In honor of a recent weekend excursion to the foothills, this month’s tasting will be Auburn Alehouse's Fool’s Gold Pale Ale. “The Pale that Packs a Punch,” as they proclaim, is made just up the road in Placer County. At first glance, the off-white head is generous, dense and foamy. The aroma is fresh and bready, and the body is pale, golden straw in color. The taste is immediately fresh and light – a real easy drinker, but with a warming alcohol finish. This brew is 7.8 percent ABV, surprisingly high for a “pale ale” – rightly so, as they refer to it more specifically on the label as a West Coast strong pale ale. Others refer to this type of beer as a strong American blonde, or more sim

This past Friday I attended my first Concerts in the Park of the year. The evening was spent with great friends, family and a full evening of phenomenal musical performances. I could hear I'm Dirty Too playing from a block away before arriving at Cesar Chavez Plaza. I hurriedly made my way to the park entrance on 10th and I streets. My hurry was to no avail as I had to wait in a long line for 15 minutes for security to check everyone coming in. Once inside I noticed a thirst had been built up so I got in line to purchase some drink tickets. After a short wait in line I got a drink and walked around the park. Several food trucks and specialty food stations lined the park near 9th and

California Montessori Project (CMP) Capitol Campus is a Montessori public charter school in its twelfth year of providing education to Kindergarten through 8th grade students in Sacramento.  We are a non-profit organization serving the educational needs of over 300 students.  Our mission is to offer a high quality, tuition-free, Montessori educational program to every child in California.  A Montessori education enables students to develop themselves to their fullest capacity as competent, happy, productive individuals and contributors to a better society.  This is achieved through a heavy commitment from the community: parents, teachers, community groups, and most importantly, the individ

There is nowhere else in the world I want to live but Sacramento, Calif. Bold statement? Not for me. Let me explain why. Two recent life events have reopened my eyes as to why this place is unique. I’ll get to those in a minute, but first it’s important I define Sacramento. When I say Sacramento, I think of one place: the grid. That’s the area from Old Sacramento on the west to Interstate 80 Business on the east, and from the American River to the north to the WX Freeway on the south. It’s a roughly 900-square block area that contains world-class food, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, art, recreation and businesses. It also has acres of parks, a beach (no, I’m not telling you where),

Is it true that when something becomes mainstream that it’s just not cool anymore? In this case I hope not—because the latest player to jump into the farm-to-fork pool is the most mainstream and recognizable of Sacramento restaurateurs, the Paragary Restaurant Group, with it’s new venture, Hock Farm Craft & Provisions (1415 L Street). According to the menu, Hock Farm is a “celebration” of John Sutter’s original agricultural settlement, the farming tradition of the Sacramento region, and the current self-designation of the city as the “Farm to Fork Capital”.  They have even gone so far as to print a map on the back of the menu, highlighting Sacramento County with it’s surrounding environs

Making a special appearance this Memorial Day, “Igor the Jazz Cowboy” will return to Sacramento for this one-of-a-kind exclusive performance. A star from decades of concerts at the “Sacramento Music Festival,” this show is not related to the festival and will feature the best of all Igor’s talent. His music includes the roots of Americana, from New Orleans to Arizona’s cowboys and beyond. Igor will team up with local comedy magician John Heinen, and together for the first time they will perform at the gorgeous campus of Sacramento’s Unitarian Universalist Society, located near Fair Oaks Boulevard between Howe Ave and Fulton Ave at 2425 Sierra Blvd. The admission price of $15, children und

The Humor Times has announced a somewhat stealth $5 discount for tickets to see the national-touring, musical/political comedy troupe, the Capitol Steps, tomorrow, Sunday, May 5th, at 6:30pm. The performance takes place in the Martinique Ballroom of the Clarion Inn, 1401 Arden Way, Sacramento, next to the Arden Fair Mall. The General Admission tickets are normally $35.00 in advance, $40.00 the day of the show. But the show's presenter, the Humor Times, announced on their website today a $5 discount for "readers of the Humor Times website." That means show goers will get tickets for $10 less than it will cost them at the door tomorrow. But the website cautions that the discount is a "lim

Small press focus: Akashic Books Akashic Books is this edgy press that you may or may not have heard of. Akashic published one of my favorite books of all time, “Ruins,” by Achy Obejas. Their noir series is sure to please fans of noir, and I recommend picking up one of the many titles, perhaps beginning with “Boston Noir 2: The Classics” or delving even deeper into the drug noir series, perhaps with “The Heroin Chronicles.” You might be asking just how good these books are. Well, with contributors like David Foster Wallace, Joyce Carol Oates and Andre Dubus, how can you go wrong with “Boston Noir 2: The Classics?” This collection is divided into three sections: Broken Families where you’

With the Farm to Fork movement taking root in Sacramento, locally-grown food options are becoming more available to our community. The Oak Park Farmers' Market will kick off this Saturday, May 4th, and is issuing the Eat Local Challenge to encourage the public to eat only locally-sourced food for the following seven days. Participants in the Eat Local Challenge will be given an Eat Local kit at the event on Saturday. Throughout the next week, participants are encouraged to post to the Oak Park Farmers' Market Facebook and Twitter pages about their experiences during the challenge. The Oak Park Farmers' Market, which features over 20 local growers, live music, and family activities, curre

The newly designed Caesar Chavez Plaza Farmers' Market opened today amongst great temperatures and a windy day. Lots of farmer's stands, food servers and a good crowd made for a successful opening day. Here are some photos: The stands remain fairly consistent throughout the season. If you saw something you liked, you should be able to find it when you go. For information on Sacramento's Farmers Markets CLICK HERE.