Throwin' em back

I was never frequented Hangar 17 before, but now that I know their happy hour specials, I can pretty much guarantee that I'll be back more.

They used to only have specials on food, but I guess they were encouraged by the mass amounts of happy hours in the Midtown region (and perhaps by this blog??) to expand their cheap eats and drinks. And they certainly are cheap!

I went on a Thursday night and was pleased to find they they have "Throwback Thursdays" where old timer drinks such as Manhattans, Harvey Wallbangers (what is that, anyway?) and other old school drinks are only $3! That includes martinis, and my current fav, the gimlet. I suggest getting the gimlet over ice, however, because it goes down really well...

They also have beer specials on Tuesdays, and 2-for-1's on Friday and Saturday nights from 10 to 11pm. Check out their website for all their specials at http://www.hangar17bar.biz/specials.html.

New Obsession

Those of you who know me at all know that I love PBS. Especially during the summer, when network television only produces such quality television as "Nashville Star" and "Man's Best Friend," I turn to PBS for quality shows like "Masterpiece Theatre" and "Nova."

But my real obsession is cooking shows. I loved Food Network when I had expanded cable, but, alas, they don't provide that station with basic cable. So I have PBS. And pretty much all day on Saturday it's nothing but cooking shows. (Well, at 9:30am it's Burt Wolf's Travels and Traditions, but really, who can argue with that?)

My favorite, and my reason for telling all of you about this, is Gourmet Magazine's "Diary of a Foodie." For those of us who love food, drink, and travel, it's the perfect television show. They manage to make food and drink both exotic and accesible, fun and informative. And they share great recipies, like today's coconut crusted marshmellows. Yum.

"Diary of a Foodie" is on Saturday mornings on KVIE at 10:30am. You can also check it out online at www.gourmet.com/diaryofafoodie. Check it out!

Bistro Taste on a Fast Food Budget

I love a cheap happy hour. I love it even more when it's posed in a setting that appears to be up-scale, where you can sit next to people in expensive suits and pretend like you're there for the scene, not the cheap drinks.

Bistro 33 in Midtown in that kind of place. As a whole, any of the ever expanding restaurants in the 33rd Street Bistro franchise (They now not only have their Bistro 33 in Midtown and the original on 33rd and Folsom, but one in El Dorado Hills, Davis, Riverside Clubhouse, Suzie Burger in Midtown and the new Tre which I have no information on. Ok, I need to take a breath...) offers good food and drinks at a fairly decent price, but it's certainly not the place you think of when you need a cheap drink. The other night my friend Yelena and I stopped for a couple of drinks and managed to only spend about $30 with tip between the two of us. For a place that describes itself as "hip, sexy and stylish" (according to the website) that's pretty damn good. Especially when you find out what we had... so here we go: 2 lemon drops, 2 dirty martinis, 1 vodka tonic, 1 dungeness crab and artichoke dip and 1 shrimp "cone" (baby shrimp in a paper cone). We were full and drunk, and I think that should be the goal of any good happy hour.

If you've been there you know the service can be a bit sketchy. Lucky for us we had good service, good drinks, and good food. Selected drinks are no more than $3.50 and selected apps are only $3. Go for the crab dip. Bistro 33 also makes a bitchin' breakfast.

Awful Good

It's not Sacramento and it's not Happy Hour, but it's awful good!

Saturday night in Reno is a lot of fun - at least the parts I can remember were! Any night of drinking should be capped off with a burger as yummy as the Awful Awful from the Little Nugget.

You have to go down an alley to get there but at 3:00a.m. there is a huge crowd so it's nothing to be afraid of. The Awful Awful is made right in front of you -- it's a 1/2 pound burger topped with a special sauce, cheese and veggies. The (generous basket of) fries are amazing! They're seasoned just right with salt, garlic and parsley (I think?). I'm not 100% sure but I think it was about $5 (see paragraph two).

So if you're in Reno looking for the perfect late-night drunk food -- the Awful Awful is hitting the jackpot! Or a Royal Flush! Or 21! You get the picture!

So, Sacramentans... what's your favorite burger?

