Don Sammy's Taqueria

Don, Don, Don. I had such high hopes for my first entry into the local burrito scene. Having spent considerable time in the Mission district, I know a good burrito when I see one and this ain't it.

Donny boy, you get 2 out of 6 forks cuz I'm in a good mood.

Typical service from a family owned burrito eatery...but I wasn't expecting Ritz Carlton like attention so I won't ding em' for that.

I will however show no mercy for unseasoned meat, bland whole pinto beans and salsa, and "ok" rice. Maybe I'm spoiled, maybe I'm a snob (which I don't doubt) but I'm missing my choice of tortillas --spinach or tomato, beans --black, pinto, whole or refried, and fruit drinks.

Don has a way to go to fill that once a week heartburn that a fine burrito eatery will always leave you with...

California Fats - Review

Dubbed as an Asian Steakhouse and Grill, Fats was a good introduction to Old Town Sac for the Roberts family.

It comes in with a very respectable 4 out of 6 forks.

Very nice decor; waterfalls and fake palm tress, give this a pretty modern but not too hip feel. It's located in Old Sac so I'm sure most everybody there was a tourist. (Just didn't get the sense this was were the locals would go for a good steak.) The menu was excellent with lots of variety. I'm sure there aren't too many places that have as many different spices and food combinations.

My dinner, a Thai skirt steak was ok. The steamed veggies were excellent and did not have the unnecessary butter that often accompanies veggies. The chicken stir fry and ginger steak medallions were great.

All in all the service was ok as our waitress was not too in our face but was "there" just enough. The water dude kept my glass full which in the high temps is always a good thing. I thought it was a little pricey but that's probably due to it's location. (Think Pier 39)

The main question, would I go back-- you betcha...

Before and After.... the house has a Roberts flair

When we took possession of the house on July 1 it was a clean slate to put our own touches on. Here's a view of the family room when we arrived.

Now with laminate floor throughout the downstairs common areas and some bold color on the walls, this house is our home! Of course, the Plasma TV on the wall was a huge improvement.


The laminate floor adds an incredible warmth to the whole feel of the place and it feels a lot bigger too! Look at this kitchen transformation!


With the interior now complete we can turn our attention to the yard. First order of business will be mowing and adjusting our sprinklers. This summer heat wave has been brutal on the front lawn.

Today's peak temp was somewhere in the 105-106 degree range. That's down from the 110-112 that we experienced for most of the past week. A trip down to San Mateo and So. SF on Sunday was a welcome break from the heat.

Duane Makes an Appearance

This is my first appearance on the family site. I've basically been hiding in the house trying to beat the heat. It was pretty warm today 105, or something like that, and I didn't want to add to the heat by typing too fast. When it's 105 you try not to do anything other than breathe anyway.

My contribution to the blog will be an important one; not that what's already been added is not interesting or informative but this will be "different". I will be responsible for the Sacramento and Elk Grove restaurant review. You all know that we enjoy a good meal. I want to be sure that if you we go out to dinner when you visit us, we won't send you home with food poisoning...

It's simple-- Each eatery will be ranked on a 6 fork system. Watch this space and get your napkins ready.

Pretty in Pink & Yellow

Melia can now sleep in the luxury and lavishness fit for a princess.....
At her request her bedroom was painted PINK and she's long been wanting a mosquito net to hang over her bed. Now she has her wish!

And Kali enjoys a hawaiian print theme in a sea of yellow!

That's probably the easiest surf board she'll ever keep both feet on and standing at the same time. :-)

Both girls are enjoying decorating to put their personal touch on their space!

Moving In...... it's Grenfell, NOT Greenfell!

Sometimes your eyes play tricks on you and then at other times you start with bad info and don't even know it. When we first looked at the real estate listing for our new home on the Internet and decide that we would go with our agent to view this house, we thought we were going to see a house on "Greenfell" Ct based on the information on the MLS listing. So, as we continued along on our quest to find and select a home to buy we associated this house with "Greenfell" Ct.

And throughout the buying process and calling to schedule services (utilities, phones, etc.) several times I came across a misspelling of the street name as Grenfell. And each time I patiently corrected whomever and said that it's "Greenfell". Well, was I shocked to learn that I was the wrong one.... gasp!

So, everytime we had driven onto this court in the past two months or so (granted it was not that many times but enough to have seen the street name on the sign....) we did not notice there was only one "e", not two. Until two days ago! As we turned the corner onto the block I looked at the sign and noticed it - GRENFELL CT. Yikes! Are we in the wrong house? Of course not but we have been giving out the wrong street name..... fortunately if you search Mapquest or Google maps our correct location will appear, however, not necessarily on Yahoo Maps.

Wrong spelling of the street name aside, we're getting settled. A couple of delays we aren't thrilled with - downstairs floors and DirecTV a week later than expected - a tiny problem with the master toilet leaking after being reset improperly by the tile guys (who did a nice job otherwise) - but we're finally getting accustomed to the new place.

Melia's 10th Birthday Celebration

Melia's 10th birthday did NOT go un-celebrated by her family during all of the end of school and moving chaos. Here's proof!

Too bad I can't (or don't know how to) add a video clip, if one had been taken, of the pinata experience - that would have been a riot for you to watch! Melia's Aunt Lori got her a very cool pink purse pinata filled with candy for all the kids to have fun with during the celebration at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

The pinata apparently wasn't rated to hold a TON of candy and be smacked around by 10, 11 and 12 year olds. The purse handle let go of the rest of the purse and it came crashing to the ground after only a few hits by Melia - no one else got a turn. A couple of people (who will remain nameless Duane and Glenn) suggested that next time Lori might want to get her pinata at a Mexican market instead of Target. haaaaa, haaaaa!