Three Restaurants, Three Months: The NorCal6

Ahhhhhhhh ... the maintenance of the 'ole blog when it comes to The NorCal6.

Sometimes it's effortless, other times not so much.

June and July were mostly non-events.  We hit The Melt in Folsom and Danette's Brick Oven Pub in July, the latter having been visited in a previous year. Both?  Were adequate when it came to food and atmosphere.  

No drama, no surprises and it was agreed we'd return again.

Now ... Rocker Oysterfeller's in downtown Placerville last month?  Different story all together.  Oh, the drama ...

 

The food was rather good.  I partook of Louisiana Hot oysters (even though I know it's rarely a good idea to order seafood far, far away from the sea) and some Blackened Gulf Shrimp Tacos.  Tasty stuff indeed, despite being a bit on the pricey side.  (And, truth be told, I was kind of pressured into ordering oysters ... but I really didn't mind getting hornswaggled in that department.)  Pete and Missy ordered the same thing, Smashburgers.  Pete said his was delicious.  Missy's was a letdown, she said - overcooked and not very tasty.  My failing recall forgets what Laurie ordered but I do remember Grant got the Molasses & Bourbon Pork volcano Shank which he enjoyed right down to the very last.

So, overall, the food worked.  The appetizers?  They did start off the evening with any sort of anticipation once served ...

A plate of Bear Battered Onion Rings was proffered while we were all talking and, by the time I got a chance to take a gander at them, there were 3 rings left ... and pretty anemic looking ones at that.  I didn't remember seeing anyone going for them so I surmised the order was a singular half dozen rings, all told.  

"What happened to the rings?!?" I asked.  With I would have nabbed a shot of them for evidence.  Grant ordered some Cheesy Jalapeño Pull-Apart Bread and, if I didn't know any better, it came from the middle of Death Valley.  It was that dry.  No dipping sauce or butter or other was offered with it, so butter was requested ... but by the time it got there it was too little too late.  (Skip this item if you go there.  Trust me.)

And, in the mix, was our waitress who was not only scatter-brained but appeared out of sorts with the entire concept of waitressing.

The first couple beer orders I attempted weren't available.  On the third try - a Henhouse Stoked! Hazy Pale Ale I ordered with emphasis on the "Stoked!" because of the exclamation point - she asked me "The dessert?"

"The dessert?!?" I responded.  "No ... the beer."  I had not idea what she was talking about.  And, apparently, neither did she.

"Oh, yeah ... okay.  Got it."  And off she stumbled to put in my order.

It took an inordinate amount of time for the drinks to come but the food came in relatively quick order.  But ... most of it was served to the wrong person.  As noted:  Our waitress wasn't the sharpest took in the shed.

Interestingly and at one point ordered an additional brew ... and I attempted to so same.  But each time I was spurned, ignored as if I was a ghost.  This was rather amusing to Grant but let me flabbergasted.  I could see our waitress' tip diminishing to a trickle as the moments ticked by.

And then when all was said and done the checks came ... complete with automatic 20% gratuities already attached.  

On the inside?  I was slow burning, on the way to fuming.  But ... on the inside.

I wasn't going to allow the substandard service of this gal get in the way of everyone's enjoyment of the get-together nor was I going to expose my inner asshat.  

But come on ... an automatic gratuity for a "large party" as detailed on the receipt?  Since when did 6 people encompass a large party?  I buried any comments I wanted to unleash and pleasantly paid the bill without incident.

Tasty food (though a touch pricey), terrible service.  

It's going to take convincing to get me back there, this I know.

.......... Ruprecht  ( STOP bad, ditzy waitressing )

The NorCal6: Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival, 4.29.23

 

You know ... it's a wonder The NorCal6 even made it to the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival at all last month.  (What with my accidental cancellation of the original tickets purchased and their re-acquisition.  What a cluster ...)

But we made it.  And, for the most part, a terrific time was had by all.

The Fest, an annual gathering of all things grilled cheese, was strung out over the course of a weekend.  Saturday featured UNLIMITED samples of specialty grilled cheese sandwiches, craft beers, regional wines, desserts and more for those 21 and older while Sunday was the family friendly day where the food samples and drink were available for individual charge, not the free-for-all of the day prior.

 

No ... I don't know why Grant feels the need to announce
he's #1 in many of these photos ...

