Sturgill Simpson, Lucette
Harlow’s, Sacramento • Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014
Anticipation was on high for the arrival of Sturgill Simpson at Sunday evening’s event at Harlow’s. The show sold out weeks beforehand and the whole floor was packed to the gills. Arriving nearly 15 minutes before show time, it was difficult to find a spot on the floor that wasn’t jam packed with people. Though it was crowded, much of the crowd seemed as if they were there to socialize and welcome in the Thanksgiving holiday, rather than be attentive and courteous to opener, Lucette.
Lucette was a long way from her homeland of Edmonton, Alberta and was a doomed victim to a room full of apathetic rowdies and drunkards, who couldn’t care less how she sounded or what she was singing about. Regardless, it didn’t really matter to the few who were paying attention because the chatter was significantly louder than the performance.
Given the fact that Lucette was blatantly out of place on the bill, she and her touring cellist did the best they could to get through a somber set of morose, stripped-down numbers. Some notable moments included the performance of new single and confessed murder ballad “Bobby Reid” and a unique cover version of the Ryan Adams tune “Oh My Sweet Carolina.” When announcing “Black Is the Color” (featured in The Vampire Diaries), Lucette made a feeble attempt at making light of the situation by saying, “Imagine sinking your teeth into some teenager’s neck.” What makes the situation worse is that this quote was hard to even make out, since someone nearby was jawing on about how their dream ticket would be to see Def Leppard and Tom Petty on the same bill. Lucette’s sluggish pace and melancholy vibe didn’t stand a chance.
Sturgill Simpson has, in recent times, become well recognized and revered as one of modern country music’s true throwback folk heroes and after a thankfully brief set change, was greeted with a roaring response from eager fans. Sturgill and company wasted no time in busting out “Sitting Here Without You,” which moved along steadily like a high-powered locomotive train, featuring trotting snare drum pops from drummer Miles Miller.
This amped up the audience, but the gears were quickly shifted to sentimental and heart-wrenching with a ballad from Simpson’s debut album High Top Mountain, “Water in a Well,” which tells a story of love and heartbreak. The group followed with “Living the Dream” from 2014’s critically acclaimed sophomore record Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. On this track, Simpson states the painful truths pertinent to today’s society, “Ain’t no point getting outta bed if you ain’t living the dream / It’s like making a big old pot of coffee if you ain’t got no cream.” Classic outlaw country was displayed with “Life of Sin,” which contains a no apologies attitude in tone and content, drawing comparisons to Waylon Jennings, to whom Simpson has often been compared.
Having two solo albums now under his belt, Simpson also has the uncanny ability to restructure cover songs in style and sound to make them his own. Perhaps most notably has been a moody and delicate version of the ‘80s hit “The Promise” by When in Rome, which was played to perfection in the middle of the set. Another grooving tune you could roll your rig down the road to is “Long White Line,” which you’d swear was a Sturgill Simpson song unless it was actually conceived by Aaron Tippin. Lead guitarist Laur Joamets shined on “You Can Have the Crown” and “Sitting Here Without You,” with super speedy licks as if they were meant for a honky-tonk. “It Ain’t All Flowers” was very unique in style by blending laid-back country tones with psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll. At one point in this song, Simpson howled and screamed a “woo hoo hoo” into the pickup of his acoustic guitar.
Simpson had the crowd in the palm of his hands before the performance even began and throughout the entire evening, remaining calm, cool and collected throughout. There’s no doubt that if Sturgill Simpson and his band mates returned to Sacramento, they’d be greeted with open arms.
Photographer Nicholas Wray showcases his journey to Japan in new exhibition and book
Hailing from the intersection of the Ohio and Licking rivers, former geographer-turned-photographer Nicholas Wray is no stranger to picking up and hitting the open road. From moving from Cincinnati to Sacramento in 2006 to shooting the arid plains of Zion National Park, Wray’s penchant for exploration doesn’t only fuel his artistic passion but feeds his professional endeavors as well.
The proof is in his latest exhibition, simply titled Japan, in which his candid and colorful images of everyday street life in the Land of the Rising Sun adorn the walls of each of the three Insight Coffee Roasters locations. And, at the behest of a friend at the coffee shop, the photos were also assembled into a photo book worthy of adorning the best coffee tables in the world. The series, divided into five sections and scattered between the trio of coffee houses, touches on the many highlights of Wray’s travels: “Architecture,” “Culture,” “Street Life,” “Graffiti” and “Bicycles.”
