THE RIVER'S EDGE CAFE 8740 LA RIVIERA DRIVE

After running a few errands this morning I was in the mood for some biscuits & gravy.

I decided to go to the River's Edge Cafe on La Riviera Drive. I had been there before for lunch & it was pretty good.

I arrived at 9:50AM & the restaurant was pretty full. As I walked in I was greeted by a server & taken to the smallest table in the restaurant. At least it was next to a window!

My server (a guy) asked me if I would like some coffee. I agreed & had a seat.

Taking a look around the place I noticed that there were four very cute "twenty something" ladies working as servers & there were two guys also working as servers, taking care of the tables, taking orders & pouring coffee.

It would have been nice to have a young lady wait on me. So this is two in a row for me now! First at Eggie's & now here.

So do you think I'm a male chauvinist pig?

Feeling a little bummed out, my male server returned & took my order. I decided on "The Hangover". This consisted of biscuits & gravy along with stuffed hash browns. This would be a first for me, as I had never experienced stuffed hash browns.

I will say that this is a very clean restaurant with outside dining available. It was crowded & noisy because of the Labor Day Holiday.

After about 15 minutes my order arrived. The biscuits & grays were pretty good. But the stuffed hash browns were off the hook! Loaded with flavor! The hash browns were stuffed with eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese & sour cream. They were fantastic. The coffee was off the hook as well.

The inside of the River's Edge Cafe is decorated with paintings from a local artist & there is some fishing gear hanging on the walls. Hence, the name "River's Edge"

Overall it was a very good breakfast.

The total for my meal was $12.45.

I left $15.00 for my server.

Will I go back to the River's Edge Cafe? Yes, I will for sure...

I give the River's Edge Cafe 3 out of 4 stars.

***

REVIEW: EGGIE'S 1650 FULTON AVENUE

This morning around 8:00AM I met a good friend at Eggie's restaurant for breakfast. I have been here a couple of times & have always had a good breakfast.

Today was no different.

We walked in the 1970's era diner & grabbed a booth by a window. The place was pretty much full & it was very clean.

It kind of reminded me of a place that Jimmy Conway & Henry Hill from the movie "Goodfellas" would have breakfast. Do you feel me?

Our waiter or should I call him a server, was prompt to offer us coffee & menu's.

One thing I will say about Eggie's is that it isn't cheap. Sorry, no ham & eggs for $2.99 at this place.

Sipping our morning coffees we looked over the breakfast menu. I decided on french toast & sausage. My breakfast buddy went all out with the Denver omelet, home fries & wheat toast. Afterall, I was paying!

After about 10 minutes, our orders arrived. I was starving & let me tell you that the food was excellent! It was a primo breakfast!

The coffee was excellent!

The only bummer was that halfway through the meal our server dropped the bill on us. It was like he wanted us to clean our plates & leave. In other words, it was time for us to get the hell out of there!

Usually, the server waits until he or she notices that the patrons are almost done with the meal, then they come over & ask you if you would like anything else.

To top things off, a few moments later he took the Tabasco sauce & Ketchup off of our table then took it over to another table. WTF? They only have one bottle of Ketchup in the place?

Well, this move was strongly reflected on the tip I gave him.

Remember that tips stands for "To Insure Prompt Service"

The total for our meal was $21.38.

I left a $3.00 tip.

Will I go back to Eggie's on Fulton Avenue?

Yes, for sure... Despite our rookie server, they know how to cook a breakfast.

I give Eggie's 3 out of 4 stars!

***

COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL RUNS OUT OF BEER

As I was flipping though the channels tonight taking in the local Sacramento news I heard about a Country Music Festival in downtown Sacramento.

Hello? I didn't get the memo on this people!

Anyways apparently this was near 5th & Capitol Mall. Lot's of people & good country music. Yee haw!!!

There was only one problem. The Coors truck ran out of Beer!

How on earth could a Country Music Festival run out of Beer?

According to the news broadcast, they not only ran out of beer, they ran out before any of the major headliners even stepped on stage!

Nice work! After all, timing is everything!

Sacramento Police were in heavy presence to keep the situation calm.

My question is where was Mayor Kevin Johnson in all of this? I'm sure he would have really fit in at a Country Music Festival.

I don't know about you, but when I get down to a few beers in my fridge I go out & buy more beer!

