Sacramento Restaurants, Nightlife and Entertainment

[TWAK]

you guys prolly like plays and shit, and tonight I had to go to some play at SCC. I got a flyer with times of other productions, and I would toss that shit in a second but I'm guessing some of you might want info?

[otnemarcaS]

Originally Posted by sugit

More cool stuff on the way....I've been Jonesing a Brazilian Steakhouse for a while now.

_____________________________________________________________

Get Out Your Gaucho Hat

Brush up on your Portuguese. Come next summer, a churrascaria is to move into a former fitness center at 14th and H in downtown Sacramento. Basically, a churrascaria -- pronounced shoo-ras-ka-ria -- is a Brazilian steakhouse inspired by Portuguese methods of barbecueing. Meats on skewers customarily are cooked over charcoal or gas, then carved tableside directly onto plates. Service is "rodizio" style, or all you can eat for one fixed price.

Taka Watanabe, who is teaming up with Peter Kwong to open Viva Rio, says the restaurant will be true to the traditional churrascaria, right down to the customary grilled chicken hearts, gizzards and liver. One unusual touch, however, will be the sushi that is to be on the menu. Watanabe and Kwong are partners in Taka's Sushi in Fair Oaks, Kru in midtown Sacramento, and Ju Hachi, another Japanese restaurant to open in midtown Sacramento early next year. Though Watanabe is closely identified with Japanese cooking, he grew up in Brazil, not leaving Rio de Janeiro until he was 26. He's long talked of opening a Brazilian steakhouse here, a dream he expects to fulfill with the debut of Viva Rio in June or July, though restaurant projects are notorious for running behind schedule.

I am currently in Rio De Janeiro on vacation and reading this wets my appetite. I have visited several Brazilian steakhouses here so far and it is great to see Sactown will finally open a churrascaria. A vegetarian's worst nightmare but bring it on. Hope they'll serve authentic caipirinha cocktails there too. Been drinking quite a bit of these here in Rio.

[Nawlijispower]

Brush up on your Portuguese. Come next summer, a churrascaria is to move into a former fitness center at 14th and H in downtown Sacramento. Basically, a churrascaria -- pronounced shoo-ras-ka-ria -- is a Brazilian steakhouse inspired by Portuguese methods of barbecueing. Meats on skewers customarily are cooked over charcoal or gas, then carved tableside directly onto plates. Service is "rodizio" style, or all you can eat for one fixed price.

Taka Watanabe, who is teaming up with Peter Kwong to open Viva Rio, says the restaurant will be true to the traditional churrascaria, right down to the customary grilled chicken hearts, gizzards and liver. One unusual touch, however, will be the sushi that is to be on the menu. Watanabe and Kwong are partners in Taka's Sushi in Fair Oaks, Kru in midtown Sacramento, and Ju Hachi, another Japanese restaurant to open in midtown Sacramento early next year. Though Watanabe is closely identified with Japanese cooking, he grew up in Brazil, not leaving Rio de Janeiro until he was 26. He's long talked of opening a Brazilian steakhouse here, a dream he expects to fulfill with the debut of Viva Rio in June or July, though restaurant projects are notorious for running behind schedule.


I love these places!! They had a couple of them in Provo, UT and SLC. Really good meat! I cant wait.

[brandon12]

Tuli Bistro at 21st and S opened this week. I checked them out for dinner last night. I had the risotto-stuffed , oven-roasted quail.

It actually feels a little roomier inside than I would have imagined by the looks on the outside. Definitely not a big dining room, but it seems to work well for them. I think I counted 16 seats inside (almost all of those at the bar), possibly another 16 outside. I enjoyed the cozy atmosphere. If that's what a neighborhood bistro is, then I like neighborhood bistros. Their menu is fairly brief, with a few salads, a few pizzas and a few small plates. But every choice on the menu seemed thoughfully done. I'd recommend checking it out.

[otnemarcaS]

From Bob Shallit


Free lunch: Speaking of giveaways, Matt and Fred Haines are planning a juicy one to celebrate the imminent opening of their new Suzie Burger restaurant.

The eatery, in a former service station at 29th and P streets, originally was to open in June but there were delays.

