Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "jim-dennys"

Sugar and Spice: A dessert aficionado's fantasy.

2011-02-17T22:28:08Z

The economy is finally showing signs of dragging itself out of the quicksand. This slow but steady comeback has sparked some pleasant surprises throughout downtown over the last few months. Like a chain reaction, specialty businesses are popping up in some rather unexpected places, encouraging more to follow suit, as rents are becoming more affordable and creative spaces more available.
Sugar and Spice Specialty Desserts, 1201 F St., is a valuable oxygen source to the span of 12th from D through H streets. For the last six months, that area had stretches of blocks with no tenants as “for lease” signs littered the windows. Now, change has come.

I pass by that location every night on my way home from the shop (I manage Endless Autobody, a new auto body shop on the corner of 12th and Sproule), and I have been watching the little corner shop's evolution from a papered-up mystery spot to a beautifully decorated, upscale but intimate “dessert-ery” where ladies dressed in white chef’s coats work late into the evenings behind glass windows.

"One day," I would say to myself each night I passed. One day I would go in and end the mystery.

As it happened, it was a beautiful, sunny Saturday. I'd been out at Harlow's the evening before, shooting Tommy Castro and his band, and I still had my camera with me. I locked up my shop and headed home, down 12th, and as I passed those glass windows yet again, I swung a hard left at the next block. They were open!

Carissa Jones, owner and dessert visionary, has a short bio on her website that I read before stopping to talk with her. Trained at the California Culinary Academy, she rented shared spaces, doing desserts at several high-end restaurants before deciding there were enough cheesecakes and chocolate molten lava cakes in the world. It was time she embarked on her own solo gig, and, after a year of waiting it out, a space finally opened up downtown.

"The location had to have a hood" she explained as we chatted over an astounding array of Valentine-themed mini-desserts.

"I'd searched and waited for over a year for the right space to become available. I wanted lots of natural light and, of course, it had to have a hood. (an exhaust hood used when making heated food.) They can cost as much as $60,000 if you have to install one from scratch. So, I waited it out and finally...voila, we are here!" she said.

"There had to be an audience for what I wanted to do before I would commit to this space," she continued, "and with our wedding and event clientele referring us to more clients, I knew there was at least some kind of a desire for this. So I picked a spot where I can grow, and here I can, but I know that I could never have made this transition without the help that I have."

Jones was talking about the devoted, hard-working friends who pitch in at a moment's notice, and also on a more regular basis to lend a hand piping icing, baking, mixing and working those long hours I kept seeing. She also discussed the value of externs and stäges.
The Art Institute has funding for their students to train on-site at different businesses as interns to gain valuable work experience, and you can have someone come work with you for a month or so. There are also stäges – apprentices – of which Jones has one.

She hired someone to train to learn the pastry craft, and because they have no experience or knowledge of the industry, they work for free. Her stäge worked alongside her for a few weeks, and Jones realized she was really dedicated and could handle the excruciating attention to detail required to make some of these meticulous, tiny confections.

Jones has never regretted hiring the trainee. "When you see someone earnest to learn what you love, what's closest to your creative heart, it's easy to invest in that," she said.

Brandy Capik, the woman I had seen in the window all those late nights, has been a strong asset to Jones from the start. Her "friend in need" was busy putting circles of icing on a counter full of cookies as we talked, and the two ladies reminisced about a cupcake that Capik created recently.

"Maple syrup and bacon cupcake," Jones confidently said as she watched my face squench up into a “thanks, but no thanks” grimace.
"Seriously," She was prepared to expound on the concoction. "The maple syrup icing she made was so incredibly good, I couldn't stop eating it and had to go up the street to Jim-Denny's to get pancakes to go with it!"

"But ... the bacon?" I squenched again.

"Well now, that is why we’re here. Desserts are a reward, a luxury to indulge yourself with, and you have to have adventure if you are going to make desserts your passion. There is a whole world to discover, and were are definitely adventurous." Her reassuring smile was starting to sink in and I was beginning to feel as though I'd missed out.

"Something happens when Brandy transforms the bacon into candied bacon,” Jones said. “The smoky meat flavor dissipates, and what's left is remarkably surprising. She added that Capik’s husband loved them.

