You’ve probably known this about us for quite a while, but we love sushi. We always have. We always will. And in a town with SO MANY great options for sushi, everyone seems to have their favorite sushi spot.
Mine just so happens to be Lou’s Sushi on the corner of 23rd and P St. in Midtown. Their menu is full of creative rolls and fresh nigiri and sashimi offerings. Not to mention the array of seriously good specialty dishes (I’m talking about you, Secret Tofu). They also have a nice selection of sake and beer to sip on while you enjoy you’re the food crafted by Lou’s talented staff.
If you are a vegetarian or vegan, you’ll love the fact Lou’s has an entire section of the menu dedicated to specialties, sushi and even nigiri to fit your dietary needs. Even if you eat meat, you shouldn’t overlook this section of the menu!
Here’s what we ordered during our trip to Lou’s!
Vegan Mushroom Tempura – remember when I told you to not overlook the vegan options? These Oyster mushrooms are coated in panko breadcrumbs, fried and then tossed in a house made sweet and sour sauce.
Stir Fried Green Beans – The name says it all. Green beans stir fried in a savory soy sauce and topped with sesame seeds. These were cooked to the perfect firmness!
Secret Tofu – The cat’s out of the bag on this one. Tofu is fried up crispy and smothered in a creamy garlic sauce. This tofu was one of the highlights of our meal. If you think you don’t like tofu, this will make you reconsider.
Veggie Tempura – Crisp and flavorful, fried to a light golden brown. Everything was cooked to perfection! Each veggie had a nice crunch without being underdone.
Chef’s Choice Nigiri – Nigiri is simple, flavorful and perfect for sharing. I never know what fish I want, so I always opt for chef’s choice.
The M-N-M – Tempura shrimp, spicy tuna, with unagi, avocado, masago & Lou’s amazing sweet-n-spicy sauce.
The Firecracker – The jalapenos on top should not be taken lightly! If you’re into spice, this is the roll for you.
And finally, dessert! We opted for tempura strawberries over vanilla ice-cream because how could we not?
The best part is, we’re giving away THREE 15% coupons to Lou’s on our Instagram this week! Go to @sacfoodies, find our Lou’s post and tag 2 foodie friends that you’d like to share an awesome meal with. The giveaway ends this Friday at 5:00pm PST!
No purchase necessary to win. Winner must be following @sacfoodies and will be randomly selected. A winner will be picked at random and announced on Friday, 12/22.
Archives for 2017
Looking for a Great Cause on #GivingTuesday?
Now that we’ve eaten our weight in turkey (and stuffing, sweet potatoes and pie) and slept for three days, we’re back and ready to talk about more food! Well, actually, we’re back and ready to talk about food literacy!
If you’re familiar with #GivingTuesday, you’ll know that the Tuesday after Thanksgiving is a day where people come together to donate to organizations that mean the most to them. In honor of this week’s upcoming #GivingTuesday on November 28, we are spotlighting one of our favorite local organizations and pro bono client – Sacramento’s own Food Literacy Center. As SacFoodies, we believe that food literacy is central to the farm-to-fork world, and we believe that all future foodies deserve the chance to learn about where their food comes from.
Food Literacy Center works to teach kids about how food gets onto your plate, where it comes from, and what types of food should end up on your plate at every meal. They inspire kids all over Sacramento to learn more, cook more, and eat more fruits and veggies, ultimately helping them be more healthy and in touch with their roots (wink).
A #GivingTuesday donation to Food Literacy Center will help teach children how to identify healthy veggies, make healthy snacks, read a recipe, and more. With more than 50% of Sacramento kids taking part in free and reduced lunch program and 40% struggling with childhood obesity, it’s more important than ever to give them skills to identify foods that are easy and healthy alternatives.
This Giving Tuesday, donate to Food Literacy Center and help kids all over Sacramento grow into bonafide foodies!
River City Chili Cook-Off 2017
If you’re looking for a way to fight off this November chill, The River City Chili Cook-Off is next Saturday, November 18th at Sacramento’s own Ace Of Spades! There’ll be chili and cornbread galore, and it all goes towards a good cause.
This year’s competitors include Burgers & Brew, Cafe Bernardo, Morton’s Steakhouse, The Golden Bear, Fat City and The Red Rabbit, among others! Cocktails will feature Tito’s Vodka and Preservation & Co. mixers for the over 21 crowd.
Think of it as Thanksgiving prep – just a little (or a whole lot) of chili to whet your appetite before the big day! Use code YELPOLGCHILI for $5 off tickets when purchasing through Ace of Spades or River City Chili’s webpage.
For more information on tickets and competitors, visit here.
Sac Burger Battle 2017
Burger. Battle. Burger. Battle (Sing this to the tune of “Jaws”). Do you ever have that dream where you’re surrounded by battling burgers? No? Oh well. Either way, a very real and non-dream Burger Battle took place at Sacramento’s Cesar Chavez Park this September, and SacFoodies were on the scene to report back.