“Whenever I travel I do this. I have a lot of prints at my studio and tons of photos that just kind of live on my server, so this was the first time that I have printed them super small and priced them super cheap so that people can afford them easily,” Wray explains.
Although the Ohio transplant rolled up to the interview on a motorcycle and sporting a weathered leather jacket, Wray isn’t brash or cocky. Quite the contrary, his quiet demeanor and unassuming nature bucks many of the stereotypes that are typically associated with those working behind the lens. You won’t find him sexually harassing models, attending the incessant parade of networking events that so many artists find themselves engaged in or stroking his own ego.
“This is the first time that I’ve done a show this big, like three coffee shops. I know it’s just coffee shops, it’s not a gallery—I mean I wish I was as cool as someone like Micah Crandall-Bear [and] had Elliott Fouts Gallery showing my stuff every month, but I’m just not that cool,” he says with a wry grin.
Wray’s journey into mastering shutter speeds and F-stops began as his college career was winding down at Northern Kentucky University. After applying for graduation he was advised, a few months shy of claiming his cap and gown, that he needed a minor in order to secure his degree. Uninterested in spending thousands more in man hours and cash, he leafed through the course catalog and it occurred to him that he could revisit his childhood hobby while locking down a minor—photography. He immersed himself in the course work: shooting in black and white film, rolling his own film, editing and enlarging images in the dark room and within a year acquired that prized piece of paper validating his education.
“I think I pretty much took really bad photos up until my very last class,” Wray muses. “That’s when I kind of started doing this street photography. I was in school, working like three jobs and the only time I had [to shoot] was at night. I was out in the snow at night without a tripod just shooting hand-held on film so I made this series of photos of laundromats all over Cincinnati.”
From skateboarders to musicians to commercial products, Wray’s professional portfolio is a robust exploration of the people and places that contribute to the diversity and color of Sacramento. If you’ve attended the annual summer concert series, Concerts in the Park, or witnessed the awesomeness that was this year’s TBD Fest, you may have even landed in the frame of one of his photos. But after years of hustling and struggling to turn his creative pursuits into a viable business, success brought with it an unexpected problem: He was overworked and in desperate need of a break.
“So, I had been taking photos in Sacramento since 2009 and then after [my business] started to take off I was really, really busy for a couple of years,” Wray explains. “I was doing nothing but working—it felt like I was working 18-hour days, seven days a week—so I bought a plane ticket to Tokyo. I wanted to go somewhere super urban and really far away where I would have no understanding of the culture.”
So last October, after booking a ticket and packing his gear—consisting only of a backpack filled with a change of clothes, his camera, a couple of lenses and a laptop computer—Wray set out on a two-week tour of Japan, immersing himself into the culture and shooting everything in sight. Five thousand shots later, Wray had a collection of images depicting shimmering seascapes, people scurrying around the city going about their daily business, bicyclists snaking through traffic and gleaming skyscrapers towering above it all. And while he didn’t speak the language, Wray says his experience with the locals was nothing short of wonderful—from the hostel mother who picked him up on the side of the road to the hospitality of strangers taking him into their homes and feeding him, Wray was in good hands for the entirety of his adventure.
“People were really polite…just really nice people. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that—I guess I’m acknowledging that it was a really pleasant place to be,” he admits.
Upon Wray’s return, the images languished on his computer for months before he embarked on the arduous task of wading through the thousands of images captured on his journey and whittling them down into something manageable. Soon a series materialized and Wray decided that it was time for the images to emerge out of their cocoon and blossom out into the world. He presented the idea to his friend, Chris Ryan of Insight Coffee Roasters, to exhibit the work in each of its coffee dens, and after receiving an enthusiastic yes to his proposal the two began planning out the show.
The exhibit is a 145-image romp through the harried streets of Tokyo and Kyoto, the lush, verdant gardens that dot the countryside and everything else in between. Currently, you can find “Culture” at the Pavilions Café, “Street Life” and “Graffiti” at the Capitol Café, and “Bicycles” at the Southside Café. Wray says that the “Architecture” section of Japan will be included in the rotation but because of its sheer volume will make its debut at a later date.