Peace.....

WHAT'S THE WORLD COMING TOO?

First let me say that sometime around February 2010 I received an email from Erica Jaeger, she was like the public relations person for the Red Lobster restaurant chain.

Her email was basically an invite to Sacramento area food bloggers to check out the "new & improved" Red Lobster.

Erica's email went on to explain that Red Lobster had undergone a renovation not only to the the restaurants, but to the menu as well.

She also talked about Chef Michael LaDuke being on hand to discuss the new updated Red Lobster menu. This was a big opportunity for me.

There would be samples of the new menu items & a chance to interact with Chef LaDuke.

Finally, I was being recognized as a legitimate food blogger in Sacramento!

I did the R.S.V.P. & accepted the invitation.

This was to take place on March 23, 2010.

As each day passed, I grew more anxious about the event. I mean to tell you it was driving me crazy thinking about this. I had my scratch pad & pen ready. I was writing down the questions I was going to ask Chef LaDuke.

But in all honesty, who the hell am I?

How was I going to interact with the other bloggers? Did they know about Sacramento Blog Uncut? Would my fellow bloggers accept me? I tell you the whole ordeal really stressed me out big time. It was like I was in school again.

The event was around 5:00PM. That meant I would arrive fresh out of work & pre stressed for the occasion. I felt very uneasy about the situation.

Long story short, I never showed up for the event.

Hey man, I chickened out, but life goes on!

In all honesty, that's not what I do.

I go to a restaurant, order a meal & check things out. Then I write a review of the experience on my blog.

To me, going to this function & getting free samples of food, then asking the Chef questions was out of the norm for me. I would end up writing a biased opinion piece on the restaurant. Free stuff has a way of doing things to you. Do you feel me?

So I have no regrets for not showing up!

Fast forward:

Tonight on the KCRA news there was a story of a Red Lobster Patron that got stabbed in the bathroom!

This happened at the same Red Lobster on Howe Avenue! Can you believe it?

Imagine going out to dinner & when you go to use the restroom, you get stabbed! Nice huh? Jesus, what's the world coming too?

You can read the complete story on www.KCRA.com

Peace to all of my loyal readers!

JOHNNY ROCKETS at ARDEN FAIR MALL

Today around lunchtime I found myself at Arden Fair Mall. Entering at Sears, I did a short patrol of the mall. It was to say the least a sparse crowd.

As I looked at the various shops I said to myself, hey... who can afford any of this stuff? Hopefully in the near future our economy will turn around.

So it was around 11:45AM & I was starting to get hungry.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Johnny Rockets. If you have read my blog in the past you would know that I did an excellent review of the Johnny Rockets at the Grand Sierra Hotel & Casino in Reno, Nevada.

So I walked into the California version of Johnny Rockets. I had a seat at the counter & a very cute server with sandy hair pulled back into a pony tail greeted me & handed me a menu. She had on tan pants & the standard issue Johnny Rockets white shirt & bow tie, along with the Johnny Rockets apron. I liked her from the start.

So I gazed at the menu & found what I wanted. I decided on a BLT with almond smoked bacon, fries & a diet coke.

Sitting at the counter there was a large pillar next to me. It was covered with mirror. In front of the pillar there was counter space that was kind of a "no man's land". In other words it was unusable counter space. This space was covered with water.

Apparently the servers had been placing the filled water glasses there. It was kind of an informal staging area for drinks. The water puddle was tacky tacky tacky....

Strike one.

On a lighter note my order was ready in less than 10 minutes. My BLT was perfect. Fries did come with the sandwich, but there weren't many fries. Oh well, what are you gonna do?

As I was enjoying my meal at the lake front property, I mean the counter I noticed another thing. It was noisy as hell in the place. They had these nickel juke boxes throughout the restaurant & you could barley make out what was playing. Between the grill noise, the servers & the talkative patrons, it was just way to loud for me.

Strike two.

Finally nearing the end of my meal another server walked up to the counter with a small blue towel. I figured she was going to wipe up the water that had been sitting on the counter next to me. She wiped around part of the counter & set the blue towel down to the right of me. She never got near the water puddle.

Strike three.

In closing, I had a water puddle on the left side of me & a blue clean up towel on to the right of me. Nice huh? Nothing like impeccable customer service.