Grant, Kelly, Missy and I got in an hour early courtesy of V.I.P. passes and Pete and Laurie joined us shortly thereafter.  Street parking was relatively easy when we got there.  I can only imagine how strained the parking situation got as the event got close to go time.

Held at Southside Park in downtown Sacramento, you couldn't have asked for a better location.  It was pleasant, sunny and never got too hot over the course of the thing.

And, oh ... the comestibles they had coming out the booths!  Let's highlight a few, shall we?

There was a BBBJ, a blackberry bacon brie & jalapeño grilled cheese concoction from Bella Art Works that was surprisingly tasty.  Additionally, this same joint featured the Mother Clucker, breaded chicken, provolone, cheddar and honey mayo.  Damned good stuff.  Two particular sandwiches from Rancho Rio Bravo Catering - the Cowboy Up (smokehouse brisket, smokey cheese, TexiCali blackberryy red wine & cracked pepper) and the Wranglers Roundup (smoked pulled pork and cheese with duck plum cranberry sauce) - were exceptional.  

I didn't get the chance to grab two specific sandwiches I was looking forward to from Sacramento Pop Up Truck: The Crustacean (a lobster and Gruyère grilled cheese) and The Surf And Turf (a brisket, lobster and Gruyère creation).  There was only so much you could get to as the day wore on and the crowds increased in size.

But one of my favorites was a French onion grilled cheese sandwich that came with a side of French onion soup.  There were two vendors featuring French onion grilled cheese so I'm not sure which one I got from who but, whichever one I got my hands on, was the right pick.  It was outstanding.  And I wish I would have gone back for seconds.

But, you have to understand, there wasn't just grilled cheese on the menu.  There was beer tasting as well, raising this little get together to an entirely different level of affair.  It was a grilled cheese festival and brewfest, too!

Yes, my beard is black. That's an entirely different post ...

At Ease Brewing Company, Great Notion Brewing, Morgan Territory Brewing, Track 7 Brewing Co., Boring Rose Brewing Co., Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Chico were some of the breweries present along with a few more I don't recall.

And, if that wasn't enough of a good time, there were distilleries in attendance as well handing out tiny sample shots and signature cocktails as well!  Humboldt Distillery, J.J. Pfister Distilling Co, River City Brands, South Fork Vodka to name a few.  It was J.J. Pfister Distilling which had a very, very tasty rye whiskey sample I gravitated to a a time or several.  I even got Grant to give it a try.  And he didn't dislike it, a bit of a surprise there.  (Grant? Not a rye guy.) And once Pete and Laurie got there, Pete was drug here and there to give the various samples a try, too.  The girls were drinking some foo-foo sweet pink grapefruit vodka punch refresher from South Fork Vodka that wasn't too shabby.  Even Missy was digging on it ... and she doesn't like grapefruit. 

Needless to say, with all the food being munched on and all the liquids swigged, we had a pretty damned good time ... enough so we all concluded we'll be headed back next year. 

In conclusion, I may have had a little bit too good a time at the festival.  But what's a little frivolity among friends?  Even loud ones like me? 

As the saying goes (a recent one I've come to embrace):

Next up?  Our house ... were there's gonna be a Bunko Party with a Mexican food theme ...

The NorCal6: Misadventures In Monthly Get-Togethers

We've been getting together in the neighborhood of 7 years running, the lot of us.  

We call ourselves The NorCal6.

Three couples, 6 friends, who decided instead of planting our asses on the couch in front of the television on a Saturday night, we were going to damned well get out into the world and do something.

It started out simply: We picked out a restaurant to explore, some new, different place none of us had been previously.  Converse.  Eat.  Solve a few world problems.  

And we agreed we'd do this monthly. Make it "a thing."

After a year, it morphed into hitting up events (i.e. The Asparagus Festival) and destinations (i.e. Mendicino), but the basis of the idea was still intact: To get off our asses and socialize instead of being lumps, if only for a couple hours.

More than half a decade and we're still at it.  

Hey ... who are The NorCal6 anyway? Why don't we take a moment to get to know them ...