"Now, because we're opening in the holiday season, we're going to give away 1,000 of our burgers," Matt says.

The free meal will be on Friday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. – or until the burgers are gone, whichever comes first.
Matt and Fred – owners of six other local restaurants – will be on hand to help cook and serve the free burgers, made using the "secret recipe" from the original Suzie Burger (near Sacramento's Executive Airport) that the brothers frequented as kids.

The giveaway includes fries and a soda – and an old Suzie tradition: pickles and carrots with every burger.

The restaurant officially opens Jan. 3. Starting that day, bring your wallet.

[ozone]

brandon12 did you like the food?

[brandon12]

that's funny. I didn't even mention if I liked the food or not. I did. I'm not a very sophisticated foodie, but the meal delicious, and only about $15 if I remember. Although being the pig I am, I had a greek salad before the quail. I would rate the salad a 6, the quail an 8 and the gnarled head old-vine lodi zin a 9. I guess when you add up the two glasses of wine and food and tax and tip, it came to over $50. So I guess I won't be going there 4 or 5 times a week...

[wburg]

I'm planning on trying out Tuli soon (I heard about an ahi tuna melt that sounds swell), but imagine that Suzie Burger will be more my speed--both are within short walking distance of my neighborhood. I like the fact that they didn't do much to the building but fix it up and give it a paint job. While my tastes in old buildings tend to go a little older, mid-century design has its own appeal.

I did try the Whiskey Wild Saloon, in the same neck of the woods. The burger cost $8 (with fries) but it's really, really big and it's pretty good. I was a bit worried about Whiskey Wild but they seem to be just fine, their security guys are friendly and ever-present and it's nice to see the old Alamo freshly painted and busy.

[innov8]

Downtown Plaza goes Fat free
By Mark Anderson of the Sacramento Business Journal

Friday, December 21, 2007

The Fat family is closing its Fat's Asian Barbecue in the food court of Westfield Downtown Plaza. The closure will create a fourth vacancy in the
food court, leaving a lone pita restaurant in the back half of the court as of next month.

The Asian barbecue features Thai, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese cooking styles and sauces. The location is busy at lunch, but evenings are very slow, said Jerry Fat, treasurer of Fat Family LP in Sacramento.

Fat said the family might try the concept someplace else.

Red or white with that dog?
The partnership of Four Angels LLC is seeking a beer and wine license for their Capitol Dawg, a hot dog joint at 1226 20th St., the space next to Jack's Urban Eats in midtown Sacramento that has been home to a few barbecue restaurants over the past decade.

The partners aren't talking about the place yet, but it could open in January. An interior remodel includes some pretty nice seats, and the location has a great patio space. The building used to be an auto shop.

Joe Marty's remains benched
Next weekend will mark the third New Year's Eve without Joe Marty's.

The iconic home to Sacramento pizza and a shrine to Sacramento Solons baseball remains closed from a fire in summer 2005. There was some work done on the building at 15th Street and Broadway during the fall, but that was not remodel work, just structural repairs required by the city of Sacramento. The fire-damaged building had become an unsafe structure.

David Garibay, owner of Joe Marty's, has been hoping to work out lease terms with the building's owners, but it's been 30 months, and negotiations haven't progressed with Blumenfeld Enterprises Inc. of San Francisco.

The fire was started in the early morning of June 25, 2005, accidentally by a restaurant employee in a storage room. Flames and smoke spread quickly through the kitchen and dining room of Joe Marty's. Fast response from Sacramento firefighters saved the building, which was close to being engulfed.

The fire closed the block for a day. The neighboring Tower Cafe opened the next day, followed by Tower Theatre a few days later.

The Tower Theatre building opened in 1938, and gave its name to Tower Cut-Rate drugs, the launching point for Tower Records. Former major-league baseball player Joe Marty opened his restaurant and bar in 1954, serving pizza. One of his first cooks was Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson, who went on to start a pizza parlor near the university in Sacramento, featuring silent movies and Dixieland Jazz. All those jazz players made Sacramento home to the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee every Labor Day weekend. Shakey's Pizza went on to become a large pizza chain.

[TowerDistrict]

Westfield...

