AM25: Window Box Cafe

9AM -7/30/2022

https://www.windowboxcafe.com/

This morning I woke up unusually early for a Saturday and scrapped plans to do a post about ice cream spots (probably next week now) and instead headed down to Window Box Cafe after the gym for breakfast. This cute little cafe is located on Five Star Blvd, not too far from Costco. Although the open sign facing the street was on, when I pulled into the very empty parking lot I wondered if they really were open or not (looking at their posted hours now I see they run from 7:30a-2p every day). The doors were unlocked and I stepped into a quiet lobby, where I could see part of the dining room, empty, just beyond. Within 10 seconds a woman came around the corner, greeted me and grabbed a menu as she told me to pick any table. She would end up being not only my server and cashier but also the only worker I saw during my visit.

She offered coffee to get me started as I settled into my seat near the open patio entrance, which let in a nice cool breeze now and then. The menu is a pretty general breakfast menu, nothing too fancy aside from a handful of crepes and eggs Benedicts. The lunch side is equally standard with burgers, sandwiches and salads. I sipped my coffee while my eyes ping ponged around the menu trying to find the right item. With a packet of sugar and a little French vanilla creamer it was totally fine. I think It came hot but cooled off rapidly in it’s mug, likely due to my proximity to the open door.

I ended up deciding on the Corned Beef Hash & Eggs (2 eggs any style served over house made seasoned corned beef with country potatoes, bell peppers & onions)[$15]. Most of the items in this section of the menu come with a choice of hash browns, country potatoes or fruit. This dish effectively makes that choice for you, but you also get another selection of either toast or mini pancakes. That was an easy decision since I had considered ordering a short stack anyway.

My order took just about 10 minutes. By this time about a half dozen parties had arrived and the quiet atmosphere was replaced with the bustling kitchen and conversation that echoed around the room easily. The kitchen appeared to have a long window with some light folding shutters to block it off, but it let most of the noise through. I think it would get very noisy here when they are packed.

I had ordered my eggs over medium, which is always hit and miss nearly everywhere, and I think they did a great job on them which lifted my expectations a bit as I started buttering up my pancakes. The breeze made me work quickly through everything so I could enjoy it while it was hot. The pancakes were nice and fluffy. The maple syrup didn’t seem to be “the good stuff” but it was heated up which sort of made up for that a bit.

As for the main dish, I found myself pretty disappointed with it. While the potatoes, peppers, onions and eggs were all perfectly good, the main attraction of this dish really fell short. It was supremely dry, stringy and chewy. Nothing like that almost melt-in-your-mouth ultra tender corned beef, edges crisped up a bit on the griddle, most places serve up. The flavor was ok, just difficult to enjoy through the unpleasant texture.

Portion-wise this was just right, even with the mini pancakes. I ate every last bite and left satisfied without feeling like I needed a nap. The service was fast, efficient and polite. Ultimately though, I would rather brave the crowds at Four Sisters just a few blocks away, even if they might be slightly pricier. Which is a shame because I had heard good feedback about Window Box.

#280: Vegan Plate

1:10PM, 7/9/2022

https://www.veganplateroseville.com/

This morning I was repeatedly spinning a little random selector wheel app with all the new restaurant options and nothing was piquing my interest until I hit Vegan Plate. I instantly thought about Green Boheme and Baagan Cafe, both of which I enjoyed but ultimately did not end up returning to. Honestly, as a….Meatatarian (Meatasaurus? Man of the meats? Bear with me, I’m still work-shopping this) it usually something that looks particularly interesting to get me to go to these types of places (not counting going for this blog, which is one of the reasons I do it!). For all the obvious reasons (health, environment, animal welfare) I think it is a commendable lifestyle. I just don’t see myself giving up things like BBQ and sushi. I enjoy dipping my toes into this world once in a while and see how things are progressing.

I took a quick look at some photos online of the place and some food items and what I saw felt very ambitious. Sure, I’ve had burgers and cheesesteaks with Impossible’s beef substitute, and they are anywhere decent to pretty good. I’ve heard that chicken nuggets/ground patties can be done pretty well with soy, although I haven’t tried any that I can think of. But it was the shrimp. That’s what I saw that sealed the deal that I would be going here today. I’ve never seen this before and had to know if the taste and texture of a shrimp was something that could be approximated these days.