Happy Hour Updates

The happy hour list is constantly being updated but we can't do it alone! If you know about a happy hour that isn't on the list or see that parts of our list are outdated, please send us a comment so we can have the best list possible!

Cheers!

http://sachappyhour.blogspot.com/2007/10/cheers.html

New Bar in Town!

You've probably driven by the 3 Fires Lounge and didn't even notice it. Inside the new Marriott hotel, across the street from the Park and kitty corner from the Capital, there's a lot going on in that neighborhood. Jen and I stopped by for a quick drink the other night. They have a literal happy hour--from 5 to 6. But while it's short, the drinks are well priced. Selected red and white wine by the glass for $5, Herradura margies for $4.50 and Infusions (whatever the heck that is--but probably worth a try!) for $3. They also have some tasty looking snacks for around $5. They have other small plates and a full bar if you don't make it there during happy Hour (I feel like it should be capitalized). The bar itself is very beautiful, great ambiance and the bartenders and waiters are very friendly. The clientele looks like they're mostly out-of-towners staying at the hotel, but it's worth a try, especially if you don't want to hit up the Park across the street.

A Cause to drive over the Causeway

My company decided to ship me out to our Davis office for the past two days (thanks, Yelena), and while I was pretty annoyed about the fact that I'd have a drive considerably longer than my usual jaunt down J Street, it actually turned out to be a culinary adventure. Too bad I'm actually supposed to be working most of the time I'm here.

My only previous experiences with Davis cuisine were slices of Woodstock pizza over beer bongs and shots at my best friend's house prior to hitting up a frat party. No surprise, I don't really remember too much about it, except that the pizza was DAMN good. But let's face it, any pizza is good when beer and cheap vodka are involved.

I decided to venture out a little bit, since I'm a little bit older, a little wiser, and a tad bit more sober (I did say "tad"). Also, I'm here during the day, and have to drive back. So no drinking. (Although I will admit, the G Street Pub was calling my name...)

Yelena suggested I try the Farmer's Kitchen Cafe for lunch because they have yummy sandwiches. Also, they specialize in gluten-free products. I'm not going to go into it, but I've recently discovered that I have an intolerance to wheat. (Freaking awesome for a good little Italian girl who loves her pasta, let me tell you!) It's a cute little cafe with a brief menu and has a lot of organic and local items on it. I had a tuna sandwich on gluten free bread. The tuna was really good, while a little messy (apparently whatever they used instead of mayo isn't as sticky). It had great flavor though, and tasted a lot fresher than the kind that you normally get. If you never had gluten free bread, it's a little strange. A little wetter and denser than normal bread. It had good flavor though, and while it was an overall wet meal, was satisfying. The service was a little odd. Yelena had told me about the Jane Goodall type that runs the place (She even has a book on Jane Goodall for customers to read. I almost laughed out loud.) and that she's a little spacey. I waited for my check for over 10 minutes. They seemed to forget about me. Also, they serve you luke-warm water, although they do put a lemon in it. I want to go back and try some of their other gluten free products some time.

Today I wanted Thai Food. After walking around downtown Davis and getting a little lost (only I could get lost in a town that's about 5 square blocks) I found Thai Bistro. They had a great lunch menu and I opted for the Drunken Noodles (I forget the Thai name, but it's number 20). Bright, crisp green beans, yummy onions, tomato and red bell peppers. The chicken was just right--not too tough as it sometimes can be. The sauce was the perfect balance of spicy and sweet. Delish! Could have fed me twice, but I was starving and ate 3/4 of it and just ate the rest... what can I say, it was THAT good!

Jennifer always recommends Sophia for Thai, as does my sales manager who lives in Davis. And there is always Woodstock's. It was amazing to me--there are so many choices for food here! Got to love a college town. I also noticed that Aioli has a restaurant here, as does Bistro 33. But if you're going to come here to eat, I would go for the more adventurous and ethnic choices. There's even a Bohemian restaurant (I'm not sure what they would serve). If you're interested in more food choices for Davis, check out this great website: www.daviswiki.org. They have great reviews, price ranges and recommendations. They'll also tell you where these restaurants are because I can't remember. I got lost in Davis, remember.