BaconFest '11!

I heard whispers of Sacramento's Inaugural BaconFest on the breeze, like a choir or angels. Seeing as how bacon is a huge reason I eat meat at all, it was a must-see. I try to eat vegetarian throughout the week for a variety of reasons, but doing so on the weekend severely limits my breakfast options. How else would you, my loyal reader(s), know about the Best Bacon in Sacramento?! I make these sacrifices for you. Last weekend, the 'Fest arrived.
It was a decentralized three-day event; there was no specific, separate location for it, but it was hosted at different venues for different events all weekend. (Un)fortunately, last weekend was a very busy acting weekend for me, so I wasn't able to participate in all of the events, but I made a couple.
The first night was hosted at Luigi's Fungarden, a pizza-by-the-slice joint and music venue. They had a Kevin Bacon Tribute night, featuring bands playing various songs from Kevin Bacon movies, which is a brilliant play on the theme. They had a BLT pizza, although it there was no signage for it, and by the time we got there, there were only a couple pieces off to the side. I took a stab at ordering it, even though it looked like someone else's order. There seemed to be several people who seemed to be under the impression that Bacon Beer was to be served as well, but was apparently not (and I have it on good authority that trying to make your own at the table is a bad idea). The BLT pizza was very good, with thin slices of tomato, lots of lettuce, and a drizzle of Ranch on top. It had a very nice, fresh taste.

The event I was really excited about was the next morning at Magpie Cafe. I'd only recently been to Magpie for the first time for dinner, and was excited to taste that all the buzz was substantiated. They have a regularly rotating menu, and I was sure they'd come up with something exciting for BaconFest.

Not having been there for breakfast before, I can't vouch for what their menu usually looks like, but there didn't seem to be a huge selection of bacon-related items. Well, perhaps that's not entirely true, and I have a confession to make; I don't like BLT's. I know, I know, I just enjoyed a BLT pizza the night before, but here's my thing; I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes. "You have to have them fresh from the farm, etc," I've heard all the arguments, but a combination of their watery taste and texture does not appeal to me. It doesn't appeal to me, at least, when it is the focus of a dish. Used within something, that's fine, and I liked the pizza the previous night because the 'maters were sliced thin. Magpie's menu had four bacon-related items, two of which were BLTs. Having crossed those off my list, that left their breakfast sandwich and a pork belly frittata. Out of the two, the sando sounded the most appealing, but I figured that was something I could get any day of the week, and I wanted something unique. I ordered the frittata, which included tomatoes and brussel sprouts. I also saw a bacon peanut butter hazelnut brownie in the pastry case, as well as a bacon maple bar. I ordered the brownie as well, and a coffee.

The brownie was damn tasty, with little bacon chunks that added a little salt and texture, but nothing overpowering in the bacon department (which would not necessarily have been bad). It was rich and delicious, and felt good with the hot coffee slicing through it. Our food arrived (Emily ordered a sausage sandwich, having a fickle relationship with bacon herself) promptly despite the place being near full. I snuck a bite of her sandwich, which came on a toasty ciabatta. It was really good, and I look forward to enjoying one of my own in the future. It also came with caramel-drizzled fruit that was extremely tasty; the caramel lent a delicate flavor that was not overbearing. My frittata came with some breakfast potatoes, which included some purple potatoes, which were beautiful and pretty darn tasty. The frittata itself came garnished with a veritable tiny salad on top. The pork belly was good, but it had a fairly light flavor to it as well, and the brussel sprouts gave it the least bit of sourness. Over all, I was honestly unimpressed. Not that it was bad by any means, but for "BaconFest" I wanted something greasier, saltier... baconier. Something, perhaps, less delicate. I realize that perhaps I have only myself to blame for excising myself out of the running on the BLTs.

