Fair Oaks Brew Pub

7988 California Ave
Fair Oaks, CA 95628

This little gem is tucked away in old Fair Oaks and is pretty tiny. Crammed full of happy drinkers, this brew pub is family friendly, a little chaotic, delicious and cozy. The pretzel is solid, the options are simple but good and their beer selection is on point. Overall, if you can carve out space, grab a seat with some friends and enjoy the night.

Eastern Empire

460 Howe Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 646-1698

After a conversation with a bartender friend and one of his bar patrons, we were tipped off to this all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant that make tiki drinks over by Sac State. Their cocktails are just pure booze with a little juice thrown in and if you have a hunger, check out their dinner. It's not a buffet, it's all cooked to order and you can pick off a very large menu to share with your table. This place is a gem.

Dad's Kitchen, Fair Oaks

8928 Sunset Ave
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916) 241-9365

We love Dad's Kitchen in Land Park Park so a second location in Fair Oaks for some of our more suburban members was a nice bit of news. We went to Maranello's a couple of years ago and Dad's moved in recently after they closed down. On a Thursday night it was packed with a 30 minute wait so obviously the neighborhood loves them!

Really nice beer menu, as one would expect, and all the old favorites like habanero blue cheese fries and tasty sandwiches. Overall a solid addition to Fair Oaks. Add it to the list people, you won't regret it.

Taka's Sushi for Anna's Birthday

11773 Fair Oaks Blvd
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916) 961-2118

She broke her arm in fine style so what does she do for her birthday? Flies to Vegas for a concert and flies back just in time for her birthday Thursday at Taka's Sushi in Fair Oaks. She's so fancy!

The food is great in this well established sushi joint. They do rolls well and also really nail the traditional basics. Definitely a place to check out if you live in the area!

The birthday breaky-army girl!

hamachi kama after

Maranello's

8928 Sunset Ave
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916) 241-9365

As soon as one of our members suggested this place it was written up in Sacramento Magazine. So we had to hit is quick! Located in an unassuming strip mall/office building on a residential corner of Hazel Avenue - it's more of a neighborhood spot than a destination.

The inside is configured a little weird, but it adds some interest. It's a bit more upscale than we usually hit, but we clean up well and can order like adults when we need to.

Pastas are their speciality and they have some nice cocktails as well. Most of us stuck with the house wine which was good. I had a rabbit ragu that was absolutely delicious, rich and meaty! Everyone seemed to like their food and it's a nice atmosphere.

If you live out that way, it's a must try because it's the best you'll get around there and it's always nice to support a local place.

Szechuan Garden

4804 San Juan Avenue
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916) 961-9381

Sometime Chinese food just hits the spot. Filling, tasty and pretty damn affordable when you order family style. Sizzling fried rice started off the meal and everyone was full of starchy meaty goodness by the end of it.

And that's all I got...

Darth Soy (The soy sauce penguin bot)
"I find your lack of sauce disturbing." - Jarla

Cafe Vinoteca, Timpano Thursday!

3535 Fair Oaks Blvd # C
Sacramento, CA 95864-7219

(916) 487-1331

Back in a time long ago, NakedBob was a server and we've heard tell of his restaurant hijinks. Cafe Vinoteca is part of his old stomping grounds and he learned a lot from that place. Specifically how to make timpano, a delicious cornucopia of pasta, meats, eggs and more all cooked inside a crust and served like a slice of cake. One year at Sea Ranch he even made it for us!

On the last Thursday of each month, Cafe Vinoteca makes timpano. And it's huge! So we had to go. Much to Bob's surprise there is only one server left that he used to work with and she was ours for the night!

This place is a bit of an institution and caters to the older crowd that lives around the restaurant. It's in one of the shopping centers that has the inside hallways that you just don't see anymore. And the food is good! Only downside is on a hot night the place is a bit warm.

Pork chops, cheese tortellini, soup, salad...we had some of it all. But the timpano stole the show. Layers of pasta, hard-boiled eggs, sausage, ham, grilled veggies with a splash of red sauce. Enough to feed two generously! If you're in the area, try this place out. And go on the last Thursday so you have the timpano option.

And in case you think we've suddenly classed this blog up, never fear. Best conversation of the night, all said in quick succession.
"I just like exposing it and laughing about it" - RobotGoBen
"What? Are we doing that now" - Crabby
"We haven't been doing that all night?" - Nairb

Yup, still us.

Takieng, Birth of Jarla

4400 San Juan Ave # 8
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916) 966-0660

When Sluggy made reservations, after a few misunderstandings they finally put the reservation under Larla. Sure, why not.

So we are celebrating the birthday of Jarla, a wondrous occasion as she was rumored to have been born in a rickety barn. Ask Bumpy for the folk song detailing the event.

And since I suck, I missed her birthday. Bad blog writer. I have no useful insight. Here is what was in the journal. Floggings for me.

"Welcome to the Rapture" party including angel food cake, drinks that light on fire, deviled eggs, Rosemary's Baby loaf and the rapture raptor.

The food was determined to be "YUM".

Jarla's cat Buckwheat now has a happy kidney while Jarla got this delicious coconut ice cream.

Carmelita's Mexican Restaurant

4071 Howard Street
Fair Oaks, CA 95628-7138
(916) 961-3327

We came here couple of years ago for Robot GoBen's birthday. This is usually one of our favorite places because their sauces are expectionally good. This time around it was still good, but not as good as in the past. Green enchiladas were just a little less flavorful and the mole was kind of average. We still drank our weight in margaritas, which are nice and strong. And their salsa is fantastic with their thick, toasty chips.

We had a huge 14 drunk group this Thursday with friends of TheJenny, and Shooter's better half, et al. Mr. Chem & NakedBob yucked it up all night long like teenage girls at a sleepover. And one of our guests brought a huge bag of meyer lemons to share! We're so lucky.

So all in all, we will be back to give them another chance to rock our socks. They have rocked them before and we have faith they've still got it in them.

Carmelita's

4071 Howard St
Fair Oaks, CA 95628
(916) 961-3327

In honor of our favorite robot, RobotGoBen, we ended up at Carmelita's to celebrate his birthday. Everyone under the sun with a party of 10 or more was there that night. Holy crap it was crowded, even with reservations.

Finally got seated at a long table back by the bar area. I picked up a Cadillac Margarita for the birthday boy at the bar, and I have to say, they were kinda average. And for $9 each, I wasn't impressed. They was quite a bit of tequila in them, just kind of bland.

The salsa here is great, and I personally made my way through at least four bowls. A lot of folks ended up with green enchiladas, and they were fantabulous! Everyone else seemed happy with their food.

Sluggy, even though she wasn't there, sent along a gorgeous set of cupcakes. They looked like Cookie Monster with a cookie in his mouth...all slathered in blue coconut icing. They were awesome!

Caddie showed up again since she was in town before her trip to LA. She asked Bumpy if he was planning on making banana daiquiris at Sea Ranch... what? So then the story comes out that Shim drink his banana daiquiri way through Florida. Let the girly jokes begin! There was lots of texting between Crabby & Shim, with the best one being, "What kind of umbrella do you take with your tampon." - Crabby

Then, when trying to scribe that incident, Bump asked how to spell tampon, but wanted to spell it tampoon. Tampoons were then explained to be giant absorbent harpoons on catamarans.

Journal Tidbits:
"Bob's not going to redeem anybody." - TheJenny
"Blue coconut doesn't taste like coconut anymore." - Scribby