Once Upon a Time...

Does wine tasting two weekends in a row make me an alcoholic? If the answer is yes then what you are about to read is entirely fictional.

Once upon a time there was this red-headed freckled girl who had some friends in high places, and a family that loved her. Those friends invited her to join them on a Grape Escape to downtown Sac, and that family got her a ticket to Wine in the Pines.

The Grape Escape is an grand wine-food-beer-dessert tasting event in the enchanted Cesar Chavez Park. The cost is normally $40 in advance or $50 at the door (or gate)… but my friends and I got in free because that’s how we roll. Actually, that’s how my friend rolls, and I just waddle along. Said friend—Mrs. Burgundy—got me, my parents, and Mister in for free last year too. Even if it wasn’t free… I’d splurge on a ticket. For an evening of entertainment, drinks and food, it’s worth it. With more than 100 wineries and restaurants flaunting their stuff, you can try wines you wouldn’t find anywhere else (for better or for worse) and try food from restaurants that people normally pay $40 for a first course at.

Now if I were a true wine connoisseur I would be able to 1) use words like undertone, tannin, and robust, and 2) recall what I drank . But I’m not. I know when I like something, and when I don’t. Take, for example, an adorable elderly couple running a booth all by themselves. However, upon closer inspection the adorable couple wasn’t adorable, they were cratchety. The bottle labels looked like they were printed on a home computer, and the wine tasted like it was brewed in their bathtub-- the same one that they get their sponge baths in.

But something I did like was the Renwood Syrah: nice and grapey without being too sweet. Or the Carvalho Petite Syrah Port: thick and sweet like your normal port but with a much more winey-flavor (you like that description? What did I tell you.).

Of course what I enjoyed the most, was not the grape concoctions… but the one made with bad carbs and cheese. The food there was the perfect remedy to a belly begging to be filled with something other than fermented fruit. My favorite (I may have gone back for seconds) was Mason’s Mac & Cheese. Mason’s is a higher-end restaurant on the corner of 15th and L Streets. Their Mac & Cheese is made with the shell-shaped pasta and multiple cheeses that goop together and get all stringy when you shovel a forkful of it towards your mouth. The tastiest part is that it’s topped with herby breadcrumbs… mmmm.

The food wasn’t all a “hit.” We stopped at the MIX booth, and tried what we thought was bruschetta. Unfortunately for Mrs. Burgundy, it wasn’t pink tomatoes perched on top of a tortilla chip, but pink tuna. Now I’m big tuna fan, but this was little on the warm side… and didn’t quite go with tortilla chips. It was a big disappointment because a lot of good could have come from that tuna. Someone needs to call PETA and let them know of the crime against that poor fish. It would have been much better served in a Sea Steak Poke Salad (Call me PETA! I’m free for PSA’s!). I was sad MIX's food wasn't so hot, because their restaurant/club is one of the hottest new places in Sacramento. It's on the roof above DeVere's, and has an open-air dance floor and great seating for a night full of people watching.

Well I’ve already told you how this chapter ends… with a trip to Mikuni’s for more drinks, a stop at Rick’s Dessert Diner and another pit stop at DeVere’s for more drinks with friends (I may have left that part out earlier. It was fun. Packed, but fun.). Now any good fiction writer will leave their reader with a cliffhanger to make them want to read the next chapter... So how’s this for a cliffhanger: A short time after that event I was drinking wine from the butt of California.

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).