Other events included bacon beer and food at Pangea that night, bacon brunch at Golden Bear the following day (which I was sorely disappointed I had to miss), and the main event at Mulvaney's Sunday night. That included a bacon - related competition featuring some of Sacramento's top chefs. The event was $20, included three beers or glasses of wine, and bacon-related appetizers and small plates while watching the competition. That is a pretty good deal, except that I don't drink, as a general rule, and I don't really enjoy beer or wine at all. Twenty dollars for small plates and snacks seemed steep, while watching chefs prepare delicious food I wouldn't be able to eat.

Even though my personal experience was about 50/50, I'm excited for the next 'Fest. It seems they had a larger group of venues wanting to be involved than they expected, but the only way to find out about those seemed to follow BaconFest on Twitter. It would be amazing to have a more centralized location, if possible, like the Garlic and Asparagus Festivals in the area, while still offering deals or special menus at various spots around town. Any way it might manifest, I'm excited for the BaconFest of the future!

Rock The Block

Is part of the most recent effort to revitalize K Street. Across from the Crest Theatre, it's between Dive Bar, a mermaid themed bar, and District 30, a cosmetics ad themed bar. Pizza Rock is a... I'm not entirely sure what the theme is. Pizza. And also... rock and roll, I assume, but more like cliches and a semi truck. For real, there's a flame-emblazoned semi cab over the bar, designed like it's crashing through a chain link fence, for no apparent reason. What semis have to do with Pizza or Rock, I have no idea. There's also a large mural on the ceiling of The Creation of Adam, perhaps the most overused art swipe EVER, except God is handing Adam a guitar. Aside from these strangenesses, and the design behind their logo looking like it was doodled by a high schooler, the set up is pretty cool. The building is cavernous, featuring one oven up front, with a bar around it, and the window into the kitchen at back looking like a giant pizza oven itself. There is a small stage flanked by two enormous built-in "couches" which I assume also serve an acoustic purpose.

They recently bagen serving a brunch, and their food has been getting pretty good reviews, so I decided to check it out. My first visit down there allowed me to wander through Fremont Park during the height of Chalk It Up!, our annual chalk art festival. I caught a performance by the lovely and endearing Autumn Sky, and then moseyed on down to K. I sat on their small outside patio, and enjoyed some hot tea. Their tea selection is actually very good, although I get the feeling I might be one of the few that ever gets it. I had a green tea the first time that was just a touch sweet, very nice. Their brunch menu runs quite the gamut; there's some traditional stuff, a nice selection of sweet or savory breakfast pizzas, and a couple nice surprises. I decided to get the breakfast potato skins my first time, as it promised to deliver nearly everything I love about breakfast in bite size snack form; potatoes, cheese, eggs, bacon, and scallions!

This is almost definitely the classiest presentation of "potato skins" I've ever seen. Add to that; they're delicious! The little slices of fresh fruit was a nice touch. They're about two bites each (NOTE: bite size may vary; I've got a big mouth). I just used my hands because, potato skins. Am I right? They have a tendency to topple, but if you have taste buds, you probably won't care.

My second visit, I decided I was morally obligated to get pizza. After an agonizing couple minutes, I decided to go with the savory Eggs and Double Sausage over one of the sweeter choices (Nutella and Kiwi? Who wants to split on with me?). Luckily, I didn't get a side, as I wasn't quite able to eat the whole thing. Do believe I put in a valiant effort, though! I sat inside this time, trying not to pay attention to the multiple, huge-screen TVs playing football. I did get to check out a guy demonstrating some impressive pizza-dough-throwing for a birthday party, which was thoroughly entertaining. As I mentioned before, the design inside is... eclectic, at best, and I feel it's generally leaning toward the Broquator. They play (as one might expect) a wide selection of rock and rock-related music. It seems a guarantee that there's something everyone will love, music-wise, but with such a broad category that's also a guarantee that there's something everyone will hate. Also, every song from the 90s reminds me of Goo Goo Dolls' "Slide," and I have no idea what that says about me. They do have live acoustic music during their brunches, which is pretty cool; that seems to start around noonish.
The bathroom has that same almost-cool-if-it-weren't-trying-so-hard vibe that the rest of the restaurant has, with fake brick walls and fake graffiti. No one bothered to tell them that graffiti is generally "hip hop" and not "rock," it seems. Also, it was one of the smelliest bathrooms I've been in (at least since Pancake Circus), which might have owed to what looked like a fresh puddle in the corner, and not the general upkeep. There is a reason the city's trying to revitalize K Street, after all.
In closing, I saw this, and it's hilarious;

