While perusing an old Sacramento Magazine from 2017 (Johnnie Does is a big history guy) I came across an article about 30 things every Sacramentan must eat before they die. Being a simple man, I was overcome with emotion about my own mortality, I knew I had to try something from this list before I went to my eternal reward. I saw Jimboy’s ground beef tacos on the list and figured there is one near my office so let’s do it!
Some Background Jim and Margaret Knudson started Jimboy’s back in 1954 as an American spin on tacos. They started with just a taco cart and grew into a large empire. They started in Tahoe and migrating down to Sacramento in 1961. Glad we claim it as our own…..here is my review!
Ambiance: Jimboy’s gives off a relaxed fast casual vibe. The location near my office features two entrances, a main one and a take-out only entrance… both of which lead to the same counter! You place your order at a counter and you get a number on your receipt and when your order is ready you return to the counter and claim your meal. The menu is standard Mexican cuisine with an American twist; tacos, burritos, salads, fajitas…etc. However in the eyes of this professional food critic, some items are very overpriced…namely said tacos! I placed my order and found a small salsa bar offering about six salsa’s ranging from mild-to-hot, as well as ketchup (?) and Taco sauce. I grabbed the sauce, some hot salsa, and jalapenos and took my seat. The relaxed vibe and having to wait for fresh made food was a nice touch 4.1/5.
Food: As stated above, they have an American variation on Mexican food and I’m grading based on such. I ordered three ground beef tacos, they were $2.80 a piece! The tacos are corn shell, beef, lettuce, cheese, grease and a parmesan cheese dusting the outside of the shell. Did I mention grease…lots and lots of grease. 3.3/5 the taco sauce was a good addition.
Grease is the word
Overall: It was hard to get too excited about this place. The tacos were vary overpriced, by comparison there is a Taco Bell and a Del Taco nearby; both offering their spin on tacos for far cheaper. I did enjoy the relaxed laid back vibe, I loved the food was not premade, it was cooked after I ordered, and came out hot to boot. However even on taco Tuesday, $2 for these tacos are viciously overpriced. 3.3/5
I perused the list of the other “things I had to eat before I die” and was not impressed. Merlino’s Freeze I never liked and the Squeeze Inn cheeseburger only squeezed my blood vessels (plus I can’t see myself in a cheese skirt). As such, I think I can die in peace knowing I didn’t miss much other than harder arteries. I started not feeling well while writing this review…Johnnie Does diarrhea may be forthcoming. Recently, another salsa bar in Elk Grove overloaded my plate with grease as well, maybe the natives are sending a message to me?
I know what you’re thinking, chain restaurant? Has Johnnie gone soft on us? He literally put a store out of business…. rest in peace Side Burn BBQ. However, we saw a commercial for loaded queso fajitas and were intrigued. We found a $5 off coupon in a local newspaper, which conveniently doubles as flooring for a pet’s cage! Here is the review.
Ambiance: It’s a chain so it’s hard to quantify it, but no hostess during the height of lunch hour is a bad look. I seated myself at the high-top table near the bar and was predictably ignored by the wait staff and bartender (it’s her serving area) for about 15 minutes. They had very loud music blaring on the sound system which didn’t make for the greatest experience but at last I was helped. I ordered the loaded queso shrimp fajitas, and a water. The waitress informed me she was also the manager; I respect the hustle and won’t downgrade too many points here. Nevertheless, prior to helping me, she was seated at the bar eating lunch…. whoa that’s weird! Why are employees eating at the peak time that they should be waiting on customers? Well, like the Col Sanders ad or any hands-on manager you see on T.V., at least she eats the food produced in her kitchen! Generally, the place seemed very disorganized, with patrons approaching any crew member to ask if they could cash them out, or place and order etc. Possibly the worst and making it a lower grade was a crew member (female) bent over to pick up food scraps near the bar revealing, well let’s just say the secret is no more, Victoria! 3.2/5 on the ambiance, not bad for a chain, but man they need some work.
Menu: Again, it’s a chain so they serve a little bit of everything, burgers, steaks, fish, apps, chicken, it runs the gamut. After finally placing my order, I’m waiting about 10 minutes to score the fajitas. I’m hoping they were worth it. They came out of the kitchen piping hot very similar to a Chevy’s. They did not disappoint!