What a crazy history of spin offs from the Tower building!!

--

Whatever happened to Table 260 that was going in 800J? I haven't heard a
thing lately and I know they have been working on the space. But damn, it's
been a long time.

[wburg]

I was talking with some old-time Southsiders who were regulars at Joe Marty's, Shakey Johnson used to come in sometime and give Joe Marty a hard time because originally he had offered to make Joe a partner in his new pizza business and Joe turned him down.

I just got back from Suzie Burger: they were doing a 1000-burger giveaway today. They had the menu posted: hamburgers $1.95, cheeseburgers $2.95, an additional $2.25 for fries and a soda. Most of the rest of the menu was in a similar price range--the really spendy stuff was the cheesesteak for like $7.

The cheeseburger was mighty tasty. The fries were actual fries diced from an unpeeled potato, and the order came with carrot sticks and pickles. The converted service station looks pretty nice, with lots of pseudo-googie Jetsons-esque posters on the wall and fairly Spartan decor.

They're going to open for-real in the first week of January, and I think I'll be back. Regular hours are 11 AM-10PM Sun-Thu, 11 AM-midnight Fri-Sat. I still want to go check out Tuli, but I think I'll be hitting the Suzie Burger more often.

[creamcityleo79]

Originally Posted by wburg

I was talking with some old-time Southsiders who were regulars at Joe Marty's, Shakey Johnson used to come in sometime and give Joe Marty a hard time because originally he had offered to make Joe a partner in his new pizza business and Joe turned him down.

I just got back from Suzie Burger: they were doing a 1000-burger giveaway today. They had the menu posted: hamburgers $1.95, cheeseburgers $2.95, an additional $2.25 for fries and a soda. Most of the rest of the menu was in a similar price range--the really spendy stuff was the cheesesteak for like $7.

The cheeseburger was mighty tasty. The fries were actual fries diced from an unpeeled potato, and the order came with carrot sticks and pickles. The converted service station looks pretty nice, with lots of pseudo-googie Jetsons-esque posters on the wall and fairly Spartan decor.

They're going to open for-real in the first week of January, and I think I'll be back. Regular hours are 11 AM-10PM Sun-Thu, 11 AM-midnight Fri-Sat. I still want to go check out Tuli, but I think I'll be hitting the Suzie Burger more often.

Any options for those of us who don't eat beef? I'd love to go. Maybe the fries are good enough for a visit!

[wburg]

The fries are indeed good enough. They do a veggie sandwich, I don't recall the price though.

[creamcityleo79]

Originally Posted by wburg

The fries are indeed good enough. They do a veggie sandwich, I don't recall the price though.

Price is not too important when you're talking about prices that low. We'll have to check it out!

[BrianSac]

We dined at Ella Friday night.
Here's my review:

Pain (bread): I always judge the quality of a fancy restaurant by the quality of their bread. It was either made in their ovens or it came from a very good bakery nearby and baked that day. French of course, or maybe it was Italian I have no idea. C'etait tres bien(it was very good)

Appetizer: Excellent shirmp and scallop Ceviche. (red onion, mango, parsely, other slight seasonings not aware of). It was the quality of a good Mexican ceviche you get on the beach in Puerto Vallarta.

Endive salad and a mixed green salad: Excellent dressings, very fresh produce and ingrediants.

Soupe: Potato and Leek Soup with bite size bits of potato. Horriable!!
It was an $8 can of soup. The entire salt contents of the Pacific ocean was the main ingredient. Did I say it was salty.

Mushroom Crepe: I took one bite and could not eat anymore. I am known for eating everything on my plate. I hate to waste food, especially when i am paying $12 for a pancake. I love crepes but the sauce was horriable and it ruined the crepe and the mushrooms.

Potatoe au gratin: Firstly, I would never order potatoes at a fancy restaurant. But, my beau could careless about fancy food so he orders stuff he is familar with. McDonalds, grilled cheese or a stouffers tv dinner, will do him fine. It was very very salty, the frommage(cheese) however was very good and it was crisp on the top.