“It’s kind of like a narcissistic pleasure of making a cool photo that someone else will enjoy,” Wray explains. “I think that the coolest thing for me is when someone sees one of my photos and they’re just like, ‘Oh my God, I have to have that!’ I know that they love that photo so much that they want to have it in their house. That’s my reward. It’s not about the money because I’m not making money on selling prints. Like this [show] costs me more than I’m ever going to get off it.”
Now that the exhibit is up, Wray reflects on his role as a member of the Sacramento art community. And while he’s carefully mapping out the location of his next photographic adventure, his time in Japan has reinvigorated the shutterbug.
“The way I look at my job is that I do mostly commercial photography for the market, and people pay me to take cool photos—they pay me to make art for their business,” Wray explains. “So sometimes I do something boring, like some product shot but…I make art all the time, it’s just consumed in a different way. It’s more like people commission me, kind of like a painter. Someone might commission a painter to make a painting, people commission me to make photos for their media.”
Nicholas Wray’s Japan is currently hanging around Sacramento at Insight’s Southside Café (1901 8th Street, Sacramento), Pavilions Café (566 Pavilions Lane, Sacramento) and Capitol Café (1014 10th Street, Sacramento). Wray’s Japan book can be purchased through the artist’s website, Nicholaswray.com.
Coriander Vietnamese Restaurant
1899 Alhambra Boulevard • Sacramento
When an insatiable craving for Vietnamese cuisine strikes, many turn to Stockton Boulevard with its dozens of restaurants serving hearty bowls of pho, savory spring rolls and enough bánh mì to fill the bellies of any hungry customer with a taste for Southeast Asian flavors. Now, those who seek to broaden their palates with traditional herbs and spices should look no further than Midtown for their next fix of bánh bèo.
Coriander Vietnamese Restaurant (1899 Alhambra Boulevard) opened its doors across from the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op in April with a simple mission: to introduce customary Vietnamese flavors to the state Capital. The eatery’s simple, one-page fixed menu focuses on a handful of familiar dishes in addition to its homemade touches like its noodles, which are prepared fresh daily.
Still, with a selection of restaurants serving up Vietnamese staples like beef or chicken pho, or any variation of spring rolls packaged in clear, chewy rice paper, co-owner of Coriander Kristi Ng felt a variety of Sacramento eateries lacked fresh ingredients, overall cleanliness and the true flavor profiles her culture embodies.
“Ninety percent of the dishes on the menu were made within our family. My favorite is the Bún bò Hu, which is the spicy beef noodle soup,” Ng says. “Hue is the city in central Vietnam, that’s where we’re from. It’s got a spicier flavor to it than other dishes. It’s packed with lemongrass flavor, which is very healthy, ginger and a bunch of herbs and dry and fresh spices.”
Ng co-owns Coriander with her husband Kevin. She wanted to open the restaurant in honor of her cultural heritage, but more so to pay homage to her mother Gai, who passed away 11 years ago. An 80-inch oil painting Ng custom-ordered from Vietnam hangs near the back of the restaurant. The image shows her mother on a beach, watching over customers who dine within her daughter’s eatery.
“To be honest, growing up I didn’t appreciate the food she made for us. As a kid, you tend to take it for granted,” Ng admits. “As I grew older and went to college, I missed my mom’s food. Through the years of traveling and trying to find my culture and identity I really wanted to do something to pay tribute to my culture and the food growing up.”
FLAVORS OF VIETNAM
Whether in a spoonful of spicy broth or the textures of thinly sliced meats, Vietnamese dishes are peppered with essential herbs, spices and often times, roots. Ng shares the key components found in many dishes on Coriander’s menu.
“Lemongrass, ginger [and] we also use a lot of coriander,” she happily explains. Ng adds that the spice found in many entrées is credited to Thai chilies and habanero peppers. She often grows Vietnamese dragon peppers at home and uses them in personal meals, but says they’re not only seasonal, but highly spicy and not for customers with a sensitivity to heat. Looking for a palatable kick to clear the sinuses? Ng recommends the coriander fried rice: wok-fried jasmine rice, sausage, bacon, spam, seasonal veggies, garlic and habanero; priced at $8.50.