Loaded queso shrimp fajitas
A large sizzling plate with Spanish rice, peppers, onions, a bunch of shrimp, cilantro and a separate plate with 3 tortillas (not enough) pico de gallo, and cheese, accompanied by some guacamole that Johnnie is heavily allergic to, and asked to BE LEFT OFF!!!!! However, this was awesome! I felt it was a very good deal at $11 after the coupon, but its normally $16 and for lunch that hits a high price point, again understanding it’s a franchise store and increased labor costs, I’d say it’s a solid 4.2/5
Overall: Again it’s a chain, so it is what it is, I don’t know if I would take a date their but it’s a decent place, and at the end of the day it’s like any other place; you know what you’re getting and that is saying something. It has its flaws, but at least they don’t season with Franks Red Hot. 3.7/5. I got my check paid and handed over said coupon. It took about 10 minutes to get a manager to override the system to accept it, so it was like paying with EBT at a local store for food…. oh well.
Before you ask, get your mind out of the gutter. Ariana’s is the name of a family owned Mediterranean food joint, located on Center Parkway near United Artist theatres. It’s very similar to Sal’s which we tried about 3 weeks ago. Seems Johnnie is on a Mediterranean kick. Everyone loves a little competition, and Johnnie knew he had to check this joint out.
Ariana Gyros & Kabobs 8785 Center Pkwy Ste B160, Sacramento
Ambiance: Again, it’s a kind of fast casual vibe, you order at the counter, they also sell spices by the jar…kinda cool touch. They have a sign saying they prefer cash, understandable, but it gives off a non-sales tax paying vibe as no receipt was given even when requested. They recently re-decorated the place and it looked great. Nice Greek/Afghan feel with pleasant booths, tables, and they had a refrigerated unit holding extra sauces and spices that was self-serve. I felt welcomed and the place had a nice crowd for lunch. 4.2/5.
Menu: Pretty much verbatim of Sal’s: gyros, kabob plate, bowls, great selection. Oh, prices were cheaper than Sal’s. I went with a spicy chicken gyro bowl.
Ariana spicy chicken gyro bowl
As seen in the photo it had a generous portion of chicken, basmati rice, lettuce, onion, tomato, cucumber, and homemade tzatziki sauce on it, served in a porcelain bowl. Wow, what a bowl, ton of food under $10. The spice was right on point, it was the definition of awesome. 4.7/5 (Blogger note: a new discovered item revealed later.)
Overall: Can’t go wrong here. Ariana’s is a family owned joint, well kept, great food. I was going to go 4.5 overall. But then I got hit with this dump. Another customer asked what spices they used to spice the “spicy” chicken……they said Frank’s Redhot. Yeah like this very bottle that I keep in my very Anglo kitchen.
Frank’s Redhot photo from Johnnie’s Anglo kitchen
So, you have no legitimate spices? I have to wonder if the homemade Tzatziki is from a bottle too? The rice? The lettuce? Get outta here, you frauds! No wonder the kitchen is hidden and serving sizes are plentiful! 0.0/5
Take a lap! No one pulls the wool over Johnnie Does…. Why do you serve up fraud food!
Johnnie Does
Editor’s Note: I’ve never seen Johnnie so down on a restaurant, ever the ones driven out of business by his reviews. (Yes, that really happened.) Apparently, the Redhot in question is not the candy sold in my youth nor the busty Irish girl in the other high school math class, but the offending item is an off the shelf sauce from his local Walmart. Johnnie, my friend, you did say this was a family restaurant and you’re mad they use family ingredients? Have you considered that you were stepping out to try to spice up your life and then learned that the spice you really needed and desired was at home all along?
As promised, we visited Bonchon located in Elk Grove for this week’s food review. Hope you enjoy.
Bonchon is a new concept to both the area and to the United States, as they are Korean owned and known for their fried chicken, and Asian fusion cuisine menu. The stores are franchised so you could see some variation depending on where you visit. They are growing rapidly in the US and the fad seems to be resonating with the people, so Johnnie had to try it out!
