General Notes, Nothing Very Specific This Time

So the committee signed with the Arden West Hilton, located off the Capitol City Freeway (CapCity to us locals) (aka Business 80) & Arden Way. Many of the attendees of the last Westercon in Sacramento will recognize the area, if not the buildings.

Now that we know where we will be, I can focus on eateries and activities in this area (although nothing in Sacramento is very far from anywhere else.)  There are two rivers that get in the way sometimes, thanks to the limited number of bridges crossing them, but they do provide interesting habitat for the local wildlife.

Using the hotel as the center of a 5-mile diameter circle, there are about a jillion-skillion places to eat. I'm going to post reviews of as many as I can up to the convention date. I will be including driving miles, bus routes, etc., and I will keep this listing updated.

There is food in the hotel, of course, and a bar. I will be considering them in the future.

Off-site Food--East of the Freeway and Hotel, Arden Way 

To start with, Arden Fair shopping mall is just on the other side of the freeway from the Hilton. (The hotel website claims it's 2 blocks, and that's true. But those blocks go underneath the freeway and past a large parking lot. Call it about 1.5 miles.) There are some good eateries at the mall as well as in the food court. Market Square is a "companion development" located on the other side of the mall parking lot, and it has its own food court as well as a couple of nice sit-down restaurants in the moderate price range.

The south side of Arden Way has a number of sit-down establishments, many of them the usual shopping mall chains. (Olive Garden, Coco's, Hooter's...). There are others, too, which will be covered in the future.

Fast-food places abound, of course. In the Arden Fair/Market Square lot is a Burger King with one of the area's Freestyle Coca-Cola dispensers. (If you are unaware of this innovation, poor you. It dispenses over 100 flavors of Coke products, including several variations of Power-Ade. The machines are at many Burger Kings and Wingstops in our area, as well as Dos Coyotes and Godfather's Pizza. It's currently the only wayI can feed my Secret Vice, Peach Fanta Zero.) There is a Panda Express in both Arden Fair and Market Square food courts.

OK, enough for this installments. Next time, we start to get specific.

New Thai place in Rancho, Hot Dogs, and an update.

Just found out about a new Thai restaurant that opened up in Rancho Cordova at the corner of Mather Field Road and Rockingham. Planning to try it out soon and will follow up here.

The same mini-mall has a hot dog place that is reputed to be very good. Will check it out soon as well.

Since this guide was started to assist the Jo & Joe Fans out there who are coming to Westercon 66 in 2013, the focus will narrow considerably once the hotel contract has been signed to those eateries within a couple of miles of the con hotel. For now, the guide will stay with my personal preferences.

Back from Break--Some comments on technology & fast food.

Super-sized Love Affair
I love fast food. Show me a Sonic, I'm there. I'm a big fan of their diet limeade. I dig KFC, especially when they share space with A&W. I have loved DQ ever since I was in college and treated myself to a Buster Bar after Anthro 101 twice a week at the DQ across Central from the campus in Albuquerque. I've been to Steak 'n Shake and would kill for one of their chocolate shakes and a Steakburger right now. But of the Big Burger places, I've always preferred Wendy's, then Mickey D, BK, and finally Carl's/Hardee's.

Currently, I'm on a Mickey D roll for their Monopoly game, but after my volunteer shift at the Family History Center, I like to go by the BK on Arden, just west of Watt (where the Krispy Kreme used to be) so I can use their new Coke machine.

High Tech Soda
They have one of those Freestyle machines. Haven't heard about them yet? Here's an article from our NBC affiliate about the introduction of these machines. http://www.kcra.com/news/28353006/detail.html  I first saw the Freestyle machine about three years ago in a travelogue of a visit to the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta, and instantly fell in love with it.

They have a large variety of caffeine-free diet offerings, including some very interesting Fanta flavors. Raspberry Fanta Zero? Yummers! Peach? Awesome! Grape and Orange? Dependable flavors. My new fave? Lime Fanta Zero.

I'm kinda tired of going to BK; their burgers still don't send me, and I hate that creepy King. But as long as I can get my Lime Fanta Zero, I'm there--until one of my other faves gets the Freestyle machine (soon, soon, soon, oh pleeeeeeeeeeeze, Universe.)

