Thursday, July 29, 2010

Smashburger & Sundance Bar - Birth of Shooter

5500 Sunrise Boulevard
Citrus Heights, CA 95610-7641
(916) 966-1562

Sundance Bar & Restaurant
5430 Sunrise Boulevard
Citrus Heights, CA 95610-7805
(916) 962-1666

Many years ago a gambling man was born. He loves beer (I mean, really loves beer), political satire, all things electronic, and his Steam Buggy. Shooter wanted burgers, so Shooter got burgers!

We headed to Smashburger in Citrus Heights. They are a new chain that has come to town and has had great reviews. The burgers were delicious and the fries may have been even better! Portions on the fries are small so just start with the larger size. I tried the Veggie Frites, deep fried asparagus, green beans and carrots. They were not great. Too many carrots, super stringy and over cooked green beans. Next time I'll just go straight for the fries. Oh by the way, the sweet potato fries are great!

Back to the burgers. You can pretty much build your own with lots of different options or go for a favorite combo. We had the Barbecue Bacon Cheeseburger and it was delicious! Also have some salads and shakes that looked great, but no one tried.

Now the crappy thing. No liquor license. Seriously. They have beer mugs and it's listed on their menu but no actual booze yet. They served Bump's soda in a beer mug to make up for it, which was cool.

I can't get my panties in too much of a wad over the dryness of Smashburger because we ended up at the Sundance Bar about a block away and it was awesome! It's probably been there since the dawn of time. It's dark and old, has all sorts of crap on the walls and it's just perfect! That giant beer in the photo below was $7. The rum and cokes came in a pint glass and were $6. They even have a full menu that they cook next door. It was perfect for Shooter's birthday because Johnny Cash was all over that jukebox. We need to come back here as the main event next time.

On the baby front, our procreating drunks went into labor on Thursday (that's classy!), and birthed out our newest addition the next day. Yay to Sluggy & Captain Crabby Pants!


Thursday, July 22, 2010

Twilight Thursday, Rockabilly & Rat Rods

3930 West Land Park Drive
Sacramento, CA 95822
(916) 808-5888

The Zoo stays open late on Thursdays in the summer and has cars shows and live music so we thought we'd check it out. Plus they are were serving chicken and waffles which is one of our favorites. The meet up for Tweeter people (#zootweetup) was also happening and since most of us are on Twitter we got in for half price and hung out in the VIP area. Mostly for the seating and free donuts.

The chicken and waffles were actually really good. Color us surprised! The waffle was large and fluffy and the chicken was well seasoned and moist. Only thing is we would have like the chicken with a bit more kick and we miss the cinnamon in the waffle like Holy Chick n' Waffles does it. (Now closed, RIP Holy Chick n' Waffles). The beer & wine selection was thin, but that didn't stop us from having some.

Nickel Slots played and they were pretty good. The Rat Rod car show was also cool, it brought out the cool Rockabilly chicks so that's awesome. Only complaint for a Thursday venue is that it ends at 8pm. The littlest drunks Fusserella thought this was the best Thursday ever, mostly because she got to walk around with mommy and see giraffes and tigers and flamingos. Usually she just has to stare at us all night. Not nearly as cool.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Pangaea Two Brews Cafe

Pangaea Two Brews Cafe
2743 Franklin Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 454-4942

Oh hello beer, how have you been? With a great selection of craft, local and Belgian style beers, Pangaea has become one of our favorite places to go. Last time we were here it was Sacramento Beer Week and crazy busy! Not as many shenanigans this time.

They have added some great chalk art to the walls including a full menu of what's on tap, bottled, their food selections, quotes and art work. It's a nice addition and changes the feel from just a coffee shop to more of a place you come back to after work too.

Scribby (that's me) and RobotGoBen got there a little early and camped out at the bar for a starter beer. Ended up meeting everyone at the bar and talking beer with the owner Rob. After a while our new friend Todd bought a bottle to open and share and that started the trend. I think 5-6 bottles were bought and poured for everyone to taste. It's a great way to try a lot of beer with knowledgeable folks.

Some new menu items are cheesy bread and nachos. The nachos are perfect with beer of course, and are a solid choice. Drunks had a variety of different sandwiches and beers including quite a bit of Odonata Saison, Affligem Noel, Allagash Black, Duvel Green, Pliny the Elder and Two Rivers Cider.

We had some extended drunks family there as well, Ricardo, Julian and Tina all stopped by to visit which is always nice! They did their part by writing in the journal and they seem nonplussed by the number of weird, inexplicable and junk-related drawings. Nicely done.

In the sports world, we watched the headbutting incident in the Tour de France that got Mark Renshaw thrown out. Quite entertaining.

Journal Tidbits
"Did you point at me and call me aggressive!?" - TheJenny to Jarla

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Tres Agaves Mexican Restaurant

1182 Roseville Parkway
Roseville, CA 95678
(916) 782-4455

Tres Agaves is located in the fancy-schmancy Fountains out in Roseville. As expected it is more expensive than a normal Mexican restaurant and they have an upscale and expensive tequila list, but I have to say it was pretty good! I think part of the price is the scene you get to be part of, so it that's what floats your boat then you'll be fine. If you want to avoid the slight meat-market/douchebaggery that comes along with the location - I think you could go elsewhere.

They serve beans, rice & tortillas family style in the tiniest little bowls and many drunks commented on how stingy they were, but in the end very few of the bowls were actually empty. Either way, it looks bad on the table. Much better to have few, larger bowls.

I only tried my food which was a very delicious chile relleno. An actually chile roasted with cheese, mushrooms and corn. I loved it. The margaritas were very good - chips, salsa and drinks at Tres Agaves would be a great happy hour option.



Thursday, July 1, 2010

Fireside Lanes Bowling Alley

7901 Auburn Boulevard
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
(916) 725-2101

Oh bowling. You haven't changed a bit. It's been years since I've seen you in your ancestral home of Fireside Lanes, but it's just like I remember! Plastic seats, fabric sunset mural, moist air, sparkly blue ceiling, cheap food and an aroma of desperation and excitement. I've missed you.

It was league night but we scored an emergency lane that they could take back from us if a league lane broke down. We took turns bowling games, getting cocktails and eating mighty fine bowling alley food. Beers and rum & cokes seemed to be the favorite along with giant baskets of fries, nachos, burgers and BLTs. All of them were tasty.

Bump was the big winner bowling a 138, with Mr. Chem coming in at a very close 137. The rest of us ranged all the way down to 81. I blame the booze.