The most incredible part about Sac Burger Battle 2017 (besides the burgers, obviously) was the camaraderie and overall joyous atmosphere. Everyone working the booths was laughing, slinging jaw-dropping burgers and taking the time to chat with attendees. The booths were set up so that there was plenty of room to maneuver, grab drinks and chat with your friends. ALSO, the plates provided came with a built-in drink holder! We had never seen a plate like this before and were dumbfounded – it meant you could hold your plate and drink in one hand while grabbing as many burgers as possible with the other – but we digress. Read on for our top choices from the throw down:
Laurel:
My absolute favorite burger (which comes as no surprise to anyone that knows me) was from South. It managed to be both soft and crunchy and ended with a nice pickle-y tang.
Cheyenne:
It was seriously hard to pick a favorite, but the way that the flavors of the Nixtaco burger mingled together, helped it step about in front the of the rest! The meat was cooked to perfection, the bun held up with all of the delicious ingredients.
Jessi:
My favorite burger was from Bacon and Butter! Their burger had bacon two ways, blended into the patty, and on top! Paired with crispy shallot rings and black garlic aioli, it was a 10/10 from me. I even went back for seconds!
Between the craft beer, cider and cocktail selection, Sac Burger Battle boasted an impressive array of local beverages to choose from. And between the three of us we have a cider, beer and cocktail enthusiast, so it was the perfect mix of drinks!
The proceeds from this event went to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, which dedicates itself to finding cures to Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis. As much as we love food and drinks, we especially love eating and drinking for a cause. It was moving to see the community come together for such a worthy cause and showed the power of the food and beverage community in Sacramento. Over the past 6 years, Sac Burger Battle has raised over $200,000 for the foundation! If you’re inspired to contribute, you can still buy the official Sac Burger Battle t-shirt, with all proceeds being donated to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
Hands down, Sac Burger Battle 2017 was one of our favorite events of the year to date. We got to eat delicious burgers, try craft drinks of every type of drink and commune with our fabulous foodie friends. Our only complaint? We got too full to try every burger! Guess we’ll have to keep trying burgers all over Sacramento . . . we really are dedicated to our work :).
We hope you all get the chance to attend Sac Burger Battle next year, but for now, make your very own Burger Tour around Sacramento! All restaurants who participated are listed below – let us know what your favorite is!
To learn more about the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, click here.
To learn more about Sac Burger Battle, click here.
To check out @BurgerJunkies (Sac Burger Battle Founder and burger enthusiast extraordinaire), click here.
Bogi? Beer-ga? Beer Yoga!
by Laurel Harrison
Personally, I’m a big fan of mash-ups. Ramen burritos, that one mash-up episode of Glee, you name it. I think that a lot of fun can come out of combining two already-great things and making them into one GIANT fantastic thing – please see macaroni and cheese or breakfast burritos for reference.
For this reason, the yoga and beer trend intrigued me when it came on the scene. I like yoga. You already know that I like beer. So what’s not to like about the combination of the two? I wasn’t sure how it would feel to have a pint in that “super-clean-just-finished-stretching” afterglow, but I was 100% ready to give it a shot.
The Beer Yogis, led by the fabulous Mikki and Melissa, are currently traveling the West Coast on their 2017 Road Trip, bringing beer and yoga to the masses. I had the chance to take their class this weekend at Yolo Brewing in West Sac during their Sacramento stop of the tour.
The yoga class itself was held before the brewery opened in the production space behind the taproom. Surrounded by the hum of equipment and oddly comforting smell of brewing beer, we got onto our mats for a one-hour yoga party. Mikki and Melissa clearly know the ropes – they had a microphone (for talking over the equipment), perfectly chosen music and an awesome flow. I’ve taken yoga on and off throughout the years, and it felt so good to get back on the mat with two pros leading the group.
After the class, we all got to choose our beer (I went with the Oktoberfest, a personal favorite from Yolo) and had the chance to stay around and chat. I loved it that Melissa and Mikki made the effort to come and talk to every person who practiced that day, making it feel like a full community event and experience, not just a one-and-done yoga class. I got to ask them both some fun questions about their practice, their love for beer, and themselves!
Favorite style of beer?
Melissa: Anything barrel-aged.
Mikki: Hoppy doubles.
Favorite Yoga Pose:
Melissa: The transitions between poses. (I can confirm – she was great at this!)
Mikki: Downward dog as an overall go-to, especially when they’ve been on the road.
Favorite brewery ever visited:
Both: The Chicago Lagunitas brewery, where they’ve taught on their Beer Yogi road trips.
I was especially interested on their take on the commercialization of yoga – did they think that it was a bad thing to approach yoga as a purely physical work out? Is there something lost in approaching yoga through unconventional settings (like a brewery)? Both Mikki and Melissa responded that they believe that anything that gets someone on the mat is a positive. Even if you start yoga for the workout aspect, your practice can transform as you grow and the more mental elements will begin to transfer to your lifestyle as you continue. I appreciated hearing this point of view from two yogis themselves, and completely agree that whatever gets you on the mat (especially a beer) is a great way to go. Mikki and Melissa both attested that they see new people trying yoga in their classes because of the beer aspect, and I think that’s awesome.
Whether you end your practice with a stout or an IPA, yoga and beer is a mash-up I can definitely get behind. Huge thanks to the Beer Yogis for introducing me to this wonderful practice, and I’m keeping my eye out for the next time they’re in town.
If you want to learn more about The Beer Yogis (and see when they’ll be in your town) see their website and tour schedule here!
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