The Hideaway

2565 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95817
(916) 455-1331

Like we predicted when we first came here in December 2010 - we came back fast! We had a very small group last time because of the impending new year, but this time we tipped the scales at 17 drunks! We took over every free-standing table to make our (now famous) awkward cross table configuration.

As it was before, they staff light so the food took quite a while but it's worth the wait. The updated menu was fun to look over, but our old standards were still on there. The size of the burger was smaller, but it was the size of a person's head before...so no big deal.

The jerk chicken wings were outstanding! The fried green tomatoes (missing the microgreens and lemon wedge), were just okay. We asked about that and they said they were just out for the night. I can forgive that, but it really made the dish. Their version of BBQ sauce on the formerly named Cowboy burger is so unique, I really can't even describe it.

Also, they had a small supply of Christmas ale left and for the beer connoisseurs, that was a nice little treat.

Basic Urban Kitchen & Bar

112 Pacific Street
Roseville, CA 95678
(916) 749-4641

This place is always on our yearly rotation. With a really amazing happy hour, it's a great place to drop in after work for a super thin crust pizza and a cocktail. It is more bar than restaurant and sometime is can be very empty. But the staff is friendly so grab a seat and the place will fill up around you.

It was our largest attendance ever! 22 drunks made up of regulars, sometimes drunks, family and quite a few first timers and out-of-towners. NakedBob even imported some cycling friends from Washington.

Their pizza is rolled out on a cookie sheet so you can imagine how big they are! Their thin crust and toppings, ranging from mashed potatoes to white sauce, always hits the spot. The only bummer is that they staff light so 1-2 bartenders and a couple guys in the kitchen and that's it. You can to wait a while to get your stuff and this night, they only had bottled beer which they started running out of later in the evening. I stick with the hard alcohol and they don't run out of that.

Topic for the evening:
Pop-a-squat or cop-a-squat when referring to squatting down to take a leak. Our finally tally was 9 to 8. Not exactly definitive.

And we had a poem from visiting Washingtonian cyclist too:

I drink beer
because I'm here.
I have no fear
of the broccoli spear.
I brought all my cycling gear
and hope I can steer
the long road that is near.

Hot Italian, Birth of RobotGoBen

1627 16th Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

(916) 444-3000

The birthday boy was craving pizza and what better place to go than Hot Italian for a large party. Usually we have a hard time getting a table big enough since they don't take reservations so this time we did something completely different. Group rental!

For $20 per person (hold judgement until the end), we got the huge round table in the back that comfortably handled our group of 14. They filled the giant tub in the middle with ice to chill our wine, prosecco and water and brought out two bucket-sized salads for the table.

As we were busy talking and drinking bottles of wine and carafes of beer they just started bringing out a chef's selection of pizzas. Four at a time until we called uncle. Which means we ended up eating 12 pizzas and 2 dessert pizzas as well. It was an unbelievably good value, everyone could talk to each other and we sort of forgot there was a whole restaurant of people around us.

The birthday boy ended up being gifted quite a lot of booze too and that all ended up in the ice tub display. We enjoyed ourselves so much we practically shut the place down after they started putting chairs on top of tables. If you have a group of 12 or more, I highly suggest giving this a try.

Gatsby's Diner

2598 Alta Arden Expy # 3

Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 977-0102

We happened upon this place back in September of last year and had a great time chowing on some of the juiciest burgers in town. They closed early and we ended up spending some quality time with the chef and server.

Since then that douchey blonde guy on the Food Network aired his show featuring Gatsby's and they are packed with people! When I called in the reservation for 14 they remembered us and were excited that we were coming back. Even going so far as to yell out greetings when we walked in.

Even better, when we showed up and needed a table for 18 and there wasn't a single other open table they still were cool about it and helped us out. Burgers for 18? Damn we are just trouble.

This place is one of the few that will actually cook your burger to order even if you like it still mooing a little. So when chef told us they would all be medium well (since it was such a large party), we were kind of disappointed. I understand why they do that since it's one guy cooking and keeping track of almost 20 burgers is sort of impossible, but it still sort of sucked. When I finally got mine, it was a perfect medium so no complaints here.

The burger was just as juicy as we remember. Some folks were split on whether these are better than the Hideaway in Curtis Park or not. Either way, they are tasty. They only have bottled beer so they started running out part way through dinner, but lo and behold, someone made a beer run and Blue Moon was available by the time we got our food.

Our advice? Definitely check this place out if you like burgers. Just don't bring 17 of your friends with you.