Ambiance: This place gives off a fast-casual order at the counter vibe; however, that is not the case. They do a ton of takeout/carry-out business so the cash register up front is a little misleading. The place is very small maybe the size of 2 Subway stores. They have a small bar/counter area and the rest of the place is for seating. The kitchen is hidden from view, only a small window where the food is handed to the servers makes for very little transparency. This is definitely a hipster type joint and played to a younger freer spirit type crowd. 3/5 for the ambiance because it was so small the waiting area essentially spilled over outside the store, which makes things seem a little awkward.
Food: The place is a Korean food joint so menu items include friend chicken, bulgogi beef, and other entrees which were on full display on the menu.
The Korean fusion part is they offer fried rice, and tacos as well as chicken strips, etc. Like any other review, I visited the place twice. I will say they offer quite a bit in terms of variety, chicken katsu, biminbap, everything looked good, but Johnnie Does wants to try what you are known for, so I went fried chicken. You can choose from 3 different flavors; spicy, soy garlic, and sweet crunch; I went half and half with soy garlic and spicy. I was very impressed. For $9.95 my food also came with a side so I went French fries…at a Korean joint….I know. The chicken was outstanding, they double fry it, then rather than spin or dunk the chicken they paint the sauce on it, getting great coverage and not allowing waste. Total 4.8/5 on the chicken.
The fries were also very tasty and I would recommend again. The tacos were my other entrée of choice later in the week, for about $10 you got 3 tacos in spicy chicken flavor, it’s a $1 more for beef. I will say this, the tacos were very spicy, if you don’t like spicy avoid. I’m talking like there should almost be a warning about how spicy, the spicy chicken strips were tasty and I guess I didn’t remember them being as spicy. 3.1/5 for the tacos. Overall 4.3 between the chicken strips and the fries bringing the score up.
Overall: Bonchon was awesome! I would for sure have a disclaimer about how hot spicy is….however a few friends of mine remarked Korean food is very spicy by nature and everyone knows that. I guess Johnnie Does needs to avoid the salsa bar and get out more often! Some idiosyncrasies about the place: they are closed Tuesdays…. very random day of the week to be closed. Additionally, they open for lunch, then close, then re-open for dinner, I have to believe this has to deal with the rising cost of minimum wage and helps keep the cost down. However, price points were great especially for lunch, and I would definitely recommend this place to anyone, however I would not take a date here as it can be very noisy. 4.5/5 for Bonchon Elk Grove.
Know a place you want Johnnie Does to review? Put it in the comment section!
PS Maybe change the name? Bonchon kind of sounds like a medical issue requiring a shot of penicillin or is it just Johnnie Does liking the salsa bar a little too much?
Greetings, I decided to keep it local and hit up a Kabob and Gyro place just down the road from my office this week. Here is my review!
Sal’s is a local small family owned business who recently opened a second store in Roseville, which is a strange trend I’m seeing in the family owned business area these days. Why have 2 stores over an hour apart? They serve traditional Greek food; kabob plates, gyros, shawarma wraps, and even have a burger on the menu. I visited the place twice just to get a true feel for the food and service, as the Yelp reviews are inconsistent.
Ambiance: This is a no frills, small business. They have a counter, you can see the entire kitchen similar to a Chipotle and can see the lamb and steak roasting on a spit. Seating is very limited; call it maybe 30 people could sit between inside and outside. 3.5/5 It’s a low budget Greek place so I can’t go too low, the family works there so it’s not a bunch of hired help.