You know what? I have to say that it was in fact an excellent BLT. I could of used a few more fries, but I think I will survive another day here in Sacramento.

The total for my meal was $9.55. I left my server $13.00.

Will I return to Johnny Rockets in the Arden Fair Mall. Well, probably not.

I give the Johnny Rockets at Arden Fair 1 1/2 stars out of 4 stars.

A little clean up & a lot less noise would have earned this place a higher rating.

**

DINNER at TOGNOTTI'S AUTO WORLD

Yesterday around 5:30PM I was out once again looking for a new place to eat. As I made my way down El Camino Avenue I came upon a Car Show going on at Tognotti's Auto World.

As many of you know Tognotti's Auto World is located at the corner of Fulton & El Camino Avenue and has been around for many years.

As I pulled into the parking lot I figured what the hell, I'll stop & check out a few cars.

It was a pretty cool show. Lot's of Hot Rods, Duece Coupes & T Bucket Roadsters. There were Trucks & Lowriders too. There was a DJ booth set up blaring 80's rock to all of the onlookers.

The DJ was also calling out raffle ticket numbers & handing out prizes. All proceeds from the event were being donated to the Sacramento Children's Receiving Home. Then an announcement was made about the dinner they were offering. For a $15.00 donation, you got a chicken dinner. Hey man, sounds good to me!

So I approached the DJ booth, handed over the $15.00 & was given a blue ticket. I was told to walk inside the store & go to the tire area. Huh?

Sure enough there was a line forming inside of Tognotti's near the tire department. You walked in the warehouse area, handed over the blue ticket & was given a plate.

There was a buffet set up in the warehouse area of the store. The menu was pretty good actually. You had a choice of chips & salsa, Spanish rice, macaroni & cheese, a mixed vegetable medley and you got two pieces of chicken. You had a choice of drinks including diet pepsi, coke or bottle water. For desert there were chocolate chip cookies.

As you exited the warehouse area they had tables & chairs set up outside for everyone to enjoy their meal.

It was a good meal for a good cause! What more could anyone want?

More Sacramento businesses need to do stuff like this. They need to learn how to give, rather than just take. Do you feel me?

I just want to thank Tognotti's Auto World for putting on this event.

It was a great dinner!

*****

MARIE CALLENDERS 3129 ARDEN WAY

Yesterday around 9:00AM I wanted some breakfast & despite having all the items in my fridge to make the morning meal I decided to go out.

I headed over the Watt Ave bridge onto La Riveria Drive. I was going to go to the River's Edge Cafe. When I arrived the restaurant was jam packed.

Super crowded places don't really interest me. So then it was Eggie's on Fulton. Eggie's was filled to the gills. Pass....

I made a right on Arden Way & headed up to Marie Callenders. Only a few cars in the Parking lot. Nice!!!

As I walked in I was greeted by a server who gave the classic "anywhere you want" line & I grabbed a booth near the front counter. Immediately I was greeted by Liz my server. She was a very beautiful brunette. Handing me a menu, she asked me if I wanted coffee, of course I agreed & also asked for a glass of water. Woa, she was hot!

After a minute she brought over the coffee, water & a complimentary warm slice of some type of blueberry loaf cake. Damn that was good! I could of just had that for breakfast. As you all know, Marie Callenders makes some good pies & pastry.

So looking at the menu I decided on the Pancake Combo. This consisted of three pancakes, two eggs over medium & two slices of bacon.

As I waited for my meal to arrive more people entered the restaurant. They were senior citizens, all dressed up. Perhaps they just got out of Church services. Also at another table there was a family complete with a screaming child. Listening to someones child scream during Sunday breakfast is always such a pleasure.

After a few minutes my meal arrived. The screaming child finally shut up & I was able to enjoy an awesome breakfast! Hey, it was all good. It was nice to get some pancakes that were cooked properly. The Bacon was smoked & tasty, eggs perfect, coffee perfect.

They know how to put together a good breakfast at Marie Callenders.

The total for my meal was $10.20. I left $14.00 in the little black book & departed the restaurant. It was a good meal.

Will I go back? Yes, for sure....

I give Marie Callenders 3 out of 4 stars!

***

FLAMING GRILL CAFE 2319 EL CAMINO AVENUE

I made up my mind today would be the day to try out the Flaming Grill Cafe on El Camino Avenue. I got in my car & headed over there for lunch.