Fruity Fun
As a kid in Alameda, I used to hang at the local mom & pop store. The owners, Ralph & Alice Lew (sp??) watched me grow up and go through all kinds of food phases. One of the most consistent was my addiction to Bierley's Orange Soda, a Cali brand that vanished sometime around my high school days. It was made with real fruit juice, and it also came in grape and strawberry. It was what we drank instead of Nehi. (I don't even remember seeing Nehi in stores out here when I was a kid, not until the mid-60's. Which is not to say it wasn't here, but Ralph never carried it.)


BTW, we used to get nothing but Cali or Left Coast brands from Ralph. He was apparently a believer in the local foods movement when it was the only game in town. Yami Yogurt (which came from the Portland area), Berkeley Farms milk, cream, and cottage cheese (usually from a home delivery milkman up until the early 60's, when it started to become available in stores), Golden Grain macaroni & spaghetti (and Rice-a-Roni, the San Francisco treat!), Ghirardelli chocolates (in vivid red, blue, or green foil-wrapped cardboard tubes), Granny Goose potato chips, Skippy Peanut Butter, Mother's Cookies.... oh, and Clorox bleach! (We lived in government housing projects for several years when I was a toddler, and the smell from the downwind Clorox plant implanted deeply in my memory.) Ah, the nostalgia!

But I digress.......

Pastafarian? Got your spots right here!

As a Pastafarian, I have to be mindful of places where I can enjoy the Sacred Meal in all its wondrous variations. Here are some of my favorites. 


The Old Spaghetti Factory is a local institution. Located in the Midtown area, between 19th & 20th Sts. on J St., it is in the former train depot. Freight trains often roll by during the day. Their menu is well-known, their bar is good, and there are many small areas where groups can congregate. (There are at least 3 other members of the chain in Sacramento's Greater Metro Area.) My favorite is the mizithra/garlic/butter sauce over spaghetti.


Olive Garden is another chain that features pasta. The food there is not always what I would call outstanding, but it is unusually dependable for consistency of quality. The closest one to downtown is on Arden Way, across from the Arden Fair shopping center.


My personal favorite for Italian food is El Espanol. No, that's not a misprint. This place used to be the restaurant of the old Espanol Hotel downtown. They moved to East Sac many years ago, and are currently located at the corner of 58th St. and Folsom Blvd. I'm a huge fan of their minestrone, and the bread that comes along with it. That, and a salad, and you have lunch. Dinners are served family style, and you get the huge bowl of soup, another huge bowl of salad, a variety of antipasti, and a range of entrees. You get sides of pasta, too. Don't go for a full dinner unless you haven't eaten all day.


My favorite non-Italian place for pasta is Shabu, located at the corner of 16th & R. It specializes in sushi and in shabu-shabu, the Japanese soup that is similar to Mongolian hot pot or veggie fondue. Your table is fitted with a heating element in the center, and a metal bowl of your chosen broth is brought to your table. (My favorite is the spicy miso broth.) When you order, you pick both the broth and the items to be cooked, ranging from Wagyu beef, lamb, pork, chicken, or shrimp, tofu, noodles, and veggies. You get two kinds of mushroom, fresh shiitake and enoki, sliced green onion, some kind of cabbage or bok choy, carrots, or whatever else is fresh. Just place your veg in the broth once it comes to the boil, then dip in your meat or tofu to the desired doneness,  scoop into your serving bowl, and enjoy. You also get a side of rice with this feast. Lots of fun with small groups. The downside of this place is its size--large parties need not apply. They are able to handle one or two parties of 6-8, but no more than that. They do open for lunch.


There is a huge Vietnamese community in town, and places that serve phở are everywhere. If you've never tried this wonderful noodle soup, you should take the opportunity to do so. There are numerous places downtown and midtown where you can take your hunger for slightly exotic Asian fare at reasonable prices.


