South

2005 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 382-9722


Man, this fried chicken is amazing. And yes, they do sell it in a bucket in case you need more. We knew that, and that is why we came here. It's always challenging to find a space here but once you do, dig into some fabulous chicken. The kale is just perfect, not too salty and not overcooked.

The surprising thing was that they had a Nashville hot chicken sandwich that was off the charts. Places tend to make Nashville hot chicken a little sweet to offset the hot, which isn't how it should be. So South nailed it with a creamy sauce and pickles. I hope they keep that on the menu!

Nido, by Magpie

1409 R Street #102
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 668-7594

We've hit up Nido more times than most places because it's just so good, affordable and easy. When heading to B-Side, we ate here beforehand. But this week, we gave it our full attention. We hustled a table on the porch and just spent the evening sharing food, drinking beer and wine and watching Sacramento go by. Pulled pork sandwiches, housemade sausages on housemade pretzel buns, heirloom bean soup, giant pretzels, pork belly bao and so much more. And it won't break the bank. We can't recommend this place enough.

B-Side

1430 S Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

When the birthday Bob wants to hit B-Side, we hit B-Side. We pre-partied at Nido for some yummy grub (that sausage!), then wandered over to B-Side. We sort of forgot it was Cinco de Mayo, but taking over the front booth/table let us kind of do our own thing without dealing with amateur night.

Bob hates straws in drinks so after about the fourth Jameson and ginger, the rad bartender gave him his own birthday straw-extravaganza! So wonderful.

PS. B-Side is just a solid bar run by solid people. It's always a great place to drop in for a drink.

B-Side

1430 S Street
Sacramento, CA 95811

Oh, the old Monte Carlo never looked (or smelled) so good! The Shady Lady folks took over the little dive bar on the corner of S & 15th and turned it into a really find audiofile bar. It's nice and simple with strong drinks and all vinyl on the turntables. No food makes things simple and with so many restaurant options within a couple blocks, it's pretty perfect. We also hear that they still honor old Monte Carlo drink tokens for a well drink. Nice!

Ma Jong's & Cafeteria 15L

1431 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 442-7555

Ma Jong's is one of those places that has dependably delicious food and the price hits the spot as well as the ease of ordering at the counter and finding some communal seating. With Cafeteria 15L connected by the hallway, a full bar is just steps away. Also, Cafeteria's happy hour is ridiculously good so hit that up for some pot stickers and lettuce cups before heading to dinner. It's also a great place to hit up before a show at the Community Center since it's fast and never packed. Now I want this food again.

Empress Tavern

1013 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 662-7694

The masterminds behind Mother (the all vegetarian restaurant on K Street that blows our skirts up), took over the basement theater at the Crest and transformed into a modern meat market (the meat kind, not the douchebag kind). The place is barely recognizable except for two curved walls to the bathrooms that remain from the original theater. Everything else from the cavernous brick arched, the gold flake wallpaper and the gorgeous bar at the center of the room is all brand new!

Empress has a demonstration kitchen, which we couldn't see from the lounge side, but it's beautiful and the chef's skills are on full display. We did a lot of cocktails, snacks and a couple of main dishes. We really need to come back and do a sit down dinner and try all the family meals. Poor us!

The smoked trout dip was light, fluffy and delicious. Perfect to add to a cocktail for a post work recess. The beef cheek stroganoff was a favorite and a rich, hearty meal on homemade pasta. All the cocktails are beautifully on point and the tea service is just a fun way to share booze.

Even though they have only been open for a month, the front of house, food and service are like they have been open for months. They are killing it and it's a beautiful thing to watch. Three cheers to Empress!

PS. There is no cell reception down there so enjoy the anonymity!

Smoked Passmore Ranch trout dip.

Tea Service No. 2. So much booze!

No. 3 Native Grass

No. 2 Rose

Crazy burger with pastrami and pickled veg.

Sardines

Nido Bakery, the Oldpie

1409 R St #102
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 452-7594

This place, in the old Magpie spot, is a gem although a lot of people don't quite get it yet. Let us help you understand. It's right in the center of all the action without needing to elbow your way to get a drink. Top notch espresso, ALL the baked goods, a colorful selection of foccocia pizza, a couple of soups, a salad, beer and wine. The staff is friendly and rad. That's it!

The trick is that it's crazy affordable and the food is by the masterminds behind Magpie and Yellowbill so it is WAY better than other late night coffee shops. You can seriously have a quick, top-notch meal and a beer or an amazing coffee and handmade buttery croissant for less than $10.

Cheese plate & half glass of wine $10
Pork and fresh bean soup & a salad $9.50
Pizza al taglio with meat & a beer $9.25
Cappuccino & a fresh, local peach hand-pie $6

This is a place you can stop in, visit with a friend, read a book or get some work done and run into friends and neighbors. Or just get a glass of wine and watch the R Street world go by during these lovely Sacramento evenings. Any way you slice it, it's a great addition to the area for those of us who don't want to unload our wallets or wait for a table.

Check it out, visit with a friend and take your time. You won't regret it.

Then mosey on down to Portal while it's around!

Cheese plate & a half glass of rose. Vegetable miso soup with a corn muffin & half glass of red wine.

Cheese plate, wine and pizza

The Spritz, description in the next photo!

A couple of appertifs on the menu as well. Both light & refreshing.

We took over the outside area on a lovely night.

We might have also taken over the inside!

And a quick trip to Portal.

Reflections of some drunks.

PreFlite & Mother

PreFlite Lounge
1011 10th Street
Sacramento, CA 95819
(916) 441-7963

Mother
1023 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 594-9812

Two of my favorite places and most of the drunks hadn't been to either so here we go!