• Grant - Big dude, relatively quiet.  Loves his beers.  Usually the first one to ask the question where our next month's outing will be
  
• Kelly - Grant's wife, The Designated Driver of the couple and lover of charcuterie and anything on the coast (her happy place, she says)
• Laurie - The infamous question asker: "How much is that?"  "Is it good?"  "How big is the portion?" ad nauseum ...
• Pete - Laurie's husband.  Along for the ride and pretty much happy no matter what we do
• Melissa - Michael's better half, "the picky eater" and often the DD in her own right (which I greatly appreciate)
• Michael - I'm the loud one, usually game for anything.  Instigator.  Non-conformist.  I'll talk to anyone anywhere we go.  Oh ... I'm loud, too.  I may have forgotten to mention that.

Funny thing: In all the years we've been doing this, I don't know why we've never properly documented our little get-togethers.  Oh, we've bantered about it, that we should put together some kind photo album of our outings or some such.  But we've rarely shot photos (of us or the locales we've visited) at our soirees, we've barely kept track of the different restaurants we've been to ... blah, blah, blah.  And at this last meeting it was suggested - for the umpteenth time - we get our shit together and document our comings and goings somehow.

This time?  I took it to heart.

So ... here goes. 

 

Saturday, the 14th, we ventured out into the rainy late, late afternoon to Out Of Bounds Brewery in Folsom, a locale one of our group had been to previously for a company-hosted event.  An early dinner was in order (along with brews we hadn't tried for the beer drinkers of the clan).  Needless to say a bevy of selections was commandeered.

Hangry Chicken Wings, Buffalo Cauliflower, onion rings and fried pickle spears were the appetizers shared all around. All were great ... but the "Ring Of Fire" sauce for the wings had a funky tang to it, the only real downside to the lot.

Beers? Yes! A delicious Milk Stout and a Blood Orange Wheat (2 of these, as a matter of fact) were quaffed.

Drunken and Craft Burgers, Smoked Mac & Cheese, Tri-Tip Arugula Salads and a Margherita Flatbread were on tap for the main courses.

My Drunken Burger was a huge, terrific mess and even came with a fried jalapeno speared garnish-like through the top of the bun, which I added to the innards of the burger.  The fries accompanying the thing were the kind you couldn't stop popping into your mouth ... and there appeared to be better than a double serving of them. Half came home with us. The wives assured us that the Smoked Mac & Cheese was top notch.

Of course, the dinner wasn't the only thing.  

The conversation flowed.  It was catch up time with everyone, what new things came up or were noteworthy since the last day of the old year, the last time all 6 of us were together.  I spilled Kelly's water moving dishes and almost tagged her with a wet lap.  And I dripped sauces from the appetizers and my burger all down the front of me.  (You can't take me anywhere sometimes.)  Plus, our waitress was top notch, noting and accommodating all our trivial (probably annoying) little requests.  (Yes, she was tipped well.)

 

So messy ...

Dessert?  Nope.  We were all too full to hit up one last course.

By the time we left Out Of Bounds Brewery, the rain had stopped and it was clear driving all the way home.  Another successful congregation.

Next up:  Soriano's Restaurant in Diamond Springs for Salvadoran / Mexican food come February ...

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

My Cousin, The Comedian

My cousin thinks he's a joker, a real comedian. 

He claimed, long ago, he wrote out a few lists of things indicative of who I am - some quirks, kinks and characteristics. 

But, when asked to produce these alleged lists, they were "conveniently misplaced" or "lost somewhere."

Well sir? Supposedly they've "resurfaced," miraculously found while cleaning some room or another.

For your consideration (along with each item typed out for legibility) I present said lists. I leave it to you to figure out which items are statements of fact and which are falsehoods.

 

- Cholula with rice
- Will wash dishes but tends to break them
- Loves dogs, tolerates cats
- Likes Cholula w/ eggs
- Cholula w/ meat
- Cholula w/ chicken
- Cholula on toast
- Cholula in milk
- Favorite beer - Coors Light
- 2nd favorite beer - Corona w/ lime
- Gives up something for Lent - but cheats on weekends
- Still drinks milk
- Watches - American Idol, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Survivor
- Caffinated coffee w/ Coffeemate - French vanilla (1-pot)
- Sometimes the computer is his third appendage
- Would prefer to suffer through a cold than take asprin, Nyquil or antihistamine
- Flu shots? - HA!!

