We know it’s still a couple of weeks away, but we’ve already been hearing a lot of buzz about the 7th Annual Raley’s Grape Escape event coming up on Saturday, June 6. The event, which will be held at Cesar Chavez Plaza located at 10th and J Street, bills that it will feature more than 100 of the Sacramento Region’s award-winning wineries and restaurants. The event will also include live music, art displays and a chef’s cooking competition featuring chefs from some of our favorite restaurants, including Grange Executive Chef Michael Tuohy, Chef Taro of Mikuni and John Gurnee of Mason’s.
Tickets are on sale now for $40 or can be purchased at the event for $50. Tickets include a souvenir wine glass, wine tasting, food sampling and the opportunity to watch the Chef’s Challenge.
If that weren’t enough, The Citizen Hotel is also offering a package deal for $150 which will include a one-night stay at the hotel, valet parking and two Grape Escape tickets – sounds like a deal to us!
We’re hoping a few of us Sac Foodies can make it to the event, so we may be able to give a recap in the future. If you’ve ever attended Raley’s Grape Escape leave a comment and let us know how it was!
Archives for May 2009
The Winner of the Zagat Guide Is…..
We hope everyone enjoyed the weather over the long weekend and as promised we’ve picked a winner for the Zagat guide giveaway! We used the random number generator as usual and the winner is Gregory who told us that his favorite patio dining spot is La Provence in Roseville and that he especially enjoys the 5 course wine pairing and the Hangar steak – sure sounds good to us! Stay tuned to Sac Foodies because we will continue to tell you about our favorite outdoor dining spots as the Patio Dining Series continues! Thanks to those of you who commented!
Patio Dining Series: R Street Eats and Drinks (oh- and a Giveaway!)
By now I assume everyone has at least heard about the redevelopment of the R Street corridor, if not yet visited themselves. With new restaurants and hot hangouts like Burger’s & Brew, R15, The Shady Lady and Magpie Caterers Market & Café, the short strip of R Street between 14th and 15th Streets is certainly becoming a draw for midtown regulars and the after-work crowd, alike.
Ideal for Sac’s warm summer nights, this strip is a patio-diner’s haven. Each locale features a decent amount of outdoor sidewalk seating and of course, serves up refreshing beverages to help beat the heat.
I recently visited Magpie Caterers Market & Café to do a menu tasting – my fiancé and I have been looking into them to cater our wedding in November. Our tasting actually consisted of many items that are on the Café’s regular menu and we were extremely impressed. The Farmstead Cheese and Fruit Plate was heavenly – fantastic as a wedding hors d’oeuvre or plate to share over a glass of wine with friends at the café after a long day of work. From the Petaluma Chicken with Sweet Wine and Grapes to the Central Valley Black Rice, Magpie focuses on fresh local ingredients combining to create simply delectable seasonal flavors. Co-owners Ed and Janel took the time to carefully explain the sourcing of ingredients for each dish and one can’t help but appreciate their passion for sustainability.
Following the tasting we grabbed a bottle of Amador County wine from Magpie (yes, all of their wines, beers and even a mighty fine blood orange hard cider are locally sourced, as well) and parked ourselves on the café’s sidewalk patio to enjoy the great weather, discuss a few wedding plans (can’t get away from it!) and enjoy the bustling R Street ambiance.
Since we’re kicking off our Patio Dining series, comment below or on our Facebook page and tell us what your favorite patio dining spot in Sac is to win a Zagat guide! Get your comments in by Tuesday at Noon and we’ll announce the winner that afternoon.
NYC: A Week in Food
Last week I was lucky enough to spend five days in New York City to celebrate my sister’s graduation from NYU. Of course there were a few important events on the schedule including two graduation ceremonies and a Broadway show or two. But anyone who knows my family knows that what the schedule really revolves around is food – where we would eat and when was planned out weeks in advance via many e-mail discussions and plenty of Open Table reservations. As my dad likes to say, “It’s not every day we get to dine out in New York City!” Here’s a look at a few of my dining highlights from the trip:
For Mother’s Day, my sister and I treated our mom and our aunt to brunch at the historic Café des Artistes. Famous since 1917 for both the food and the clientele, our meal did not disappoint. Highlights were my Brioche Croque Madame which included prosciutto, gruyere cheese, tomato and a sunny side up egg on brioche and the French Toast with Strawberry Preserves.
It seemed that every time I was trying to work up my appetite for the next meal, my above-mentioned aunt wanted to venture into a cupcake shop! Not that I was complaining after I tried the amazing cupcakes from three different cupcake bakeries in as many days. Our stops included Crumbs Bake Shop, Magnolia Bakery and Buttercup Bake Shop. I think the overall winner was the Lemon Crème from Magnolia Bakery (pictured above).
For the first of two very special graduation dinners, my sister picked the trendy Stanton Social in the Lower East Village. This is the type of restaurant where you order many small plates to share. I can’t possibly remember everything I tried but the meal included Kobe Beef Sliders, Red Snapper Tacos, Crab Cakes, Lobster Roll, Wild Mushroom Risotto Cakes and one of the best Macaroni and Cheese dishes I’ve ever had (must have been the bacon)! But my favorites (pictured above) were the Hangar Steak n’ Tots, (how can you go wrong with a delicious bite of steak atop a crispy potato cake?), my Pineapple Martini and our dessert – Sugar Donuts with Three Dipping Sauces and an “Espresso Bomb” Ice Cream Dish.
On our last full day in the city, my dad surprised us with a celebratory lunch at Le Bernardin. If you’re a food lover like I am, (or a Top Chef fan), then you’ve probably heard of this highly-acclaimed seafood restaurant and the man behind it all, Chef Eric Ripert. I didn’t work up the courage to take pictures of my food until the dessert course when most of the lunch crowed had emptied out, but I think these desserts are so picturesque that they would have made the cut anyway for photos to feature here. Before my dessert, I had Crab Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms with Black Truffle Sauce as my appetizer and Butter Poached Salmon served very rare as my entrée – this was hands-down the best salmon I’ve ever had – it literally melted in my mouth. At the end of the meal we were pleasantly surprised when an extra dessert was delivered to our table with “Congratulations” written on the plate in my sister’s honor. This was definitely a meal I’ll remember for a long time to come!
Finally, after all the amazing fine dining (and cupcakes) it was truly fitting to cap-off the week in style – yep, I’m talking about a Super Dog at the brand new Yankee Stadium where the NYU graduation was held. After the ceremony and my hot dog breakfast of champions it was time for me to hop in a cab and zip off to the airport – see you next time New York!
Early Tightwad Tuesday
We just learned about this great deal today and couldn’t resist sharing it with you as a day-early Tightwad Tuesday. Paragary’s Bar and Oven is offering a three course meal for just $20! But you’ll have to hurry because the offer is only good through this Wednesday the 20th. All you have to do to take advantage of this special is call the restaurant for a reservation at 916-457-5737 and mention the code “iEat.” It’s that simple! We’ve tried many Paragary’s restaurants but haven’t had a chance to review Paragary’s Bar and Oven on Sac Foodies yet – so we’d love to hear about your meal if you take advantage of this great deal!
Paragary’s Bar and Oven
1401 28th Street
Sacramento, CA 95816