Food: So, I had the Lamb Kabob plate, it came with rice, vegetables and lamb. I thought it was decent. I ordered my plate medium spicy. At $13 after tax, it seemed a little high for lunch. Later in the week I came back, ordered a chicken Gyro medium spicy, with fries and a coke. It came to about $10 and I thought that was a decent price point. The gal behind the counter pointed to a refrigerator filled with cans of coke and said go ahead and grab one…I wasn’t in the mood for a can of soda so I passed. I guess I should have been more attentive, fountain drinks are king and have a lower cost for your business by the way. I received my gyro after about 10 minutes, but no fries, I was told they were making them fresh. The Gyro was great! Chicken perfect and spiced wonderfully, the salad was good and the tzatziki sauce was awesome…a home run. I wolfed it down…poor thing didn’t stand a chance against me…still no fries. I was ready to walk out as I was irritated at this point, because obviously I was being ignored, other people who ordered did subsequently receive their frozen potatoes thrown into a fryer and called done. She finally brought mine out and they were soggy and cold. I ate them anyway, and well, they were forgettable. 3/5
Overall: I try to support small business and this one could be good with a little better service and a soda machine. I understand in this era that cutting costs is a thing, but a can of coke and fries for an extra $3 is out of touch; especially considering the fries were cold when brought out. The Gyro was amazing and I’m going to order it again, and for $6.99 the price is great! The only other commentary I will add is the location is not easy to access so service needs to be at a premium! 3.25/5
No, I’m not talking about the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ which we celebrate at Easter. Neither am I talking about those in the Philippines that reenact the crucifixion each Good Friday as a way of identifying with the suffering of Christ.
Annual reenactment of Crucifixion of Christ on Good Friday
Berkeley children apparently face the threat of bodily injury and death for collecting Easter eggs on public property. These risks include, blindness, heart attack, broken bones, paralysis, and death. Where else but California?
Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the paper trail: Hard-boiled lawyers made sure no kids could participate in the University of California-Berkeley’s campus Easter egg hunt on Sunday without their parents first signing a waiver.
Before the tykes were ushered toward the roped-off grass, parents stood in line for up to half an hour to hand in the official form for 25th Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Learning Festival. (God forbid the kids just have fun.) According to the waiver, which was obtained by Reason, the undersigned agreed that “Participation in The Activity carries with it certain risks that cannot be eliminated regardless of the care taken to avoid injuries.” These risks ranged from “1) minor injuries, such as scratches, bruises and sprains 2) major injuries such as eye injury or loss of sight, joint or back injuries, heart attacks, and concussions to 3) catastrophic injuries including paralysis and death.“
Yes, that was my first thought too when I saw this headline to the website for local TV station KCRA.
Ok, based on the headline, this is how I picture this going down:
The man with the sword was clearly a real life Jedi. The police confront him and he refused to drop the sword. He moves toward them and fearing for their lives, the police open fire. The guy with the sword, in a move reminiscent of a Bruce Lee movie or a Star Wars battle, uses the sword to deflect the bullet and it hits the offices instead. One officer is struck in the hand and the other is hit in the arm. At this point, the Jedi turns to flee and is struck from behind with a bullet in the head which ends his life.
Remember that the winners write the history so here is the account from the police per Associated Press:
Two officers were wounded and a suspect was killed during a shootout after police responded Wednesday to reports of a man with a sword entering the Church of Scientology in Inglewood, California, authorities said. The suspect was shot in the head and died at a hospital, Inglewood police Lt. Oscar Mejia told reporters at the scene. He was not immediately identified. Gunfire erupted around 3:30 p.m. inside the front entrance of the church after police approached the man, who was wearing a hooded sweat shirt and wielding the sword, officials said. One officer was struck in a hand, and the other was hit in an arm, officials said. They were hospitalized in good condition with non-life-threatening injuries, police Chief Mark Fronterotta said. Both officers are in their late 20s, the chief said. Officials didn’t say who fired first or whether a gun was recovered from the suspect.
Please note that nothing in the story indicates that the man was armed with anything other than a sword. So he either got the cops to shoot themselves or it happened like I said. I’ll let you decide.
Bloggers note: Troll loves to crawl out from under his bridge and no one is immune from his satirical attacks! He will react to the news and give his award-winning commentary.
First up: The College Bribery scandal
Troll says: The real winner here is University of Southern California (USC) this is the first time they have ever been referred to as an “elite university.” We are all stunned “Aunt Becky”–who by the way is a (pound) #metoo member in Troll’s eyes–was involved in purchasing college admission for her otherwise unqualified daughter. It must be horrible your daughter couldn’t use her looks to get into school and needed your cash to be popular.
