In the two and a half weeks that I've been a Sacramentan, I've discovered many things that I like.  Some of these things I have included in my series of "Discovering Sacramento" articles.  I really like taco trucks. I like sports bars in general, and Sneakers in particular.  I like the Garden Highway, and I'm pretty sure that I'm going to like the Virgin Sturgeon.  But there are a lot more things that I like, which haven't made it into my articles.  With this fact in mind, I have decided to begin a new storyline.  I'm calling it "Stuff I Like".  I'm going to try and keep these posts brief and to the point.  This is what I like, heres why, badda bing, badda boom. Short attention span reading for those of you in a hurry.  You can get in and get out, like a successful jewelry heist.  Only instead of diamonds, you're fleeing the scene with knowledge, the knowledge of what I like.  And you can't put a price tag on something like that.  Or go to prison for it. So, without further ado, here is some stuff I like.

I like hotel bars, and I like places with history, and I like 2 dollar beers on draft.  So imagine my glee when I stumbled in to the Clarion Hotel for happy hour, and got a hat trick.  The Clarion Hotel, born "The Mansion Inn" in 1957, was once the only game in town.  Before the Marriott, before the Hyatt, there was the Mansion Inn. So named due to its location right across the street from the former Governors Mansion, it has played host to presidents and visiting aristocracy, as well as some of the greatest stage actors from New York and LA . It may have lost a bit of its luster since its 1960's heyday (the carpet is downright garish, and the downstairs hallways where the bathroom is located, are eerily similar to the hallway in The Shining. . . you know the one with the twins? Redrum, Redrum), but it still has an old school style and grace that you won't find in the more modern super hotels.  It's easy to imagine Don Draper smoking a cigarette and hitting on a statuesque redhead at the end of the bar, and I like that about the place.  And my love for all things 60's chic aside, I like, nay, I love, their happy hour.  2 dollar draft beers (Shock Top, complete with an orange slice, and Coors Light), 2 dollar house wines, and 2.50 well drinks. You can't beat that with a stick. So, if you like good drinks at a good price, good service (thanks Dana!) and good single serving friends (the easiest strangers to meet are those who are traveling, 'cause everyone is a stranger to them), you'll like the Clarion Inn from 5 to 7pm, every day of the week.  And if you don't like those things, well, I don't think we can be friends anymore.