Atmosphere: 8/13
Clean: 2/3
Structural: 2/3
Decor: 2/3
Signage 1/2
Service: 1/2

Menu: 7/8
Variety: 2/2
Size: 2/2
Beverages: 2/2
Prices: 1/2

Food: 7/9 pts
Presentation: 2/3
Portion: 3/3
Taste: 2/3

Bathroom: 3/5 pts.
Clean: 0/2
Structural: 1/1
Decor: 2/2

Overall: 25/36

Overheard

A brief intermission, as I'm readying my final Northwest journey post, on the fun "dinerant" I visited on my last morning in Portland. I have, of course, been breakfasting in the meantime, and TFO season has started, which means my weekends are full of zaniness and late nights.
For those of you not in the know, TFO is Sacramento's own Trash Film Orgy, a summer Midnight Movie festival that traditionally runs for six weeks, showing awesomely schlocky cult movies at midnight on Saturday, complete with lobby games, stage shows, and prizes. To kick off the season, last Saturday they organized Sacramento's Zombie Walk (an event they are credited with founding!). I appeared on Good Day Sacramento as a zombie, and then worked security during the walk and show. The TFO crew is a group of insanely talented people, full of love for each other and the event, and it's always a pleasure to be a part of it. This weekend supplied Sacramento's Inaugural Mermaid Parade, which I took part in as a tentacled creature with some very good friends. Keeping the nautical theme going, TFO presented Humanoids From The Deep, and the stage show was the musical "The Lusty Rampage Of The Raperfish." I played the titular character, which involved wearing blue tights and an enormous foam fish costume, complete with some fully functioning... equipment. Needless to say, after stalking around splay-legged on stage carrying a man-sized sexually aggressive fish on my back all night, I'm a little sore and tired this morning.
I tumbled down to Tower this morning to slake my hunger. Despite the fact I haven't gone regularly in months (and those times I have, of late, I haven't seen many faces I recognize) the hostess one of the servers recognized me and came up to say hello, a testament to the awesome service! As I was in line to make my reservation, I heard a couple behind me. The girl was advising the guy to never, ever get the Seasonal French Toast. As readers of this blog, and anyone who's ever been the Tower know, this is terrible, bass-ackwards advice. "They put this terrible 'fruit compost' stuff on it," she said, "it's all sticky, and soggy..." Fortunately, the guy could read and therefor could tell the difference between "compost" and "compote," and seemed unswayed by his ladyfriend's misguided advice.

I ordered a chai, in honor of being in the homestretch of reading Ian McDonald's River of Gods, a massive, sprawling, Mievillian novel set in India in 2047. It was a little difficult to get into, but has definitely proven worth it. It follows nine very disparate characters through a mystery that involves Gods and Artificial Intelligence. Having finished it between enacting and writing this post, I'm currently undergoing that mild grief that only finishing a 500+ page good book can bring.

I ordered the Sicilian Scramble, the day's special. It included Italian sausage, and was topped with fresh basil and some excellently crisp shredded parmesan. I was also treated to my neighboring table's amusing story of the woman's attempt to deal with her six-year-old stepdaughter, who has apparently recently discovered the joys of self-pleasure, and is apparently rather enthusiastic in pursuing them.
Unrelated; Tower has also recently expanded their waiting area, and this was my first chance to explore it. They've sacrificed some of their garden to create a pathway with copious seating, included some of their fantastic driftwood benches. There's enough foliage to maintain the "Secret Jungle" allusion, but it helps with the crowds that tend to clog the sidewalk on weekend mornings. All in all, a damn good way to start a day of recouping!

