Jenn "More costumes than Bugs Bunny" N.'s Profile

No shirt, no shoes...no dice.  Right. Learn it. Know it. Live it.

The Summer Special was delicious.

Friendly Service. Quiet, clean and calm.  It was the perfect atmosphere for me to relax for an hour or so and catch up on my dream journal.

Somewhere along the long and winding path of cultivating my own contentment, I learned to savor the small things.  Life will deal you tough hands. Whether you are riding high or hanging low, as long as you don't close your eyes to them - simple delights are abundant.

For me, freckled lemonade is one of those things. A grown adult stuffed into a Red Robin costume, complete with screaming red tights doesn't hurt either.

I love the layout of this location. It's open, airy and bright.  Ask me why there is a working television in the floor, at the entrance. I'll tell you I don't know.

The service was great. The fiesta salad was delicious as always, as was the bleu ribbon burger and steak fries.

Welcome to Brentwood Red!  My family and I are so glad that you are here.

I won Dane Cook tickets on the radio and had a friend willing to drop us off and pick us up.

We were at a dead stop trying to get into a side entrance to the parking lot and decided to just get out and walk.  The beer lines were messy, huge, jumbled and impossible to navigate.  I gave up. Big screens set up with a size 10 comic sans font  = useless, fyi.

The show was great. Unfortunately, the venue was not.

What happened Arco?  This event was half the size of a regular concert or sporting event and it was twice as chaotic.

I was really leery of No Name taking over, I'll admit.  I never liked him all that much over on 97.3.  I guess that was because it was the Sara + No Name show and the dynamic just didn't work for me. Just the No Name show however, does.

I like the depressing grunge music. I do not drink in the morning.  I love that he'll throw in some reggae.

I won a free gas (actual gasoline not flatulence) card  on the No Name show. I still haven't transported my ass over to San Francisco to pick it up because I am lame. When they called to verify my information, I guess I expected a bored secretary.  Instead I got Katie, who was being harassed by No Name, while I was on the phone with her.  :)  Speaking of Katie, were we separated at birth?

Can I get a hell yea? I said hell yeah!

I owned a horse or two. I can two-step, ten-step, Elvira, push my tush...I draw the line at the one that requires a river dance style kick though. It's been years since I revisited my gun slingin, cattle pushin, steer ropin, and redneck roots.

When my friend said we were going to the Stoney Inn, I didn't know what was in store.  Had I known, I would have rightly showed up in my ropers & wranglers.

I had no idea this honky tonk+ existed and I'm glad that it does. The country band that was playing was young, vibrant and fun - all of them, right down to the fiddle player.  Excellent vocals, high energy and great song choices kept the spacious dance floor movin. There is plenty of seating for those that are sitting out for a song or prefer to watch.
That's just the back room!  Add on an outside patio and a front room/bar with karaoke. Not just country karaoke, the KJ's song list was impressive.

The crowd was a healthy mix of anything and everything.  From the super hot little thing in tight jeans - to the tipsy muffin topped honey slurring through the gap in her chaw stained chops.  

We had a blast.  The owner was great. My only reason for not granting a 5 star review was the rum & coke was awful.  Even after taking it back and getting a re-mix.  Yuck. Stick to beer in this place.  

The highlight of my night:

Some chick jumped (entirely) up and off of barstool A, onto blindsided man on barstool B. She wrapped her ankles around his neck and pulled his face into her chest. I'm pretty sure he was cursing himself for the 2-3 drinks too many he had, as they both swayed dangerously and he desperately tried not to drop her.

Hell yea!

We will be back. Next time, I'll have my boots dusted off and won't be recovering from laryngitis (so I can rock the mic).

Good food, beautiful people and excellent service.  I'm not sure what else you could ask for.

It did get a little loud but we were there during the Saturday evening dinner rush, not to mention a huge swarm of high-schoolers in tuxes and tight shirts, er..cocktail dresses.

Mikuni's handled it and handled it well.  We didn't wait for much of anything and the servers always had a smile on.

The freaky edamame is indescribably good.  The Zig Zag roll, my friends swear by it. They swear by it to the point of not wanting to go anywhere else because "they won't have that". The Kings roll was amazing. I highly recommend it to those that want an alternative to fish.

I stole a bite or two off of my friend's spicy combo and again, everything was just so good.

We were a little rushed, we had tickets for a comedy show at 8:00 p.m. Mikuni's got us in, served, fed and out with time to spare.

Now this is a restaurant that knows what it's doing!

What, American Canyon is too good for an everyday value menu?  Really? The .99 chicken strip sandwich is one of the main reasons I love Sonic.  I had to settle for a regular over-priced, bland chicken sandwich...on a wheat bun, yak!

I'll give you 2 stars for decent service and amazing onion rings but c'mon....

I was exploring through my parents attic and I came across a little tattered box.  It had a tarnished little latch on the front. I flicked my finger under the latch and slowly opened the lid.  It creaked and moaned but as I peeled it back, the inside revealed a secret gem.  The roof of the box was lined with a lovely block pattern, the back with a shiny mirror...a tiny ballerina circled in front of the mirror.  As the last soft note subsided she slowly laid to rest upon the tiny metal bar.

This bar (Rellik) used to be Pastime...and from what I've heard it was dirty, dingy and tattered.  The outside still hints of days past in this mature little downtown but the inside is captivating and new.  Plush furniture, deep colors, a handsome brick wall is paralleled by shiny mirrors of the bar.  A central column that is back lit by a color changing orb, makes the bottles seem to come alive.  The ceiling is stamped with sophistication.

I couldn't help thinking about that little jewelery box I had once found.

The servers were all very nice and they were well staffed and ready for the busy crowd.  They ran out of a few things and the drinks are kind of pricey. No hats* or baggy clothes and collared shirts for the guys are a must.  Other than that, you will see anything and everything under the sun.  I completely enjoyed myself and re-connected with one of the coolest girls I knew in highschool.  We lost touch for 15 years and it was so awesome to find each other back in the town we both grew up in.

At times, it got a bit loud and it was tough to hear even the person sitting right next to you...but..it is a bar.  All in all, I had a great time.  This is a great little spot for Benicia.

*Apparently there are certain exceptions.  A guy that must have been 6'5 and weighed 275+ came in with this hat on backwards.  I questioned, "I thought there were no hats allowed in here."

The only reply was, "You ask him to take it off." :P

Benicia is a small town.  Your options for a nice dinner are limited to say the least.  With that said, if I were to compare First Street Cafe to Benicia alone - I would probably rate it 4 stars.  Since I'm not, I'm giving it a three.

We had a party of 5.  They had seated a party of 4 at the only table they had, that could accommodate 5 guests. They asked them to move to another table.  That was a little weird.  Once the poor family with first dibs was up-rooted we were seated.  We were waiting for 2 people in our party to arrive.  They gave us bread but never asked us for any kind of drink orders.  We actually had to call someone over and ask for some water.

When the rest of our party arrived, the service was great from there.

I ordered the crab & artichoke sandwich.  You have your choice of bread, I opted for the herb and it was pretty good.  It made it a very heavy sandwich, I couldn't eat all of it.  I chuckled at the "salad" they served with it, on the side.  It was about 4 leafs of lettuce covered in two eye dropper squeezes of vinaigrette dressing.  

My husband ordered the London broil dinner.  The vegetables were incredible.  Probably the best thing on the plate.  

They cooked the steak perfectly.  Unfortunately, whatever herb they used to cook it with - was old.  It's really too bad because the rest of the plate was really good.

I have heard their breakfast is amazing.  I'm sure I'll be back to give it a try sometime.

We drove by the old location, saw the "For Lease" sign and just about broke down in tears.  Our beloved hickory pit..gone??  No!  Say it isn't so...

We'll it isn't.  Yay! We were overjoyed to see our hickory pit open up within walking distance of our house!  It's newer, brighter, fresh and perfect.  It's a family run business. Super friendly and down to earth.  We have ordered the roast pork a few times since they opened (in the new location) and it's as good as ever.  A side of fries is hardly a side of fries; they serve up significantly hearty portions.  All of their sauces are unique and delicious.

We decided to hit them up on a Saturday morning for breakfast. I chose the Sandy special as I had been eyeballing it for months.  Country potatoes, piled with eggs, cheese, bacon, fresh tomatoes, sour cream and green onions. I had it last Saturday and am counting the days until I can find time to get back & have it again.  How will I ever get myself to order anything else??