It looks like I’m still waiting on the next restaurant to open. Not sure if it will be Blast 825º, Chando’s Tacos or Krush Burger. All three are looking pretty close. I checked out those and others today to see if anything had sneakilly opened on me over the weekend. While I was out I had also planned on stopping back into Flame & Fire to have something I have been wanting to try for a while and had completely forgotten about while I was there the first time.
I popped into the quiet bar and met the bartender, David, who I saw momentarily last week but didn’t say much more than hello to at the time. I took a seat and ordered up a caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail. After 13 or so seasons of watching Anthony Bourdain eat and drink around the world I think I’ve lost count of the number of these he’s had and raved about. It is basically muddled limes with sugar and cachaça, a distilled spirit made from sugarcane juice, over crushed ice. It’s always looked awfully refreshing on TV.
With the temperature a toasty 100º+, with no end in sight, I was definitely in the mood for something refreshing. It was happy hour so this was $6 as opposed to $9. David smashed up the limes with sugar and then shook it up with with the cachaça, then poured it over ice. It was heavenly. Cool and crisp with a sweet lime flavor. It was pretty much everything I had hoped it would be. Now I need to go buy some limes and cachaça.
Finished up at Flame & Fire’s bar, I headed over to Vernon Street and Downtown Tuesday Nights. I came here a couple of weeks ago with the intention of hitting some food trucks but there was not one to be seen (except the Dave’s Dawgs pickup truck, which doesn’t really count in my opinion). Earlier in the evening when I swung by to check on Cheese Louise’s progress (of which there has been none, as usual) I noticed that the Bacon Mania truck was getting set up. I parked in the free Vernon Street structure and headed down. As I got closer to the truck I remembered that I had actually eaten at this one not that long ago at SactoMoFo maybe a few months back.
I had the Mac’n Bac’n [$7] (Our truckmade baked Macaroni and Cheese, with Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Hickory Smoked Bacon, with just a bit of a tangy kick!) that time and wow was it rich! I kind of wanted that again but didm’t want a whole serving of it. I lucked out and found Mac Fries (Crispy Shoestrings topped with Mac’n Bac’n)[$9]. Perfect. I ordered it up, grabbed it in a few minutes and was off to have a seat in the shade to enjoy it. This was great. It was the same amazing mac and cheese with bacon and “chipayo,” which is like a chipotle/sour cream aioli that is insanely good, all over pretty good fries. They stayed crisp through the end, except those in direct contact with sauce. All in all it was a delicious heart-attack in a basket. I recommend it.
Afterwards I took a quick stroll up and down Vernon and saw lots of little vendors selling crafts, organizations with informational booths, a couple of stages with bands and, of course, the car show at the West end. The Monk’s Cellar is looking good and I can’t wait for it to open later this summer. Scattered here and there were a few street performers. Tons of kids were playing in the water fountains/playground feature in the new square and everyone seemed to be having a pretty good time despite the heat. If you’re like me then Downtown Tuesday Night’s might not have a lot for you, but it’s neat to check out maybe once a year.
Eating Through Roseville 