Local food enthusiasts discover Midtown

2012-01-19T10:28:54Z

Similar to a pub crawl but with restaurants, food aficionado group Dishcrawl offers “foodies” a chance to visit new restaurants and meet the owners and chefs. The attendees sign up for the event online and the meeting place is revealed after payment is received.

The Sacramento chapter of Dishcrawl – which aims to bring people together over food, according to founder Tracy Lee – will host its next restaurant crawl at 7 p.m. Jan. 25.

This will be the sixth Dishcrawl event in Sacramento, and according to the group’s Twitter feed, it will explore J and K streets. The actual restaurants will be released to ticket holders 48 hours before the event.

Previous Dishcrawls in Sacramento have taken participants to Lucca, Ella Dining Room and Bar, Dive Bar and Wayside Noodles.

San Jose resident Tracy Lee said she started the group two years ago as an avenue to get food enthusiasts to visit local restaurants together.

“What better way to explore your neighborhood than to travel through four restaurants in one night and meet the faces behind the food,” Lee said.

Ellen Lu, a previous intern at Dishcrawl, started the Sacramento chapter last year. There are over 100 people who are in this community and according to Lee, the ages range from 30-55.

Local food blogger and web developer Rodney Blackwell, who runs BurgerJunkies, a burger review blog, joined Dishcrawl after seeing post about the first event on Twitter last April.

“After the first one, I was hooked,” said Blackwell. “I also love that they are excuses for mini ‘date nights’ for my wife and I.”

Blackwell said that the new restaurants and food drew him in. He has attended four out of five of the events held since he started the group.

“I think it's the food discovery,” said Blackwell. “Couple that with the social aspect of chatting with other local foodies, and it makes for a fun night”

Wes Beatty moved to Sacramento from the Bay Area more than a year and a half ago and got involved with Sacramento Dishcrawl in December.

According to Beatty, Lee had organized two Dishcrawls in Sacramento to gauge the following and worked with Groupon for one of them. However, an ambassador was necessary for the chapter’s survival.

“Tracy was having a hard time finding someone to be the ambassador and coordinate the events,” Beatty said. “I was really bummed that these amazing events were not going to be coming to Sacramento and, that's when I decided to step up.”

This will be Beatty’s first Dishcrawl event in Sacramento, and he said that other people who will be experiencing Dishcrawl for the first time should expect to try new food and meet people in the community.

“It gives the community the opportunity to meet other people that have the same passion for food and to try different restaurants or different foods they might have not tried before,” said Beatty. “It also gives the community the unique opportunity to meet the owner or chef, the people that are behind the scenes of these fantastic restaurants”

Tickets for the Jan. 25 event are $29 and can be purchased on the website. The cost covers all of the food, drinks excluded. Any cancellations must be made 48 hours prior to the event.

For more information, visit the website or Twitter page.

Holiday drinks that warm the soul

2011-12-20T06:43:57Z

With the overwhelming pressure of making sure everyone gets the right present, the holidays can be a little hectic. And the arctic chill of the winter season does not make this any easier. But, with a little bit of liquor and holiday joy poured into the glass, these holiday drinks can make the season bearable.

BARWEST:
2724 J Street, Ste. A
Sacramento, CA 95816
Mon – Fri: 11 am – 2 am
Sat – Sun: 9 am – 2 am

Klondike Bar
$7

½ oz. of Rumplemintz or any peppermint schnapps
½ oz. of Baileys
½ oz. of Godiva/ chocolate liqueur
½ oz. of cream

Shake, strain over 6 oz. glass of ice, rim with chopped peppermint

“It’s Christmas in a glass,” said Bartender Bobby Hodson. “If Santa let you down, this drink won’t”

Golden Bear
2326 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95816
Mon – Fri: 11:30 am – 2:00 am
Sat – Sun: 10:00 am – 2:00 am

French Buttered Pear
$7 / $5.50 – HH

1.5 oz. brandy
1 oz. pear
0.5 oz. Cinn-Vanilla Simple syrup
0.5 oz. lemon juice

Combine all with ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with grated cinnamon

“Chris Tucker actually poaches the pears and then purees them,” said Bartender Amy Pattaglia. “I feel like I should be sitting by a fireplace when I drink it, it’s delicious.”
Drink created by Chris Tucker

The Porch
1815 K Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Mon – Sun: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm

Hot Porch Tea
$7

1 oz. Meyers Dark Rum
1 oz. Kahlua Cinnamon Spice
½ oz. vanilla bean simple syrup
¼ oz. cinnamon simple syrup
Pinch of nutmeg, brown sugar and hot water

Mix spices, syrups and liquor. Add hot water, top with slice of butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon

“It’s a twist on a hot toddy,” said Bartender Erin Puckett. “It’s cinnamon spice hot rum.”

Alley Katz
2019 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Mon – Fri: 11:00 am – 12:00 am
Sat – Sun: 2:00 pm – 12:00 am

Raspberry Cheesecake
$7

Equal parts vanilla and raspberry vodka
3 splashes of cranberry juice
¼ - ½ oz. of Baileys
Rim w/ crushed graham crackers

Shake and strain

“It’s delicious yet really strong,” said customer Tarah Combs. “It’s pretty much the most delicious thing I’ve had all day”

Monkey Bar
2730 Capitol Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95816
Mon – Thurs: 11:00 am – 12:00 am
Fri: 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Sat: 8:30 am – 2:00 am
Sun: 8:30 am – 12:00 am

Pink Blueberry
$7

1 oz. Blueberry Stoli Vodka
3 counts of sweet and sour
Splash of Sprite and cranberry juice

First, mix the vodka and sweet and sour. Then, add the Sprite and cranberry juice and strain.

“The girls really love this drink,” said Bartender Nelson Machado, who also created the drink. “It’s a good girl drink.”

Bars and Restaurants

Local food enthusiasts discover Midtown

Holiday drinks that warm the soul