I arrived at 11:45AM & pulled into the teeny tiny parking lot. As I walked up to the front door it happened once again. Closed!!!!!

Many of my readers know that I have been there to eat & called on the phone before to only discover that they were not open.

But lady luck was on my side today. The Flaming Grill opens at noon on Saturdays.

So I got back into my car & took a short cruise through the area. Man, things sure have changed that's for sure. With my doors locked I checked out the neighborhoods & kept an eye on my watch. I wanted to be back right when the restaurant opened.

Finally, it was high noon & I made my way back into the teeny tiny parking lot. I parked in the construction company's parking spot next door to the restaurant. It was clearly marked "No Parking" but hey, screw em' if they can't take a joke huh?

I walked into the Flaming Grill & was greeted by a Giant of a man. He was wearing a Flaming Grill T Shirt (I want one of those). He looked at me and said, we are not open yet. About 15 minutes OK?

Well, what are you gonna do? It was high noon & enough already! So I asked the guy for a menu & waited out the 15 minutes. Glancing at the menu I noticed a large selection of burgers, sandwiches & salads. Hey man, they even had cheesecake.

For many years this place was a drive in, then it was a coffee shop. As I looked over the menu a family walked up & waited with me for the place to open. The Giant of a Man's family arrived for work. It appears to be a family business.

What I liked the most was the staff was very polite. Everyone was on their "A" game. The Giant of a man talked to us while he was setting up the tables. They have been there 2 1/2 years. That tells me something right there.

After a few more minutes my server Maria greeted me with a smile & asked me if I had been there before. I said no & asked a few questions about the menu. They just don't serve beef burgers. They have Buffalo, Wild Boar, Antelope, Alligator, Ostrich & Yak. Yak? Hey, don't ask me...

So being a major chicken I decided on the Cafe Sirloin Burger. That's a 1/2 pound sirloin burger with onions, tomato & lettuce. I added Swiss cheese. I asked for a Coke to drink.

I noticed the people at the table next to me were trying out the exotic burger selection. They also ordered a couple of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beers (on tap) to quench their thirst. The Flaming Grill serves a variety of Beers which is always a plus for any dining experience.

Basically you eat in the patio area of the place. There is no actual indoor dining to speak of. That was OK, because there is privacy screen around the patio, ceiling fans & a couple of TV's to watch. The concrete floor was painted a dull yellow color. No this isn't a fancy place, but I liked it. The guys were making the best of it & it was working. All of the staff had excellent attitudes. As I waited for my order, more people arrived for lunch.

Despite the traffic noise and a view of "The Car Czar" auto repair shop next door, it was kind of an interesting place. It was like you were at a drive in & restaurant mixed together... Kind of an eccentric vibe to the place.

Across the street at St Philomene's Church there was a wedding in progress. It was just a unique day. It was interesting taking in the place for the first time.

So finally my order arrived. The first thing I noticed was it was a hell of a big burger & there was a ton of fries. Best of all my meal was served to me on a real plate. Yes, a real plate, not in a plastic basket with paper or a tacky paper plate. So I guess you can't really call this place a drive in now can you?

In closing, what can I say, it was a fantastic meal. The Sirloin Burger was cooked perfect. The bun was fresh & all of the ingredients in the burger were fresh as well. The fries were awesome!

I could not have asked for a better lunch!

The total for my meal was $11.13.

I give the Flaming Grill 4 out of 4 stars! Great food & great service by a caring staff. Keep up the good work!

Will I go back to the Flaming Grill Cafe? Oh, for sure....

If you go there, mention to the workers that you read about their place on Sacramento Blog Uncut.

Thanks!

*****

QUIZNO'S SANDWICH SHOP 6306 GARFIELD AVENUE

Today I was visiting a friend in Citrus Heights. We had just finished doing a little shopping & it was around lunchtime. The idea of getting a couple of sandwiches to go at Quizno's sandwich shop at 6306 Garfield Avenue sounded good.

Quizno's is located across from the Century Cinedome theatres near Greenback & highway 80.

So the two of us walk into the sandwich shop & the first thing I noticed was the silence. There were a couple of people eating there, but other than the sound of them chewing on their sandwiches it was silent. I mean you could hear a pin drop.

There was no TV & there was no music. Just silence. I know that I complain about noise, but this was just too wierd.