"We had him eat one, and his exact words were, 'It's not supposed to taste this good!' " Capik said.

As I stood there with the wonderful aroma of dessert luxury all around me, they finally wore me down, and I tasted a formed truffle. The tiny chocolate shape is filled with liquor, but not like you would find in a cordial. These bites are infused with raspberry Chambourd, Jack Daniels, Grand Marnier and a host of other flavors. The dark chocolate truffles have no bitter aftertaste or oily consistency. All you taste and feel is the smoothest chocolate ever made on earth. Jones said you don't get that bitter oily consistency because she uses real cream mixed into the chocolate.

At their in-store counter display, they offer mini crème brûlées – chocolate, coffee, caramel and vanilla; cupcakes with Nutella cream; sugar cookies; cake lollipops; "popular" tarts; oatmeal sandwich cookies and pink vanilla marshmallows. If you can stay for a cup of the custom roast coffee (provided by Vaneli's in Rocklin), you could try an apricot and almond mousse – or the white chocolate raspberry with passion fruit.

When I asked her if there were any orders she couldn't do, she replied quickly.

"Cheesecake. There is no cheesecake here, and I will never make another chocolate lava cake again."

Occasion cakes are available with 48 hours’ notice and can be created in any cupcake flavor. Daily menus are offered on their Facebook page.

www.sugarandspice.me

Grill stays on at Jim-Denny's

2010-11-18T01:22:02Z

Sacramento's famous little vintage diner, Jim-Denny's, is about to quietly change hands.

Regulars and history buffs can breathe a sigh of relief: The buyer plans to keep the 76-year-old landmark restaurant operating right where it is, said broker Dave Herrera of Colliers International.

An investor who values the diner's history is purchasing the business and the property at 816 12th St. It's expected to close escrow in the next two weeks.

"He had a lot of interest because of the history that the building and business have had, and the impact it's had on all the locals," Herrera said.

An agreement was reached within about a week of when the historic diner and restaurant business was marketed for sale – along with a 3,734-square-foot piece of downtown real estate that went on sale simultaneously after staying in one family for about 60 years.

But Jim-Denny's current co-owner Patsy Lane isn't retiring yet.

Lane, her grandkids and the rest of the crew will keep operating the restaurant for at least four months under the agreement with the new owner. The buyer was only interested in the deal if Lane agreed to stay during a transition, she said.

College grads Jim Van Nort and Dennis "Denny" McFall opened Jim-Denny’s at 16th and J streets in 1934. The pair left Salt Lake City for Sacramento in 1933. During the Great Depression, their new economics degrees only got them jobs with the railroad. They then decided to open a hamburger joint, said George Bassett, who has managed the land for his family for nearly 30 years.

After serving in World War II, they moved the business to its present location as “Jim-Denny’s No. 2.” Bassett's grandfather, a banker he was named after, owned title to the land on 12th Street. The bus station was next door then, and the diner operated 24 hours a day.

No lease has ever been signed for the land, which has been rented month-to-month since those days, Bassett said.

Van Nort operated the restaurant until he was 79. Newspapers in Sacramento and San Francisco lamented the diner's closing when he retired a few months after having coronary bypass surgery in 1988. But the restaurant was only closed for a few months before someone bought it and reopened it under the same name.

"Like Mark Twain said, 'Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,' " Bassett said. "This place has been trying to die a natural death since 1988 – and yet it keeps going."

The 750-square-foot building is now a protected historic landmark. However, it could be moved if a new owner wished.

The land was owned by a trust made up of Bassett and six siblings or cousins – a family with old roots in Sacramento. Selling or leasing the property has been too complicated with that many involved, Bassett said.

But when the Lanes called recently saying they wanted to sell the building, Bassett thought it would be better to sell than pass the property on to another generation of land owners.

"This is just a little dinky piece of property that has stayed in the family for years," he said.

Lane and her daughter Joanna and son-in-law Sean Lane became the fifth set of owners when they bought the restaurant in 2005. In late September, Patsy Lane and the diner were featured on the Travel Channel show “Man v. Food.”

