This Friday marks the start of the 22nd year of one of Sacramento’s favorite holiday traditions: the opening of the downtown ice rink. To celebrate, the Downtown Sacramento Partnership is hosting a free community skate day on Friday at noon at the rink located at 701 K Street.
Can’t make it until after work? No problem. The rink stays open until 10 p.m.
Watch for special promotions throughout the holiday season, like Tuesday Family Skate Nights, theme nights every Thursday and My58 Fridays featuring half-off skate rentals.
But the best promotion might be on Mondays when from 4-8 p.m. you can bring a receipt from any downtown restaurant and get a free skate rental in exchange.
Happy Holidays!
Historic Holiday Fun On Folsom’s Sutter Street
Guest post by Maria Kniestedt
If you’re looking for an old-fashioned holiday tradition that has a little something for both big and little kids alike, head to Historic Sutter Street in Folsom tomorrow, December 7 from 6-9 p.m. for the annual Christmas tree lighting.
This year’s event will include free train rides and photo opps with Santa (bring your camera!). In addition to singing from local groups and an ice rink just waiting for you to glide across, Snooks Chocolate Factory will host a hot cocoa booth where you can purchase a steaming cup of holiday tradition. Or head down to their store—only one block from the festivities—and experience a mug of traditional hot chocolate, made from steamed milk and gourmet chocolate.
And, since you’re there, why not make a night of it? Enjoy dinner at any one of the fabulous restaurants along Sutter Street, such as Sutter Street Steakhouse, Chicago Fire, Samuel Horne’s Tavern, or two new restaurants – Hampton’s on Sutter and the Fat Rabbit Public House.
Celebrate the holidays with food, family and some good old-fashioned fun!
Panera Bread Bakery-Cafe
Today, new menu items debut at Panera Bread Bakery-Café, along with some returning holiday favorites. On Monday, the SacFoodies had an opportunity to feast on these new menu items, which included the Natural Steak Chili with Sweet Cornbread Crumble, Cornbread Muffins, Mint Crinkle Cookies, Peppermint Mocha, Peppermint Hot Chocolate, Frozen Peppermint drink, Holiday Bread and Cranberry Walnut Panettone. (Um, yes, we do love our jobs!)
Here’s what we thought:
Liz Conant:
The Panera Bread delivery to the office was a perfect way to kick off the week. We all sampled a bit of everything including Steak Chili with Cornbread, Macaroni and Cheese (can you say heaven??), and an assortment of cookies, sandwiches, baked goods and even hot and cold seasonal beverages. But what really kept me sneaking back to the kitchen for more was the Holiday Bread, a sweet egg dough mixed with honey, golden raisins, cranberries and chocolate chips and then filled with chopped apples and cinnamon sugar and drizzled with icing on top. It’s a well-known fact that food usually doesn’t last long around this office, so it’s no wonder the whole loaf was gone in a matter of hours!
Vanessa Smith:
I’ve always been a fan of Panera Bread since my days of living in Atlanta, so I was thrilled when they started popping up in Sacramento about six years ago. Over the years, I’ve tried many different things on Panera’s menu and of course found a few go-to favorites, but I had yet to feast on their Macaroni and Cheese until the other day and, boy, was I bummed when I realized I was missing out on that ooey-gooey shell pasta goodness all this time! It easily makes its way to the top of my mac ‘n cheese list (which is really saying something since I consider myself a true connoisseur)!
Cecily Fuller:
I can’t pinpoint exactly when it happened, but at some point over the last few years Panera became my go-to source for chicken noodle soup during the winter. It never fails to warm me up on those all-too-common rainy Sacramento winter days, and I love the fact that I can trust the ingredients to be fresh and all-natural. So, my ears (and appetite) definitely perked up when I heard mention of another promisingly tasty and comforting winter menu option from Panera: All-Natural Steak Chili with Cornbread. The combo of slow-cooked brisket slices, ground beef and veggies topped with cornbread crumbles is the epitome of comfort food for me and will undoubtedly make its way into my winter soup rotation this year!
Edie Campbell-Urban:
One of my favorite things about November is when all the seasonal holiday drinks become available. I just can’t seem to get enough of that warm peppermint flavor. When Panera Bread invited us to taste some of their holiday specialties, I jumped at the chance to taste their peppermint mocha and I was not disappointed! Not only did it wake me up with its caffeine kick, but it also tasted exactly like a chocolate peppermint candy bar. It is safe to say I have discovered my morning mocha of choice :).
John Armato:
The Mint Crinkle Cookie is a cookie that takes me back to my childhood. Not delicate and nuanced. Not subtle and sophisticated. Not refined or reserved. Just big bites of mouth-filling chocolate mushy goodness. When you’re a kid, cookies should be soft. They should be rich. They should make a mess of your mouth and leave a trail on your fingers. They should be big and fun and make you grin. That’s what this cookie is and does. It isn’t so much a cookie as it is the very definition of “cookie.”
