"You moved where?"    "Sacramento"  "Why?"         Sacramento is not thought of very highly by a lot of Bay Area-ites.  I'm not entirely sure why.  I suppose many cannot separate the town from the stink wafting up from the State Assembly and Capital.  Politics as a whole is repugnant to your average person, and California's is especially loathsome. It's an unfortunate metonymy, "Sacramento" for the sludge that leaks out of the State Assembly, but it is to be expected.  When one considers "Washington DC", its a rare soul who thinks of the Smithsonian first and the politics second.   I grew up in Menlo Park, decidedly Bay Area-centric.  In the circles I came of age in, Sacramento wasn't

How well do you know your coffee? From the grinder to the filter (bleached or brown), from the water to the method of brewing (Mr. Coffee or French press), Temple Coffee and master barista Ben Lance have the answer. Thursday, Temple Coffee informed the java-loving public with its "The Art of Brewing" event at the newest 2829 S St. location. The event started off examining the flaws of the common coffeemaker notoriously associated with cramped hotel rooms and finished with what looked liked, at first glance, a chemistry set equipped with Bunsen burner and all. The common home coffeemaker produced a light-flavored cup of coffee that the crowd felt lacked the desired viscosity. As a novice,

"Pretension" has become a common term used to define most Sacramento coffee shops. Visitors have said they feel like an outsider in most joints they enter. It is as though the moment they enter, the looks of the regulars remind them they are obvious newcomers. Yelp has several reviews of some of my favorite stops in Sacramento, which exemplify this attitude. There is a frustration with the "hipper-than-thou" baristas and the "fake small talk" of the regulars. There is a perception that these places are "grungy, like their patrons." When most are indignant about the regulars, I am asking how I might become one. Though I am not looking to cut my jeans into shorts and take the brakes off

The cozy, cottage-like storefront that used to be Benny J’s in Downtown Westfield Plaza is a meeting place for yogurt and coffee lovers once again this summer. Owner Jason Yee opened the cozy nook’s doors to the public Thursday as Yummy Yogurt, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop and café.   With its easy-to-spot sprinkles sign and bright pink walls in view from the storefront's window, Yummy Yogurt is currently the only yogurt shop in Downtown Plaza.   Yummy Yogurt is sold in cups by the ounce, Yee said. Yogurt junkies can choose from and mix mango, strawberry, chocolate, cheesecake, vanilla and tart-flavored nonfat yogurt, and throw in toppings like almonds, mochi, almond roca, marshmall