The entire property is selling for close to the asking price of $295,000, with $45,000 of that for the building and business.

The sale stirred up quite a few calls, Herrera said.

"We had a lot of interest," Herrera said. "We're still getting calls today."

Jim-Denny's for sale

2010-10-19T02:41:57Z

Sacramento landmark Jim-Denny’s went up for sale Monday.

The Lane family has decided to sell the historic white and red diner after five years so Patsy Lane, the heart and soul behind the counter, can retire to Montana.

The restaurant has served breakfasts and burgers for 76 years – first at 16th and J streets, where Jim Van Nort initially opened the restaurant. Van Nort moved the business to 816 12th St. after returning from WWII.

The Lanes struggled with the decision even before the diner was featured on the Travel Channel show Man v. Food in late September. Lane just turned 60, and she's ready to take it a little easier, said her daughter, Joanna Lane, part owner along with her mother and husband, Sean.

"It's hard for her, standing up on her feet all day," said Lane, a real estate agent. "It takes a lot of work and time."

A for-sale sign will be posted as soon as Tuesday. For the first time in 60 years, the land will be offered for sale at the same time as the building and the business. A family trust apparently related to Van Nort also recently decided to sell the 3,700 square feet of prime downtown real estate the building sits on.

"They've all come to mutual agreement to sell the land," said Dave Herrera, Colliers International broker.

They wanted to sell the land to the Lanes, the restaurant's fifth set of owners. The Lanes own the building and the business but leased the land. But the Lanes are ready to sell as well.

The listing price for the land, the turn-key business and the diner, which is about 750 square feet, is $295,000. The building is a protected historic landmark. If the buyer decided not to operate the restaurant there, the building would have to be moved, Herrera said.

Patsy Lane had 30 years of experience owning restaurants and managing kitchens, first with her husband and then for companies including The Sacramento Bee and Kaiser Permanente. She put in the sweat equity after her daughter and son-in-law bought the business for her. She's ready to return to Montana, where she already has a home, friends and a job at a hospital waiting for her, said her daughter.

Grandkids Ashley Ahumada, 22, and her 20-year-old brother Zachary worked there with her. Zachary Ahumada will now go to culinary school.

Since the show aired last month, the "10 busiest seats in Sacramento" have gotten even busier, Joanna Lane said.

"We've been slammed," she said.

Jim-Denny's on Man v. Food Wednesday

2010-09-29T04:03:50Z

Jim-Denny's has gotten lots of local attention in 76 years of grilling burgers and serving breakfast.

Now travelers and foodies throughout the country have a chance to learn about the little white and red diner when Jim-Denny's is featured on the Travel Channel show “Man v. Food” Wednesday night.

After finishing a batch of chicken corn chowder Tuesday morning, co-owner Patsy Lane said she's a little stressed about the show and a viewing party they're throwing Wednesday night. Lane will make food for the party, to be held from 7-10 p.m. at Butch N Nellie's, 19th and I streets. Everyone in the community is invited, Lane said.

"I'm nervous," she said.

The show will air at 9 p.m. For the episode, the show's host, New Yorker Adam Richman, samples deep-fried eats at the California State Fair before heading to Jim-Denny's. Patsy Lane was filmed in late July serving Richman her $11, two-pound omelet creation known as "The Works."

"I think I cooked that omelet 15 times" (that day), she said. "It's got everything in it — that's why we call it the works."

"It's kind of like putting the whole kitchen table in an omelet," said granddaughter Ashley Ahumada, 22. On Tuesday, she worked the front counter while her brother, 20-year-old Zachary, grilled burgers nearby.

Lane once sold advertising at The Bakersfield Californian and pitched in at the bars and restaurants she owned with her then-husband. She's also run cafeterias for companies including The Sacramento Bee and Kaiser Permanente.

Jim-Denny's was opened in 1934 by Jim Van Nort at 16th and J streets. When Van Nort moved the restaurant to 12th Street after returning from WWII, he renamed it Jim-Denny's Lunch No. 2.