It was about ten past one when I arrived in the Hobby Lobby shopping center on Douglas at Sierra Gardens Dr. Two things struck me as I checked out the front of this building. I was surprised to see that the Jimboy’s was gone, and I realized that Vegan Plate now occupies the spot where Bo Bo Cafe was, which was just my 6th post ever (over a decade ago now, what a trip), and the first time I’d ever tried Vietnamese cuisine. I snapped some shots of the exterior and headed in.

The space is straightforward, a counter at center back for ordering, with a nice big black board menu that’s easy to read, and plenty of cafeteria-type seating to either side of the walkway that runs to the counter right down the middle of the room. A couple of wooden crate displays have some shirts and snacks for sale in the isle. There were just a few people in the dining room when I entered. The counter was unmanned but someone emerged right away once I got there. I said I was just starting to take a look at everything and he handed me a bound menu and said I could take a seat and come up and order whenever I was ready.

I knew I had to check out the Bang Bang Soy Shrimp (made of potato starch Konjac, Soy Protein Tossed with our house made sauce – 8 pcs)[$9.25] – as a minor tangent, I googled Konjac and it’s a root vegetable native to Asia, but I loved some of the other names it’s known by and had to share = devil’s tongue, voodoo lily, snake palm and elephant yam. I also decided to get the Soy Crispy Chick’n Sandwich (Patty is made out of Soy and Wheat. Veggies: Lettuce, Tomatoes & pickles – side of fries)[$14.95]. Beverage-wise they have a bunch of options as you’ll see in the menu photos. I went with the Tropical Sunrise, which looked like one of the lighter and more refreshing things available (orange juice, lime soda and grenadine with orange slice and cherry topping)[$5.95].

My food was ready and brought out in seven minutes, with the drink lagging behind a few more. After some quick pictures I took the first bite of the item that brought me here, the Bang Bang Soy Shrimp. What this dish seems to try to mimic is a battered, deep fried shrimp. Where most of those have a very light, crispy texture to them, this had a more substantial crunch to it. This first bite was good (insert George Takei “oh my” here), but the rest were even better. The rest of the pieces had something the first oddly lacked, and that was that, somehow, they’ve gone and done it and found a way to replicate the texture of biting into a shrimp. Well maybe not a whole shrimp but at the very least chopped pieces of shrimp within the battered shell. The flavor had a tease of heat right at the start but it never really turned into anything. The sauce was a little bit sweet. This was very good overall and while maybe not 100% convincing, if you were trying to fool me, it’s getting there.

The Soy Crispy Chick’n Sandwich was much more straightforward and exactly what I expected. The patty had a light crisp to it and it had a very convincing texture of ground chicken. The lettuce was nice and crisp, the tomatoes perfectly ripe and juicy, and the sandwich was finished off with some kind of Thousand Island type sauce. The pickles were kind of all in one spot but that’s about the only nitpick I have with this. I really enjoyed the bun, which was encrusted with nuts and was very rustic feeling. It both added a great texture to the sandwich and was strangely interesting to hold. The fries were the flat steak variety, which had me a bit worried at first. They were sliced quite thin which made them very crisp and they turned out to be totally awesome – with ketchup or without!

Last but not least, the Tropical Sunrise was just as tasty and refreshing as I had hoped. This was the only item that felt a little overpriced. It could have been a bit larger for that amount.

So this place totally blew me away. One of these days they’re gonna perfectly replicate a fatty BBQ beef brisket and the day that happens I’ll take that little voice in the back of my head telling me I should probably consider eating less meat a lot more seriously.

AM24: New Glory Eatery & Taproom

11:30AM, 7/3/2022

https://www.newglorybeer.com/eatery/

Happy Independence Day! On Sunday I headed out to New Glory Eatery & Taproom, located way down Douglas towards the lake in an isolated little commercial development called Quarry Ponds Town Center. I’ve been to this center a few times before, notably for Sparkles Ice Cream (which looks to be closed now). I first became aware of New Glory when my trivia team and I checked out King Trivia at the South Sacramento location, which is strictly a brewery/taproom with no food served. The beer was solid and despite how out-of-the-way it was we went back a few times until they suddenly stopped hosting trivia.

Today I arrived a few minutes before opening and took the time to snap some drone shots, remembering when I flew out over the pond in back that the entire back end of this center has a patio. As I landed and packed up I could hear them open up and someone welcoming a small handful of people waiting out front. With that I headed in. The space is large and bright, with windows letting in lots of light from 3 sides. When you step in you are greeted by a bar to the right, which wraps around the corner into an area with more bar seating. To the left is the main dining room, flanked by the front end of the kitchen that runs all the way to the back where the patio doors are. I was greeted right away and opted to sit in the dining room (on my previous visit I sat at the bar).