Home Cooking In The Beaver State

According to popular family mythology, my dad lobbied to name my "Hawthorne" before I was born (as an adult, I'm still not entirely sure this isn't true). That being said, when I had a chance to stay at the eponymous hostel of Portland's Hawthorne district, I felt I had no choice in the matter. Even better, then, that one of my friends' breakfast recommendations, the Hawthorne Cafe, was scant block from my hostel.
I'd arrived in town the day before, and run into my first Google Maps snag; while I'd previously been praising it for helping me get around, this time it directed me to walk across a bridge with no foot traffic. After finally finding a way to stroll across the Willamette River after getting a little lost in the main urban area of Portland for a while, I began the over thirty block trek to my hostel. Still a little train-bleary, this was not necessarily the most auspicious of beginnings to my stay. I did a little exploring, and then promptly passed out.

I slept in a little ("sleeping in" being relative, of course, for a guy who generally wakes up at six in the morning) and then walked the couple blocks down to Hawthorne Cafe. It's in a neat little converted house with a nice yard and outside seating. The service was delivered by the owner, who was incredibly nice. I ordered the mango crepe, which came with half an eggs florentine, and a side of potatoes. The house was very pretty, and allowed for some pretty good eavesdropping (which, let's be honest, is an important part of eating out). The Hawthorne neighborhood is fun, and a little kitschy.

The food was nicely displayed, and very tasty. I almost always expect crepes to be large, meal-size affairs (thanks largely to Sacramento's Crepeville), but I did a good job of anticipating the size. The potatoes were good but not really startlingly different, which sort of summed up the place nicely. Everything was really good, and it was a nice, home-made style breakfast, but there was nothing totally insane on the menu. It was nice and filling, and got me off to a good start!

Atmosphere: 6/13
Clean: 1/3
Structural: 2/3
Decor: 1/3
Signage 1/2
Service: 1/2

Menu: 6/8
Variety: 1/2
Size: 2/2
Beverages: 1/2
Prices: 1/2

Food: 6/9 pts
Presentation: 2/3
Portion: 2/3
Taste: 2/3

Bathroom: N/A /5 pts.
Clean: /2
Structural: /1
Decor: /2

Overall: 18/30

You Had Me At "Octopus"

On my mad scramble through Seattle, I was sure to keep my eyes peeled for an intriguing breakfast spot before I trained it out of town fairly early in the day. I had a couple of patisseries down by the Market I figured I could sample, but then a little something caught my eye in the evening, on my way to a night-time Space Needle ride...

It actually piqued my interest due to a couple of neon-flame chandeliers in the bar area. I'd been snapping a lot of pictures of local neon for a side project on my other blog, and was trying to figure out a good way to get pictures of the bar interior when I saw their breakfast menu. Now, when you hear the title "Tom's Big Breakfast," you might expect some huge, griddle-fried diner fare. Lola, however, offered octopus, walla walla onions, asparagus, poached egg, chives, and yellow squash. I'm not the biggest asparagus fan, on account of the smell undeniably reminds me of sweaty gym socks, and I'm not even the biggest poached egg guy. However, I'm a huge fan of the cephalopod in all its forms, and that combined with local onions, the sheer weirdness of the dish, and a chance to take a picture of those neon chandeliers proved irresistible. I decided this was where I had to have breakfast before I made my way to Portland.

Lola is located inside of a hotel in Seattle's Belltown district, not too far from the Monorail stop. It's a really classy looking joint, and they were very friendly, despite the fact I was looking a little more beach-bum then their typical clientele, I imagine. I sat in a booth and sipped my coffee and orange juice while waiting for the meal to arrive, trying to plan the remaining hours of my Seattle trip. The city reminds me of what would happen if someone from the Sixties time travelled to the future and tried to build San Francisco. They're both Bay Areas, hilly, and artsy, a little funky and proud of it. Seattle seems, comparatively, very clean, and I learned that there's so much to explore than I'd given myself time for.