Lane, her daughter Joanna Lane and son-in-law Sean Lane bought the tiny restaurant at 816 12th St. in 2005. They serve breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Saturday morning is the busiest time to try to find a spot at the worn counter. Jim-Denny's has only 14 seats inside.

On the show, Richman also visits Parker's Hot Dogs in Roseville, where he tries to eat five half-pound hot dogs on a 16-inch bun topped with four pounds of chili, fries, tortilla strips, veggies and cheese.

Jim-Denny's was included in the book "Hamburger America," one man's list of his favorite 100 burger places. Hardee's restaurants once filmed a commercial there before the Lanes bought the diner from the fourth set of owners.

A TV crew spent 12 hours filming at Jim-Denny's. The windows next to the grill had to be covered with paper to cut down on glare. The diner was packed with workers, the crew and customers lucky enough to stop by that day. Producers wanted to include regulars. But the filming had to be a surprise to avoid crowds, Lane said.

"We weren't allowed to tell anyone they were going to be here," she said.

Photos by Suzanne Hurt, a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Best Restaurants - a different take

2009-07-21T01:54:18Z

It's that time of year again - time for "Best Restaurants," brought to you by Sacramento Magazine.

After reading the readers' picks for each category, it made me wonder whether the results would be different for readers of The Sacramento Press. Our focus has been primarily on events and coverage of things in the Grid, whereas Sacramento Magazine covers a larger demographic including the suburbs.

There were four categories that stood out to me in Sacramento Magazine's Best Restaurants: Best Burrito, Best Pizza, Best Burger and Best Coffeehouse.

I live in the Grid and therefore have my own biases about restaurants that live in Downtown and Midtown. I prefer restaurants in this area to those found in the outlying areas. It would be interesting to see the results had it been limited to only restaurants in the Grid.

Best Burrito went to Chipotle, with Dos Coyotes coming in second and Ernesto's coming in third. Both Chipotle and Dos Coyotes are chains. The Grid has very few chain restaurants, and I wonder if the presence of chains amidst family-owned and unique Sacramento restaurants makes a difference in reader choice. Does the quality speak for itself?

Best Pizza went to Round Table. Granted, Chicago Fire and Zelda's picked up second and third place, but I wonder how a delivery-based chain is even allowed in the running. Did Hot Italian or Luigi's or Giovanni's make it in the top five?

For the category of Best Burger, there are quite a few restaurants that come to mind that did not make the top three. Jim Denny's, Whitey Jolly Cones and Nationwide Freezer Meats were all missing from page 115 for best burger. In-N-Out, however, took first place, the Squeeze Inn (deserving, in my opinion, one of the top three) made second and McDonald's placed third.

For Best Coffeehouses, Starbucks was voted first place, Peet's took second and It's a Grind made third. When I think of good coffeehouses, I think of the unique havens in the Grid. Temple comes to mind. So does Weatherstone and Naked Lounge. If I want ambiance and a coffee or tea that comes in a mug that was washed and that is reusable, I do not go to Starbucks. If I want free wi-fi that does not require a cellular account, I cannot go to Starbucks. If I want a swirled foam design on my latte, I will not go to a mass chain coffeehouse.

My coffee choices come from currently living in the Grid, although I did grow up in the suburbs.

After reading this list, I looked at Sacramento Magazine's website. At the bottom, it reads "Find the best that Sacramento, California has to offer at Sacramento Magazine Online. With fantastic features such as a restaurant guide, an entertainment and events calendar and monthly recipes, you’ll find everything you need to know about exciting Sacramento, California."

Now, I ask you - readers of The Sacramento Press - if you were to vote on Best Restaurants for The Sacramento Press (in the Grid), which ones would make your top three for best burrito, pizza, burger and coffeehouse?

Local restaurant Jim-Denny’s celebrates 75th anniversary Saturday

2009-05-18T07:21:02Z

“These guys are nuts. I really hope no one throws up. Care for some hamburger with your water?” I thought to myself as I watched eight men sitting in a row, stuffing Jim-Denny’s half-pound hamburgers down their throats, one of who proceeded to dip his half-eaten burger and patty into a cup of water between bites.

