Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "true love coffeehouse"

In the Flow brings jazz to Sacramento

2010-05-17T02:43:57Z

Music flowed from Beatnik Studios on Sunday during the third annual In the Flow Jazz Festival. Musicians from all over the West Coast played, including Nels Cline. The guitarist from band Wilco played Saturday afternoon.

“My friend Byron and I, we came up with doing just a festival of jazz to let local and regional artists play,” said Ross Hammond, the event’s co-founder. The festival started at the True Love Coffeehouse three years ago, and moved to its current location at 2421 17th St. last year.

Hammond said the celebration has been growing steadily. “The first year was kind of more Sacramento, then we added some Bay Area stuff, and now there’s a lot of other people from up and down the West Coast,” he said. “It’s getting a little bigger every year.” This year's event was sponsored by the Greater Broadway Partnership, a nonprofit business association.

The Rich Halley Trio came from Portland, Ore., to play. “It has a really good energy to it, a really good feel,” Reed said. The band, together for about 35 years, played Sundayafternoon for about 20 people.

The audience about doubled for a performance by The Reminders, which features Vinny Golia, Tom Monson, Lisa Mezzacappa and Ross Hammond.

“The main thing is that it’s very eclectic,” Hammond said of the festival. “It’s got a lot of different styles.” He said there’s electronic, noise and rock music, something for everyone. “If you don’t like what you’re listening to, you can just hang out for a second, then you’ll like the next thing.”

The lineup moved quickly. After the Rich Halley Trio, the audience was told to move into the next room. As soon as everyone was settled, Joe Berry and Tim Metz began to play. It was a day of moving from one jazz experience to the next.

“It’s a place to showcase talent,” said Mindy Giles from Swell Productions. “You don’t often get to hear something like that on the radio.”

The festival will close Monday with a tribute to local jazz bassist Byron Blackburn. Blackburn, who died in September, recorded an album with a sextet before his death. The Labor Day Session will be released at Luna’s Café & Juice Bar, 1414 16th St., with a special performance by Blackburn’s band.

Photographed performances:

1. The Rich Halley Trio

2. Guitarist Joe Berry and drummer Tim Metz

3 and 4. The Reminders

Sugar Plum Vegan Opens

2010-04-01T03:55:36Z

The organic purist, eco-conscious, thigh-conscious and dietary trendy may rejoice that Rick's Dessert Diner on K Street has a new neighbor with a new selection of baked treats.

Sugar Plum Vegan, a vegan and wholesale bakery that offers fair-trade coffee and organic ingredients, has opened its doors for service.

The cozy spot, situated below what was True Love Coffeehouse, has just enough capacity to hold five small tables and a very friendly staff, unfazed by transition issues with the ATM and continuous stream of customers placing to-go orders.

"We want those that are hard core vegans as well as those who are just curious to feel comfortable here" said Owner and Chef, Melissa Sugar.

The menu, which is available online, boasts a host of creative 100 percent vegan entrees, employing soy and garbanzo-based alternatives in generous, heaping portions.

The nachos come with black beans, meatless chicken, dairy and gluten-free cheese, vegan sour cream and guacamole. The Midtown Club sandwich tastes like a genuine BLT with crispy tempeh and veganaise in place of the "B."

"We are dedicated to bringing the public a cruelty free and loving experience" said Sugar. "We offer items that are for the die hard vegans that focus on whole foods as well as the transitional foods, like Gardien faux meat and Daiya gluten and soy-free cheese".

While the menu is small, it's also reasonably priced, with house-made burgers (garbanzo and veggie-based) ranging from $7 to $11.

Baked goods, Sugar Plum's specialty, are not only delicious but also beautiful. Their creators seem to have found a way to circumvent the droopy look that vegan treats often wear to remind you that what you're eating is a bastardized health alternative.

Sugar Plum also offers custom-designed cakes, seasonally appropriate pies and wedding/party catering menus.

Raw foodists and gluten-free eaters will find something to enjoy here, as will people who are into sunny patios, free WI-FI and don't mind smelling like incense.

Sugar intends to open the back patio for performances by live music and local poets.

Stay tuned to the eatery's website, as it is rumored that a weekend All-You-Can-Eat Brunch Buffet is in the works.

True Love coffeehouse shuts door, Jasmine Cafe opens them

2009-05-13T02:58:45Z

While strolling down K Street, some might have noticed a change to one of midtown’s favorite gathering spots. True Love coffeehouse has shut down and is now the Jasmine Café.

First opened in 2001 by music man Kevin Seconds and his wife Allyson, the former True Love coffeehouse opened up on J Street before moving to K Street in 2006, positioning itself with nearby bars and eateries such as Golden Bear and Rick’s Dessert Diner. The coffeehouse then moved upstairs to Sanad’s Mediterranean Deli and closed up shop along with the deli a few weeks ago.

There is much speculation about the reasons for the closure and the current owner believes it was mainly “paperwork” issues but others believe it was an ordinance imposed by the city that would not allow retail sales out of the upper units of buildings in the area. Instead of moving back downstairs to the coffeehouse’s former home, Seconds closed up shop and took off on a solo music tour.

True Love coffee lovers need not despair, though. Owner Mo Mahfouz plans on keeping the coffee drinks as well as the vegetarian selections the same for now. There will, however, be some minor kinks to the café’s live music scene but customers will be happy to know that Mahfouz has decided to keep that tradition alive.

Kevin Santos-Coy of KLSCstudio has been a major player in the Sacramento art scene for the past 15 years and may have perhaps single-handedly saved Jasmine’s live music scene.

On a visit to True Love, he met Mahfouz and shortly after proposed coordinating the café’s entertainment.

“I went over there…and saw some portable stages. I found out [Seconds] wasn’t around anymore and asked Mahfouz if I could borrow the stages. I’ve been building the relationship ever since,” said Santos-Coy.

While not exactly the same as Seconds’s mixture of the punk/indie/alternative rock genre, Santos-Coy is focused on offering a wide range for the audience’s listening pleasure. He has a different musical genre planned for each day of the week and is working on collaborating with the local music community, such as Brian Valentine from Valentine Records.

The café is permitted to host live music until 10 p.m. every night as long as they stay within city decibel requirements, which can't surpass 75 dBs at anytime according to the Sacramento County noise ordinance. As long as the neighbors are okay with the noise, they will continue to host music acts every night for the first couple of months to get the word out around town.

In addition to music, Santos-Coy will be working on Jasmine’s presence during the Second Saturday art walk. A part of Bridge to Arts and Alley Arts, he will be making sure that art lines the walls of Jasmine for the monthly art celebration.

Within the next month and a half owner Mahfouz has plans to expand the café’s previous menu, which has been known for featuring a wide range of noshing options from waffles to nachos and hummus. He is working on adding barbeque menu offerings as well as beer and wine. He is also working on setting up free wireless internet access, which was offered by True Love.

As part of the reggae-themed night, Jasmine will be hosting DoubleLion, a combo band made up of Xsample and Kinghopeton this Wednesday, May 13. Also taking the stage will be special guest Tony Moses, who was friends with and has jammed with the late Bob Marley. The show will begin at 7 p.m. on the front patio and donations of around $3-$5 are encouraged.

The tentative music schedule is as follows:

Mondays: Funk/Jazz
Tuesdays: Spoken word
Wednesdays: Reggae/World
Thursdays: Rockabilly
Fridays: Fiesta Fridays, Latin
Saturdays: TBD
Sundays: Alternation between Folk and Soul

Jasmine Café is located at 2315 K St. For more information about upcoming events, call 916-441-6900.