Fall-ing behind

Get it?  Because it's fall.  November is such a great month, and it's about to happen!

I'm 8 days late posting about brunch at Ernesto's in Downtown Sacramento.  Ben and I actually have eaten brunch at Ernesto's before, so I'm going to pretend that those two events were one event, especially because we were meal-repeaters.

Location: Ernesto's Mexican Food
Food score: 10
Drinks score: 7
Service and ambiance score: 8

Food we tried: Chorizo con papas, Tocino quesadillas
Drinks we tried:  Bloody Maria (tequila instead of vodka, of course!)

Chorizo con papas.  Picture from here

Ernesto's serves their breakfast and dinner menu during brunch, which is great, because I'm sure that everyone is always in the mood for enchiladas like I am.  The entrees are very large and filling.  Ben and I should have shared, although my quesadillas turned into a wonderful leftover lunch during the workweek.  The chorizo con papas is chorizo, potatoes, and eggs that come with delicious tortillas.  The Bloody Maria was good, but still not the Shady Lady, and I would even say that Pizza Rock has more flavor (and by flavor, I mean bacon).  I've had the margaritas at Ernesto's before, and they are delicious, especially the mango margarita.  Question: how early is too early for mango margaritas?

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.  I got home from work today just in time to carve a suuuuuper generic jack-o-lantern and throw it on my porch, along with a pink paper princess crown to make it feel special.  I had FOUR trick-or-treaters.  Yes, they all came together.

I don't know how I'm going to make it through this week because I'm so excited for this weekend!  On Sunday, Osmanthus and Stephen are coming for brunch and then Ben is going to dj at Sweater Funk in San Francisco (see picture below and then please come!).

None of the people in this picture are Ben.

Give me my Firebird quiche!

This past Saturday, Ben and I tried Ink's Eats and Drinks in Midtown Sacramento.

Location: Ink's Eats and Drinks
Food rating: 6
Drinks rating: 8
Ambiance and Service rating: 4

Food we tried: Quiche with basil, tomato, mozzarella, Country burrito
Drinks we tried: Screwdriver, Mimosa

I am now 0 for 2 in my attempt to try a quiche of my choosing at brunch.  First at Fox & Goose and now at Ink's Eats and Drinks.  I ordered a quiche with ham, gruyere cheese, and caramelized onions, and I was served a quiche with tomato, mozzarella, and basil.  It was good, but not what I ordered.  In case you read the title of this post, there's no such thing as a "Firebird quiche."  It's a pun.  Watch the following clip from Say Anything.

Are you the keymaster?

(Runner-up quiche pun: "I just want my [quiche] back!"  from Arrested Development - "I just want my kids back")

The waitress at Ink's Eats and Drinks also took awhile to process our drinks order, and the Halloween decorations were waaaaaay too scary.  I would go here again, but I'll wait and see what kinds of decorations they have for Christmas and proceed with caution.  Ink's has a pretty good looking drink menu, including a bloody mary bar (make your own bloody marys), which I was too intimidated to try.

Speaking of Say Anything, I love 80s movies.  I wonder what popular characters from 80s movies would have for brunch....

Lloyd Dobler (Say Anything): Breakfast burrito i.e. the kickboxing of brunch foods, and a beer.
Heather Chadler (Heathers): Some kind of fancy french toast with a Bellini (and some liquid drainer?)
Duckie Dale (Pretty in Pink): Veggie omelet and coffee, just because
Claire Standish (The Breakfast Club): Eggs Benedict and a mimosa
The Kid (Purple Rain): Steak Salad and Bloody Mary
Lane Meyer (Better Off Dead): bacon, boiled because his mom is crazy
The Thing (The Thing): humans, obviously
Raymond Stantz (Ghostbuster): Stay-Puft marshmallows

Okay now I'm just being ridiculous.  Literature edition of theoretical brunch orders to follow.  Eventually.  After I read some books.

Machete

Question: What do my day at work and this movie have in common?:

 

Answer: A machete.

 

It turns out that machetes are not only good for avenging one's children but also for preparing alfalfa for transplant.   I know, I know, why a machete?  Well, I had a shortage of hatchets, obviously.  I escaped the alfalfa harvesting unscathed, and I can now add "proficient in the use of a machete" to the skills section of my resume.  However, I wish Mr. Machete from the movie Machete were a real person, so I could ask him how he gets his machete so sharp.  

