With Midtown Cocktail Week falling perfectly during this issue (it takes place Aug. 15—21 at various bars and restaurants), we took it upon ourselves to dedicate “Submerge Your Senses” to this oh-so-delicious week filled with unique cocktails, cool hands-on classes, exciting competitions, fun themed parties and so much more. If just for this one week, set the High Life down, back away from the IPA and indulge in the finest cocktails and mixed drinks from the region’s best bartenders. Outlined below are a few of our editors’ picks for the week. For more information, head to Midtowncocktailweek.org.
TOUCH
Home Bartending Classes
One of the coolest things about Midtown Cocktail Week is their lineup of hands-on home bartender classes. First up is the “How to Throw a Punch Bowl Bunco Party” class on Monday, Aug. 15 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Restaurant Thir13en (1300 H Street). In this class, home bartender students learn how to create tasty punch bowl drinks (both with and without alcohol), perfect for your next party or gathering. All students take home a punch bowl and their very own recipes. The class is just $25 and lunch is included. Next is the “Home Bartender 101 With a Taste of Italy” class on Saturday, Aug. 20 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Hot Italian (16th and Q streets). Taught by last year’s Midtown Cocktail Week Mixology Competition champion Russell Eastman, this class will give students some insight into basic bartending skills for either entertaining guests or for concocting your ultimate home recipes with, of course, Italian influences. All students take home a special gift bag and lunch is included with the $25 ticket. The third and final offering is the “Home Bartending 102 With a Thai Twist” class on Sunday, Aug. 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Level Up Lounge (2326 K Street). To take this class you will need to have basic knowledge of home bartending skills and a previous class under your belt. It will be taught by a local celebrity bartender, and students will enjoy five cocktail and cuisine pairings, all the while learning about flavors and techniques involved in Thai mixology. Each student will take home a special gift bag and tickets are just $25. For $10 extra you can snag a complete home bartending kit, or if you sign up for both the Saturday and Sunday classes, the kit is free! Already a bartender? There are “Industry Only” classes for you, too! They are even free of charge, and all Sacramento-area bar staff is welcome. For more information on those, visit Midtown Cocktail Weeks’ website.
SEE
The Science of Food and Drink on Aug. 20 at Lounge on 20
This will be by far the nerdiest event during Midtown Cocktail Week, not that that’s a bad thing. Everyone’s got a little nerd in them (some more than others). On Saturday, Aug. 20 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Lounge on 20 (1050 20th Street), witness a night of science-meets-mixology. One of the hottest trends in the cocktail world at the moment is “molecular mixology” and at this event you’ll get to witness some of the mad-scientist type stuff go down right in front of your own eyes. Molecular mixology is the term applied to the process of creating cocktails using the scientific equipment and techniques of molecular gastronomy, also a popular trend in the food world. Using these methods bartenders around the world are creating greater intensities and varieties of flavors and textures and are finding different ways of presenting drinks, for example using powders, gels, foams, mists, atomized sprays, etc. Sounds cool, right? That’s because it is, so don’t miss this event. Extra credit points for those who dress in a lab coat and safety goggles (not really, but that would be pretty awesome if you did).
HEAR
Who Will Be Named Midtown Cocktail Week’s Mixology Competition Champion?
One event you’ll be sure to want to attend is the Mixology Competition on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at Red Lotus (2716 J Street) from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Cheer on some of your favorite bartenders from the region, including (but not limited to) Dominique Gonzales (representing Zocalo, the only female in the competition), Chris Tucker (representing Golden Bear), Josh Carlson (representing Lounge on 20), Travis Kavanaugh (representing Shady Lady) and Robbie Schmitz (representing Lucca Restaurant and Bar), as they concoct delicious and unique punch bowl style cocktails. The 10 contestants all drew out of a hat one week prior to the competition to determine what spirit they will be using in their punch bowls so they could plan out their drinks. The five top-shelf spirits they chose from included Oxley Gin, Appleton Estate Reserve Rum, Famous Grouse Scotch, Casa Noble Tequila and Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Who will win the coveted title? You’ll have to show up to find out! After the competition, follow the crowd upstairs to Blue Cue for a rocking after party featuring live entertainment and guest bartenders.
TASTE
Artisan Food and Drink Pairings at The Stately State of Local Food and Drink
On Wednesday, Aug. 17, Shady Lady (1409 R Street) is hosting a late night (9 p.m. to closing) event called The Stately State of Local Food and Drink where guests will enjoy artisan food and drink pairings from Shady’s infamous bartenders and chefs. Come thirsty and hungry, leave tipsy and full.
Golden Bear
2326 K Street, Sacramento
K Street seems like the place to be these spring days in Sacramento. Many shops, ventures, bike routes and bars are found from downtown to the Business 80 on-ramps.
However, most pertinently for our foodie purposes, a plethora of places to eat can be found on this path. As the season has coyly exhibited its sunny splendor, one eatery has emerged from a sort-of hibernation with a patron-pleasing epicurean sensibility.
Although the Golden Bear didn’t completely stop selling pints of beer, it reopened in the middle of March with renovations done to its tail end. Owners Jon Modrow and Kimio Bazett kindly took time to chat with Submerge to give us the skinny. The location’s previous owners built an illegal patio addition to this 1840s structure, which ultimately came to be a fire-code violation and renovations were required, Bazett said.
