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The Sinclair Cocktail at the Red Rabbit in Midtown
The Sinclair cocktail at the Red Rabbit in Midtown is served with a giant ice cube.
My grandmother lived near the former home of Sinclair Lewis on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, which is probably why the Sinclair cocktail at the Red Rabbit resonated with me last night. Or, perhaps it was the old Sinclair gas station that I recall from my childhood and nothing as fancy as I’d like to believe. If you asked Amy McMullan what she thought of the Sinclair cocktail, she’ll tell you it tastes like gasoline or something similar. But Josh and I carry a different opinion. In fact, I’d go so far as to say the Sinclair cocktail at the Red Rabbit is my new favorite concoction. The big fat square ice cube is a delightful touch as well.
I picture it here for you to imagine sipping. The ingredients are rye, nocino (an Italian liqueur made from unripe green walnuts), cherry heering (Danish cherries aged in sugar, spices and grain spirits), orange bitters and cinnamon smoke. I imagine they must light cinnamon on fire to produce smoke, but I do not know that to be a fact; except the Sinclair cocktail at the Red Rabbit is simply delicious. Before you know it, you could drink 4 or 5 of these cocktails and be forced to call for alternate transportation home to Land Park.
Birthday celebration for Josh Amolsch at the Red Rabbit with Kim Hedges.
Most of the Elizabeth Weintraub Team got together at the Red Rabbit in Midtown Sacramento last night to celebrate the birthday of agent extraordinaire Josh Amolsch. He is over 30 and that’s all we’re gonna say about it. Because it was a school night, though, we kept our drinks to a minimum of no more than two. Dan Tharp and Kim Hedges from Guild Mortgage showed up to help us imbibe. We are now totally in awe of Kim, because that woman is up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the gym; whereas, I couldn’t open one eye at the time of the morning.
One of my favorite memories at the Red Rabbit was the meal served by former Alinea Chef Ostrander. The back of the Red Rabbit is available for lease for special occasion parties, and that’s where the dinner had been held in December 2012. Our block on J Street between 28th and 27th reminds me a little of Europe. It’s getting better and better. Lots of restaurant / bar options and, if you’re so inclined beforehand, you can stop by my Lyon office at the corner of 28th and J Street to buy a home in Sacramento. Just ask for your Midtown Realtor Elizabeth Weintraub.
We could, by all means, celebrate a closing with a Sinclair cocktail at the Red Rabbit.
You Don’t Need a Special Occasion for The Waterboy
Elizabeth Weintraub shopping near The Waterboy in Midtown Sacramento
One of my favorite restaurants in Sacramento is The Waterboy. I’m not alone in that opinion. Many Sacramentans love The Waterboy. What’s not to love? Creative yet traditional cuisine, local ingredients, great wine selection, excellent service and convenient location in Midtown. I’m also a big fan of plush seats, and not every restaurant offers comfy bench seating like The Waterboy.
The abundance of glass windows provide a superb view of 20th Street and Capitol Avenue. Lights from other buildings and traffic twinkle. People mill about in the streets after dark. Midtown Sacramento comes alive when the sun goes down. I should mention that Chef / Owner Rick Mahan also does an excellent job over at OneSpeed Pizza in East Sac, but The Waterboy was here first.
When we were seated at The Waterboy, the waitress asked if we were celebrating a special occasion. I’m not so sure a waitress should ask that question because it implies that The Waterboy is not a place to have dinner on a regular basis. And it is. It’s a fabulous local hang out. When my husband asked if I felt like a steak and offered up The Waterboy as an excellent choice for dinner, I agreed with him. But then I realized I had a gift certificate to The Waterboy.
I had forgotten that a client had given me a gift certificate. Just like my client had forgotten to mail it. I think he remembered that he bought it when he received a holiday card from me, which must have jolted his memory. Shortly after I mailed out my holiday cards, I received the gift certificate in the mail from him. The gift certificate was dated last August, right after we closed on his Midtown condo. So, Galen, if you’re reading this, thank you, again.
I opted for an appetizer of house smoked salmon and ahi tartare, adorned with watercress, thinly sliced avocado, tiny olives and salsa verde. I realize raw fish isn’t everybody’s choice, but for those of us who love it, it melted in my mouth. The salmon was remarkably fresh and delicious.
When the waitress asked how I wanted my steak, I hesitated. I hesitated because I prefer steak medium rare. But I rarely get it medium rare. In fact, I’m almost afraid to order a medium rare steak when I dine out because it often arrives overcooked and medium. Inedible. Sometimes, I order steak rare, and then it either arrives all bloody and barely seared or it’s perfectly medium rare. I figure I’ve got a 50/50 chance. But, because we were at The Waterboy, I had faith in the chef.