PreFlite in their new place is pretty great. It's still dark as shit so photos don't play well. It's well priced for the area and the drinks are simple and strong. What else could you need. It's a damn Sacramento institution that can get away with making you walk down a urine stained alley. How can that be bad?!

Mother on the other hand is tiny and vegetarian but makes damn fine food, it just happens to not have meat. The chicken fried oyster mushrooms will make you want to slap your mama. What you see below is also the burrata over farro with plums. Stupid good. There were pastas, sandwiches, chili verde and many other options without a pasta Florentine, or frozen vegetable medley in sight! Being a vegetarian has never been so good.

Coin-op Game Room

Coin-op Game Room
908 K Street
Sacramento, California 95814
(916) 661-6983

Another great addition to Sacramento. While the loss of Marilyn's on K was sad, this place is a nice change to the K Street mash up. Damn fine cocktails, local beers and nice slice of pizza and a crap ton of video games and pinball machines. Plus a nice little patio between buildings with giant Jenga and Connect 4. Overall, a great place to drink and embrace your inner 80's child. Yup, we still got the video game moves!

Fish Face Poke Bar

1104 R Street, Ste 100
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 706-0605

Best. Idea. Ever.

Seriously, why didn't this ever happen before? Walk up, custom order your poke and 5-10 minutes later you have some high quality fish with everything you want on it.

Fish Face is part of the downstairs market in the WAL building (Warehouse Artist Lofts) along with Metro Juice & Kitchen, Old Gold and more. There is some inside seating and some outside porch seating. Not much but enough to inhale your gorgeous fish and hit the road.

Overall, this is the best thing that has happened to Sacramento since, god, I have no idea. It's just the best!

Tipsy fish combo - tuna, salmon, masago, ogo & togarashi.

Gorgeous art.

Tuna, octopus, ogo, masago & togarashi

Look at this gorgeous group of drunks!

Magpie Cafe - the Newpie!

1601 16th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 452-7594

We have had a long love affair with Magpie Cafe. One of our founding members worked in a restaurant with co-owner Ed when they were both just young whippersnappers. When Magpie opened on R Street, we had to check it out and have been devoted fans every since. It's one of the few places we go more than once a year and it's a favorite spot for birthday Thursdays where we pack in 20 people at a odd shaped table configurations and have a blast.

So, when Ed & Janel asked if we would like test out the "Newpie" before they open to the public we yelled, YES PLEASE!

The place was filled with over 40 folks wearing the Magpie uniform of black and yellow outfit complete with magpie mask and ready to break in the new space. Modesto Bitters (sweet vermouth & soda) and Honey Shades (lemonade & pilsner) in hand, we embarked on an evening of Magpie goodness.

Let's start with the space. They are on the corner of 16th & P as the anchor of the 16 Powerhouse project with neighbors such as Orchid Thai and Insight Coffee. On the P Street side, they have a non-smoking/dog-friendly patio with tables, benches and a gorgeous one-ton slab of tree that serves as a place to sit, set your drink or place your cheese plate while mixing and mingling or waiting for a table inside. The wood fencing was reclaimed from the trees that were removed for the construction.

With more space and higher ceilings, the inside is a sexy black with huge windows that open to the street. During the daytime it is bright and light and at night it gets moody and full of ambiance. There is a beautiful zinc bar with many more seats than the R Street location and a full bar with RC Cola on tap. That is just rad!

They open on Monday, July 6th and you'll see some of the old favorites plus a couple of new items as they get acquainted with the new place and see what they can do with a couple of fryers, a new salamander and a bit more space. We look forward to see what new favorites they come up with.

And don't worry, Yellowbill with still be keeping you flush in baked goods and espresso while the R Street location will hatch into a new concept called Nido in the next month or so.

Congratulations Ed, Janel & all the Magpies!

We try to be gracious guests. Black & yellow.

We're crafty

The welcome!

Panzanella

Such a great cheese board

White bean puree with mushrooms is back! I could roll around in this.

Mussels!

Most of the privileged guests

South

2005 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 382.9722

South is a win. Recently opened, we put off going because of the small space and large crowds. Lo and behold, we got a table for 10 at our usual 7 pm time with no problems. I personally love a walk-up-and-order arrangement for our large drop-in-drop-out crowds so this was right up our alley.

They use family recipes for your traditional southern food like fried chicken, shrimp and grits, barbeque plate, red beans and rice but they also have some less traditional fare like a really amazing burger. The fried chicken was moist, not greasy, crisp and flavorful and on top of a lovely pile of kale.

They don't have their liquor license yet but that is actually a good thing because it's BYOB and our group didn't disappoint. Growler of Oak Park Brewing Co beer, bottle of bubbles, wine, whiskey - you name it, we had it. They are so generous about glassware and it always helps to pass a beer to the kitchen.

The owners are lovely and we wish them the best! Highly recommend it.

Photo by Naked Bob

Scribby's Birthday at Magpie

1409 R Street #102
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 452-7594

I can't help my love for Magpie Cafe. So it was my birthday choice. It's tough to get 15 drunks into the restaurant on a normal Thursday since they don't take reservation and they are usually packed! But we were lucky enough to have the #HellaStorm chase everyone away and keep people in their homes. Easy peasey!

Bubbles, wine, meats, cheeses, the most delicious veggie plate, corned pork, cookies, great service, rad staff - what more can a birthday girl ask for!

Sacramento Burger Battle

Cesar Chavez Park

Yeah for us! The Sacramento Burger Battle landed on a Thursday. We rallied the troops and for $45 we ate amazing local burgers until we almost burst and had some lovely cocktails, beer and wine. It's totally worth the price, the park is filled with all the most fun Sacramento people and it's just something Sacramento should be proud of.

A little birdie told me that it might be on a Thursday next year as well. Challenge accepted!