Who doesn’t wish Cinco de Mayo came twice a year? Well, you might have been thinking all along that you were celebrating Mexico’s Independence Day each year on May 5th, but we’re here to clear up the confusion and give you one more reason to celebrate. While Cinco de Mayo is a much smaller holiday commemorating Mexico’s victory at the Battle of Puebla, today is the true Mexican Independence Day!
Two local Sacramento restaurants are paying tribute to this important day in Mexico’s history with special events tonight:
Zocalo –Stop by tonight starting at 5 p.m. when the party will just be getting started with a mariachi band, norteno-style music, folklorica ballet dancers and a professional jimador demonstrating the tequila-making process. Zocalo’s main event will be a tasting hosted by Herradura featuring their top-shelf tequilas.
Ernesto’s Mexican Food – Don’t miss out on Ernesto’s drink specials, live mariachi performances, music and dancing all evening long.
Zocalo
1801 Capitol Ave
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 441-0303
Ernesto’s Mexican Food
1901 16th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 441-5850
"Soda" or "Pop"?
Are you a “dinner” or “supper” kind of person? How about a “sub” or a “hoagie” lover? A Sac Foodies colleague recently asked us to share our experiences with food regionalisms in an effort to help a friend writing a book on the subject.
Mimi Harrison is an author of books that celebrate words and language. Her latest work-in-progress focuses on regional differences in words and phrases for the same thing. Thinking back to sayings we had heard before, we realized there are probably many more regionalisms out there than we’d imagined. We’ve come up with a few good ones, and now it’s your turn. Let us know what food regionalisms you’ve heard by leaving a comment on this post or on our Facebook page – we will choose one as the winner of a copy of the Sacramento Zagat guide!
Liz – “I had always used the word soda until I moved to Colorado and everyone said pop!”
Cecily – “I’ve heard some East Coast friends of mine refer to ordering a pizza as ‘ordering a pie.’”
Brooke – “I grew up in Colorado with California parents and I called everything a soda or a coke, no matter the brand.”
John – “I grew up with ‘grinders’ in Kansas City. A meatball grinder was a meatball sandwich made by cutting off one end of a long Italian roll, hollowing out the middle, stuffing it with cheese, sauce and meatballs, shoving the end back on, then toasting it briefly. Yummy, melty, hot, good.”
It's Greek to Me: Symposium Restaurant
I love Greek food. To me, there’s nothing better than a warm pita overflowing with gyro meat, tzatziki, cucumbers, feta and some kalamata olives on top. Yum.
Lucky for me, a close friend of mine just happens to be Greek and knows everything about the cuisine. So, when she asked me to try out Symposium, a Greek restaurant in Davis, with her as my guide, it was a no brainer.
I spent the entire afternoon wondering what I would order, pretending that I wasn’t going to fall back on my typical gyro entrée. Imagine my surprise when she nonchalantly mentioned in the car ride to the restaurant that Symposium has the best pizza in Davis! I was at a loss for words and, honestly, a little nervous. Pizza? Greek?
When I walked inside, I immediately noticed the restaurant’s full name: Symposium Restaurant & Pizza House. Once I saw the framed pictures of Bill Clinton and Arnold Schwarzenegger on the wall, I figured this place had to be pretty good.
The menu has a full selection of typical Greek dishes plus 26 gourmet pizzas – talk about a tough decision. After carefully looking over the menu while snacking on the delicious pizza dough bread rolls, we decided to split a Gyro Platter and the Spankotiropizza. The platter was simple but perfect with generous servings of gyro meat, cucumbers, tomatoes, homemade tzatziki and warm pita pockets.
As for the pizza, well, let’s just say the Italians have some serious competition! The combination of three Greek cheeses and Spinach on the homemade dough delivered a taste that was out of this world. While munching away, we couldn’t help but notice the surrounding tables’ pizza choices, each one looking like its own unique masterpiece. Somehow, I think we may have left the restaurant still hungry for more!
All in all, Symposium Restaurant & Pizza House knows how to remain true to classic Greek cuisine while also stepping over the culinary edge to make fantastic gourmet pizza equal to any Italian pizzeria.
Symposium Restaurant & Pizza House
1620 E 8th St
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 756-3850
Yummy Yogurt Café
With all the new frozen yogurt shops popping up around town, I must admit that I have officially become a froyo-fanatic. So, you can imagine how excited I was to hear that Yummy Yogurt Café was opening in Westfield Plaza, just a few blocks away from our office! Yummy Yogurt’s Grand Opening will be this Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., with a ribbon cutting ceremony by Council Member Rob Fong at 12 p.m., snacks, and yes, 20% off froyo for all attendees. See you all there – I’ll probably be first in line!
Cooking Class Round Up
I love cooking, but I’ll be the first to admit that my skills could use a little coaching. Granted, there are times when I take that first bite of a hard-labored dinner, and I’m just about convinced that I could open my own restaurant in New York City. Then, there are those other nights (probably more often than not) when that food hits the trash can, and I hit the take-out menus. Well, East Bay Restaurant Supply wants to help us discover our inner chef with “La Cucina Italiana”- a month of great cooking classes led by prominent Italian chefs.
Friday August 7: The Chef Apprentice – $75
From 5:30 pm-9 pm, join Sacramento Bee’s Stuart Leavenworth – known as The Blogging Chef Apprentice – to learn how to cook Italian specialties created at Oliveto’s. Share Stuart’s “lessons learned” and enjoy a classic Italian meal.
Saturday August 8: “Hot Italian” Pizza Class – $55
Hot Italian’s own Fabrizio Cercatore of La Spezia, Italy will share secrets of authentic pizza making from 11 am-1 pm. Learn everything from dough making to firing in a hands-on lesson followed by lunch.
Friday August 14: Antipasti with Gianluca Varenni – $55
A native of Asti, Italy, Gianluca will provide instruction in creating typical Northern Italian antipasti and composing an appetizing arrangement of light summer fare from 6 pm-9 pm.
Saturday, August 15: Gnocchi with Carolyn Kumpe – $45
East Bay’s own resident Chef, Carolyn Kumpe, will host a lunch hour hands-on gnocchi making class from 11am-1pm. Learn the technique for creating perfect gnocchi every time. Enjoy class, lunch and your very own potato ricer for your gnocchi-making pleasure!
Wednesday August 26: Chef Denise Pardini – $95
Participate in a hands-on cooking lesson and prepare a delicious, four-course Piemontese meal using traditional ingredients with a modern twist. Then, dine with Chef Pardini, a California native who owns and operates La Vita Vera Cooking School in Sinio, Italy.
For more information or reservations visit East Bay Restaurant Supply. You can also purchase your tickets online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com.
East Bay Restaurant Supply, Inc.
522 North 12th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.440.0623