Internet search says this is Aunt Becky but I’ve never seen the show so here’s hoping–Editor
I am stunned because let’s revisit the cast of that show and see how Troll thinks should have been targeted in this case: Uncle Jesse: This slicked-back hair looking Fonzi wannabe would have been my first guess, he looks like he is so dirty you would have to take a shower after dealing with him. However, his being married to Aunt Becky makes him an accomplice. Bob Sagat: This guy is as pure as Aquafina, unless someone took a dump upstream, but no reason to suspect him. Uncle Joey: That dude was always coked-out on something every show he was on. Making weird noises and voices, and the kids all loved him, I would have suspected him honestly. Kimmy Gibbler: no chance, but she trolled as hard as I did the entire show, so yeah, I guess you better include her.
Colorado AG says Sheriffs who won’t enforce anti-gun law must re-sign
Colorado’s attorney general testified last week that county sheriffs vowing not to enforce the state’s proposed anti-gun “red flag” bill should “resign” — a challenge that threatened to ramp up tensions between state officials and local leaders who were already creating droves of so-called Second Amendment “sanctuary counties” to resist the legislation. Democrat Phil Weiser made the remarks, which were first reported by The Colorado Sun, while testifying before a state committee on Friday. Weiser has said that the red flag legislation, which would permit a court to the seizure of weapons from people determined to be a threat to others or themselves, would save lives, particularly in domestic violence situations.
“If a sheriff cannot follow the law, the sheriff cannot do his or her job,” Weiser said. “The right thing to do for a sheriff who says, ‘I can’t follow the law’ is to resign.”
Troll says: This clown AG Phil Weiser should be the poster boy for why expectant mothers should refrain from using alcohol. I take that back, he looks like a hairline receding black haired Howdy Doody. By the way, the Troll is most offended by this comment: “If a sheriff cannot follow the law, he or she must resign.” How completely insensitive! How can you possibly assume the genders don’t include one of the other five! (72 if you believe Facebook). You racist, sexist, idiot! Thanks for mansplaining all this to me. Yes, disarming citizens is brilliant, you ignorant chump. Anyone want to take bets this useless human has armed security with him at all times?
R. Kelly bailed out of jail for the second time accused of sexually assaulting minors.
On Friday evening, hours after the charges were announced in a press conference by Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, Kelly turned himself in to Chicago police. On Saturday, Kelly attended bond court, where the judge set his bond at $1 million — or, $250,000 for each of the four alleged victims. EW has confirmed that on Monday evening, Kelly posted the $100,000 bail and left police custody. Per the Associated Press, a condition of his release is that he is forbidden from having any contact with females under the age of 18.
Kelly said, “I promise you we are going to straighten all this stuff out.” Troll says: He was bailed out by a restaurant owner, is sausage on the menu there? Why didn’t this Kelly guy take up a job in the clergy? I believe this kind of behavior is a promotable offense! All the young boys your heart desires. I guess you could say he was keeping the spirit of Christmas going year-round? Tis far better to give then receive? Or perhaps he was just channeling his inner Michael Jackson.
Editor’s note: I can’t tell if Troll was just trolling R. Kelly or getting him confused with the comments this week by Barbra Streisand. Streisand defended Michael Jackson like no one else.
She also said, of Jackson, “His sexual needs were his sexual needs, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has,” she said. “You can say ‘molested,’ but those children, as you heard them say, they were thrilled to be there,” she said. “They both married and they both have children, so it didn’t kill them.” “It’s a combination of feelings,” she said. “I feel bad for the children. I feel bad for him. I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him.”
Troll: Well if we need our children to eat a bit more iron, what better way than this? These bags of what is “allegedly” chicken and bits were produced 4 months ago…. what took so long? Also, the use by date is November this year? Are you telling me I can’t eat those chicken strips and I haven’t reached said date yet? Oh no!
Chicken strips listening to R. Kelly song
Conclusion
What a time to be alive, while R Kelly is out on bail Aunt Becky rots in jail for paying off an admission counselor, makes you wonder if she could have “worked it off as opposed to pay the admission councilor off, Hollywood seldom frowns upon those misdeeds.” Troll
Back in July, we documented the fact that Disney—in a fake display of political correctness—fired Guardians of the Galaxy producer James Gunn. As a bonus, Liberals blamed conservatives for Gunn’s termination. Gunn was fired for stuff he posted on Twitter many years before Disney hired him as a producer of Guardians the first time.