Coriander’s menu features a variety of meat-friendly dishes, but the cooks haven’t forgotten about Midtown’s vegans and vegetarians. Leaf eaters, look to the jackfruit lotus vegetarian salad found in the appetizers section: fried tofu slices, young jackfruit, lotus roots, banana blossom, onions and fresh herbs tossed in a tamarind sauce topped with peanuts; priced at $7.50. This colorful dish, earthy in flavor, is served between two wavy rice crackers speckled with black sesame seeds. Break off a piece of cracker and use it as the vessel to give this savory salad a try.
“With the ripe jack fruit, we would eat or would make smoothies out of it. The young jackfruit, in our culture, we do a lot of salads or stir-fries. With banana blossoms or lotus roots, too we do a lot of salads. Our salads are different from American salads, where you have a bunch of greens and a dressing,” Ng explains.
Another unique item on Coriander’s home-inspired menu is its chrysanthemum-jasmine iced tea, only $2.50. The floral beverage is refreshing and perfect for cooling off the palate between bites.
“I grew up drinking a lot of oolong tea as a family. So, I combined a little bit of ginger with jasmine and chrysanthemum flowers for this tea and my kids, love it,” Ng says.
HANDMADE SECRETS
Besides Ng, there are only two people at Coriander who know the recipe to the handmade noodles featured in the restaurant’s seafood banh canh: Ng’s husband Kevin and aunt Linh Nguyen, her mother’s youngest sister.
Soft handmade noodles, fresh crab, shrimp and fish cake culminate in a hearty seafood broth priced at $11.50. The peppery broth wraps the body in a warm, savory blanket and is topped with a bright-green hill of fresh coriander. The noodles, chewy in texture, radiate with the flavors of each seafood component.
“The noodles are a combination of rice and tapioca flour. In central Vietnam, tapioca flour is more commonly used. It’s more like a gummy bear texture, so it’s chewier,” Ng explains. “If I were to make that dish at home, it would be a lot chewier in texture, but because of the area we’re at in Midtown, we made it a little bit softer with half tapioca and half rice flour. At home, we would use 60 to 70 percent tapioca flour.”
GUILT-FREE EATING
In other cuisines, it’s easy to pack on the calories with fried options dipped with sweet sauces, or even fill up on carbs and starches only to leave the tummy in hunger pangs an hour later. With Vietnamese fare, Ng says it’s a well-balanced meal and a more health-conscious choice that incorporates the right amount of carbs, meats and vegetables.
“We pride ourselves with the ingredients we use and the way we cook them,” Ng says of Coriander’s menu. “There’s a lot of love that goes into each dish and it pretty much speaks to the basics of Vietnamese food. When you put it all together it’s just very healthy, yet very savory and delicious. It’s actually a pleasure and you feel good eating it because it’s light. That’s the key to Vietnamese food.”
Frank Fat’s Celebrates 75th Anniversary and Looks Toward the Future
The block of 8th and L, and downtown in general, has changed immensely over the decades. Businesses have come and gone, people have aged and moved and buildings have been torn down and rebuilt. Frank Fat’s restaurant, however, is a rare exception that has remained a piece of Sacramento history and mastered the changing tides of Downtown Sacramento for 75 years.
Frank Fat originally opened his 8th and L eatery as a Chinese/American restaurant in 1939. The family establishment, the only Sacramento restaurant to receive a James Beard award (the foundation’s prestigious lifetime-achievement “American Classic’s” award in 2013, similar to winning an Academy Award in the film industry), “has continuously evolved, but in a way that properly carries on the family legacy,” according to Frank’s son Jerry Fat. “My father treated everyone the same, no matter if you were governor or a normal citizen. We served and continue to serve good food with good values.”
The “Fat’s Family of Restaurants” has since grown to include the original Downtown location, Fat’s Asia Bistro and Dim Sum bars in Roseville and Folsom, and Fat City Bar and Café in Old Sacramento.
For years, the Frank Fat’s downtown location served as a dining epicenter for political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Jerry Brown and countless lobbyists. It was a go-to place for high-profile meetings and elite dining experiences. However, no matter what the occasion, or who the diner, Frank Fat’s was an eatery made by the people and for the people, and it continues to be that to this day.
Last year, the Frank Fat’s original location hired Sacramento-born chef Mike Lim, a young and talented kitchen master with a fresh and budding background in authentic Chinese delicacy. He even recently studied at the M.Y. China restaurant in San Francisco, which is owned by Martin Yan. Yan, widely known for his television program Yan Can Cook, is credited for bringing authentic Chinese cuisine knowledge to the televisions of mainstream America in the most beloved way.
