Masullo, the birth of TheJenny

2711 Riverside Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 443-8929

Personally, I am so happy TheJenny wanted to go here! It's a tiny little pizza place in Land Park and on Thursday nights they do half-priced bottles of wine. Yes please!

We knew we would have at least a dozen people so we got there a little early and took over one of the large communal tables. Then we crammed 22 people around it! Well, really we took shifts sitting and standing and eating and chatting.

They only have a wood-fired brick oven. No stove. Their menu is a simple one of light, fresh salads, thin crust pizzas with quality ingredients and some smaller bites like rosemary almonds and a really fun antipasti plate.

With so very many drunks in attendance and so very many bottles of wine consumed, I'll go ahead and say that Jenny's birthday rocked! She even got an ice cream sandwich for dessert.

Bottom line, this place is awesome. Bring some friends so you can share lots of different pizzas, and go on a Thursday if you like the wine. If you don't love it, you aren't even trying.

El Novillero

4216 Franklin Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95820-1136
(916) 456-4287

Oh, The Nov! This place is a freaking institution of Sacramento. Located in a shadier area of Franklin, they are nice enough to have a well lit parking lot, and the place sort of looks out of place. But people flock here.

When you go in the middle of the restaurant is done up like an outside courtyard. We ended up in a back room all by ourselves which at first I was sad about. Then I started hearing the screaming kids and crying babies. Back room was just fine.

The food here is sort of like the Mexican you grew up with. Solid, delicious, and a ton! Seriously, Bump's burrito was bigger than his head. His leftovers barely fit into the Styrofoam takeout container. And if you know to ask, they will give you flour tortilla chips which are the tastiest damn things ever! And have I talked about the beans? I couldn't stop eating them. Nairb cleaned his plate, we still don't know how.

One drunk noted that there is a 3 booze limit. After her initial outrage she came to realize that is was more of a dare. Eat an entree and just TRY to keep drinking.

The Nov has been in business for so long for a very good reason. Comfort food at it's best.

Espanol Italian Restaurant

5723 Folsom Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95819
(916) 457-1936

It's the Italian restaurant with the Spanish name and supposedly the oldest restaurant in Sacramento. Not much has changed since this place opened and that is the drawback and the charm depending on how you look at it.

We have a lovely waitress and the minestrone soup and salad are pretty delicious. Spaghetti got an okay vote, but you come here for the charm, or so I'm told. Actually I wasn't there at all. I'm piecing this together from our journal and RobotGoBen's leftovers.

I'll go ahead and apologize for this half-assed post. I really need to get a blogging backup for the Thursdays I miss.

Truly sorry. I can't give you back your 25 seconds you wasted here. Please pick another post to read.

Revolution Wines

2831 S Street
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 444-7711

It's Cinco de Mayo and we don't usually celebrate drinking holidays that fall on a Thursday since it tends to be amateur night. Call us snobby, but you know it's true.

So what is further away from a Mexican restaurant than a wine bar? Exactly!

Revolution Wines used to be on P Street down a little pathway between two buildings. I loved it since it was very unique. But they moved to S Street where they have a full-blown kitchen and room to hangout. Overall, a great move! Their menu might be small, but the variety is lovely and the small portions are just fine since we are talking about rich, deliciously flavored foods.

You can do a wine tasting of 7-8 wines for $8, or just buy a glass of what you know and love. Either way, it's not too bad on pricing and you can tell the food has been developed to bring out the best in their wines.

Here is a sample of what folks had. Black truffle mac n' cheese, savory chicken pot pie with crusty skirt, brie and red pepper bruscetta, goat cheese and roasted garlic crostini, roasted beet salad, farmer's selection of meats and cheeses, coffee mouse, homemade "poptart" pastry. And they were all really good.

Staff were a little disorganized, but they let us do the tasting at our big table, which meant coming back over for every pour. And they let us stay past their 9pm closing since they were staying to close down anyway, AND they even offered to get us coffee from Temple next door.

Overall, it was a great time and I would suggest it to anyone. Go, take your time, try their wines and nibble your way through their menu.

"Should I eat the skirt, or just go for the meat?" - NakedBob
"This yodeling is the shit!" - Sharon
In the meantime, Shooter was eating a whole lot of bacon.