Ace of Spades hosted the tour finale of the Glow Sticks for Breakfast Tour Sunday night, featuring performances by Hyper Crush, Benzi, Silver Medallion and Sacramento band Playboy School. Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz's DJ project with Spencer Peterson, Black Cards, was also scheduled to perform, but the duo had to pull out a few days before the show due to an ankle injury. Playboy School kicked things off in the early slot with a lukewarm set as people trickled in. Benzi livened the mood up with an electronic/Top 40 set that had a few guys raging, and a while later Silver Medallion came out and grabbed the mic, adding some organic energy to the stage as he ran around, whipping his lo

Two Sacramentans are looking to bring a kombucha bar to the Midtown space that formerly housed Hina’s Tea by the end of July, if they can raise $50,000 via the Internet to launch. The drink, which is carbonated through a fermentation process, contains probiotics and a living culture, co-owner Joseph Melrose said, adding that the probiotics are good bacteria that typically are absent in the average American diet. “It really works to helping with everything from irritable bowel syndrome to bad hair and bad skin,” he said. “People have been drinking it for 2,000 years for its health benefits.” Kombucha Kulture will not brew its own kombucha – a fermented tea drink – but stock about 10 flav

Three months after opening, Track 7 Brewing Co. co-owner Geoff Scott said he is happy to see a mixture of new and returning customers, and he hopes a new beer coming out later this month will be received as well as the business has. The as-yet-unnamed beer is a rye pale ale. “It uses about 25-30 percent rye in the grain build,” Scott said. “It’s a little on the heavier side. Most ryes are 10-15 percent, so it has a little more rye spice.” The beer will go on sale April 20, and seven barrels – 215 gallons – are finishing the brewing process. “I don’t think it’ll have quite the bitterness (our Daylight Amber) has, so it’ll be a nice mellow pale ale with some rye spice to it,” Scott said.

Ruhstaller, a local brewery in operation for about eight months, launched its newest beer this week, called Captain California Black IPA, and owner J-E Paino said Friday that the company is working on another brew, which should be available by summer. Bottles went on sale in local stores by early December, after a launch party for the brewery in November, Paino said. To read more about the launch party and the story behind the beer – which recalls Sacramento’s pre-Prohibition-era history, click here. The brewery, which produces its flagship 1881 Red Ale and seasonal Hop Sac, originally offered its beers on tap at local restaurants such as Mulvaney’s B&L and Selland’s Market-Cafe. The exp

2012 marks the tenth anniversary of our region’s premier culinary competition the Sacramento Chef Challenge, and organizers are inviting local restaurants, wineries, breweries and specialty shops to showcase their fare at the June 23rd event. The Sacramento Chef Challenge is a culinary extravaganza featuring two live cooking competitions, lavish food, wine and beer sampling, live music, raffle prizes and more. The event is expected to draw a crowd of over 1000 guests in celebration of INALLIANCE, a local nonprofit that has provided support to people with developmental disabilities for 60 years. “Our vendors draw a huge crowd each year by providing a variety of samples to our guests,” say

A slice of life in pre-Prohibition Sacramento was on display at the Sacramento County Historical Society’s monthly meeting Tuesday night as saloon ware collector Steve Abbott gave a presentation on artifacts from the 1860s through the 1920s. The Sacramento Press caught up with Abbott Wednesday for a more in-depth look at his collection. “I come from a family of collectors,” the 73-year-old retired English teacher from Rancho Cordova said. “One day I was in Old Sacramento in an antique store, and I saw an old whiskey bottle for $7. That was when I got into it – about 30 years ago.” While whiskey was made back east, in states such as Kentucky, Ohio, New York and Indiana, it was shipped to

When Darrel Ng moved to Sacramento from San Francisco in 2003, he made it a point to learn where the best happy hour deals were, and as he took more and more interest in the local restaurant scene, he decided to share his findings, launching the blog Cowtown Eats in 2009. “I used to work at the Capitol, and we were always asking each other who had the best happy hours,” Ng said. “Most of us were from out of town, and it was frustrating trying to find the best value.” Now a public relations professional for the health industry, Ng said his blog isn’t so much a source of income as a passion for the local dining scene, but he did say it helps fund his happy hour research trips. Cowtown Eat

