Kupros Bistro
1217 21st Street – Sacramento, Calif.

Words & Photos by Adam Saake

Kupro is Esperantan for copper. If you’re like me, you’re asking yourself, “What the hell is Esperanto?” Esperanto, a language all its own, was developed in the late 1800s as a way to create a middle ground for the people of planet Earth to speak with one another. But it never caught on, and now only a small percentage of people in the world care enough to learn it. Kupros Bistro, a wonderful new gastro-pub located in Midtown, will hopefully not suffer the same fate. If we could draw a comparison, although, it would be that Esperanto is apparently very easy to learn as Kupros’s menu is very easy to love.

What was once a popular costume shop by the name of Cheap Thrills is now a completely remodeled two-story destination for food and libations. Playing off the traditional English pub, Kupros offers a comfort food menu with a touch of finesse. Move over, fish and chips; step aside, bangers and mash–ciao, linguine and clams, bon jour duck confit Rueben.

On my late afternoon visit, the lunch crowd had dispersed and I had the second-story patio all to myself. Inside, a multitude of tables all set and ready to go loomed like a ghost soiree waiting to be possessed. “Banquets,” said my server. Hopefully, because the amount of seating available seemed a little ambitious for what is essentially a pub. Outside, the patio overlooked the busy motorcade that is 21st Street, and umbrellas lined the banister, shading diners from the lingering summer rays and the wind-disturbed pollen and tree debris. Downstairs had booth seating and the U-shaped bar looked very inviting if you like getting friendly with the bartenders. Their draft beer selection had some keepers, including a Belgian-style saison from Lost Abbey and an English-style cider from Fox Barrel. And intentional or not, there was a humorous coupling of Stone’s Arrogant Bastard Ale and Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch.

For the appetizer, I tried the fried pickles ($5) with a house tartar sauce. It’s of note to mention that all Kupros sauces are house-made, all the way down to the ketchup. Four lightly battered and fried wedges of tangy dill pickles are served modestly in a cocktail glass with a napkin back to absorb the excess oil. The tartar is pretty standard, but this dish doesn’t need to reach for the stars; it’s meant as a salty treat to go smashingly with a frosty pint. This isn’t a dish you grow tired of quickly and this is in part to the batter. It isn’t layered on so thick that you have a hard time finding the pickle.

It’s important to order the burger from time to time, because so many places do it differently. You never know when you’re going to stumble upon a truly great rendition of an American classic. As far as Sacramento goes, Kupros’s natural Angus burger with beer cheese, house relish and “drive-thru” dressing ($13) ranks up there in my top three. Aside from a great patty of beef cooked right and a fresh bun, the beer cheese turns this burger from good to great. This fondue-like concoction is a combination of cheddar cheese, lager beer and shallots, which is then smothered over the patty to make for coagulated goodness. Add some grilled onions and you’re dynamite.

I’m a salty and sweet kind of guy, and although dessert at lunch is a little overkill, I just couldn‘t resist. Amongst other interesting treats, Kupros does a vanilla bean panna cotta with chocolate cookies ($8) that have a frosting center (essentially a beefed-up Oreo) made by one of the Kupros pastry chefs, Jodie Chavious. Panna cotta is a traditional Italian custard usually made with cream, milk, sugar and gelatin and the flavors vary from caramel to blackberry. Chef John Gurnee throws a little buttermilk in there to give it a nice tang. This desert is uncomplicated, rich and fun to look at too. Indulge.

The dinner menu has some items not available during the day, including a delicious potted rabbit that I tried on a previous visit that was literally served in a latch-top pot. The kitchen stops serving at 10 p.m., so get your orders in before the night sneaks up on you. Also, Kupros is closed on Mondays and the kitchen takes a little break from 2—3 p.m. so plan accordingly.

Streets of London
1804 J St., Sacramento

I love to gorge myself with food 100 times more when I’m drunk as opposed to when I’m high. I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t get the munchies like that; however, after two beers I’m eating whatever I can get my hands on. That being said, bar/pub food (there is a difference, as Streets of London will show) is one of my favorite indulgences because, well, if I’m eating it, I’m probably already happy. At any establishment that serves liquor, you can always find burgers, fries, nachos, nacho fries, fried chicken whatevers or mozzarella sticks, but for a seasoned bar stool eater this fare can be numbing. For this reason alone, many bar crawls have been planned around landing at Streets of London around dinner time or the fourth or fifth drink, whichever comes first. Later for the one sided menu with a handful of items, Streets has a five-pager boasting sandwiches, appetizers, soups and salads, entrees and most awesome, breakfast (which is served all day). It’s almost as if the drinks take a back seat to the loaded menu; it’s that good.

On my last trip to Streets on J St., I was joined by a couple friends who really opened the menu up to me. Half drunk, one friend was adamant about ordering the fried pickles. The idea itself sounded kind of disgusting, but my taste buds knew something my stomach didn’t. Those fuckers are amazingly good. Thinly sliced, similar to how fried zucchini is served, the pickles had an addictive buttery and bitter taste. The breading was crispy, but strangely the pickle itself maintained the champion of crunch. A cup of ranch was offered as a dipper, and while ranch can make anything better, it wasn’t necessary as the pickles had so many other flavors going on. Even the French guys next to us approved, and even after them everyone in our party got their fix in one plate.

The entrees followed, and since I was splitting a plate with the vegetarian, I had chosen the traditional fish and chips. It’s not the most vegetarian friendly menu. There is nothing more British than fish and chips, so it is expected Streets has a pretty good recipe. Each piece is pretty hearty, definitely one of the bigger single servings of fried cod I have seen, and paired with a large portion of fries there is no way you’ll be hungry afterward. The taste was great, but on this particular visit, the fish and fries were both a little soggy, but I would credit that to it being a busy Saturday evening. When it was all said and done, I was not mad at all. My face was a little greasy, but yo, I wasn’t trying to eat anytime soon. In short, two people got stuffed for under $10.

Bocephus was included in the party and sided with the sausage roll, which was described as “a British style banger wrapped in a puff pastry and baked.” I’m not schooled on the schnitzels or anything like that, so the sausage roll was a new concept to me. With one bite, I can testify that it was the truth. It was baked to perfection, flaky and sweet, and the banger balanced it all out with its juicy saltiness. Also served with a (un)healthy portion of fries (or chips, whichever) and baked beans, for $8.50 this was an undeniably successful choice. After I try all the curries and shepherd’s pie, I’m going to roll with the sausage roll.

The winner of the three dishes though was the homie Erik’s corned beef sandwich. It was unbelievably good. The corned beef was stacked almost 2 inches high between two slices of delicious rye. You have the option of a hot or cold sandwich, and while Erik rocked the hot, there is no way you could go wrong with the cold either. I’ve been to Katz’s Deli in New York, and I want to go on record and say that Streets of London’s corned beef could at the very least rival a Katz’s sandwich. Plain and simple, it was bomb.

In conclusion, bar food is played, hit up any of the three Streets of London spots and get down with some real pub grub. You can’t do wrong.