Kupros Increases the Kreativity Offered By Midtown Eateries

Kudos to Kupros Bistro for kreativity.

Fried pickles? House-cured no less. Kompared to the koncept of fried pickles, a tartar sauce accompaniment seems almost mundane.

Apparently, this is one of those gastropubs folks are yakking about that aim to ratchet up bar food a notch or nine. Whatever Kupros is – it’s Greek for copper – a tip-of-the-hat to executive chef, Sacramento native John Gurnee, formerly of Mason’s.    Read more »

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El Abuelo — La Casa de la Madre de Todas Tortas Chilangas

Shoehorned between an auto repair place and a flaking façaded liquor store on Franklin near Fruitridge, El Abuelo – “the grandfather” — does not subscribe to the realtor’s mantra of location, location, location.

Nor is its management squandering profit on ambiance. A few posters – one of Pedro Infante astride a Harley doing his best Marlon Brando The Wild Ones imitation and another of Tintan, the famed Mexican singer and comedian – adorn the two-tone cinder block walls.    Read more »

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Dim Sum Slutiness Is as Dim Sum Sluttiness Does

Being insatiable seems an essential element of sluttiness.

A slut can’t be sated or else they wouldn’t be a slut, right?

Being insatiable also bespeaks a certain lack of discrimination. Therefore, as a dim sum slut, if a new venue is discovered it must be experienced. Previously in this space, during the then known Sacramento dim sum universe, New Canton on Broadway was celebrated as the most divine.    Read more »

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Don’t Be Creeped by Crepe House Uni’s Plastic Food

Crepe House Uni doesn’t benefit from its location. There is nothing intrinsically bad about being located in the 100 block of E Street in Davis. Plenty of foot traffic, near movie theaters.

The issue isn’t the street or the city –it’s the country. Crepe House Uni would see a significant up-tick in business were it located in Tokyo or anywhere else in Japan.    Read more »

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Roll Your Own at Quan Nem Ninh Hoa

One of the most joyful parts of reviewing restaurants is discovering places like Quan Nem Ninh Hoa. Of course it is the genius of my editor that sent me there but that in no way diminishes the delight. It says right up front on the menu that the restaurant, south of 47th St.    Read more »

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Fuzio Universal Bistro — Be the Firecracker

 Foraging far a field from the Fuzio Universal Bistro’s firecracker pork, steak or chicken is foolhardy.

Some of the other offerings at the 9th and J St. eatery are hit and miss. The $9.50 bleu cheese chicken salad with penne pasta is a miss; the Chinese chicken salad a hit.

But when it comes to firecracker, Fuzio keeps the hits coming.    Read more »

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Cafe Zorro, Loomis

You’ve got to be driven to visit Café Zorro, figuratively and, if lucky, literally. The casual Italian eatery is in Loomis and then a jog to the left and a jog to the right to 5911 King Road off the main drag, which isn’t exactly a bustling metropolis to begin with.    Read more »

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Sakura — Straight-Up Japanese

Sakura, the menu informs, is the name of the ornamental cherry tree so beloved in Japan.

There’s nothing ornamental about this no-nonsense eatery located on the J St. side of the 920 9th St. office building.

Seventy-some sturdy chairs are tucked under solid tables whose edges are numbered with street address stick-em dealies from ACE hardware.    Read more »

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Bodacious Brunch at Venita Rhea’s

Mother Nature savagely snatches away Sunday golf. So brunch is broached with the two other two-legged members of the Lucas family. As to the four-legged members – let them eat cat chow.

Venita Rhea’s is the curiously chosen name, all-day breakfast is the game.

Find out why Venita at venitarheas.com. Randy is Randy Peters who started the place with his wife, Lisa.    Read more »

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Katie’s First Korean Food Foray

After considerable coaxing, daughter Katie agrees to experience Ko Ga Nae, a tight 36-seat Korean restaurant in the Esoteric Plaza on Folsom near Bradshaw.

This is Katie’s first Korean food foray. I’m not exactly a crafty, grizzled veteran.

We are the only diners of non-Korean extraction. Corrections on the menu are made with White-Out and re-written solely in Korean.    Read more »

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