After I effectively wielded my machete, I had dinner with Erin at the UC Davis Dining Commons!  So I think this is a great time for the retroactive review of the UCD DC brunch (Saturdays and Sundays):

Location: UC Davis Dining Commons (Tercero, Segundo, and Cuarto locations) 9:00am-2:00pm Saturday and Sunday

Food Rating (out of 10): 8

Drinks Rating (out of 10): 8

Ambiance and Service Rating (out of 10): 7 (depends on the location)

Food we tried: Omelets, Various egg scrambles, bacon, tater tots, cheeseburgers, nachos, French fries, sandwiches, salads, cookies, frozen yogurt, soup

Drinks we tried: Soda, coffee, milk, soy milk, juices: Orange, Raspberry Lemonade, Passion Orange Guava, Strawberry Banana Orange, Cranberry, Grape

The DC has a very special place in my heart.  First of all, my ideal method of enjoying any meal includes simultaneous consumption of at least two beverages.  My preference is 3.  For example, there are three important breakfast/brunch beverages (nonalcoholic): water, coffee, and juice.  Water is important for hydration, and washing down big bites.  Coffee is important for waking up, and it’s the best beverage ever invented.  Juice is complementary to many breakfast foods, especially when fruit cannot be represented easily (it’s a little hard for me to work my way through a grapefruit or peel and orange when I’m STARVING).  The DC has all three of these t hings readily available, at no additional charge since it is a buffet-style venue.

I should explain that I worked for the UC Davis Dining Services for 5 years, and during my last year of employment there, one of my benefits included DC “swipes” to get myself and my loved/liked ones into the DC.  The Tercero DC had the best omelets ever, with the best omelet maker.  While the ingredients at Cuarto were often better, the omelet makers at Cuarto didn’t have the finesse and je ne sais quoi of Tercero.  I only ever went to Segundo because no one knew me there, and it was rarely crowded.  I usually ate omelets, but the other food at the DC was pretty consistently good during brunch time.  Some brunch all-timers include the omelet (especially when sausage and bacon are available toppings) and the Chicken and Wild Rice soup.

Tips: 1) Get there before 11:00am, when the freshmen wake up. 2) One plate at a time, you’ll overestimate how much you can eat and how many plates you can carry to the dish return without getting stares of disapproving disbelief from passersby.

OMG! We're having a Fire!... Sale

Some dialogue from the first episode of Arrested Development:

Michael Bluth: What comes first- what have we always said is the most important thing?
George Michael Bluth: Breakfast.
Michael Bluth: No, family.
George Michael Bluth: Oh I thought you meant in the things that you eat.

I didn't go out to brunch this weekend, even though breakfast/brunch is basically the most important thing.  Other than family.

Ben told me I can write more about him in blog posts.  So, here's an exclusive story about Ben and me and Arrested Development (I don't think Ben's even heard this whole story before).

When I met Ben and we started dating, he had never seen Arrested Development, but he was well aware of David Cross, who plays Tobias Funke in Arrested Development.  My generous and selfless friend Kevin loaned me his copy of Arrested Development, Season 2, on the condition that I tell Ben I think that David Cross is a "comedic genius."  While I think David Cross is really really funny, I would never use the phrase "comedic genius."  But I did say it, and Ben agreed, and that's probably why we're still together today.  Because we both like David Cross.  And cheeseburgers.

Allergies

I went to an allergy doctor earlier this week for a consult.  He was very helpful and looked and sounded exactly like Steve Guttenberg (Roger Calloway from It Takes Two, not Woody Goodman from Veronica Mars).  Apparently I have ideopathic hives.  Doesn't that sound like I'm faking my hives?  Like I'm a hive-pocondriac?

I have to go back for allergy testing to talk about future allergy shots and extra prescriptions and stuff, but I do already know one thing I am allergic to: the yellow fever vaccine (fun fact - the internet just told me that severe allergic reaction to a component in yellow fever vaccine occurs in about 1 in 55000 people!).  I found out about this allergy the hard way when I was 17.  My mom, Samantha, and I were leaving the clinic when the allergic reaction kicked in, so my mom u-turned at the intersection of Prov. Rd. and 51, headed towards the emergency room as I weakly gasped, "Presbyterian, not CMC" through my pinhole-sized airway.

For more info on allergies, watch My Girl

I survived, don't worry.

The yellow fever vaccine is grown in eggs, so I have been instructed to proceed with caution when getting flu shots, and when eating eggs.  I've been an egg consumer all my life, but I still refuse to get a flu shot.  I don't want to push my luck.  Conclusion: Thank God I'm allergic to yellow fever vaccines and not brunch, i.e. eggs.

Pizza Rock, pt. 2

Samantha (or Osmanthus, as Ben and I like to call her behind her back) came to visit today!  Poor Erin had too much homework, so she couldn't come brunch with us.  But you know what they say... 2 out of 3 ain't bad.  We went to Pizza Rock again.

I convinced Samantha to order the Bacon Bloody Mary.  Turns out she isn't as much of a bloody mary person as I am, but it worked out, because then I drank the rest of her bloody mary, in addition to my bottomless mimosa, which ended up being the equivalent of 7 mimosas.  7 mimosas sounds excessive, but I was trying really hard to get a mango mimosa, but our waitress brought me orange mimosas when I asked for mango.  What a crime.

Pizza Rock needs a new live band for their "acoustic brunch."  Both times, the same John Mayer wannabe (why would anyone want to be John Mayer?) covered the only bad Otis Redding song, Sitting On the Dock of the Bay.  We tried the Mexicana pizza and the breakfast potato skins.  Here's a picture of the potato skins and my 3rd mimosa.