The Fall season officially begins this week for Sacramento’s very own sport and social club. Appropriately named the Sacramento Sport and Social Club (SSSC), this unique adult sports experience has something in store for all types of social rec athletes in the Sacramento area. The idea first arose in 2008 when SSSC founder Brad Satterwhite (“the Commissioner”) and a co-worker of his wanted to get a group of their colleagues together for some good-natured out-of-office fun. They decided on bowling, but when the crew couldn’t find a local league that fit their needs, Satterwhite stepped into the role of league organizer. This league of work colleagues started with 12 teams in what later bec

You know that comedian, Anthony Jeselnik? Yeah, me neither. At least, I didn't until I saw him steal the show during the recent broadcast of the “Comedy Central Roast of Donald Trump,” where he created some buzz for himself by deftly skewering the guest of honor and the other roasters on the dais, like Larry King, Snoop Dogg and Jersey Shore's "The Situation.” I had a chance to see him in action myself Thursday night at the Punch Line. Fremont's Sammy Obeid was the emcee and first act, mining his Lebanese ethnicity for some killer jokes about being mistaken as Mexican and Indian, as well as plenty of great sex-related material, which appeals to everyone and is always a crowd-pleaser.

The weather forecast for Thursday is clear and sunny and Sacramento is counting down the hours to this year's biggest St. Patrick’s Day party. The de Vere’s Party in the Park kicks off at 10 a.m. on Thursday March 17th at Cesar Chavez Plaza in Downtown Sacramento for 12 hours of St. Patrick’s Day festivities, music, pipes, dancers, food, and drinks. 9th street between I and J streets will be closed to traffic beginning at 5 am to make room for all of the St. Patrick's Day festivities happening in the park. The street will reopen to traffic after midnight. Advance ticket sales for the Party in the Park available at deveresderules.com end at 11:30 a.m. on March 16, but tickets are availabl

For some time now, K Street has been wavering between its past life as a Sacramento hot spot and its future as a wilting has-been. The busy street is clearly an institution from 9 to 5, but despite the Crest and the constant stream of events, city planners have been struggling to pull in a real evening crowd. The news is out that a team of fairytale Bay Area developers has joined forces and created Dive Bar, Pizza Rock and District 30. This nightclub-pizza-bar trio hopes to entice the masses for some good old K Street entertainment and after-hours. But is this Bay Area vibe a bit of a stretch in grabbing the attention of the average Midtown resident? Even worse is the grueling task of con

A new downtown bar and grill is catering to a lunch and dinner crowd while still providing a venue to showcase local music and sports talent. Shenanigans  – located at 705 J St. in the building that used to house Image – opened Oct. 28, and local band Tesla was there for the grand opening, according to co-owner Max Archuleta. Shenanigans is the first joint venture by Sacramento natives Archuleta and Eric Schaefer. “Our concept is a sports bar and live music venue, but we kind of want to celebrate what Sacramento has to offer those areas of entertainment,” Archuleta said. The name is intended to make the concept somewhat vague. “We sat down and thought, hey, you know, we want to do som

I got the chance to visit a place I have been curious about for some time now. Celestin’s Island Eats & Cajun Cuisine. This place is everything Caribbean and touches on just about every type of cuisine in those waters. It was nice to see Tostones on the menu which was a childhood favorite growing up in Brooklyn, Tostones are fried and pressed plantains which if made correctly are to die for. As you walk into the restaurant there is a very comfortable feeling as you are surrounded by lots of tropical colors on the walls and Reggae music on the sound system. It was Friday night and the patio was completely packed while the inside was moderately seated. Our server Jack appeared to have tabl