- Keeps files of everybody & everything
- A pretty good chef - except for corn muffins, always stick to the paper
- Makes a mean corn salad
- loves corn on the cob, corn bread, corn chowder, corn tortillas - you get it? He likes corn
- Once his hair is combed, don't touch it
- Loves the dollar menu at McDonald's and Arco
- A good barbequer as long as there's a Coors Light in his hand (barbeque beer)
- Would love to own a pair of Magnum P.I. shorts
- Loves beach parties
- Comic-Con maniac
- Lucha libre impersonator
- Don't get between him & The Walking Dead
- Award winning holiday decorator
- Most things can be fixed with duct tape
- Likes toasted English muffins
- Occasionally goes on a "beer diet"
- World's authority on obscure music
- Prefers any "live" music to recorded
- Knocked over the Michelin Man
- Speaks perfect Spanglish

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

T-Shirt Collection: Rattler Stout

Beer shirts? Yeah ... I've got a few of them. Because, you know ... beer.

Never did like the term "Cali." But I do like this shirt.

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Pop Cap For Greeting

I don't know this guy ... I've never met this guy before ... you've got to admit this is a strange greeting ... and I really don't know what prompted it:


Hokay ... I "know" this guy. He's Rick Arthur, teacher, life student, comic aficionado and (I have it on authority) all-around good guy. It so happens he's the brother of one Douglas Arthur of Assault Of The Two-Headed Space Mules and Dougside comics and singular member of Flaming Schwarzkopf Experience.

I've been champing at the bit to post this since Rick created it in January of this year. By then, it was too late to put it out for general public consumption, but here it is now ... in all its glory.

When I first viewed it, I was doubled over in fits of laughter with tears running down my eyes. I thought it hilarious. And I still do.

So ... please, enjoy.

....... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Real Life Adventures In Construction - Hello, Ladies (... a continuing series ...)

Look: It's a condo. That's being renovated.

Currently, only men live here.

It's dusty and disheveled here. There isn't a single blind or curtains on any window in the place. (Hello! It's being renovated! Aren't you paying attention ... !??) The kitchen consists of a refrigerator (contents: beer, milk, beer, salad, beer, gallon water jugs, beer, a watermelon and some other fruit, beer, BBQ sauce, beer, beer and, oh yeah, beer) and a pop-up table with various utensils, paper plates, the occasional clean plastic cup, a role of paper towels, salt and pepper, Cholula and a few other items. The BBQ is our friend. 

The bathroom is in shambles, but at least everything "works." (There are towels on the floor from the other guys and the vanity could use a wipe down ... but the toilet flushes, there's a shower, running water.) 

The rest of the place is barren for the most part. Tools litter the floor, scaffolding is erected in the living room and bedrooms, walls are currently being "mudded," rags are everywhere and make-shift poles are positioned on pieces of wood for drying our laundry ... when we get around to it.

As mentioned, others live with me here. The owner. His brother. They're kind of messy (I'm the clean one of the bunch so to speak) but everything's amicable.) We have a kid who comes in and assists during the week. We take Sundays off to recuperate from the long week.

This particular Sunday with everyone gone but me, I slept in. (Translation: Up at a quarter past 6 instead of the usual 5:15 a.m.) I got out of bed, put on a pair of flip-flops, headed to the restroom and, shortly thereafter, set the coffee maker on "brew." (Yes! We finally got a coffee maker! Woot!) It's a toss up on any given morning whether I get dressed (or not) the first hour or so.

Luckily this morning I was at least sporting underwear. As I meandered into the kitchen to get a coffee cup, I looked up at the back sliding glass doors with the view of the golf course. There looking back at me was a group of 4 women fresh off the 3rd hole, peeking in at the window. 

A couple of them waved. I smiled and waved back. 

I approached them, opened the sliding glass door and offered hearty good morning. They commented they loved what we were doing with the place. (This was a clear attempt to distract themselves from the fact I had approached in nothing but skivvies. I mean ... the place is a mess. There's no possible way they could "love" what we were doing ... not yet, anyway. Not in the condition it was in.) 

We chatted for a few seconds more and then they left to resume their game. I wished them all good rounds. I turned tail to get my coffee.

Now ... we might get a call from the homeowner's association. We might not. 

I'm betting not. After all: They were on the property looking in at me sans clothes; I was not sans clothes on the golf course ...

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )