Brickside

Alright, meandered into here on a late night bar run through old town. This ended up being our longest stop off for 2 simple reasons…
It’s mostly empty (for whatever reason) in the late night.
They have a good amount of seating/​bar space.
When you’re with a crowd of 14 people, some of those little downtown or oldtown pub spots get a wee bit crowded. The bartender dealt with us in pretty good order, and all things considered it was far from the pricier place to stop off at.
Nice place to the look of it, and I’ll have to make a much more proper stop off for lunch in the upcoming weeks.

Happy Hour: M-​F, 2−8pm
Bites from $ 2-​$ 5
beer, wine, wells– $ 3. other drink specials.
Brickside is next door to Fat City. Big place, large booths, tables, 2 levels. full bar with a couple of small flat screens.
During happy hour there were a few people sitting at the bar. Quiet. They have a small list of Happy Hour bites to eat. I’ve had: slider and fries for $ 2. 1 slider and thin, crispy fries on a small plate. The slider tasted charbroiled. it was decent. Chicken taco ($ 2). Killer! And they had Tapatio, too!
Everything was pretty decent from their beer selection, wine, as well as the food. (Not so much for the healthy folks.) And the bartender Brent was pretty cool. Nice guy. So is Brian, another bartender there. Great deals, great people. 4-​star rating. Plus it’s dim.

I will say that I was a previous patron at Cantina del Rio, but only for their fish tacos, which I thought were wonderful. My fiancé and I specifically made a trip into Old Sac (after spending the day at Denio’s) for the fish tacos. When I saw that the restaurant’s name had changed I asked if the chef (s) had as well. They had, but our maitre d’ assured me that their fish tacos were «great.»
It was the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday and the piano player was finishing a set (nice touch). We eyed the new booths but were seated at a table for two on the left side of the restaurant. The ambiance of the exposed brick hadn’t changed, they appeared to have updated the bar (we don’t drink) and were served rather promptly (albeit that we asked for no ice in our water but received it filled to the brim).
We were interested in the calamari as an appetizer but they had run out. We ordered the fish tacos and were disappointed. The fish appeared to be a generic, Van de Kamp-​type of frozen fish that was then fried, lackluster flavor, on a bed of cabbage and a mayo sauce. The tortillas were not homemade but rather a store bought, mass-​produced type. We did let our waitress know that it was not up to our standards, and at $ 7 a plate which was overpriced for three small tacos with one strip of fried fish that looked like a tiny chicken finger, we left both hungry and dissatisfied.
One of the other waiters came over and apologized for our dissatisfaction, said that they were still working out the kinks, and that the new owner doesn’t give much latitude to the chef. (They had been open a month). He did proceed to share that the previous establishment had a pervasive substance problem.
I will say that the staff were attentive, the bathrooms were clean and they did accomodate my dietary request for no added salt. I cannot say that we will return.

While in Old Sac for the Jazz festival today, we were looking for a place to grab a bit of food and have a cool place to rest after being out in the midafternoon sun. We passed by this place and were handed a menu flyer advertising their «Happy Hour» specials of $ 3.50 sangrias and $ 1 slider –style «mini-​burgers».
It so happened that it was 3:30, so inside we went.
We were seated immediately in one of the comfy padded booths. A waiter appeared and took our order for a round of sangrias and a half-​dozen sliders.
The place is pretty huge.
There’s a back area that is set up like a patio dining room. A fireplace is there for colder seasons when all the exposed brick might make for a cold/​drafty experience. The ceiling was high, which was good for a warm late spring afternoon. (I wonder if they’ll be able to keep it cozy in the wintertime?)
The downstairs area is where the well-​kept bathrooms are, plus another big dining and bar area.
Our drinks came quickly, and they were tasty & refreshing on a warm afternoon, let me tell you!
The mini-​burgers and the parmesan fries came not long afterwards. To my pleasant surprise, the tiny burgers were ~good~! There about 4 small bites in each one, the meat patties were somewhat thick, albeit small. (I had semi-​expected a thin/​flat pattie).
The atmosphere in the Brickside was very pleasant and convivial. To our delight, a jazz band was setting up to play music nearby. Our timing was good again.
I like the place. The food sample that we had was just appetizers, but it was nice and tasty.
I will be back for future happy hours.
*******
A couple of days later, we were there again for lunch. This time, I tried the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich special. The sandwich was oretty good and quite filling. The fries that came with it was good and suficient to round out the meal. The price was a bit steep for a sandwich, though. $ 14.
Service and good, prompt, and friendly, this second visit, too.