A gastropub called Kupros Bistro is expected to open next month in a 100-year-old Midtown house that underwent a costly renovation. Owners Stephen and Sharon Tokuhama are opening a restaurant and bar after nearly rebuilding the formerly purple house that held a costume shop, Cheap Thrills, for 40 years at 1217 21st St. The remodel cost more than $750,000 because the building went through a structural retrofit, restoration and a restaurant buildout. The business got its liquor license from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Tuesday. Building inspections are complete. The couple hopes to open Saturday, Aug. 14, once final health and fire inspections are held, which may

It's a sad day for Sacramento tea lovers. Hina's Tea is closing shop, losing its employees, online retail store and loyal fan base. The store received a minute order from the Sacramento Superior Court March 25, saying they were no longer legal tenants of the property and that they should return possession to the owner. "Defendant (Gary Orr) is entitled to possession of the premises while the parties litigate the issue of damages," said the document. "Orr is entitled to the right to possession of the premises as (the tenants) have failed to pay rent or quit in response to a valid three-day notice to pay or quit." Hina's Tea informed their customers of store's closure through its website

Today I had but one objective which was to find a superior slice of pizza to sit down and enjoy without going broke in the process. You should know I was born and raised in New York so this was not going to be a simple task. I decided to try Giovanni’s Old World New York Pizzeria. My first impression was that the restaurant is enormous. The size of the restaurant drew attention to the fact I was the only one in the place. Normally I wouldn’t stay at a completely empty restaurant but they deserved an impartial review as much as any place. Let’s start with the positives. The lunch special which is offered from 11-4PM consists of two slices of pizza and a soda for $5.99. Draft beer is avail

East Sacramento has a new hangout: The Corner Restaurant & Bar, which opened its doors for business last Friday.     "I want this to be a place people want to come and hang out at," said owner Joel Thompson. "As cliche as it sounds, I hope The Corner will be a place like the 'Cheers' bar 'where everyone knows your name.'"     The Corner is located down the street from Sacramento State University at the corner of 57th and J streets in the historic building that was home to the original Shakey's Pizza until the mid-1990s. The Thompson family opened the restaurant with the goal of creating a family-friendly place where students, parents and kids alike could enjoy reasonably priced food

The Jewish Federation is celebrating their move to Midtown Sacramento by throwing a big party for a cause! The Big Nosh is a gourmet food and pub crawl benefiting 5 local charities where participants will get a chance to eat and drink their way across the grid sampling appetizers and cocktails at 30 restaurants and coffee shops. Tickets are $36/person and Crawl Captains may register at www.thebignosh.com and earn their ticket for free by recruiting 10 or more people to their team. Teams will start at different locations at the same time in a "round robin" format and experience Midtown as it's meant to be experienced: walking! Calling all Crawl Captains...register now at www.thebignosh.com

The Sacramento Press is teaming up with The Sacramento Grub Crawl to offer three community members a chance to win a pair of tickets to Wednesday's bike crawl. The Grub Crawl is celebrating one year of providing a myriad of crawls, including pub crawls, the wine crawl, bike crawls, and events like Christmas crawl, Halloween costume crawl, Valentine's Day crawl and Mardi Gras March. Each "crawl" consists of visiting up to five new or favorite restaurants for free appetizers, drink specials, prizes and giveaways in an organized social-networking setting. Although crawl participants normally walk to each venue, this healthy alternative to driving around and looking/paying for parking bring

It's back: Midtown Cocktail Week, slated for August 10-16, 2009.  As its website notes http://midtowncocktailweek.org/, "Midtown Cocktail Week Sacramento launched in 2008 as the brainchild of mixologist Erick Castro, President of the San Francisco chapter of the USB, and restaurant maven Joe Anthony Savala from Zocalo. These two friends and colleagues noticed what was happening in San Francisco with an entire city celebrating the cocktail and the people who create them. Now, MCW has grown into a collaboration that will provide a wonderful experience to everyone that attends." The event kicks off at L Street Lounge at 6 on August 10th, with the night wrapping up at a penthouse party acros