El Novillero

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

Happy birthday to our very own Coach! With a solid 10 drunks in attendance, we tried to eat our giant plates of food, but even the heartiest of us failed. Man, the portions are big here! They still use lard and therefore their beans are crazy delicious. And we always get the flour chips as well...they're a can't miss item. This is the ulimate in comfort food. And with a bonus stop at Track 7 Brewing, it was a damn fine night.

Hideaway

2565 Franklin Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 455-1331

We fall in love with this place each time we go here. A really solid bar, arguably the best burgers in town and easy to make a group of tables for over a dozen drunks. Delicious, easy, divey and so close to our hearts.

Hideaway Bar & Grill

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

Oh Hideaway, how do we love thee. This unassuming bar in Curtis Park is home to some strong-ass tiki drinks, sassy bartendresses and the tallest most delicious burgers in the area. So damn good. This visit is amazing, like all the others. The only down side was only cocktail napkins for eating the messy burgers, but have no fear! Sometime drunks Dan & Karla texted their friend across the street and she delivered paper towels! Let the eating of giant burgers continue!

Pangaea Two Brews Cafe for John's Birthday

2743 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 454-4942

For John's birthday, he picked Pangaea which is just the excuse we needed to trek back to one of our favorite places that we just don't get back to often enough. We showed up a week before their kitchen remodel was done (they have a new fancy chef!) so we'll have to come back again soon to test out the upgraded menu. As always, the beer selection is diverse and sometimes esoteric but they can always steer you in the right direction to suit your tastes. 

Hideaway Bar & Grill

2565 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 455-1331

An old favorite. The Hideaway is on Franklin with a very unassuming exterior and sparse interior which doesn't matter at all since their burgers are amazing, their drinks are strong and their bartender, O'Wendy is some damn sassy fun!

Creepy Baby Arm was just the cherry on top.

Hideaway & Birth of RobotGoBen

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

Our favorite Robot had a birthday and he chose the Hideaway to quench his thirst and provide delicious tall hamburgers. This place is great and we come here about once a year (see old posts here).

It's one of those surprising dive bars with great food. Their hamburgers are the outstanding favorite and even our most critical burger lover, loved theirs. And even their salads are fun, tasty and not just iceberg with ranch. You can't go wrong with anything on their menu.

Drinks are drinks since it is a bar with limited beers on tap but lots of other options. Their tiki themed drinks are fruity and will knock you on your ass. Best of all, the jukebox is still one of the best in Sacramento.

It seems to always be a bit empty, which is okay because we took it over with 20 drunks. Just make sure to bring your friends if you want it to be more social.

Pangaea Two Brews Cafe

2743 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 454-4942

This little Curtis Park gem is a Thursday Drunks favorite. We've cohosted a Beer Tweetup here and whiled away hours trying crazy Belgian beers and making friends with strangers.

They've replaced their normal tables with more bench & table setups that remind me of Octoberfest setups. Less options but more reasons to get friendly with strangers. With so many of us, we added to two tables of existing patrons. We even got some cupcakes from one random person! And we meet up with a couple of folks that hadn't come out before. Newbies, we love them.

So many beers where had. The critical thing is to taste everything that everyone else gets. The food is quite good and it all goes with beer. If you don't know what you like Rob the owner of his very well informed staff can help you with suggestions and even let you taste some options in case you need convincing.

Oh! And they just opened a bottle shop next door (well, you can walk through from the restaurant side), so you can buy and take home all sorts of wacky, new beers you've never tried. Awesome!

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.

Sacramento Beer Week at Pangaea Two Brews

2743 Franklin Boulevard Sacramento, CA 95818 (916) 454-4942

The Second Annual Sacramento Beer Week was huge! There were hundreds of events happening all over town, from large to small. We took the opportunity to return to Pangaea Two Brews for Allagash night and tasted a few different varieties. We were a small fun group and did our share of damage on those kegs.

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.

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!

BeerTweetup at Pangaea Rocked!

Pangaea Two Brews Cafe
2743 Franklin Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 454-4942

Last week we were pimping ourselves out by talking about the #BeerTweetup at Pangaea Two Brews Cafe that we were sponsoring. Yes, we know. Self-promotion. Blatant.

We got ourselves organized on a Tuesday, no less, and sent five of our best Drunks (Scribby, RobotGoBen, TheJenny, Jarla & NakedBob), to do us proud and represent for the cause of battling sobriety on a weeknight. Decked out in our best Thursday Drunks apparel - yes we are just that organized - we had a damn fine time.

TheJenny even made us a special coaster just for the night. There wasn't a single one left on the tables by the end so we hope they are adorning the bottoms of trash cans and helping scrap things off the counter at homes around Sacramento by now.

But seriously folks, it was a blast. Everyone was entertaining, interesting, funny and we hope to see you all again soon! Those good beer drinkers are good peeps.

Just a quick shout out to Pangaea for having a kick-ass place with a relaxed atmosphere that allowed us to hang out way passed our 2-hour event. And for the Odonata Beer folks who just make damn good beer.

Here's some of what happened:



Best quote of the evening that we remember...
"I have a dickishness that's insanely attractive." - 1 of the 3 Bens in attendance.

BeerTweetup - Pangaea Two Brews Cafe

If you have read our blog, you know we are huge fans of Pangaea Two Brews Cafe. We were there last month and shared a lot of beer with strangers. We went for Sacramento Beer Week in February. And started our love affair with this place and their Belgium style beers in August of last year.

