Local Wine.Dine.Love: Small Business Saturday on Sutter Street

 Folsom "Small Business Saturday" Wine.Dine Tour

My friend and I had great intentions when we started a little "adventure" on Saturday, just heading out for lunch and drink(sssss) on Sutter St. in Folsom. If you haven't been there it's kind of  like Old Sac without all the kitch. A old-fashioned street lined with little shops, boutiques, bars, restaurants, theaters, you name it. The geography makes it a perfect place to spend the whole day just eating and drinking and shopping your way from one end to the other....which, as you might have guessed, is precisely what we did. We thought that in honor of Small Business Saturday that we would stick to the small, locally owned places and basically be tourists in our little town. I hope everyone reads this and makes a trip to give Sutter St. some love. Here's our story of the day:





Stop 1: Hampton's - A new "Urban Drink and Eatery": This is a brand new place at the end of the street next to Powerhouse Pub and it drew our interest immediately because of the wraparound balcony overlooking the street. With beautiful, sunny, warm weather on the books, this place and its balcony was a slam dunk. We were pleasantly surprised - everything was fantastic! From the food to the drinks to the service, everything was relaxed, smooth and very, very tasty. Get the Fried Mac & Cheese Balls (to die for!) when you go, you won't be sorry.

Stop 2: Lockdown Brewery: A sister to the local watering hole in a random storage unit in Rancho, this place is just as cool but in a much better setting. Can you say "patio"?  They serve their own microbrew-type beers...and Coors Light. Weird, especially since the that's what the owners were drinking, which is an odd form of marketing - but what do I know? The bar area is attached to the Beach Hut Deli, so if you're in the mood for a sub and some suds, this is your place.

Stop 3: Samuel Horn's Tavern: A new English pub right there on Sutter St.! It feels like hopping across the pond and walking back in time, all at once. A little cavernous, a wide selection of beers on tap, greasy pub food and those little nooks with cushy seats that make you feel like you're getting drunk at a coffee shop. We didn't have any food, but that we'll have to try that next time. I had a Wydmer cider to mix things up a bit and lead us into our next stop.....

Stop 4: The Cellar Wine Bar:  My favorite wine bar in the area, this is a must when I'm on Sutter St. I usually opt for one of their flights which change occasionally to keep things fun. This day it was the Bold Reds flight - 3 nice pours of each of the 3 wine selections. Their wine is stored in those cool sealed coolers with taps so the wine here just seems better than most places - more fresh. They also have a selection of munchies and food, but we were still full from Hampton's and were still working on filling up our "drink" stomachs.

Stop 5: Hacienda: Truthfully, there's nothing spectacular about this place, but when you've been drinking since noon and are craving a taco, this place might as well be the The French Laundry. Oh, and if I remember correctly from my bachelorette party (ha!), their margaritas go down VERY nicely.

At the risk of sounding like a COMPLETE alcoholic, this is not where our little wagon train stopped, but this where we left Sutter St., so this is where our little trip down Sutter St.'s memory lane will wrap up.

Honorable Mention: Her Closet: In between stops we dropped in on a little clothing boutique and did some shopping. This little place is adorable, with a good mix of styles in a decent price range, including accessories and jewelry. I picked up a gorgeous burnt orange cowl neck sweater, a gray open wrap/cardigan and a comfy pair of black leggings (for only $10!). I like finding little places like that. It makes me feel better about spending so much money at the evil, large stores.

 

Bottom Line: Take a day to check out Sutter St. and all the fun places along its wood-planked banks. There's even an ice skating rink there for the holidays so your kids will have something to do while you're bar hopping. :)