For a bar with an obvious sense of California pride, Bazett and Modrow had a group of UC Davis design students and friends create branding and interior aesthetic. In complete concurrence, the owners jumped on board with the contemporary furniture and bright, inviting color splashes.
They wanted to keep design cohesive throughout their bar, using a “monster money budget” to remodel the indoor back patio.
Cool, custom upholstered booth-ettes are paired with sheen-y tables and accented by hanging cylindrical lights–the likes of the oil lamp’s electric brother. Removable skylights and high-powered fans to suck cigarette smoke out of the patio make the patio an indoor/outdoor hybrid.
The Golden Bear entrepreneurs seem to have no intention of letting any half-assing happen when it comes to food, and brought on a new chef to be the ultimate addition to the “top to bottom” renovations recently revealed.
From L-R: Owners Jon Modrow and Kimio Bazett with Chef Billy Zoellin
A few weeks fresh off a year cooking for the Highcroft Patrón Racing Team, passionate young Billy Zoellin is the new executive chef accomplishing clever culinary feats with his “punk food” and gastro-pub fare, something they all agree “seems to be what Sacramento is missing.”
The Golden Bear has one of the only chefs who shops personally at farmers markets. This act of taking that food and “making it your own” is what Chef Billy considers “punk food.”
Everything is prepared in-house, using local products (within a 100-mile radius) and consciously attempting to keep the bar’s carbon footprint as small as possible, Chef Billy said.
Having a clearer conscience about serving customers, patrons and friends healthier food is a bright point for Bazett, he said.
The kitchen serves filling American lunch classics like burgers (Juicy Lucy Burger), chicken sandwiches, meatball sandwiches, cheese appetizers and a form of fries; however, many options are light, bright, fresh and healthy.
For lunch, complex-yet-uncomplicated salads and vegetables are available. For brunch (Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), seasonal menus feature veggies, frittatas, a colorful Ahi bagelwich and ripe, sweet fruit.
Being a good little eater, I went with my gastro-instinct, trying the fried cheese curd small plate ($5), Bledsoe pork meatball sandwich ($9.50) and a few “smashed fries.”
Pan-seared and served with a romesco aoli, the melty drops of cheese had just the right amount of cheese crust crunch and creaminess. How can you not love cheese?
I’ve come to truly appreciate pork (thanks to the beau), and the pork flavor of the meatballs in the sandwich successfully tasted true. Seasonings, along with an understated “red sauce” clearly made from fresh tomatoes, accentuated the eight mini ping-pong ball-sized meatballs. Lightly pickled shallots offered a not-too-tangy, nor too-salty, vinegar tinge and complemented the meaty sandwich, topped with slightly pungent provolone cheese. Spongey Bella Bru streak roll worked nicely as an encapsulating bread bed, holding and absorbing sauce and flavors.
A choice of smashed fries or salad accompanies sandwiches. For a buck more, eaters can opt for the red leaf Caesar salad. It’s a rouge version of a Caesar, paying ode to such Tijuana origins by featuring Lola Rosa lettuce, crisp capers, Cotija cheese, toasted pepitas, croutons and a smokey achiote Caesar dressing. Pleasing in flavor and just the right amount of dulled lettuce crunch.
Investigating these “smashed” fries, I found that if a fingerling potato wanted to be like a popcorn kernel, it could. Only the smallest fingerlings are par-boiled then bashed a bit, then fried (the only deep-fried menu item) in soybean oil and lightly spicy seasoned. A house-made ketchup in deep maroon made from ground New Mexico chilies, must-have-been-roasted tomatoes and nice amounts of pepper hold the fries hand while doing the flavor dance in your mouth. So happy they are.
As for dessert? The dudes who call the shots maintain a great relationship with their neighbor, The Dessert Diner, located next door. After asking about the possibility of a donut, Chef Billy said if it ever happened, bacon would be integral.
Local, fresh, well intentioned, “punk” and with a sense of humor, Chef Billy has pizzazz. And his cuisine is so sexy in a realistic way, like the posh “girl next door” of food.
I’m so excited about the playfully salacious future creation of a palate-cleansing house-made gummy bear that the Golden Bear Chef Billy hinted at. I won’t apologize for finding the concept to be rather casually provocative.
I know that burgers have been talked about and talked about in our town; however, I look forward to trying the Lucy burger: Sacramento’s introspective version of the cheese skirt burger, with fontina cheese hidden on the Inside of the Niman Ranch Angus beef patty.
Golden Bear has emerged like a well-intentioned youth does from college–looking the same on the outside, but with internal improvements. With future plans for a front-of-house facelift, The Golden Bear will become an even spiffier looking bar. Featuring a pint of beer and a shot of Jameson as the proclaimed house drink, pours parallel those of everyone’s favorite dive bar, but with the panache of an ultra lounge. Like an ultra high-dive neighborhood lounge where everyone is a VIP, dress code is as you like (with respect) and there’s no cover.
It’s not likely that the Golden Bear will lose its reputation for being a solid spot to sip a drink, but its reputation for offering scrumptious gastro-pub eats will certainly come to precede itself.