The Dish they are known for: Papparadelle(italian pasta:wide egg noodle).The pasta itself was good. But, the prochutto, very very salty ham(sorry for the misspeling) and the other sauce killed the dish. A perfectly poached egg was sitting on top of the bed of Papparadelle and you are supposed poke it and swosh all the egg yolk around in the dish. Lets just say my brother used to do the same with his egg yolks and rice(we grew up on rice as a staple food) and it was good only when you were really hungry. Come on! Eggs and pasta cost pennies and the dish was like $13, lets just say it cost too much for a dish my brother would make when mom had to work late.

Noteable mentions: The Bar and Cocktails. They made all their drinks with very fresh ingredients, no pre-made mixers from a bottle you get at walmart. I had an excellent Don Julio margarita.......$13.50 for a margarita. Yikes, but it was good.

Wine: Large selection of wines. They have half bottles too. The Beau had a German Reisling; it was nice. I had a half bottle of French Fume...dry yet slighty sweet, a rare combination. They had a Good selection of Chardonnays and Cabs, mostly Napa County. Try the Rincon, 2004 or 2005, very good Chardonnay, SLO cnty. Also, they had French champange by the glass sometimes hard to come by, usually you can only get California chanmpange(sparkling wine) by the glass or if you want French you usually have to order the whole bottle.

By the Way: Gloria Ferrer Napa Champange(sparkling wine) is your best buy for champange this new year. If you like quality champagne for a good price, look for it at BevMo.

We did not have dessert.

Bon Appetite!

[BrianSac]

I should mention if I had not ordered the Mushroom Crepe (considered a Small Plate). I would have ordered an entree (large plate), either Lamb shank, or a Pork Chop. They, also, had white fish and salmon, and ny stripe steak or flank steak....none of the large plates seemed very interesting.

Hell, who cant make a pork chop taste good. These "new" fancy restaurants need to learn the old fashion way...go to France and learn how to really cook....its in the sauce!.

Oh they had seared tuna, again, a favorite of mine. But where is the expertise in cooking tuna....you buy a quality tuna and sear it. They also had americas version of Kobe beef, Wagyu beef.

Oh, the waiter was slightly knowledgeable, you can tell he did not have a passion for fine food or fine dining, not good.

[BrianSac]

Forgot to mention the names of the wines we actually drank.

Ladoucette Winery (France): a Pouilly-Fume (white) $26 half bottle.

Dr. Loosen Winery (Germany); a German Riesling (white) $11 a glass. Wine Spectator gave this 90pts.

Talley Rincon (California, San Luis Obispo Cnty). a Chardonnay (white). Forgot how much....$40 a bottle at wine store....so add twice that for restaurant price.

[BrianSac]

Ok, so we just got back from Willies Burgers on Arden and Fair Oaks.
For the price of my one Margarita at Ella's, we got two milkshakes, one Bad Boy Burger and a bag of fries. Need I say, We were more satisfied with Willies than Ella's.!

Bad Boy Burger: 100% charbroiled 1/4 lb beef burger w/Juicy onions, willie's sauce (i dont want know whats really in Willies sauce), mushrooms, garden accrutements.

Very good fries....salty...but fries are supposed to be salty.

Chocolate and Mocha Milkshakes were made from Vic's Ice Cream.

[SactownTom]

I had dinner at Ella a couple of weeks back with a group of 6. The food was very good and the interior space very well done. I really like the scallops and the short ribs and the oysters were outstanding. The wine room looked awesome.

I do think they need to rethink the "shared meals" concept. The tables are too small for eating family style and some of the smaller plates are really no more than 3 bites--I don't think it works with what they are trying to achieve.

[TowerDistrict]

Originally Posted by SactownTom

I do think they need to rethink the "shared meals" concept. The tables are too small for eating family style and some of the smaller plates are really no more than 3 bites--I don't think it works with what they are trying to achieve.

I totally agree. I always share my meal with anyone interested anyway,
so it's a bit redundant. What I really think Ella should do is switch to a
pre-fix menu and let diners make a few course choices. We ordered a
bunch of appetizers, small plates, side dishes and entrees and just ended
up making a weird mish-mash meal.

That said, I did think the quality of the individual ingredients was second
to none. And it is beautiful in there no doubt.

Hey Brian... you should post your review on Yelp, if you haven't already