Lockeford Meat & Sausage

Lockeford has a true wiener on its hands!

Lockeford Meat & Sausage
19775 N. Cotton Street
Lockeford, CA

With the exception of a handful of female college classmates I'd rather forget about, few can call themselves "sausage masters".

Lockeford Meat & Sausage is everything it should be: a purveyor of reasonably-priced high-quality meats displayed in a pristine glass case with product clearly marked to facilitate ease of browsing, ordering and payment.  Employees are helpful, willing to answer questions and happily offer cooking suggestions.

That being said, the meat, of course, is the star here.  Bacon, tri-tip and a variety of jerkies are available, but it'd be sheer blasphemy not to try the sausage.  From the moment I sank my teeth into my first bite of a Hawaiian Luau, my mind raced: Why haven't I tried this sooner?  Why is Lockeford so far from Elk Grove?  Where did these voices come from?


The casing provided a nice snap.  What followed was a taste explosion of sweet and savory, highlighted by the caramelization of what I assumed was pineapple juice combined with brown sugar.  Or, liquid heaven.

Either way, I dream about it quite often; and girls who attend 12 years of Catholic school are taught not to worship meat, if you catch my drift.

Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill

I needed the calcium.

Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill
433 Roxbury Drive
Beverly Hills, CA


Chili and a Chocolate Malt for breakfast.  Oh, yeah!

Mickey Fine claims to be "the only original pharmacy with a soda fountain in all of Los Angeles".  The Grill is located in the back of the pharmacy, and the pricing is impressive: a few bucks got me a generous cup of steaming-hot Chili, garnished with a precise amount of cheese and onions.  On the side, a Chocolate Malt...because that's how I judge the quality of soda fountains.  If you're lacking on the malt powder, you fail.

Mickey Fine earns an A+ in the Chocolate Malt department.  The A is for the rich, luscious ice cream and strong malt flavor, and the extra credit is for the leftover malt served on the side, enough for another person.

I left full and satisfied for less than ten bucks.  Where else is that possible in Beverly Hills?

Plainfield Station

Just use your GPS.  Trust me!

Plainfield Station
23944 County Road 98
Woodland, CA


Holy hell, this place is in the middle of nowhere.  Seriously.  If you were to give directions, it would go something like this: Go a block past the old lady selling cherries on the side of the road, hang a left at the third corn field (by the way, how can you tell where one corn field ends and another begins?), drive just past the second burned-down barn you see and hope to God you find the place before sundown.

The Pounder is no joke.  Before I ordered, the cook told me it's "a burger with two patties"...and I expected the typical stack of two thin patties on a regular old bun.  But, this burger was ENORMOUS. The patty was distinctively flavored and piled high with fresh, crunchy produce; the bun held up till the end without collapsing in a sad pile of disappointment. And steak fries on the side?  I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

Great tacos, too!

Friendly, unpretentious crowd...back-to-basics home cooking...can't go wrong here!

Madison Bear Garden

I can bear-ly contain myself!

Madison Bear Garden
316 W 2nd Street
Chico, CA


MBG has all the charm of a college Greek system hangout, but with some seriously awesome cuisine to back it up.

The ambience is LOUD, both visibly and audibly.  A giant statue reminiscent of Bob's Big Boy holds a burger and mug of Sierra Nevada and smiles as you make your way to the restrooms.  Chico State memorabilia hangs everywhere.  Several TV screens broadcast different games, and there are arcade games for both kids and adults who want to remain single for the rest of their lives.  Multiple bars.  Karaoke.  Dancing.  Pool tables.

All of that aside, the food is amazing.  The Thunder Humper may sound like a typical chili burger, but it's far from it.  The beanless chili is meaty, smoky and dark, as if it had been simmering for hours. Slop that over an open-faced burger, top with diced onions and finely shredded cheddar, and you'll have to force yourself to come up for air once you dive in.

Do yourself a favor and order the Onion Rings, if only to make use of the bottle of J. Lee Roy's Dippin' Sauce at your table.  The label states you can use it as a "buffet dip", whatever that is.  All I know is that the spicy, sweet, tangy sauce takes onion rings to the next level.

Hisui Japanese Restaurant

I'll take seconds...of everything!

Hisui Japanese Restaurant
1350 E. Monte Vista Avenue
Vacaville, CA


Oh, Hisui.  The food!  The showmanship!  The onion volcanos!

I love watching people cook; and when that cooking involves a percussion section in the form of butcher knives and garlic salt dispensers, all the better.

My pal and I shared the big ol' Chef's Choice which included miso soup, salad, perfectly rare filet mignon, scallops, shrimp, calamari and lobster, along with vegetables and steamed rice.  For dessert, we were offered the choice of chocolate, strawberry or green tea ice cream.  The entire meal was devoured as we sat around a flat-top grill, witnessing the chef masterfully prepare dinner for the other half-dozen diners sitting across from us.

Gracious hostess, super-attentive server, and all the culinary entertainment you can handle.  A definite winner in Vacaville.

Crazy Sushi

The best excuse for post-meal ice cream.

Crazy Sushi
7419 Laguna Boulevard
Elk Grove, CA

Dude: I FORCE myself to eat the side salad with chopsticks...otherwise, the process would not be lady-like.  Trust me.  I don't know what they put in that salad dressing, but I want to bury my face in it.  Every time.

For twenty bucks, two people can gorge themselves.  The quality is great, the menu is expansive, the wait staff hustles, and the sushi chefs are extremely friendly and accommodating.

I order the Spicy Day every time.  Sure, I leave with my mouth on fire after a one-two punch from both jalapenos and Sriracha, but it's always worth the pain and suffering.

The sushi has been 50% off since their grand opening years ago.  Why go anywhere else?

Monsieur Marcel

Good luck topping this!

Monsieur Marcel
6333 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA

A small part of me wishes I never found this place.  Why?  On one hand, they have THE BEST soup I've ever tasted.  On the other hand, it's 372 miles from my front door.  Cue the violins.

A myriad of dining options awaits you at the famous Farmers Market at 3rd and Fairfax.  In fact, I circled the market twice before choosing Monsieur Marcel.  Small plates of cheese and cured meats seemed a fitting snack since my evening plans involved copious amounts of Mexican seafood.  Of course, the intention to enjoy a light snack all went to hell when I saw French Onion Soup on the menu.

For me, this particular soup begs to be ordered and judged against every other version I've sampled.  Prior to this visit, my all-time favorite came from La Bonne Soup Cafe in Sacramento; however, when the first spoonful reached my lips, I wanted to weep a tear for La Bonne.  Theirs had been outdone.

A rich, complex broth chock full of sweet onion slices was concealed by a single floating crouton underneath a blanket of oozing cheese, the outside of which had bits charred ever so slightly to enhance its salty, nutty flavor.  Sheer heaven.  I chose not to taint my palate with any sort of flavored beverage or even the bread loaf I had been attacking prior to the arrival of this delicious crock of nirvana.

Hours later, I annihilated a grilled lobster and its accoutrements.  But, I will always remember the most perfect bowl of soup, and will rarely visit L.A. without a visit to Monsieur Marcel.  Believe it.