“I just recently started honing my skills in the kitchen as a Chinese food chef,” says Lim. “It makes so much sense because, well, I am Chinese. It seems like I am getting back to my roots, with an opportunity to expand on recipes and tweak a few things.”
Lim plans to maintain the original Fat’s recipes while obtaining as many local ingredients as possible in line with Sacramento’s “Farm to Fork” revolution.
“I want to make things more seasonal, I want to really emphasize all the area has to offer agriculturally,” Lim says. “However, the idea of being completely ‘farm to fork’ is not realistic. It is important for me to maintain the family tradition and recipes and really bring it out to its full potential. They already do it right here; everything is phenomenal. Bringing some extra creative and seasonal dishes is what I am most looking forward to.”
Mike Lim remembers coming to Frank Fat’s as a kid, and always being aware of its impact and presence in the community.
“Frank Fat’s always had a reputation. It was always a really great treat to be able to go there and dine and just be in its historical presence. I kind of can’t believe that I am here now, and a part of it.”
An evening at Frank Fat’s is truly a unique and timeless experience. While our city is massively transforming right before our eyes, it’s nice to have a place to step back and experience what can simply be described as a classic gem. Cheers to Sacramento’s very own Frank Fat’s restaurant, serving Sacramento for many more decades to come.
A note on Frank Fat’s Famous Banana Cream Pie
It is extremely urgent for everyone in Sacramento to know the greatness of Frank Fat’s banana cream pie. You will never ever taste a banana cream pie as good as this, and if you do, it’s probably because they stole the recipe from Frank himself. The pie has to be at least 6 inches high, with a mound of light and refreshing house-whipped cream. The three layers of heaven consist of a thin and flaky, croissant-like crust that has just the right amount of presence; simple, tasty and functional. There are tons of fresh bananas in that perfect crust, layered into a pudding that serves as a sort of mortar for banana bricks. In short, Frank Fat’s could open up a banana cream pie shop alone, and would be wildly successful.
The Days of Fat’s
For the past seven-and-a-half decades, Frank Fat’s has had a strong presence in the Sacramento community, which they hope to continue for decades to come. Their motto is that one must “be proud of their heritage, be proud of their culture, and always give back to their community.”
In honor of Frank Fat’s 75th anniversary, the family of restaurants will have a “15 Days of Fat’s” contest on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, during which, $75 gift certificates will be hidden around the city from Oct. 1 to 15, 2014. Every day, the restaurant will release a clue to a different location that holds some historical meaning or great significance to the family and their relationship with the city. A $75 gift certificate to any Frank Fat’s location will await the first person to arrive at the location. Good luck!
Everything you need to know about the Sacramento culinary icon can be found at Fatsrestaurants.com. Submerge humbly recommends the honey walnut prawns, Frank’s Style New York Steak, the Shanghai noodles and of course, the famous banana cream pie.
The Parlor Ice Cream Puffs
2620 Fair Oaks Blvd • Sacramento, California
“You can’t buy happiness but you can buy ice cream puffs and that’s kind of the same thing,” reads a handwritten message on a chalkboard inside The Parlor, located on Fair Oaks Boulevard near Loehmann’s Plaza. With the ice cream puff, owners Lani Tran, 26, and Martin Nguyen, 33, are bringing you a whole new craving for something sweet.
Try to imagine an ice cream puff as a jelly-filled donut, but replace the jelly with ice cream and toppings. But how do you get cold ice cream inside of a warm donut without getting a melted disaster on your hands? The two dessert masterminds, foodies, business owners and siblings have this decadent dessert all figured out.
“Well, I can’t tell you everything because there’s a little bit of magic back there,” Tran said, explaining that the donuts are precut and not hot prior to the ice cream going in. “So when we put the ice cream inside the cut donut, it’s not going to melt right away; we put it into a machine that heats it up for less than 10 seconds, so the ice cream is still nice and cold, but the outer part of the donut is melted and gooey.”
After years of brainstorming and traveling, these two siblings put their food brains together to come up with a truly delicious dessert.
“My sister and I have this thing where we try macaroni and cheese at every place and we have dessert at every place,” Nguyen said. “So it’s just been a combination of everything we have eaten and everything we have seen that inspired us to do this.”
“We are really big foodies, we go everywhere and eat everything,” Tran explained. “And one day we were like, ‘Let’s give this a shot.’ Then, it turned into what we have now.”