On the stage behind them stood the emcee, Sacramento's local music guru Jerry Perry, with a mic in hand, watching with everyone else to see who would clean his plate first.

Pedro Alarcon won the Jim-Denny’s superburger-eating contest at 3 minutes and 41 seconds. Perry handed him a T-shirt for his accomplishment and suggested the rest of the men take their leftovers home. Then the party continued—the 75th Jim-Denny’s anniversary celebration, that is.

Even in the blazing heat, the landmark hamburger joint drew an impressive crowd Saturday to celebrate its many years of feeding Sacramento, providing $3 breakfast and lunch buffets along with a beer garden and live entertainment.

Anyone patient enough to wait in the long buffet lines indulged in Jim-Denny's favorites such as "tiny Jim" pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast, and hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. Locals and non-locals, regulars and new customers alike showed up throughout the day. The restaurant's co-owner of more than four years, Patsy Lane, said she had never worked with such a wide variety of customers.

Restaurant patrons such as Lee Innocenti, who said he's been eating at Jim-Denny's for 10 years, and Mike Newcomer, who said he'd been eating at the restaurant since 1985 when Denny supposedly still owned the place, were among regulars who came to the event.

While looking for attendees as old or older than the establishment itself, Perry found 86-year-old Scotty Harper from West Sacramento, who surprisingly said he had never eaten at Jim-Denny's before in his life.

Aside from hamburger-eating contests and buffets, bicycle motocross stunts and live music also entertained the crowd throughout the day.

Sacramento’s 2-year-old Cap City BMX stunt team showed off its unique talent before lunch, with riders balancing on their bike pegs as they twirled and flipped their bikes on the asphalt.

The music lineup included bands such as Ol' Cotton Dreary, the Tattooed Love Dogs, the Regulars and the recently formed, young brother/sister duo, Who and the What Now.

Ol' Cotton Dreary even performed a song dedicated to the restaurant, singing a chorus that went something like, "You don't need teeth to eat all meat...Jim-Denny's."

Well-fed and entertained, people lounged beneath umbrella-covered tables and tents late into the afternoon.

Lane, appearing exhausted yet happy by the time she finally had a chance to sit down after the lunch rush, said all the proceeds from the event would go toward an outdoor patio for the restaurant.

Yet another day of serving Sacramento was accomplished-—long live Jim-Denny's.

For a preview article written about the event, see: http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/7681/JimDennys_celebrates_75th_anniversary

Jim-Denny's celebrates 75th anniversary

2009-05-15T04:36:32Z

BMX stunt show, local music extravaganza, hamburger eating contest -- Jim-Denny's 75th anniversary celebration will have it all. Everyone is invited to the massive celebration Saturday, May 16 which will take place at Jim-Denny's hamburger joint on 12th Street and spill into side-street Terminal Way.

Says owner Patsy Lane, a $3 breakfast buffet will begin at 8 a.m. and include scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, and mini pancakes. Then at 10:30 a.m. a pancake eating contest will see who can eat a "hubcap-sized" pancake the fastest. A $20 donation is required to enter the competition, and the winner will be awarded a prize.

Every hour on the hour, there will be a raffle held for prizes such as IMAX tickets, dinner from local restaurants, manicures and pedicures, Rivercats tickets, and more. Also on sale will be commemorative T-shirts for the celebration.

All proceeds from the event will go to creating an outdoor patio for the restaurant, which will provide a year-round seating area.

The buffet-style lunch menu will include Jim-Denny's famous burgers, and at 2 p.m. there will be a burger eating contest which will prove who can eat the most half-pound "Superburgers" in five minutes.

To top it all off, a beer garden will be serving Bud and Bud Light, while local bands like Tattooed Love Dogs, The Regulars, Ol' Cotton Dreary, and Who & The What Now! will provide the tunes. All the while, children will be able to play games and have their faces painted.

"The original owner owned it for 55 years, and we serve the same meat he does. We always use fresh, local Del Monte meat, and we cook fresh food, so we just about make everything here," said Lane when asked what they owe their success to.

"[The celebration ends at] 6 p.m. but we might just start it and not end," she added.

Photos courtesy Jim-Denny's