(Taken from the back of the dining room, the patio is to the left)

I was hooked up with a few menus (food, specials, beer) and a water and quickly greeted by my server. I took some time going over both sides of the tap list, thinking a flight was sounding good. One thing I appreciated about New Glory in my brewery visits was not only that the beers were good, but that they had a nice variety of styles available. Most breweries tend to favor a style or two and that’s 90% of the menu. Here they have lagers, pale ales, IPAs (NE and WC), sours, stouts and porters.

I ended up going with a flight of the following:

• DDH Use ‘Em or Lose ‘Em – Northeastern DIPA 8.1% ABV – American Double IPA brewed with double the amount of a special blend of Pacific Northwest Hops and fermented with our expressive ale yeast for a huge blast of pineapple, mango, and sweet mandarin. (5oz, $3)
  • This is a solid NE IPA all around.
• Holy Spumoni – Stout – Imperial / Double 13.3% ABV – This creamy, spumoni inspired beer is all about the layers. It was barrel-aged in bourbon barrels for 24 months to give it that extra bit of complexity. Layers of decadent chocolate and vanilla start the flavor journey, followed by nutty pistachio, and then finally, subtle sweet cherry. Saluti! (5oz, $4.50)
  • Wow, this is like dessert in a glass. It starts off strong that quickly gives way to sweetness that lingers long after the initial sip.
• Yasss Cream (Extreme) – Imperial Creamsicle Sour 8.5% ABV – To put it quite frankly, we slayed this beer! It’s extreme for a reason. We packed our tanks to the brim with Cara Cara orange purée, milk sugar, and a whole-lotta vanilla. Yasss! This beer’s got that smooth creaminess and that juicy sour citrus punch. What’s not to love? It’s fabulous! (5oz, $3.25)
  • A sour that’s only mildly sour, instead leaning hard into that unmistakable creamy orange flavor. Very nice.
• Mystery Chords – West Coast IPA 7% ABV – This beer’s got that classic New Glory flare. It’s like a riff you keep returning to: distinct, melodic, and catchy. Do you enjoy flavors of tropical fruit with a mild dank finish? Yep, this westy’s got all that thanks to Citra, Simcoe, and Mosaic hops! It’s our jam! Coming in at 7% ABV. (5oz, $2.75)
  • A nice, mild and crisp IPA with light floral and tropical notes.

On to the food. Last time I was here I tried the Bacon & Brie burger (pictured just above), which was incredible. Today I gravitated towards the small plates and appetizers. When my server came back to see if I was ready to order food, I had a couple questions. 1. What was the current Tots creation (looks like it rotates each month). She pointed me to the little specials menu which listed the Sloppy Tots (sloppy Joe mix, bacon, cheddar cheese, crème fraîche, green onions)[$15]. And 2. Did she recommend the Fried Avocado Tacos (three soft corn tacos, beer battered avocados, citrus slaw, ubahdank-pickled jalapeños, chipotle crema, side of house-made tortilla chips and roasted salsa)[$17] or the Grilled Shrimp Tacos (three soft corn tacos, cajun shrimp, citrus slaw, avocado crema, chipotle crema, side of house-made tortilla chips and roasted salsa)[$17]. She thought for a moment and then suggested the shrimp. I went ahead and ordered both the tots and the shrimp tacos.

The tots arrived in a hot cast iron skillet, piled high with sloppy joe mix and plenty of melty cheese, which I found as far down as the first layer of tots. This was delicious. The tots were perfectly crisp. This was a gigantic portion, best to be shared but I did my best and put away about half of it. The skillet kept this nice and hot all the way to the end, including a break where I focused on the tacos until those were gone.

The tacos each consisted of two large shrimp over top the light slaw and topped with the vivid green avocado crema. The house-made chips with roasted salsa were awesome, thick and super crunchy. If I could easily get chips like this at the supermarket I’d be a much larger person. I got a bit of that cajun spice but the crema really smoothed out that flavor far into the background.

I’ll probably need to come back and try those avocado tacos sometime. They’ve caught my attention on both visits so far. I wonder if they are anything like the amazing avocado tacos from Austin’s Torchy’s. I spent the last part of my visit here picking at the tots and sipping on Holy Spumoni for dessert. I’m a fan, both of the brewery and of this excellent restaurant.