This Thursday, April 17th is Mexican night at the Shack, and Section R will be playing!
Chef’s Choice Menu is $18 per person.
The Shack opens at 6pm with food and music around 7pm.
Hope to see you there!
The Shack
5201 Folsom Blvd.
(916) 457-5997
Archives for April 2008
Second Saturday – Suburbs Style!
There’s nothing better than experiencing the Second Saturday Artwalk downtown, but if you’re looking to change up your routine and visit some new galleries, check out Old Fair Oaks Village.
Located where Fair Oaks Boulevard meets Sunrise Boulevard, Old Fair Oaks Village feels like taking a step back in time. All of the galleries, restaurants, shops and businesses are situated around two parks – Village Park and Plaza Park – as well as an open-air theater known as the Plaza Park Ampitheater. Chickens run freely as you cross the streets, passing one historic-looking building after another.
This Saturday, don’t miss the following Old Fair Oaks Village galleries that will be open for Second Saturday:
New ArtWorks Gallery at 10239 Fair Oaks Blvd.
I have a special reason to visit New ArtWorks Gallery this month. My sister will be exhibiting a new collection of paintings titled “Saturated Color”!
Chroma Gallery at 10030 Fair Oaks Blvd.
Phill Evans Studio and Sculpture Park at 7958 Entrance Street
CJe’s Art and Fiber Printing at 10239 Fair Oaks Blvd., Ste C
Old Fair Oaks Village also sports some wonderful places to eat, drink and be merry. All are within easy walking distance of each other and the galleries. Feed yourself, but according to the signs – don’t feed the chickens!
The Village Bistro – Sacramento Magazine says it’s “modest in décor, but extravagant with its menu.” Located at 7984 California Avenue
The Slocum House – A beautiful setting and a bit of a splurge, but worth it. Located at 7992 California Avenue
Carmelita’s – Great Mexican food in a family-style setting. Fills up early! Located at 4071 Howard Street
Sunflower Drive-In – If you’re looking for open-air organic, this is a Village fave. Located at 10344 Fair Oaks Blvd.
Fair Oaks Coffee House & Deli – Delicious deli offerings plus Java City coffee. Located at 10223 Fair Oaks Blvd.
The Stockman Club – A local bar described as a “real life Cheers.” Located at 10219 Fair Oaks Blvd.
He is His Mother’s Son
These were not your run-of-the-mill beets. These were glorious things, procured fresh from the farmer’s market and turned into the sweet and tangy beings that beets are meant to be. But, on my three-year old’s dinner plate they were cause for freaking out.
Rewind some twenty-odd years. I was utterly devastated that Aunt Tress would ruin perfectly good scrambled eggs with the egregious addition of green peppers. Or, that my mom – my own flesh and blood – loved me so little she would put onions into <insert name of any old dish here.>
Saddled with these memories, I scooped the beet off his plate and ate it myself thinking the kid really did have it all wrong. But, then there was the trouble of the beet juice. It was now on his pork chop. And, rather than see his little world crash, I wiped the beet juice from his plate. Whew. Peace was restored at the dinner table mere seconds before his father flipped his ever-loving lid.
I wondered at that moment, if he would remember this episode in his young life. I wonder if he knows that everyday I catch glimpses of myself in him. I wonder if he would ever learn to love beets. I smiled as I already knew the most likely answer…to this day, I still won’t eat an onion.
An Incredible Dining Experience? TRU.
A few weeks ago I was in Chicago working with our Sunsweet client on a few localized events. One of events in particular, I must admit, ended up being more pleasure than work: dinner at TRU. We had a group of eight that included several of Chicago’s top nutritionists and foodies, so where else could we take them but the very best: Gale Gand and Rick Tramonto’s restaurant, TRU on North St. Clair Street in downtown Chicago.
We worked with the restaurant’s chefs a few weeks ahead to create a special menu that would showcase Sunsweet’s diverse line of dried fruit and juice products. Working in the food industry, “official recipe taster” has magically made its way onto my list of job duties; I guess sometimes fate works in our favor. Our four-course dinner was a true culinary experience and I can now join the unofficial, yet extremely loyal, TRU fan club.
We started off with poached chicken, red raisins, baby lettuce and pine nuts..
Second course was steamed fluke, mango sheet and jalapeno, with lemon-grass liquid gel.
For our entrée, I must admit that I had my doubts of how much I would enjoy pork belly. It’s a menu item that probably wouldn’t make it into my personal selection, but I’m glad it was on the group menu because it was fantastic. The presentation was fun as well: a group of servers surrounded the table and simultaneously poured a bright green sauce over each of our pork belly plates as the executive chef explained to our table that the pork had been cooking for three days. The results were a firm and very tasty plate of pork belly, prunes and watercress consommé.
To “prep” us for our dessert, the pastry chef surprised us with a small custard and dried blueberry plate topped with plum juice sauce and garnished with Pop Rocks. Yes, Pop Rocks from 1987, and yes they are still just as exciting, even at an ultra sheek restaurant.
For dessert we had a fresh plum juice gelatin topped with a ginger chamomile custard and PlumSweets (dark chocolate covered prunes).
They must know that this is the type of restaurant where you just don’t want dinner to end. Insert Mignardises, from the old French word mignard, meaning pretty or delicate, and is essentially an after-dessert dessert. Yes, that’s right, dessert part two. And when you’re at a restaurant like this, you find room.
From the food to the incredible wine pairings and extremely knowledgeable and engaged staff, this place is first class. Some places are all hype. TRU is truly not one of them.
Sacramento & Co Dining Deals
News10’s Sacramento & Company has been partnering with local restaurants to offer 50% off gift certificates for some time, and I finally gave it a shot. Actually, being inherently skeptical of deals that don’t present the “catch” upfront, I must admit it was my boyfriend who decided to give it a try. Needless to say, we received our $50 gift certificate and besides a $3.50 shipping fee there were no catches involved: the total came to $28.50 for a $50 certificate! I’m a bargain shopper through and through so will definitely be using this deal again to try local restaurants.
The current featured restaurant is Sushi Unlimited (despite its name it’s not one of those all-you-can-eat joints) and according to the News 10 Web site there are only 26 certificates left. There’re locations in Davis, Folsom and Roseville, and if you go I highly recommend the Reggae Man roll.
For more information on Dining Deals visit the News10 Web site.