And on the subject of Vietnamese food, the Queen of that Cuisine in Sacramento is Mai Pham. Formerly a news reporter for the local NBC affiliate, she opened up what soon became a conglomerate of Southeast Asian eateries. Her flagship restaurant is called Lemon Grass. Among other things, it has a wonderful noodle bar! Her company operates La Bou Bakeries and Cafes, and she owns Capricorn Coffees and Teas. La Bou has the biggest presence, although they usually are closed by 3 pm. In 25 years of eating there, I've never found anything on the menu that wasn't fresh, tasty, and just enough to make me want more but not feel the need to go get more. (Confessions time: as of this writing, I have yet to try the Lemon Grass noodle bar; it's on my short list. But reliable friends have praised it to me.) And oh yes, the apricot croissants at La Bou are to die for!

Attractions in the Sacramento Area--Old Sacramento

At the risk of sounding like someone from the tourism board, there's a lot of history in this town. The first permanent settlement by Europeans was at what is now called Discovery Park, at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers, near the I Street Bridge and Old Sacramento. The first European settler, a Swiss immigrant named Johann Augustus Sutter, set up camp along the river, later building a fort several miles up the American River and above its flood plain.

Sutter's Fort is one of the city's most popular attractions. School children who study California history often spend overnight campouts at the fort as part of the curriculum. There is an active living history group there, as well as a museum showing the daily lives of the original inhabitants of the area, our local Pomo, Maidu, and Nisenan peoples. (This isn't the place to discuss the fascinating history of the Native Americans of California, but I do note that there is an SFnal connection of a sort. The cultural anthropologist most famous for his study of Califiornian natives is Albert L. Kroeger, the father of Ursula Kroeber LeGuin.)

Another popular historical attraction is Old Sacramento. The buildings date for the most part from the Gold Rush era. It is famous as being the Western terminus of the Pony Express, and a monument exists on what is thought to be the exact spot of the building. After falling into disrepair, the area was revitalized in the '60s and '70s to become a shopping and restaurant haven. There are a number of interesting shops (I recommend Evangeline's for costumers in particular) and food emporia (Fat City, run by the family of the late restauranteur Frank Fat, offers the best banana cream pie in the world, and the Firehouse is one of the most popular upscale places in town.) Nightlife is available in Old Sac as well, with watering holes such as Fanny Ann's (which offers some of the tastiest burgers around), Laughs Unlimited (one of our local comedy clubs, frequently featuring Big Name talent), and Suspects Dinner Theater (like a good murder-poo with your dinner?)

Museums? We have them in droves--well, maybe not, but there are five in Old Sac and 7 more nearby. Like trains? Try the Railroad Museum. Local history? The Sacramento History Museum is just next door. There is a museum devoted to California's military history, and a certain Major Banking Corporation (you know, the one with the stagecoach?) has two museums, one in Old Sac and one just outside the area at 4th St. and Capitol Mall.

Another museum just outside Old Sac is the Crocker Art Museum, newly refurbished and expanded this year. It contains works by local artists from the Gold Rush era and later, European masters, sculpture, furnishings, and all sorts of other things.

Leland Stanford was an early governor of the state and a noted philanthropist (he endowed an institutuin of higher learning in the Bay Area and named it for his son, Leland Jr. You may have heard of it.) The Stanford Mansion is now a state historic park, and has been used for Regency dances locally for years. The mansion is located downtown at 8th and N Streets.

On the downside: If you are driving, parking in Old Sac is really tricky. There are two large public parking lots, one at the northern edge of the area, the other at the south end. On weekends and holidays, it fills up fast. There is curbside parking as well, but you have to make the correct offerings to the gods of parking in order to get one. The upside of this is that the area is so small, it can be walked by someone who is semi-mobile (walkers or crutches). Most, if not all, of the shops are fully accessible, although access may not be easy to find. When in doubt, ask a local.

This is just a summary of what is available near the downtown area. As we get closer to July 2013, these items will be reviewed and updated.

Some musings on Ethnic Food

Sacramento was recently named the most ethnically diverse city in the country. Looking at the food scene, it's certainly true. Within a 5-block radius of City Hall, one can find Indian, Japanese, Ethiopian, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese,  Middle Eastern, and French, to name just a few.

