Archive for June, 2009
U is for Uncle Vito’s
Uncle Vito’s Slice fo NY
16th Street between O & P
Last week, the ABCs of Drinking brought me to the letter U. It turns out there are not many places to drink in town that start with the letter U, but luckily, before I cracked open a tallboy ”under a train bridge” I remembered Uncle Vito’s Slice of NY. (more…)
Wine & Dine Week!
I was going to write up a big ol’ thing about how great Wine & Dine Week is and how much money it can save you on a fancy dinner, but it looks like my friend Angela has already taken care of that on her blog. Check it out at “What’s My Deal.” Or just check out the special Wine & Dine menus here.
Paint Drawings of Sacramento Landmarks II
The Tower Theatre
The Tower Theatre which, for the record, looks exactly like the above drawing has been a Sacramento icon since it opened way back in 1938.
The Tower’s niche these days is the independent/art film crowd. You should really check it out. And right now they are showing that Mike Tyson movie that I want to see so bad.
The Tower, along with the Crest Theatre, are the two remaining old-timey movie palaces in town. Ask any old-timer and they’ll tell you that neither one comes close to the grandeur of the old Alhambra Theatre which was demolished in the 70s to put up a Safeway. Nothing against Safeway – I’ve been a card carrying member since 1997 – but, man, what a shame.
Sadly, the Tower always seems to be hanging on by a thread. Here’s hopin’ that it hangs on for a little bit longer and, as Mike Tyson would say, it doesn’t fade into Bolivian.
Paint Drawings of Sacramento Landmarks I
The Tower Bridge
The Tower Bridge connects Sacramento to West Sacramento and Yolo County. Back when it opened in 1935 that was a pretty big deal. Now most folks just use Hwy 80.
There are lots of good things about the Tower Bridge:
* It’s a vertical lift drawbridge so if you happen to be driving a big boat down the Sacramento River you can totally get through town.
* The Tower Bridge lended it’s name to the Tower Theatre in 1938 which in turn gave its name to Tower Records. Remember Tower Records? Yeah, me neither. But if I did, I’d know that R5 Records sits where Tower Records used to be and their owners look oddly similar.
* The view from the Tower Bridge straight down Capitol mall to the Capitol building is pretty solid.
Oh and rememebr the time we, the people of Sacramento, got to vote to change the color of the bridge from respectable orange to whatever yellowy color it is now? We got duped on that one. The computer generated image made it look so glorious in gold. It’s still nice enough I guess.
Sacramento French Film Festival 2009
I like the Sacramento French Film Festival and their crazy French posters so I’m giving them a shout out here.
Festival starts this Thursday and finishes up next weekend (they take a couple nights off in bewtween.)
For a small taste of what goes on there check out my post from last year here.
T is for the Trap
The Trap
6125 Riverside Blvd
Sacramento
There was a long list of people I was supposed to call before I went to the Trap, but the thing about the Trap is that sometimes you just fall into it. Other times you can’t get out. I had both of these things happen to me the other day.
So I apologize to those you who wanted to join me. We can totally go some other time. Maybe tonight?
If you’re not staying at Le Rivage or a member of the Elks Lodge, the Trap will require some pre-planning and effort to get to. But if you love cheap beers, stuffed wolverines and pool tables that aren’t necessarily level then it’s totally worth it. Really, it’s only like 5-10 minutes outside of downtown. So it’s no big deal.
2009 Sammies Voting Guide
It’s time, once again, to vote for your favorite Sacramento bands for the News & Review’s annual Sammies awards. If you’re like me, you probably don’t even know most of the bands in the running, but that’s no reason why you shouldn’t vote. That’s why I’ve put together this handy voting guide. You can’t go wrong if you always vote the way I do. This is true for every election ever.
Vote here.
Winners will be announced at the SN&R Music Fest at Cesar Chavez Plaza on June 27th. (more…)
Grape Escape
Everybody’s favorite wine and food event, Raley’s Grape Escape, is this Saturday! I know I’m late on this one, but I’ve been away from the Nick on the Town office for a while so I apologize. And, really, you should’ve had this marked on your calendars months ago anyhow. So, I blame you.
If you’re not familiar with the event, it takes place at Cesar Chavez Plaza and, basically, you pay your $40 and you get to eat and drink as much as you can possibly can.
Luckily, it’s not to late to get tickets. Click here for all the info.