As you can see, it was prepared beautifully, the jam even came in a little sealed jar, a far cry from the typical tray of Smuckers you usually get. The mix of textures was fantastic. The octopus was not too chewy, nor was the asparagus too socky. The marinade was really good, a very savory sauce that tied everything together really well. It was incredibly tasty and a satisfying way to end my stay in the Emerald City!


Atmosphere: 11/13
Clean: 2/3
Structural: 2/3
Decor: 3/3
Signage 2/2
Service: 2/2

Menu: 6/8
Variety: 2/2
Size: 2/2
Beverages: 1/2
Prices: 1/2

Food: 7/9 pts
Presentation: 2/3
Portion: 2/3
Taste: 3/3

Bathroom: 3/5 pts.
Clean: 2/2
Structural: 0/1
Decor: 1/2

Overall: 27/35

The Old Town Adventure Begins!

Last weekend was long and family-filled (not at all in a bad way; my family is kooky and extra fun), but I knew that I would essentially have to slip away to get any breakfasting done. I took Saturday morning's opportunity to go see Thor, and made the decision to try to explore Old Sacramento's breakfast areas.
For anyone not from the area, or just not in the know, Old Sacramento is in fact a State Historic Park, and covers several riverfront blocks. The buildings are made to approximate the state they held after the fire of 1852, as well as years of flooding. It's definitely the most "touristy" part of town, aside from the Capitol Building itself, but I think locals tend to overlook how genuinely cool it is. Aside from the sludge of Old-Timey photo places, and gag t-shirt shops, it's home to a couple different candy stores, as well as Evangeline's Costume Mansion, a delightfully bizarre store all year 'round, aside from being the Halloween Hub of town.

My original plan was to try to hit up the Embassy Suites Bistro by Tower Bridge, but they were closed. I took the opportunity to walk most of the River Walk actually on the river, allowing me a different view of town than usual, something traders might have seen over a century ago as they pulled into port... But enough with all this history business, I'm hungry! I was delighted to find a number of places to get an early meal in Old Town, and I'll try to document all of them in the coming month. I decided to stop into Steamers Cafe. It's named after the steamboats that used to travel the area, and as can be expected from most places in the Old City, has a quaint, turn-of-the-(19th)century vibe. I got a white mocha, and "The Full Deal," which included the two eggs any style (I chose scrambled, a I am wont to do,) house potatoes, a choice of bread (English muffin!) and choice of side meat (or meat-related items... I went with Veggie Sausage). I hung out on the sidewalk -- or boardwalk, as all of the sidewalks in Old Town are -- and enjoyed the lovely morning. The guy at the counter was supercool, and managed to make the jump from trying-to-be-cool to actually being a very charming and funny guy without being annoying.

My white mocha was pretty durn tasty, as was the rest of the meal. The English muffin had tones of butter in a delicious way, although it only came with one Grape jelly! The veggie sausages were also really good. All in all, it was a tasty little meal, even if it was nothing life-changing. I wrote a stack of cards; Birthday for Gramma, Mother's Day for my mom and my best friend's mom, and a congratulatory wedding card for my cousin, then packed myself off to Thor. The movie was thoroughly entertaining, and full of extra geeky references. I felt like a kid in a comic shop noticing all the details they through in. They did a good job, too, of "specializing" the movie; it's not just a superhero movie, it's an epic fantasy as well. This ws a nice touch, and made it stand out from a lot of schlock. I could geek-tweak all day, but my legs are getting restless and I still have more computing to do. So it's sayonara for now, but I plan on continuing my Old Town explorations this month, so stay tuned!

Atmosphere: 8/13
Clean: 2/3
Structural: 1/3
Decor: 2/3
Signage 1/2
Service: 2/2

(They get some extra atmosphere points just by dint of being in Old Town)

Menu: 6/8
Variety: 1/2
Size: 1/2
Beverages: 2/2
Prices: 2/2

Food: 4/9 pts
Presentation: 1/3
Portion: 2/3
Taste: 1/3

Bathroom: 3/5 pts.
Clean: 2/2
Structural: 0/1
Decor: 1/2

Total: 17/35