To say we enjoyed Panera’s new menu and holiday foods would be a vast understatement. We loved them! In fact, I’m having trouble deciding which item was my favorite, since I couldn’t get enough of the chili, the cornbread muffins, the holiday bread or the chocolaty mint crinkle cookies.
If you’re now wishing you could have Panera delivered to your office for a meeting or special occasion, wait no longer. Simply call Shauna in Catering (916.770.9333), and she’ll have everything delivered to your door. They’ve catered everything from a 5 person to a 1,500 person event – now that’s a lot of crinkle cookies!
We love Panera’s food, and we also love their commitment to providing food to the needy in our community. They are an important partner to Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, raising $20,000 each year, as well as donating both their time and bakery items.
If you’d like to try this new yummy Panera goodness, you’re in luck as there are now 7 locations in the Sacramento area. An 8th location will open on Thursday, December 2 in Citrus Heights at the corner of Sunrise Blvd. and Greenback Lane, which will be their first drive-thru location on the west coast. Let’s just say I know where I’ll be on December 2nd – I hear some mint crinkle cookies calling my name.
Sacramento:
3571 North Freeway Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95834
2731 Del Paso Road
Sacramento, CA 95835
3328 El Camino Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95821
901 Howe Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95825
Elk Grove:
8519 Bond Road
Elk Grove, CA 95624
Roseville:
1850 Douglas Boulevard
Roseville, CA 95661
916 Pleasant Grove Boulevard
Roseville, CA 95678
Citrus Heights: (opening Dec. 2)
7901 Greenback Lane
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
Holiday Foodie Idea
Looking for a gift idea that doesn’t require hitting the mall? This Saturday, learn how to make Holiday Gifts from the World Kitchen at the East Bay Restaurant Supply Culinary Center in Sacramento. Join Chefs Carolyn Kumpe, Dani Luzzatti and Shankari Easwaran to learn how to prepare delicious and simple recipies that make great handcrafted gifts. Some of the foodie treats you will learn to make are Vanilla Bean Spritz Cookies, Spiced Tomato Chutney and Herbes de Provence. At the end of the day, you will have created a gift basket full of treats to take home!
The class is Saturday, December 13 from 11:30am to 3:00pm. Call (916) 440-0623 for reservations.
Holiday Events In and Around Sacramento
Tis’ the season to get out and about! The SacFoodies will be scouting out the very best of Sacramento’s holiday fun and have compiled a quick list of the happenings below. Will we see you there? Take a moment to let us know what’s on your holiday itinerary. Any fun events that we might have missed?
Leave us a comment telling us which holiday activities you will be attending this year and keep checking the blog for reviews of events around town!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Lace up! The ice skating rink at the Westfield Downtown Plaza is already open! But don’t worry if you don’t make it in before the holidays, the rink stays open until January 19.
Don’t miss the annual tree lighting ceremony in Old Sacramento at 6pm on November 26. Entertainment starts at 5:00 p.m. on the corner of Front and K Streets.
Get in a workout before Thanksgiving dinner and help raise money for a good cause by participating in Run to Feed the Hungry on November 27. The race starts at 9:00 a.m. on J Street near the CSU Sacramento entrance – sign up now!
Pick up some tips for decorating your own home by checking out the Holiday Home Tour in East Sacramento the weekend of December 5-7. This year, five elegant homes in the Fabulous Forties area will be open for viewing.
Ready to get cooking? Then you don’t want to miss East Bay Restaurant Supply’s 2nd Annual Winter Culinary Expo. The event will include live cooking demonstrations throughout the store and thousands of culinary items will be on sale at markdown prices!
Want to get all your holiday shopping done in a six-block radius? Check out the Midtown Holiday Celebration and Shopping Day on December 6th. This event includes shopping specials, live music, a tree-lighting ceremony and horse and carriage rides!
After spending the day in Midtown, cruise over to Old Sacramento to watch the Lighted Boat Parade at dusk on December 6.
Take the whole family to see the Sacramento Ballet’s performance of The Nutcraker. The show runs December 6-23 this year and includes more than 400 children in the performance.
On December 13, learn how to make holiday gifts and foodie hostess presents at the East Bay Restaurant Supply Culinary Center. Bonus: take home your finished products to share with family and friends!
Why not let the kids do the cooking? Sign them up to learn how to bake holiday treats on December 13 at the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op. Or, check out the Family Holiday Art Extravaganza on December 7 and the whole family will learn how to make unique holiday gifts!
Baby, it’s cold…so head to the theatre! Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn star in Four Christmases out November 26, Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody are The Brothers Bloom out December 19 and Christmas Day delivers Adam Sandler in Bedtime Stories and Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Bring on the popcorn!
Staying in town for New Year’s Eve? Catch the Sky Spectacular Fireworks Show in Old Town Sacramento. Festivities including fire jugglers and live music will begin at 6pm and end with a bang with fireworks at 9pm and midnight.