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 ...

I Was Wrong Wednesday: The Grilled Cheese Edition

 

Even though this was published on a Thursday, the events actually took place this past Wednesday.  Thus "I Was Wrong Wednesday."

A few days ago, scanning my bank account (the usual account check-up and verification) I came across a curiosity, a $412.76 debit of which I had no clue to its attachment.  The notification stated "EB BBQ Unlimited" which I immediately thought was suspect.  I scoured my brain for a few minutes and couldn't figure out anything I had purchased for $412.76 nor anything with "EB BBQ Unlimited" attached to it.  So, dutifully, I went on a little internet discovery mission to find what that label might be.

Quite a few BBQ companies came up in my search and I immediately suspected someone had gotten hold of my credit card number and committed some "Happy birthday to me!" present shopping at my expense.  So I jumped on my bank's website and went through all the necessary steps to have the charge disputed.  In so doing, it was suggested I cancel the card and get a new one.  Well this causes all kinds of problems, especially from the standpoint of various accounts having that card information attached to it.  That means I have to go to those various places and erase the old card and input the new one which is a pain in the ass ... but a necessity in light of the possibility fraud was involved.  So I went through the motions and did what I needed to do, grumbling along the way.

Fast forward to early this past Wednesday morning as I'm checking my e-mail.  A couple items caught my attention, one of which was from the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival and another from EventBrite, both noting the 4 tickets I purchased over a month ago were being cancelled because I had requested a refund of the $412.76 charge I used to pay for them. Oh, so THAT was what that debit was on my account!  And THAT'S what "EBB BBQ Unlimited" was.  There was no fraud!  I initiated the transaction all by my lonesome!  *yeesh*

I shot a return e-mail to the Sacramento Grilled Cheese Festival letting them know my bonehead move and asked what I needed to do for a re-acquisition, being they were VIP tickets.  

And then I figured I'd better visit their website in the event tickets were still available.  The festival is quite popular and sells out every year.  And - being well into the month and the fact it was being held at the end of April - I figured everything was sold out already and I may be SOL.  But, to my surprise, there were still tickets to be purchased ... and VIP tickets at that. So I jumped at the chance quickly, purchased them all over again and ended up saving face.

Thus, the "I Was Wrong Wednesday" moniker. What a motorhead I am ...

 

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

Adolescent Beatdown

Me: "Want a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch? I'm craving one for some reason ..."

Other: "Sure."

Me: "On white, right?" I already knew the answer but asked anyway.

Other:  "Eeeeewww! No! Gross!"

Me: "It's better on white."

Other: "No, it's not. On sourdough, please."

Me: "You know ... it's a proven fact grilled cheese on white bread brings out all the flavor. And it's what I grew up with as a kid."

Other: "Well, it's time to grow up."

Me: "What? I can't relive  a fond childhood memory?"

Other: "Not if it's resurrected on white bread you can't."

Me: "Unbelievable. You're actually denying me a cherished adolescent comfort moment. I can't believe you'd do that ..."

Other:  "Believe it."

Me: "I'm flabbergasted. This is a side of you I've never experienced before. It verges on being mean ..."

Other: "Deal with it."

Me: "Wow. Just ... wow ..."

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

Giving 100%

I don't know what to do, exactly.

I mean, there's nothing really I can do except wait patiently until the morning dawns and check in to see if my friend Matt is all right.

Here ... this is what I'm talking about. See for yourself:

See what I mean? Such energy expenditure - and the reason for its disbursement ("I thought my grilled cheese was burning, so, you know, it was an emergency. My hamstrings will be barking tomorrow, no doubt, but I'd do it again if I had to. #priorities") - certainly calls for a check up on the man. Right?

Look at that output at the bottom of the graphic: 16.8 minutes per mile. Now, that might not seem like much to the Average Joe but in comparison to his last few updates (each totaling a combined distance of 0.00 miles) well ... you can see why I'm concerned.

So ... what to do? Hurry up and wait. That's all I can do. That and hope and pray he's all right come the morn.

.......... Ruprecht ( can't STOP worrying the consequences of Matt's actions )

Update: 7/24/15, 6:58 a.m.: I've seen Matt post on social media this morning. He appears to be fine. Though, if his hamstrings are barking, he didn't make mention of it.