A Tale of Two Brews

By Becky Grunewald  Photos by Scott Duncan

It’s lunchtime at Pangaea Two Brews; the sun slanting through the large windows warms the quietly buzzing, multi-racial crowd.  The owner, Rob Archie, gave the cafe this rather odd name – the designation for the supercontinent that existed before the shifting of tectonic plates gave us the current seven continents – because it’s situated at the intersection of the disparate worlds of Oak Park and Curtis Park (it even has two zipcodes); the “two brews” he’s referring to are coffee and beer. Read more »

Have Brew, Will Travel

By Becky Grunewald   Photos by Scott Duncan

Unlike wine, which is almost always better when paired with a complementary dish, beer can stand alone.  Ask any wine professional what they drink when it’s time to loosen the tie and kick off the heels, and they’ll answer time and again that they reach for a brew. Read more »

Greek to Me

by Becky Grunewald  Photos by Scott Duncan

Greek food has never really done it for me.  I’ve watched its trendiness rise (and then ebb) in food magazines; I’ve sampled it periodically, a bowl of avgolemeno here, a souvlaki there, but it has never really excited or intrigued me the way other Mediterranean cuisines do Read more »

Down on the Boulevard

By Becky Grunewald  Photos by Scott Duncan

At various points along its length, Franklin Boulevard can be charming (think Gunther’s neon ice cream scooper), charitable (as with St. Patrick’s Thrift Store and Home for Children), industrial (the stark Campbell’s soup factory), and on many stretches, somewhat desolate and desperate.  Franklin can’t boast a city council-designated ethnic area a la “Little Saigon” on Stockton Boulevard, but shopping and eating there can sometimes feel more like being in Mexico than in the US. Read more »

River City Write

Compiled by William Burg, James Cameron, Tim Foster, Becky Grunewald, Guphy Gustafson, Niki Kangas and Liv Moe

While William T. Vollmann is probably the most respected author to ever intentionally settle down in Sacramento, the River City has had its fair share of bright literary lights over the years Read more »

So-So Shabu Shabu

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Tray Chic

By Becky Grunewald  Photos by Scott Duncan and Becky Grunewald

Is there a public servant more maligned than the California state worker?  Police and fire personnel are viewed as heroes who serve and protect.  Even politicians get some grudging validation every few years when election day rolls around.  But the state worker just toils on in obscurity, assailed from all sides. Read more »

Cafeteria 15L

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Eatin’ Janky on the Grid

By Becky Grunewald  Photos by Scott Duncan

Much as Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously said, “I know it when I see it,” in regards to the rather nebulous definition of pornography, defining “janky” can be a bit of a sticky wicket. Read more »

The American River

By Becky Grunewald Photos by Scott Duncan and BG

The things about Sacramento that are often referred to as “ghetto” or “busted” are some of my favorite things. On that list are South Sac, the bike trail, and the California State Fair. Topping that list is the much-maligned American River. Read more »