Sacramento is home to a burgeoning foodie community, and a surprising amount is fan-friendly. Where else can you have dim sum in the morning, samosas at lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings in the evening? We can serve special dietary restrictions, too. Vegan? Try Kathmandu, a Nepalese place that specializes in vegetarian fare. Kosher? Well, in the Downtown/Midtown area you might have trouble finding a place, but we do have a kosher deli-restaurant a few miles away, or you might try some of the halal places nearby. Gluten-free? Our local food co-op has a prepared food area that always serves something gluten-free for you, too. In days to come, we will be exploring all these options, and more.

We also have areas of town that are food-centered. There are several places close to Downtown that are concentrated "food rows". 16th Street from about R Street down to E Street has at least one eatery on every block. Broadway between 10th & Alhambra (about 20 blocks) is home to the aforementioned Kathmandu, the Tower Cafe (built in the old Tower Drugs Building, where Russ Solomon started Tower Records), fast food joints of every stripe, soul food, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese....well, you get the idea. Farther out, the area of Stockton Boulevard from Fruitridge Road to Florin Road has been called "Little Saigon". There are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of Vietnamese food shops, many specializing in banh mi (those wonderful sandwiches!) or pho (that wonderful noodle soup!) Again, that is for the future.

In the coming days, I will, with a coterie of assistants, be exploring the Sacramento food scene and reporting our findings here.

Welcome!!!!

This is my effort to acquaint the greater science fiction and fantasy fandom with my hometown, Sacramento, site of the 66th Westercon. For the next two years, I will be posting restaurant info and reviews, lists of sources for party supplies, local attractions, and anything else that the Inquisitive Fan might want to know.

Sacramento has hosted 2 Westercons in the past, in 1981 and 1985. Both were held at what was then the Red Lion hotel, now the Sacramento DoubleTree. A third bid was made in 1991, but the vote went to Vancouver. If you attended either of those conventions, don't expect the same thing again.

Basic info:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramento,_California

Historically, the fannish community in Sacto has skewed either toward the media fen, including comics and anime, or the SCAdians and reenactors. Literary fandom exists, but it keeps a low profile. There are quite a few Regency dancers in the area as well as Faire folk.

GETTING AROUND IN TOWN

Streets are laid out in a typical Western grid. Numbered streets run north to south, lettered streets run east to west. Once the alphabet has been exhausted, the numbered avenues begin. Many streets in the downtown area are one-way, so great care must be taken to avoid driving the wrong way. Buses downtown and in the Midtown area are plentiful and reasonably frequent. The Light Rail system is particularly nice if you live in a outlying community and work downtown.

More details on Sacramento will follow in the coming months. Until a hotel has been secured, most of the information will be pretty general. For now, I will use the Capitol Building as a reference point when measuring mileage. Once the hotel has been determined and a contract signed, mileage data will be revised.

FOOD

There are literally hundreds of eating establishments in downtown Sacramento, including everything from high-end steakhouses, world-famous eateries, down to chain fast food, food trucks and hot dog carts. Surprisingly, state office buildings have very good cafeterias, many of which are open to the public. Since the Sacramento area has been named one of the country's most ethnically diverse areas, you can find nearly anything you might want somewhere in the greater metro area. A large percentage of these are to be found downtown and in the Midtown district.

The Downtown Plaza is a large open-air shopping mall along K Street. In the area of K St.  between Interstate 5 and 15th Street, you can find a small food court, at least two brew pubs, a Middle Eastern cafe, three burger chains, at least two chain coffee houses, hotel restaurants, and several hold-in-the-wall sandwich shops. Side streets increase the number of possibliites. On L Street, across from the Capitol Building, you will find a See's Candy shop, among other things.

Next time, I will begin to explore individual localities.


DISCLAIMER
The information contained in this document is my own opinion and is not in any way connected to or to be construed as anything official from the committee of Westercon 66. Any errors contained in this document are mine. Corrections to errors in fact will be made and credit given to the first person to contact me with correct info. 


"Westercon" is a registered service mark of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc.