Bonfire of the Drunks

Happy New Year!!

The Thursday drunks kept it classy by burning Christmas trees in a bonfire, eating nachos and hot dogs and hanging out drinking hurricanes. Hope you had as much fun as we did ringing in the New Year!

The Hideaway

2565 Franklin Blvd

Sacramento, CA 95817

(916) 455-1331

Some people are calling the Hideaway a dive bar. Others a tiki bar. They do cater to the tattooed, sometime rockabilly crowd and the place has a kind of tiki flare. The furnishings are sparse around the pool table with just a few tables, few booths and bar space. There's no windows and it looks divey from the outside, but it's not truly divey.

The first thing you notice is the really impressive menu. Burgers and fries and salad. Sounds basic, right? Well, not the way they do it. Giant, top quality burgers and salads with arugula, roasted beets and chevre. You will not believe how very un-divey the food is. We all loved our food from grilled cheese to pear and brie paninis and huge, juicy burgers. It can take a while to get your food but is worth every mouth-watering minute you wait.

The jukebox is quite phenomenal and probably the best one in Sacramento right now. Even if you don't particularly like a song, it all goes together so well. This is the type of place you want to hang out at. Bring some friends, get some drinks, grab a bite and stay a while. We will be back often!

Merry Drink/Christmas

Merry Drink-with-your-Family Day! Hope the booze helped with the crazy relatives, I know it helped me!

Shooter's goal for the day

Scribby's family wine bar

NakedBob starting off with a gin fizz

Many types of really deliciously bad for your Christmas foods

Jarla's family's "candlestick salad"... seriously!

Boxing Donkey

300 Lincoln Street
Roseville, CA 95678
(916) 797-3665

We always love the food and drinks at Boxing Donkey but this night was like a douchebag parade! Even started calling it the Roseville Shore. Man, it was tragic.

But on the up side, we had a lovely time eating the fabulous happy hour menu items which include small portions of shepard's pie, fish & chips, Irish spring rolls (they are so tasty), and drinking the specials. Happy hour goes until 8 pm which rocks!

We won't be back anytime soon since the crowd really put us off. I'm hoping it was just because it was the Thursday before Christmas and lots of people had it off. I would hate to see us miss out on the delicious wares of the Boxing Donkey just because the clientele sucks.

Eighth Annual Drinky Christmas

15 drunks, 3 types of fondue, countless bottles of wine, 1 pink elephant gift exchange and hours of fun. Damn, I really hope this is what everyone does for the holidays!

Caddy made a Thursday Drunks advent calendar! So awesome!

Someone invited Santa. He lost his pants later in the evening...and donned a candy cane schlong.

TheJenny actually baked her own bread for the fondue. Seriously, how cool?!

Thursday Drunks Cookie Exchange

The Good Doctors invited us to their shiny new home in Elk Grove! All we had to do was bake like child slaves.

Everyone brought a couple dozen cookies, homemade was best. And at the end of the night you got a plate and took a lovely assortment home. Worked like a charm! Throw in some take-and-bake pizza and you have the perfect set up. After so much Christmas crap going on, this one was nice, relaxing and easy!

Magpie Cafe, Birth of Scribby

Magpie Caterers & Cafe
1409 R Street #102
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 452-7594

Ah yes, the Magpie. Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways. Well I had dinner here two days ago so you know it doesn't suck. Twice yearly we come to Magpie, in the spring for TheJenny's birthday and in the winter for mine.

Like always the food it freaky good. Duck gnocchi, steelhead trout, crispy pork belly, mac n' cheese with bacon and brussel sprouts and so much more. I showed up early with a few sometimes drunks and caught the tail end of happy hour. Their $4 meat and cheese plates are a bargain and have a really impressive quality and taste. They've also added a sparkling Rose to the wine list which we enjoyed.

We had 18 people tonight so we ended up make a lovely L-shaped table in the corner. The funny thing is all the picture below are uncomfortable, blurry, unflattering and just kind of terrible but really it was a great, loud night! I even got homemade gingerbread cupcakes, woot!

Anatolian Table, Birth of Mr. Chem

Anatolian Table

6815 Lonetree Blvd., Suite 105

Rocklin, CA 95765

(916) 772-3020

Like clockwork, we come here once a year! We may have missed this one if Mr. Chem hadn't requested it for his birthday and we are so glad he did. The cuisine is Turkish, the booze is beer and wine and the owner knows what you want. So much so that when you order, he sometimes ask if you meant to order something else. Take our advice, go with what he suggests!

They have bevvy of lamb and chicken dishes, mostly with yogurt, rice and bread cubes. The flavors are not to be missed and RobotGoBen highly recommends the tea. It comes pipping hot, and in little decorative glasses. He swears by it.

So our birthday boy is a generous sort and requested we bring him donations for Toys for Tots. Isn't he great?! I think you can tell we just bought things we liked. How he parted with that Darth Vader Lego alarm clock, I'll never know. That thing was rad!

Drink with Your Family Day 2010

Happy Drink with Your Family Day to all you drunks and drunks-at-heart! This year we had a very nice showing of the food porn pictures starting off with NakedBob's traditional burrito.

Enjoy and happy holidays!

Zocalo a Taste of Mexico

Zocalo
1801 Capitol Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 441-0303

Here's another place that has taken us years to revisit. We all agree that the food at Zocalo is tasty. The place itself if pretty but it has to be said, sometimes the clientele is...well...douchy. That's where bringing 14 of your closest friends comes in handy. With that many people you don't really have to interact if you don't want to.

The nice surprise was that it wasn't terribly busy and the people were alright. Maybe the douchy folk have moved on. Let's hope.

Back to the food! The trio of salsas never fails us. Whatever they do to the beans, don't tell me cause I don't want to know what makes they so delicious. Most there was a lot of beer, margarita and caipirinha drinking. There was a huge variety of food from ceviche to enchiladas mole.

Four different special guests and the return of Sluggy made for a fabulous evening chair swapping and conversation. Also, we saw our friend from Magpie and well, he bought the drunks a round of tequila. That's some class.

Caipirinha & Chips


The salsa are fabulous, and the jar has a uterus.

I have no idea what this is.

Artistic shot of our swag and little baby arm. (thanks Megan!)

Tequila shots for everyone!

Thank you Ed & Janel

The aftermath

Fanny Ann's Saloon

Fanny Ann's Saloon

1023 2nd Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-3201
(916) 441-0505

I was trying to figure out how long it had been since the Thursday Drunks went to Fanny Ann's and with a quick blog search resulting in nothing, I figured out that we haven't been here for at least 2 1/2 years! Cheesus, how come so long?

Fanny Ann's, located in Old Sacramento, is a narrow, three story cavalcade of cluttery knick-knackery with an old wood bar, stiff drinks and sassy service. It's very much a saloon but also serves up some tasty burgers and fries. The chicken strips were some of the best I've had lately and the chicken wings are the whole damn chicken arm with the little wing attached! Delicious, if a bit creep when all the little wings are pointing at you from the basket.

Drinks are affordable and strong! Only bummer is that you really have to go to the second or third level to find seating, but have to hoof it back down for your drinks and food. There is a bar on the top floor but I've never seen it open. Oh and there is a basement as well that usually serves up karaoke...also why we love the top floor.

The first time we came here we put our newly made Thursday Drunks coaster, circa 2005 on the wall and it's still there - displayed proudly!

This night we rocked with 6 sometimes drunks showing up to spice up the mix! It was a fun crowd and with some musical chairs we worked in some great conversations. We also had some tech support going with an old laptop that needed some help from our more computer savvy members. We are a full service drinking club.

Thai Smile at Nairb's House

Thai Smile Food
11110 Coloma Road
Rancho Cordova, CA 95670
(916) 853-9554

We invited ourselves to Nairb's house, pooled our money and ordered some damn fine Thai takeout.

Unfortunately the only thing that survived the night was this quote and disturbing picture. Don't say I didn't warn you.

"Jack pooped in Nairb's toilet. It was marvelous." - Dr. Smooth

Burgers & Brew

Burgers & Brew

1409 R Street

Sacramento, CA 95811-6672

(916) 442-0900

It's been over a year since we have been back here (July 2009 visit). The place is always busy with smallish tables - so get friendly - and really good burgers! They have a great selection of interesting beers, quality food and an overall fun environment.

I opted for a BLT this time and it was full of thick, crispy bacon with butter grilled bread. Terrible for you, but very delicious. All the burgers were devoured and if you get a side salad it is a more than generous heaping of fresh leafy greens.

We had a good size crowd of about a dozen drunks including two that we met in Iceland and happen to live right around the corner. They are proper drunks. We approve.

And here is your bonus tip. If you happen to have time to kill, stroll on down to the Shady Lady for some happy hour specials and order up the duck confit tots. That's right, handmade savory tater tots in duck fat with little pieces of crispy duck skin to finish it of. Freaky good.

Tsing Tao

8675 Auburn Folsom Rd
Granite Bay, CA 95746-6202
(916) 791-7990

Our very own Jarla used to work here in high school. Pretty sure she got the job because she was short and therefore fit in quite nicely with the staff. Tsing Tao is a very unassuming strip mall Chinese restaurant that has been in Granite Bay before the wealthy people moved in... yes, it existed before that.

It's what you would expect, paper place mats, typical decor, and a fairly predictable menu, but damn is the food tasty! Jarla says it tastes the exact same as it did when she worked here, so I think they should keep it going.

We had sizzling rice soup, pot stickers (some of the best I have ever had in the Sacramento area), foil wrapped chicken, broccoli beef, sweet & sour pork, pork fried rice, chicken chow mien, and the best of all -- burma chicken. The burma chicken is deep fried chunks of meat (eat this one here for best taste), that is covered in sauce that is just heaven. Salty and just a little sweet, we couldn't figure out what was in it but couldn't stop eating it.

Beer and wine menu is limited but who cares when the food is so yummy. Go here for the food, not the ambiance and your belly will thank you.

Bonn Lair

3651 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 455-7155

Small group week always leads us to Bonn Lair. And I have no idea what happened this week. Sometimes when I miss a week I can recreate it in my mind from the journal entries but damn, they're weird. It's a whole lot of talk about sausages, nipples, Patrick Swayze, Russian accents, an onion-licker and a narwhal. I was more confused by the time I was done and now I fear nightmares.

I'm glad I was in Iceland.

Masullo Pizza

Masullo Pizza
2711 Riverside Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 443-8929

With large communal tables (all made out of one tree), small space, friendly staff and no other way of cooking besides the wood oven stove, Masullo does a lot with just a little. Now we could get into an argument (even within our group) as to which pizza is better, Masullo or Hot Italian. But let's keep our eye on the prize - the pizza is delicious!

They have a nice selection of mostly arugula based salads that really pack in the spiciness of the greens with a salty, creamy component that makes them delicious. They have a rosemary bread appetizers that doesn't seem like much, but is absolutely addictive especially with their olive oil to dip it in.

We found out, a little too late that they were doing a half off bottles of wine on Thursday. Would have been nice to know that before we bought a round of glasses to start, but oh well. Live and learn. Their wine selection is small but has pretty much everything you need including tiny bottles of prosecco. They also have some local Two Rivers Cider on tap and some decent beers.

Now for the pizza. I'm a huge fan of sauceless pizza, but most people think I'm crazy when I want to order it. Come here, order the Eileen, and you will be a convert. Mozzarella, oyster mushrooms, bacon, cream, sage and black pepper. We had a few with sauce and a few without. All of them were delicious.

If you are lucky enough to be there when the Italian waiter Andrea is working you will love him. The owner come out and thanked us for coming which was a nice touch. They also just recently started serving lunch. All and all, you need to trek out and visit this tiny little space. The parking is limited, but it's such a nice atmosphere and dishes us such yummy food that you'll forget about all that as soon as you walk in the door.

El Azteca Taqueria

El Azteca Taqueria
4006 Foothills Boulevard No.103
Roseville, CA 95747-7240
(916) 772-6682

I wasn't there and I have no journal to reference but this is what I know.

You walk up and order, they have a full bar, all of their food is yummy and if you live in Roseville and love Mexican food you should probably check this place out. I know I will!

Back Door Lounge

1112 Firehouse Alley
Sacramento, CA 95814-3207
(916) 442-5751

What can we say about this place. It's in an alley. The owner Nick has been serving strong drinks since the dawn of time. It has a certain level of kitsch that you can't usually find in Sacramento. Oh, and it's a damn fine time! If you can't appreciate this place I think we might have to go our separate ways.

Eat before you get there because they don't serve food outside of the bags of chips behind the bar. Nick can make just about anything but drink like an adult and stay away from the girlie drinks please!

Most of the drunks were there and we had some extra coworkers of TheJenny's that live close by and Nixie and ExtraBrian were back in effect. Always lovely to have some new blood to spice up the conversations. We took over the two booths near the front of the bar and played musical chairs the whole night. Sometime we leave places kind of early since they are more like restaurants but we hung around pretty late here. It's easy to lose track of time in this place so plan accordingly.