Sure enough, I ordered medium rare and I got medium rare. The steak was unforgettable. You can’t go wrong at The Waterboy.
While Elizabeth is in Cuba, we are revisiting old blogs published elsewhere.
Midtown Seller Yanked Out of Short Sale by a Miracle
My real estate business in Sacramento is based on always going that extra step for a seller and to consistently do what is best for my client. I wish all businesses were run that way but I may as well wish that Donald Trump would shave his head for all the good it does me. When my seller in Midtown initially contacted me last fall, she decided to hold off on selling her home in Midtown because she would not get enough to pay off her mortgage and all costs of sale.
Then she called again this summer and said she has resigned to doing a short sale. All the comps pointed to a lower price for her home and she was absolutely convinced a short sale was in order. A home a block away, very similar, sold at about the same price she asked me to list at. I sent her the listing paperwork, prepared my visual inspection, shot photographs, colored corrected in Photoshop and uploaded the listing to MLS.
Within two days we were in escrow. That same day another buyer’s agent called to say she was working with a buyer who desperately wanted a home in that particular location and had been looking at homes in Midtown for a long time. This home was perfect. How perfect was it, I asked? Because we are already in escrow. Although, because it’s a short sale, it is absolutely legal to cancel the buyer in favor of an offer that is better, especially if that offer makes this home NOT a short sale. Now see, another listing agent might have dismissed the buyer’s agent by replying the home was in escrow and no longer available. Instead, this Midtown Realtor asked: Was her buyer willing to cough up another 20%?
Sure enough, the buyer’s agent sent an offer that would pay all the costs of sale, including the commission and pay the mortgage in full! The existing buyer was none too happy when informed, but the buyer, not wanting to cancel, then bumped the original offer out of short sale territory as well. It was a huge jump in price. The buyer really wanted the house. We have no inventory.
By some sheer miracle, it appraised. The appraiser was comparing it to homes in Land Park because it shared the same ZIP code. I didn’t discourage that thought process. Was it worth that higher price? Obviously it was to the two buyers who competed for this home. The seller, of course, is ecstatic. I’m happy too because my Midtown seller was saved from a short sale. And it was the right thing to do. We closed.
Eastern Star Hall in Midtown Sacramento Goes Up for Auction
The more I talk with people, the more it becomes apparent that many are not cognizant of their surroundings. I might talk with a seller about homes in Elk Grove that I’ve sold which are located a few blocks away from their house, and they’ve never been down those streets. They’ve never even heard of some streets. I guess they don’t walk around their neighborhood or, if they do, one street must look like the other. It’s not just people who live in suburban areas, either.
I suspect it’s because people are too busy or don’t care to explore. If there is no reason to go over to some side street, why would you? Most people probably just drive to work in the morning and make a beeline back at night. Ask an Elk Grove Realtor, though, and she can tell you where the parks are located, which are “through streets” with a lot of traffic, and the distance from your potential home to Elk Grove schools.
I suppose those who are involved in community activities are very aware of which streets are in their neighborhood and what goes on, but still, I am constantly amazed when people don’t even know the name of the street behind their house. And, they don’t think it’s odd that they don’t know.
Some people who live in the city, like, say, in homes in Midtown Sacramento, for example, might not always pay attention, either. That’s one of the reasons this Midtown Realtor enjoys the cellphone game of Ingress. It points out works of art, historic buildings and other “portals” right under our noses in the midst of the city that we might otherwise pass by unnoticed. For example, I read in the Sacramento Bee today that the Eastern Star Hall is expected to show up in Auction.com, listed at $750,000. I know exactly where it’s located because it’s an Ingress portal.
The Eastern Star Hall is a historic building built in 1928, located at 2719 K Street, right across the street from Sutter’s Fort (also a portal, several). It depicts 5 women with those darling bobbed cuts, doing daring things for the 1920s, like drive a car. It reminds me of my grandmother. I have a photograph of her from 1919 when she cut off her hair in defiance and took up smoking, just like the guys. She came to the United States from Hungary in 1899. Thoughts of my grandmother often cross my mind as I deploy mods and link portals at Eastern Star Hall.
It will be interesting to watch what happens to this building. My real estate office is located a block away on the corner of 28th and J Streets, and I drive by the Eastern Star Hall to hack the portal many times a week. I wonder about its fate, and whether others who live and work nearby notice it.
