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.

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.

AM23: Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop

4:10PM, 5/27/2022
https://capriottis.com/

Although I recently learned this was a large nation-wide chain, anyone I’ve ever mentioned it to had not heard of it. This location, at Sierra College & Douglas, opened a little over 2 years ago. The next closest locations are in Reno, Carson City and Fresno. I was introduced to this chain by my friends in Vegas and it became a must-go spot for lunch any time I traveled there. I was ecstatic when I noticed the sign go up on the building in 2019. Anyway, although this is not unique to the area, I don’t think they are well-known to NorCal, which is a shame, so I figured it was worth doing a post on.

They offer a few traditional deli sub options like Italian, tuna & meatball subs and have a line of Wagyu cheesesteaks as well. The sandwiches that really stand out to me are The Bobbie and the Capastrami. These are the ones I was introduced to Cap’s on and regularly order to this day.

This location is situated in a row of excellent food options (Vampire Penguin, El Sombrero, Falafel Corner & Habit). I headed in just after 4PM and was greeted right away. I had already mentally picked out what I would order today. Looking at the menu I don’t see anything new. A year ago I noticed a sign advertising Flat Fries with a couple topping options (Capastrami or Cheese Steak). This day I decided I would finally check them out. They come in a regular ($6.69) or large ($8.69). I asked what the size difference was like and honestly did not get a good sense as he appeared to hold up two identical containers, though he did liken it to appetizer vs entree sizing. With that I got the regular size and added on a Half size Bobbie (Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Stuffing & Mayo)[$6.49], because I can’t come here and not get a sandwich.

The Bobbie is offered in cold and hot versions, but I’ve only ever tried cold. For some reason hot has never appealed to me (until I type this that is, I’m suddenly very curious now…). Toward the bottom of this post I’ve added additional photos of the Bobbie, Capastrami and a Cheese Steak from previous visits. Today’s sandwich was no different than any other time. If they have one thing, it’s consistency. But they have more than one thing and that’s a damn good sandwich that’s like Thanksgiving any time of year. I never cared for cranberry sauce until I first had the Bobbie. It won me over on it. The only thing I think that they might be able to do better with is the roll, which is totally fine and nothing to write home about. It’s a fairly dense bread and I think this sandwich would be incredible with something a bit lighter.

Moving on to the Capastrami Flat Fries. The sandwich version is Pastrami, Swiss cheese, Cole Slaw & Russian Dressing. The flat fries are basically flat steak fries with all that on top. The way this comes is not exactly the most photogenic. You can’t really tell what’s in it and it sort of just looks like a salad at first glance. It was only once I started moving things around that I found a thin later of pastrami underneath the Cole slaw and the fries under that. While I will say that flavor-wise this was totally on point, I strongly prefer the sandwich version. Steak fries are possibly the worst type of fry in my opinion. They are often not cooked long enough, leaving the entire thing too mushy instead of having a crisp outer shell and soft inside. These had that issue which was compounded with the ingredients piled on top. The pastrami and Russian dressing really carry the flavor here, with the dressing adding a sort of 1000 island flavor but more tangy.

The fries were an interesting idea but ultimately I’ll be sticking to the sandwiches. As far as other sandwiches here I’ve tried both the Wagyu and the Impossible Cheese Steaks (side by side even) and they are both solid and I can recommend them.

Factoring in the fries for this visit I’d knock it down from 5/5 to 3.5/5. It’s the first miss for Capriotti’s that I’ve experienced.