It's pretty unheard of for the Thursday Drunks to go somewhere 3 times in one year. We barely get to most places once a year! So when the Sacramento BeerTweetup was taking shape we decided to join in the fun. Yes, we are on twitter! http://twitter.com/thursdaydrunks and see where we are going and tips on happy hours, drink specials or just what we are drinking.

So here is your official invitation!

#BeerTweetup at Pangaea Two Brews Cafe
Tuesday, August 31st, 6 to 8 pm
2743 Franklin Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 454-4942

$10 gets you fabulous appetizers by Pangaea, $2 glasses of Odonata Saison, entry to the raffle for beer & beer swag.

Register for #BeerTweetup here

We'll be out there, so come hang out and drink some damn find beer with other people who love beer.

Pangaea Two Brews Cafe

Pangaea Two Brews Cafe
2743 Franklin Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 454-4942

Oh hello beer, how have you been? With a great selection of craft, local and Belgian style beers, Pangaea has become one of our favorite places to go. Last time we were here it was Sacramento Beer Week and crazy busy! Not as many shenanigans this time.

They have added some great chalk art to the walls including a full menu of what's on tap, bottled, their food selections, quotes and art work. It's a nice addition and changes the feel from just a coffee shop to more of a place you come back to after work too.

Scribby (that's me) and RobotGoBen got there a little early and camped out at the bar for a starter beer. Ended up meeting everyone at the bar and talking beer with the owner Rob. After a while our new friend Todd bought a bottle to open and share and that started the trend. I think 5-6 bottles were bought and poured for everyone to taste. It's a great way to try a lot of beer with knowledgeable folks.

Some new menu items are cheesy bread and nachos. The nachos are perfect with beer of course, and are a solid choice. Drunks had a variety of different sandwiches and beers including quite a bit of Odonata Saison, Affligem Noel, Allagash Black, Duvel Green, Pliny the Elder and Two Rivers Cider.

We had some extended drunks family there as well, Ricardo, Julian and Tina all stopped by to visit which is always nice! They did their part by writing in the journal and they seem nonplussed by the number of weird, inexplicable and junk-related drawings. Nicely done.

In the sports world, we watched the headbutting incident in the Tour de France that got Mark Renshaw thrown out. Quite entertaining.

Journal Tidbits
"Did you point at me and call me aggressive!?" - TheJenny to Jarla

Pangaea - Two Brews Cafe

Pangaea

2743 Franklin Boulevard

Sacramento, CA 95818

(916) 454-4942

Pangaea - Two Brews (coffee & beer), get it? Well, it's Sacramento Beer Week and we decided to come back to one of our favorites. It's set up like a coffee shop but with a small bar near the counter. If you sit there, you will see the 14 different beers on tap, most of them Belgian. Do yourself a favor, stop by here after work and get a lesson in beer from Rob the owner.

So, it's beer week so we know it would be busy and it was packed! Started off the night drinking the mythical Water Witch from Odonata Beer and it was all kinds of tasty. Moved on to the Grimbergen, a Saison (which I can't remember the name of), Two Rivers Cider, Malheur (my new favorite, a strong 12%), and Dogfish that had a woodsy flavor.

You just can't go wrong with the selection here, you will try, but won't get through them all. The food was tasty as ever, but they were running way behind because of all the people. And we had some sausages from the Bicycle Chef dinner the day before. Might have been the best sausage I've had. Won my new title "sausage queen".

I can't quite explain why this night was so much fun. Lots of people, many of whom we randomly befriended, hanging out with Rob & Kendra, a giant bag of corks for TheJenny, sharing beers with Ricardo, running into Colleen, and just general hijinks and a fabulous time!

It's always fun to come here, but Sacramento Beer Week really took it to a whole new level. And we had so many guest signatures in the journal, woot!

Journal tidbits:
"She's less of a social butterfly and more of a social whore." NakedBob about Scribby
Hello pot, this is kettle. Kettle, meet pot...

Pangaea Cafe

Pangaea Cafe
2743 Franklin Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95818-2717
(916) 454-4942

We trekked out to Curtis Park this week to Pangaea Cafe. It's a whole new area for us, but after a couple of scouting missions, we were sure Pangaea was a nice fit for us. It's located next to the Gunther's ice cream shop that has been there since the dawn of time

Quite a few drunks were missing this week, but we supplemented our numbers with some Pangaea regulars, Ricardo, Linda & Jeff. Add in chatting with the owner Rob, and awesome food giver Erika and it felt like a full house.

The have a lovely selection of Belgian beers both on tap and bottled. The girl favorite was Kasteel Rouge that tastes like cherries! The rest were all over the map with the on tap selections.

Now to the food! Overall, the food is yummy. Very yummy. The Ruben, which was a special was piping hot and super savory. The lemon chicken panini was just lemony enough. Roast beef was well received and everyone had happy full bellies. The food here is simple and good but not boring.

We rarely go to coffee/cafe places, because they don't turn around at night to be as fun as you would expect. This place does. The staff and owner are truly nice people who are also fun and have enough of a sense of humor that they don't mind getting a little louder once the sun goes down.

Plus after you're all full of beer and food, you can walk across the street for some ice cream. What could be better?

Come here and come often!