Ruhstaller

630 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 447-1881

One of the new spots in Sacramento that makes it so rad. Ruhstaller opened a public tasting room that is more speakeasy than tap house. It's nestled in a not-so-great part of downtown on 7th Street between K and L Streets. Behind a bus stop you'll seriously see a Ring Bell for Beer sticker and a door bell. They they come get you and you walk down some stairs into a large, rustic tasting room with comfy sitting areas, some nice history a pool table and a room divider wall made of beer bottles.

JE the owner is there a lot and is ready to talk to you about the beer because the patrons are part of the process of making beer. We taste it, tell him what we think and they change recipes. It's a pretty great way to do it and always a little different.

There's no food but they are fine with you bringing in your own snacks. We set up a nice little spread and played pool and drank beer. Overall, a comfortable, quiet and overall wonderful place run by wonderful people. Support them and everything they do. Amazing! 

Hock Farm Craft & Provisions

1415 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 440-8888

Check another new place off our list! The Jenny had a birthday and wisely choose Hock Farm. It's the newish Paragary's venture in the old Spataro location. They did a nice redesign of the space with a very cool California shaped wood table (shown below). Their cocktail program is top-notch. They bottle their own cocktails and their gin & tonic is one of the best in Sacramento. Strawberry Nigroni was pretty fantastic as well.

Over all the food was delicious, fresh and local although you do pay for the privilege. Nice for a happy hour or special occasion, but might be tough on a just a weeknight out.

Also, a $7.99 giant googly eyes were the best birthday gift ever. Seriously hours of entertainment. But again, we are easily entertained.

Bike Dog Brewing Company

2534 Industrial Blvd #110
West Sacramento, CA 95691
(916) 572-0788

We seem to be working our way through all the places we keep moving around on the list, but never quite getting to. This week, Bike Dog Brewery in West Sacramento. It's one of the new trends where they brew beer in an industrial area, have tap room and invite food trucks to provide some grub. They are neighborhood and family-friendly places, and this place loves dogs!

It was a sweltering day at over 100 degrees, but they had a AC cooler, and really sometimes sitting still and drinking a beer is just what it takes. Their Milk Stout is amazing and it's always fun to just try them all. North Border Tacos was their serving up some tasty affordable grub. We hung out, chatted, pet a whole lot of puppies and over all had a great night.

Make time to check this place out. It's should be high on your list and a great place to waste a Sunday afternoon. Also, best logo!

Mamma Susanna's

5487 Carlson Drive
Sacramento, CA 95819
(916) 452-7465

Mamma Susanna's has been suggested to the Drunks for years but we just never seemed to get there. So finally we went. It's in a weird little strip mall in a sleepy little neighborhood in River Park near CSUS. It has changed hands over the years, but the two guys who run it now are friendly, sassy, affable and just all around great.

This is down home, grandma's Italian food. The best chicken piccata I've had in years. Everyone enjoyed their meals and almost everyone polished off the generous portions. Also Chianti. So many glasses that they just started tallying them up for us. And even just charged us the bottle price instead of by the glass. They didn't have to do that, but it was so nice, we'll remember it.

I would take anyone here for a good home cooked Italian meal with friendly service and a neighborhood feel. Win.

Field House American Sports Pub

1310 Fulton Ave.
Sacramento, CA
(916) 487-1045

Brought to you by the gents behind Shady Lady (SL), Field House is a sports take on their usual swanky yet easy food and cocktails. It's a great addition to the other underwhelming Howe & Hurley area and if you live in the area, you better be supporting them!

They have a shorter list of their signature cocktails that are not quite as well polished as the Shady Lady versions, but again, best in the area. The onion rings and homemade BBQ sauce are truly amazing. The burger was good, the fries were pretty much perfect and the skewers come with that amazing chili water sauce stuff they serve with their pork rinds at SL. The tomato soup and grilled cheese were the perfect comfort food for this under-the-weather drunk.

Over all, I would pick Shady Lady every day, but Field House is a bit more approachable and the best thing going in the area. Nicely done gents, yet again.