Only open since late July, The Parlor is already experiencing crowds and long lines of hungry people waiting outside for their gooey ice cream donut.
“It’s been pretty crazy. I didn’t expect it to be this crazy but yeah, there’s been lines out the door,” Tran said.
The unmistakable scents of freshly made donuts and creamy vanilla ice cream permeate The Parlor, while its windows are lined with rectangular, succulent-filled, white pots and its small space filled with benches, wicker chairs and white walls, making it feel cool and chic.
“Someone told us [the décor] is a combination of Pottery Barn and a warehouse,” said Martin with a huge laugh. “I guess that’s what we are going for.”
There’s a chalkboard with open space for customers to write anything that comes to mind; surprisingly the board is mostly full of phone numbers and Instagram names. There is also a board for customer creations, where anyone can write their favorite creation and newcomers can get more ideas for custom combinations.
“The main thing we wanted to focus on was option and customizing,” Tran said. “So we had an idea of having different toppings and different flavors.”
At the counter, customers are presented with a choice of three ways to enjoy the ice cream: cup, cone, or donut. And as my server informed me, if it is your first time, “You have to go donut.”
The ice cream flavor menu is full of combinations that will make your sweet tooth ache, including Sea Salt Caramel, Wendell (vanilla with cinnamon swirls), Thai Tease (vanilla with Thai tea), Green Machine (mint with crushed Oreo cookies), Everything but the… (caramel, crunchy pretzel and fudge bits), Midnight in Paris (coffee ice cream and Nutella chocolate swirls), Choco Taco (chocolate, nuts and waffle bits) and Plain Jane (plain vanilla).
For less than $5 you can get your hands on any ice cream puff, with unlimited toppings for 50 cents.
Some of the options for toppings are the standard ice cream parlor fare such as chocolate chips or Oreos. But you might do a double take when you read the options like potato chips, bacon bits, Fruit Loops or Lucky Charms. All options to create your own ice cream puff masterpiece.
My tastings for the night were made by the owners themselves, an opportunity to try each sibling’s personal favorite creation. Tran whipped up a warm donut stuffed with Sea Salt ice cream, bacon bits and potato chips. The bacon flavor mixed well with the salty ice cream and the chips added an extra crunch to every bite. The warm donut seemed to melt the Sea Salt ice cream fast so there was no time to waste in pigging out.
After a few bites of Lani’s creation, it was time to dive into Nguyen’s masterpiece, the Peebo. A warm, crispy donut filled with creamy vanilla ice cream with peanut butter and jelly mixed in. The Peebo has officially put the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich to shame. Why go sandwich when you can go donut?
From the looks of The Parlor’s long lines it seems like the city of Sacramento has already gone donut. So step aside frozen yogurt, gourmet cupcakes and cronuts—ice cream puffs are here to take your spot as the newest and happiest dessert craze.
The Parlor is located at 2620 Fair Oaks Blvd. and open every day from noon to 10 p.m. Check out Facebook.com/theparloricecream for more info.
Crawdads on the River
1375 Garden Highway – Sacramento
Crawdads on the River is one of three restaurants in Sacramento that literally floats on the Sacramento River, offering some of the best riverfront views you could ask for. The restaurant is located just off the Garden Highway, in the Riverbank Marina, nestled between a Chevys and some office buildings.
Established in 1986, the restaurant has been native to Sacramento for almost 30 years but is now under new ownership: Trevor Shults, who also owns Pour House and Vanguard 1415, and head chef Adam Pechal of Tuli Bistro and Restaurant Thir13en. Pechal became somewhat of a celebrity in Sacramento after being featured on ABC’s The Taste. The change in ownership resulted in a new menu and some significant remodeling. “Crawdads was pretty before, but we gave her quite the facelift,” says restaurant manager Brett Miller.
Sunday brunch at Crawdads was busy when I arrived just before noon, but it was an older crowd and the atmosphere was mellow. Tables were set up for couples, rather than groups of rowdy 20-somethings like many of the popular brunch spots in downtown or Midtown Sacramento. There was enough shade to make it bearable to sit outside despite the mid-July heat, and the sounds of chirping birds, the river and calypso music made it easy to forget that I was just minutes from the highway.