Streets of London - Folsom, 2010

649 E Bidwell St
Folsom, CA 95630
(916) 984-3706

Here's another place that we seem to visit once yearly (August 2009, October 2008). With constituents in the Hills and in Roseville, it's nice to go somewhere a little closer to them every once in a while. They have a full bar and a nice selection of British beers.

I have to say the menu has gone a little down hill lately. They went from mostly British fare to jalapeno poppers, pizza and other such frat food, while retaining some good things like bangers and mash, fish and chips, curries and shepard's pie.

It was a nice group of drunks with Sluggy, Crabby and the kids joining us again! (It's been way too long). Plus more #BeerTweetup guests. ExtraBrian was back, but his other half had some yucky dental work done, so she's excused. We figure if you come out more than once, you get a nickname and blog placement. Until we change our minds.

TheJenny & NakedBob were trying not to be eaten by bears in Yellowstone, but they assured us they were raising a glass. Troopers.

No pictures. Yes, it's because I suck. Let it go already!

The Shack

5201 Folsom Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95819
(916) 457-5997

We end up at the Shack about once a year (March 2009, July 2008) and it makes us wonder why it always takes us so long to come back. The kitchen is open until 8 pm serving up really good hamburgers, pastrami and other specialties like fish & chips. As long as you are in by 8 for some grub they are pretty kick back about how long you stay and drink.

And boy, can you drink here! They're beer menu is extensive to say the least. Lots of interesting things on tap and many, many more in bottles. Gary, the owner is super knowledgeable as is his staff. They will point you in the right direction.

The think I love about this place is that one minute the guy is helping me pick my next beer and telling off-color jokes and the next he is giving a kid a bowl of water for his puppy and making sure he takes some doggie biscuits too. It's such a friendly neighborhood place but with just enough sass to make it fun.

We had a large crowd this week with a couple guys from the #BeerTweetup stopping by and a trio of Sometimes Drunks that came out as well. Pretty much we were so busy talking and giving our server a hard time I didn't really see what other folks were eating.

I have to say that I think you make your own fun here. If you walked in and were quiet, got the beer you always get and just ate dinner - you may not love it. If however, you chat up the servers, try some new stuff and bring a couple of friends - you'll hang out longer than you planned and enjoy yourself.

Gatsby's Diner

Gatsby's Diner
2598 Alta Arden Expressway
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 977-0102

The date today is 9/02/10... 90210. For those of you alive in the early 90s, that means Brandon, Brenda, Dillon, Steve, Andrea and the whole Beverly Hills crew! In honor of this date, we decided to find a place as close to the Peach Pit as possible. Unknowingly, we picked Gatsby's Diner, which does not fit this at all...but ended up the most wonderful mistake!

It has an old depression era fell, but has left over Teppanyaki grills in the middle of the room. They use them so well that you don't immediately realize they are leftover from some place else. They grill all their burgers out in the dining area which gives the whole place a burgery smell. I feel bad for vegetarian in this place, but as a carnivore, hell yeah!

We were joined by two of the #BeerTweetup folks that we shall call Nixie & ExtraBrian (as in "Now. With Extra Brian!"). We might change their names, but that's what they are so far. They weren't easily offended, talked geeky, were funny and seemed to not abhor us. We like them. They even donated to the travel fund. That is some classy shit.

Back to the food. Beer and wine and burgers is what you should order here. The burgers are fabulous. Juicy, large, flavorful... oh, wait...what was I talking about. Right, burgers! They were delicious. The house cut fries and potato chips were also good and the green goddess dressing is a solid choice.

The best part of the place? The staff. Chef Jerad & (self-named) Uncle Steve were not only gracious, but funny, candid and just damn fun to talk to. We were there later than anyone else and instead of getting the stink eye, they told us stories about how Guy Fieri came out to tape Diners, Drive-ins & Dives, their family history and signed our journal. Again...some classy shit.

Go here, go often and enjoy some really fantastic food made by folks who love making good food and meeting the people who enjoy it. It's hard to find a place like this so appreciate it.

Journal tidbits:

"The stuff in Darla's head is not dinner appropriate." - Nairb

"I are scientifical." - Nixie

"I'm unyankable." - Nixie

"I'm NOT unyankable!" - Chef Jerad