Sac Foodies

By Julie Ficker                         

Java City’s Nick Tucker pours samples of French-pressed Ethiopia Sidamo

This month’s Second Saturday Art Walk served up a smorgasbord of art, food, fashion and music for culture-hungry Sacramentans.  My boyfriend Joe and I met up with fellow Sac Foodie Melinda and her husband Johnnie at our place, downtown, and enjoyed pre-festivity margaritas as we charted our course for the evening.  Our first stop was Java City’s 18th & Capitol café. Java City is a beloved FH/Sac client, and we had a great time at a coffee tasting class where we learned how to “slurp” coffee, the best way to assess a coffee’s flavor.  Very similar to wine tasting, we were educated on how to evaluate the aroma, acidity and body of three different coffees from Africa – the birthplace of coffee.  The group favorite was Ethiopia Sidamo, a highly aromatic and full-bodied coffee that was softly acidic with a sweet flavor.   In other words, it was delicious!     

 
Johnnie, “Big” Joe and Melinda sniffing and slurping

After the caffeinated tutorial, we were ready to stroll the streets also buzzing with incredible energy.   We crossed the street to Dragonfly to check out local artist James Cameron, a Second Saturday staple that is always a must see. Next followed a trek towards the recently relocated Phoenix Gallery.  On the way there, we had to swim through a swarm of people outside Zocalo which was celebrating its three year anniversary, mariachi band, dancers and all.  

As we sambaed our way through the crowd and crossed over to the corner of 18th & L Street, entrancing jazz music lured us into the courtyard of the chic new 1801 L Street Apartments, where we found a trove of captivating artwork and a flock of people carrying wine glasses.  We were instantly inspired to take a detour into L Wine Lounge.  We were able to score a table on the terrace where we could enjoy the music; we were soon joined by fellow Second Saturday enthusiasts and friends Stefani and Michele, who filled us in on their adventures at the Phoenix Gallery, and I do mean adventure, but that’s a story for some other time.   We ordered the seasonal cheese and cured meat plate,  gnudi, calamari, French fries and of course…many glasses of wine!  The weather was perfect, the music was soothing, the food delicious and the evening carried on with laughter-filled conversation.  Looking back, the night was nothing short of a masterpiece and I am looking forward to the September sequel! 

The L Wine Lounge courtyard has the buzz of a Manhattan eatery