I approached the counter & looked over the menu boards. Hmmm... the first thing I notice was no pastrami. WTF? No pastrami?

Then I noticed the two for five dollar special called "bullets". That was interesting. Two sandwiches on baguettes for $5.00. Not bad.

So we decided on two Turkey Bullets & a bag of chips to go. The total ended up being under $7.00. Excellent.

As the two people behind the counter prepared the sandwiches, I noticed that they had basically no personality. There was no small talk, there was nothing. As a matter of fact I thought about breaking out in a tap dance to lift the somber environment of the place. Hey man, it was Valium city in the place.

It was very odd....

So after a few minutes the order was ready! I grabbed the bag & we headed over to my friends house to eat.

Upon arrival at my friends house, my friend got a couple of paper plates & two sodas. I started digging through the bag pulling out the two turkey bullets. We were going to split the bag of chips. It seemed like it was going to be a good lunch.

Then I unwrapped the sandwiches. The exterior of the sandwiches were literally soaked with mayonnaise. They were drenched! It was like they made the sandwiches & then dipped them in mayonnaise! I couldn't believe it!

I took a paper towel & wiped off the mayonnaise off of the outside of the sandwiches.

This folks was a complete mind blower. What on earth were they thinking? I know that Quizno's makes the sandwich & then runs it through a machine to toast it. But c'mon, what the hell was going on with all the extra mayo?

After wiping down the turkey bullets with a paper towel they were indeed pretty good. Maybe it was because I was very hungry.

Will I go back to Quizno's at 6306 Garfield Avenue? Well, maybe not....

I give Quizno's a generous 1 out of 4 stars.

Yo Quizno's, hold the mayo!!!

PLAN B RESTAURANT 555 LA SIERRA DRIVE

Last night, after many attempts to eat at Plan B restaurant I was successful. I had called ahead to see if they were open & asked about the crowd. Yes, we're open said the person on the other end of the phone. It was a miracle!

You have to understand that every time I had went there to eat, the doors were locked & a note giving some excuse was posted on the door. But I was determined to try this place.

So as I walked into Plan B restaurant one word popped into my head. Sophisticated.

As I took a seat at the bar I noticed a gray haired gentleman at the bar in a white shirt checking out the crowd. He was eyeballing everything. Including me. He must have been the owner.

I was greeted by the bartender & handed a menu. I ordered a coke. There was a vibe to this place. The music was soft, the bar had a white counter top & everything else about the bar was black. The bar was stocked with high end liquor. Although not a very big place, it was done up right. The tables were white, the seats were black. The side wall of the place was white brick. It was clean & classy.

I looked over the menu & was contemplating Salmon or the Ribeye Steak. The bartender pointed out the specials on a chalkboard located on the back wall of the bar. Fillet Mignon, Rack of Lamb or Rainbow Trout. It all sounded good. I remember the Rainbow Trout was $20.50.

So after much thought I decided on the Ribeye steak dinner. This was a 12 oz. Ribeye Steak served with seasoned fries & ratatouille. Perfect!

I looked around the place some more. It was very clean. There was a laptop near the bar & I noticed a blonde lady all dressed in black bringing out samples of food to the gray haired guy to try out. Was he the owner? It sounded like he had a french accent. As a matter of fact, so did a couple of the other people working there. I noticed a young couple on the patio area having drinks & chilling out. I noticed that all of the servers were dressed in black.

More people were arriving as I anticipated my dinner. I kept wondering if they knew that I was a blogger. Did they know that I was going to write about their place?

After a few minutes my meal arrived. Nice presentation! Hey man, it was a far cry from Waffle Square that's for sure!

The Ribeye was charbroiled medium rare, it was just what I wanted. Tender & juicy with a nice charbroiled flavor. The fries were like the size of shoestrings with a nice garlic flavor. Even though I had never tried ratatouille, it was off the hook!

It was an excellent meal. It was well worth the wait.

I noticed the 95864 crowd was upper class. It's Sierra Oaks. It was a classy experience.

In these hard economic times, I feel very fortunate that I can afford a place like this.

The total for my meal was $26.37.

I left $33.00 on the bar as I walked out.

Will I go back to Plan B restaurant? Oh yes... Hell yeah!

I give Plan B restaurant 4 out of 4 stars.