My server was pleasant and attentive, accommodating my request to switch to the other side of the restaurant for a better view and remembering that I had asked for lemon water with no ice. My meal arrived incredibly fast for a brunch spot, and the dishes were served piping hot.
The menu is not huge, but there is a good variety of choices. I started with a healthier option—the Farmers Market Omelet, with spinach, mushrooms, roasted red peppers and aged goat cheese. Finding a decent vegetable dish at a restaurant that serves Southern food is usually a challenge, but this omelet was fresh and light, and the goat cheese complemented the vegetables well. The potatoes were fragrant and cooked to that perfect midway point between crispy and soggy.
Next, no brunch spot is complete without a signature benedict, and Crawdads does not disappoint in this area. The Cajun Benedict is served on a jalapeno-cheddar biscuit with Andouille sausage, eggs and the special “Crawfish Hollandaise.” This dish was surprisingly not too spicy, so it didn’t quite live up to its name, but it was easily my favorite dish. It was also the most expensive item on the menu at $18.
I happen to believe that dessert should be included with every meal, so the Crème Brulee French Toast was my final choice. Picture soft, creamy custard on the inside with that same characteristic burnt sugar crunch on the outside. It’s served with pomegranate syrup, but I don’t recommend using much—this dish is already a little on the sweet side and best shared between two people.
Finally, the cocktails. The selection was a bit overwhelming, although most would be better suited for a happy hour than brunch. As it was still before noon, I went with the “Crispy Mosa,” a refreshing twist on the traditional mimosa that pairs Crispin Cider with orange juice. This is a great option if you’re tired of champagne. I also tried the Cajun Bloody Mary, but abandoned my drink after a few sips because it was just too spicy.
Crawdads might not be my all-time favorite brunch spot in Sacramento, but the quality of the food combined with the riverfront view and relaxing ambiance certainly will make me a return customer.
Crawdads is located at 1375 Garden Highway in Sacramento and is open Sunday–Thursday from 11 a.m.–12 a.m. and Friday–Saturday from 11 a.m.–2 a.m. Visit Saccrawdads.com for more info.
Rakim
Harlow’s, Sacramento • Sunday, July 20, 2014
Rakim (aka William Griffin, Jr.; aka the “God MC”) is considered one of the greatest and most influential lyricists and rappers of all time. He has been in the game for more than 25 years, making his lyrical debut with the single “Eric B. Is President” (a tribute to his DJ, Eric B.). Together, Eric B. and Rakim made four albums and created such classics as “I Ain’t No joke” and “Paid in Full,” and Rakim displayed just how transformational and talented he was as a hip-hop artist. Throughout their discography, Rakim proved himself to be a true lyricist, focusing on his love of words and respect for the art of writing. As he says in his song, “My Melody”: “I am the man they call the microphonist/With wisdom, which means wise words being spoken…” Rakim changed the game of rap, offering something to the hip-hop community that had never been seen before: an MC whose lyrical precision was as important as the dope beat that accompanied it.
It is interesting to think what the hip-hop community would have been like without the entrance of Rakim. His respect for the art form of hip-hop paved the way for true lyricists and conscious rappers. Without him there wouldn’t be Common, Nas or Mos Def. Rakim is and always will be one of the most respected veterans of the hip-hop community and his debut performance in Sacramento on Sunday night at Harlow’s proved just that.
As I walked in, I was immediately reminded that the lovers of true hip-hop are alive and well in the city of Sacramento. The DJ was spinning the classics of The Notorious B.I.G. and my personal favorites, A Tribe Called Quest. People were drinking and battle dancing as we waited patiently for history to be made with Rakim’s very first performance in our little city.
The show started at around 11:30 p.m.; Rakim was wearing a blue-checkered shirt with gold chains and walked out with his daughter, Destiny (which I thought was a nice, personal touch). The crowd immediately responded with overwhelming excitement, applause and the prompt emergence of smart phones (to snap pictures and record history) as Rakim greeted Harlow’s and delved into his first song.
He played his classics “Paid In Full,” “My Melody” and “Don’t Sweat the Technique” and proved why he was (and is) dubbed a lyrical king. It was truly amazing to see that after 28 years in the game, Rakim still has fully devoted and awesome fans that are willing to venture out late on a Sunday night to witness and pay homage to one of the greatest MCs alive, showing that raw talent will always outlive temporary popularity.
