your mouth. I want to say they were made with crushed garlic (or at least it was the best mincing job I've ever seen), and fried up extra crispy. The garlic flavor didn't overwhelm when I bit into it, but instead the garlic taste lingered a little longer(sexy!). Oh and word to the wise: If you like ranch dressing with your fries, I hope you like Hidden Valley. Straight out of the bottle.

The best part of the fries were that I saved them until I was done with my burger. That meant that all of the grease and juice from the burger (there was A LOT), got all over the fries so they tasted like garlic-burger-fries. The burger itself was impressive. Not going to say it's the best I've ever had (that goes to The Squeeze-Inn), but it might now be Top 3. It was extra juicy and greasy and cooked to order (medium for me). The burger was garnished by bacon (hard to go wrong), marinated jalepenos (tasted more like regular), and a jalepeno mayonnaise (masked by the flavor of the regular jalapenos). Despite the marinated jalapenos not being marinated, the burger was still really good.

As for the "Brews" in "Burgers & Brews," I stuck with a diet coke. But they DID have a large selection on tap and an even larger in bottles. And wine too! This is def a place my dad and brother are going to LOVE. Good food. Good drinks. Good location. Good patio. Sold.

AND, the best part of the whole thing: The food wasn't crap and the prices weren't either ($11 total). So I didn't break my promise :)