This is a strawberry mimosa pictured.  I actually don't even like strawberry, but I was trying to give the waitress a clean slate/quiz her on her knowledge of fruit.  As a plant scientist, I may ask too much of others when it comes to fruit identification, but I'm guessing Pizza Rock has some kind of labeling system.

After brunch, Osmanthus and Ben and I went back to my apartment and made bean/cheese/corn salsa empanadas.  Then Samantha and I watched A LOT of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  To clarify, it was a lot of Law & Order for me, but not for Samantha (evidence).  That show is really good; here's a summary of the show in picture form:

Better go back again, it must by a mighty fine town-o

Fox & Goose Mimosa Menu

A few weeks ago, Ben and I tried The Fox & Goose in Downtown Sacramento on R Street.


Location: The Fox & Goose

Food Rating (out of 10): 4

Drinks Rating (out of 10): 9

Ambiance and Service Rating (out of 10): 8

Food we tried: Benedict Arnold (Eggs Benedict), New Yorker Omelet

Drinks we tried: 2 Beers which were apparently good but I couldn't tell you what they're called, The Duchess (Pomegranate and Pineapple juice mimosa), Washington Apple Mimosa (Cranberry juice, apple pucker, champagne)

Ben was not happy with the Benedict Arnold, but after the Eggs Benedict at The Shady Lady, I don’t think Ben is going to be happy with any other Eggs Benedict.  The Canadian bacon and eggs were not too flavorful.  The omelet was my second choice after the quiche that was posted on the specials menu was changed like one minute before I ordered.  I was reasonably happy with the omelet, but I was happier with the fruit salad on the side.  The drinks were fantastic.  I could see myself becoming a tiny bit plastered and losing an entire day from drinking too much at the Fox & Goose (oh wait that happened), because they have a MIMOSA MENU.  Next time I come here, I’ll prepare by being hydrated and travel on foot.  And I’ll order 3 different mimosas with sides of bacon and an English muffin.  Our waiter was attentive and I got to glance at college football scores from our table.  Tips: 1) Don’t order food, unless it’s that quiche I wanted, and then tell me how it tasted.  It had feta cheese, basil, tomatoes, and swiss cheese. 2) Appoint a designated driver.

Don't worry, Ben and I redeemed our disappointing food with a trip to The Shady Lady the next day.  Apparently we weren't the only ones whose brunch cravings weren't satisfied by Fox & Goose, because we spotted a couple from Fox & Goose at The Shady Lady the very next day.

At the risk of hugely underestimating what is a big deal, I strongly dislike geese.  If I were still in school and I had to write one of those "How I Spent My Summer" essays, it would be a 20 page description of my failed and semi-failed attempts at keeping geese out of a wild rice plot at work, along with the physical and emotional turmoil that accompanied these efforts.  Geese are smarter than every animal ever.  I think they can smell the presence of an attentive human being, because geese are present if and only if I am not there.  I proved this fact over the summer via probablistic proof or proof by exhaustion, along with a lemma that says I've lost my mind.  Example:  Fox & Goose almost lost my business because of its name.  But then I remembered the song "The Fox" by Nickel Creek:

The Fox and his Wife, without any strife
They cut up the goose with a fork and a knife
And they never had such a supper in their life
And the little ones chewed on the bones-o, bones-o, bones-o
They never had such a supper in their life
And the little ones chewed on the bones

Can I get a purchase order for one family of foxes please?  Just kidding.

The Rio City Cafe



(Source)

 This past Saturday, I tried a new brunch at The Rio City Cafe in Old Sacramento with my boyfriend Ben and my sister Erin.  The Rio City Cafe has a patio overlooking the Sacramento river, so our view was similar to the picture above.  Our food looked totally different though.

Location: The Rio City Cafe
Food: 7
Drinks: 7
Service and Ambiance: 9

Food we tried: Turkey sandwich, Spinach salad, Huevos Rancheros
Drinks we tried: OJ, Bellini, Irish Coffee

My spinach salad was pretty basic, but good.  It had crumbled bacon on it, which was a pleasant surprise, but it would have been better if it were chunks of bacon or just a piece of bacon.  Crumbled bacon is kind of difficult to balance on a fork.  Ben's turkey sandwich came with sweet potato fries, which needed salt but were otherwise really good.  Erin's huevos rancheros were okay.  The rice was fantastic, but I thought the dish as a whole was a little too heavy.  The bellini and Irish coffee were not up to TSL standards, but still tasty, and went well with the view of the Sacramento river.

On our walk to Old Sacramento, we passed a wedding photo shoot.  Ben and I usually pass wedding ceremonies and receptions of some kind when we are going to or from brunch.  Back when we were both living in Davis, we'd drive around in the late morning hours of the weekend and spot various college students during their walks of shame.  Now, we see weddings.  And a lot of street construction.  These days, the streets of downtown Sacramento are filled with white dresses, tuxedos, and orange cones.