It was a wonderful night to be a hip-hop fan on Sunday. We were all there to have an amazing time and bask in our love of the good and true old-fashioned form of hip-hop. The performance was like a coming together of souls, all there for one purpose: to remember why we fell in love with hip-hop and to remember why we always be in love.
Music, good music, is that one constant thing in life that will never change. It will always be there to center you when life is a mess; it is that thing that will never leave. For many, hip-hop is a genre and a culture that has changed lives; hip-hop is life. And this proved so true on Sunday. It was nice to be out among my fellow hip-hop lovers, taking in the ambiance and the experience of being in the presence of the God MC, Rakim. He put on a great show, taking us all down memory lane, bringing us back to the time when hip-hop was first birthed, and showing us why he is considered a microphone king. Music is forever; hip-hop is forever. *Mic drop*
You could say that local brother/sister alternative/pop duo Connor and Karlee are doing what they’re meant to do. They’ve been exposed to music their whole lives, learning to play when they were old enough to sit at the piano or their dad’s drum set. Their father worked in the radio business, which gained Connor and Karlee all kinds of access to big-time entertainers over the years, both backstage and in the front row. “Each and every encounter has left its mark on who we are as musicians/songwriters… and the kind of artists we hope to someday become,” they wrote in their bio. When Connor was 11, he played drums with Shania Twain at ARCO Arena in front of 17,000 screaming fans. In 2012, Karlee tried out for the show The X Factor in San Francisco and out of 8,500 contestants she made it to round two with just 300 other performers. These kids are definitely on the right path and they are releasing their debut album on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, when they will be performing at Harlow’s alongside fellow Sacramento-native songwriter Julianna Zachariou (who moved away to Nashville for college, but is back in town for the summer, so this is a rare local show!). It’s an early show, doors open at 6:30 p.m., and it is all ages with an $8 cover. Trust us when we say that Connor & Karlee are artists to watch. Guaranteed within a year or two they’ll be blowing up and scoring all kinds of incredible gigs and getting their music placed in movies and TV and all that stuff that comes with the natural talent that these two possess. Get on board the Connor and Karlee train now, Sacramento! Visit Connorandkarleemusic.com for more information.
If you’re still recovering from Beer Week or Bacon Week, attending Sacratomato Week is probably the best thing you could do for yourself. Tomatoes assist with cardiovascular support, bone health, lowering various cancer risks, skin health and energy support. The list of benefits is endless; why hasn’t someone though of dedicated an entire week to tomatoes before? The Sutter District will host the fruit fiesta from July 21 through July 27, 2014. Check out some of the local restaurants and discover the tasty variability this super-health fruit offers. Search “Sacratomato Week” on Facebook to find their event page for more info.
Was the Exorcist not scary enough for you? Do you often find yourself screaming survival tips at the television while watching The Walking Dead? Do you thrive off of adrenaline in stressful situations (while simultaneously enjoying it)? If you answered yes to all of these, you are probably the type of person who laughs in the face of danger. Congratulations, that quality puts you at an advantage in the Great Horror Campout. What’s that, you may ask? It’s as if all of the bloodthirsty characters from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, House of 1000 Corpses and The Descent were isolated in one secluded setting and throwing a “party.” Now imagine yourself crashing that party with the intent of winning a scavenger hunt. It’s challenging, chilling and terrifyingly awesome. The 12-hour camping event begins at 8 p.m. at Vierra Farms (3010 Burrows Avenue, West Sacramento) and concludes at 8 a.m., during which time you will be confronted with a multitude of activities and a variety of scare-levels. The best part about the experience? You get to create your own adventure. The brave can opt for the black, orange, green or red zones. If you choose to camp in one of these areas, prepare to be kidnapped, caged, sacrificed, taunted and chased all night long as you complete your scavenger hunt; these areas are considered “fair game” to the camp’s creatures. The yellow zone, however, is for those choosing to opt out of the scavenger hunt, but includes just as many adventurous possibilities as the others. Some of which include watching horror movies, telling ghost stories, roasting marshmallows, arts-and-crafts and participating in campfire sing-a-longs. The event tickets range from $99 to $139, depending upon your tent size (which are provided) and can be bought online at Greathorrorcampout.com. Your ticket price includes parking, food, lodging and prizes, amongst other things. You have two dates to chose from, July 18 or 19, but get your tickets soon! Tip for the wise: bring extra underpants… you’ll probably get more scared than you think.