Back on August 1, 2018 you will find the following:
Disney insiders told Variety the company was not aware of Gunn’s offensive tweets prior to hiring him in 2012 and “were taken aback when they were recirculated.” The “Vol. 3” production start date is tentatively scheduled for February 2019, but that could easily be pushed back as Disney takes its time to find a new director.
At the time, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said, “The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values and we have severed our business relationship with him.”
Today it is reported that Disney has seen the light—or felt a void in their cash flow—and decided to rehire Gunn. I’m not surprised at Gunn’s rehiring but the last Guardians movie was crumby even if it was nice to see Kurt Russell on the big screen again.
Wow, do we have a great one this week, coming live from Safeway in Elk Grove on a Thursday at noon.
While traversing the aisles of said grocery store, I was grabbed by an older lady, around 70. On occasion the thought of being grabbed by an older woman may have its appeal but this was no such encounter. This gal looked at me and said, “You look smart. I need to axe you a question.” I said, “Your first strike is assuming I’m smart but go ahead, just don’t axe me.” She looked at the pharmacist and said, “He looks smart right?” The pharmacist nodded in approval. The lady said to me, “Can you believe the shots for the flu are not free here?” My response was, “Well, this is a business so I wouldn’t expect them to give something away for free.” She looked at me in total disbelief. I added, “Corporations are in the business of making money and I’m not quite sure why she thought it should be provided at no cost to her.” She looked like her mind was in a total pretzel, so I said to her, “Well by no means should I be considered a census of the store. Feel free to poll other shoppers here. Take care and good luck with your free-for-all.” Her last remark was she is going to Kaiser because they give out shots for free.
Holy smokes! There is a lot to unpack here but to keep it simple, this lady should probably not be upright, let alone free to terrorize our shopping centers! It reminds me of a store concept that went out of business by Panera called “Pay What You Think its Worth.” Yes, that same Panera, the group thinkers, thought, well people would pay more to subsidize the people who didn’t want to pay at all, and viola…wrong.
Panera Bread is closing up its last pay-what-you-can cafe in Boston, admitting that the experiment aimed to combat hunger was “no longer viable.”
This lady, I mean, what the hell? Why would you get a shot for free? …Safeway doesn’t even advertise that. By the way this lady didn’t have a cart or basket so obviously she came for the free stuff only. This lady wants people to give, give, give, and she has zero intention of opening her purse! Say what you want about evil corporations, greed, and the like, but Safeway, through parent company Albertson’s employs thousands of people and is a source of their livelihood. Why would they just give things away, no strings attached? Sorry Robert Kraft, before you get too excited, the items with no strings attached here are groceries and shots.
People are completely unreal these days. The sad thing is, here in California, she likely found quite a few people to agree with her that it should be free. This type of thinking from her generation (Baby Boomers) has destroyed what is left of America. First they bankrupted Social Security and put Medicare on a very unsustainable tilt. Now they think everything should be free, but I’m sure the string attached is raising taxes on the working folks (err, the rich)…because they can afford it.
To people like this lady, corporations are evil, and should be driven out of business. Her ilk pay no attention to the number of people employed by said Evil Corporations. This person thinks Kaiser gives out shots for free; mind you….I guess she never became aware of Medicare or health insurance or well, just common sense? Sadly, the latter is in short supply these days.
Now her generation and their likeminded offspring want Medicare for all.
Free stuff for everyone. Isn’t that what our country is, “the land of the free?” The hidden secret is they want everyone paying in to keep the Ponzi going till after they expire then who cares. Perfect example, I pay $420 a month for healthcare. Imagine if the federal/state government got that action every month instead of Anthem Blue Cross?
Enough facts and logic, I would hate to confuse the naïve any further. Hopefully this lady didn’t have time to put out the bat signal in reference to the free shots because I guarantee you that 90-Day Guy and his ilk would have broken every land-speed record to get to their local Safeway.
