http://www.byjamesraia.com en-us N/A robert@cfx.org Tue, 13 May 2008 14:30:14 EDT 20 http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/92/1/The-Wienery-Sacramento039s-Best-Hot-Dog/Page1.html Once known as a last-chance eatery for wayward travelers and local ranchers venturing into the nearby orchards and hops fields, The Wienery, the East Sacramento hot dog haven, will celebrate a unique milestone this month.

Nearly 30 years ago, Anne Fox purchased the business originally called The Subway Cafe and began a legacy now continued by her daughter, Cynthia Fox-Vanover. While many a nearby small business has folded, The Wienery and its moniker "Cuts The Mustard" have endured in two locations with a simple plan. It provides quality variations to the culinary icon - a steamed hot dog served on a fresh bun.

]]> no@spam.com (James Raia) Sun, 24 Feb 2008 18:13:18 EST http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/92/1/The-Wienery-Sacramento039s-Best-Hot-Dog/Page1.html http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/93/1/Witherells-Sacramento-Father-Son-Antiques-Dealers-amp-PBS-Experts/Page1.html Brian Witherell and his father own a private arts and antique company that operates out of a home office and a unique building located at 300 20th Street in Sacramento. Constructed of cider block, glass and steel, the modernist building is the loft for the younger Witherell and his partner Lori Pera, a flight attendant for American Airlines.
    
But the facility is also the showroom for Witherells.com, a web site that features the two proprietors and their passion for antiquities, particularly of the American West.

]]> no@spam.com (James Raia) Fri, 19 Oct 2007 19:05:18 EDT http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/93/1/Witherells-Sacramento-Father-Son-Antiques-Dealers-amp-PBS-Experts/Page1.html http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/91/1/Sacramento039s-Rock-amp-Radio-Museum-Nakamoto-Productions/Page1.html More than 35 years ago, Dennis Newhall began his radio broadcasting career in Sacramento. From the campus station at Sacramento State University to defunct Bay Area and Sacramento stations, Newhall has a varied connection with famed rock performers — the Grateful Dead to Big Brother and the Holding Company, Jimi Hendrix to Santana.

Newhall, therefore, is the ideal person for his unofficial title as the curator of Sacramento Rock and Radio Museum. The museum has more than 1,200 items — rock concert posters, billboards, radios and other memorabilia of the era.


]]> no@spam.com (James Raia) Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:38:26 EDT http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/91/1/Sacramento039s-Rock-amp-Radio-Museum-Nakamoto-Productions/Page1.html http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/90/1/Centro-Cocina-Mexicana-Midtown-Sacramento039s-Versatile-Restaurant-amp-Americana-Museum/Page1.html On two recent cold, clear winter nights, I walked for several blocks both east and west along J Street. It's not a usual evening destination, but on both occasions while scurrying along in the chill, I remember thinking that midtown has become increasingly handsome.

Several old restaurants, supply stores and art galleries all have new facades. There are new sushi bars, new coffee shops and newly lighted storefront signs. The stretch between 19th and 28th streets, in particular, has a nearly cosmopolitan appeal.

I remember the last time I noticed a similar change. It seems like only a few years ago when Centro Cocina Mexicana, then the newest restaurant of the Paragary Group restaurant, opened. It had massive picture windows, and a new approach with its museum-like decor. The lines were long.

]]> no@spam.com (James Raia) Fri, 19 Oct 2007 01:51:03 EDT http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/90/1/Centro-Cocina-Mexicana-Midtown-Sacramento039s-Versatile-Restaurant-amp-Americana-Museum/Page1.html http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/72/1/Learning-To-Swim-Again-At-Age-52-At-McKinley-Park/Page1.html Nearly 40 years ago, I swam in my last competitive meet at age 13 or maybe 14. My team's 15-18 boys free relay squad was one swimmer short, so I moved up an age group and entered my fifth event of the day.

I got lapped, finished last on my leg and fainted while exiting the pool. My team got its points, though, as the third-place team in a three-team race.

Like striking out to end a Little League game or getting lost on Mt. Diablo as a Cub Scout, my swimming ordeal is among several less-than-stellar, but still vivid moments from my youth.

More successful, young-life memories linger, too. But my fainting spell has been on my mind recently because I've begun to swim again. And now I wonder why it's taken so long to get back into the pool.
   
]]> no@spam.com (James Raia) Wed, 01 Aug 2007 23:30:32 EDT http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/72/1/Learning-To-Swim-Again-At-Age-52-At-McKinley-Park/Page1.html http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/89/1/Sacramento039s-Hidden-Auto-Museum-Bertolucci039s-Auto-Repair/Page1.html Sacramento has its share of renowned museums showcasing paintings to railroad cars. But unheralded  collections abound as well and often in nearly hidden locales. Some feature aviation memorabilia, others medical marvels. There's an iron lung on display in the medical museum on the Elvas Ave. There's a WWII-circa jet cockpit in a midtown photography shop.

Richard Bertolucci, who founded Bertolucci Body & Fender Shop, Inc., in 1948, is also among the select group of Sacramento collectors whose wondrous prized items are anything but conspicuous. Bertolucci restores Chevrolets, and a near-dozen examples of his aging, flawless machines are tucked away in a corner room of the enduring 60-year-old business on the corner of 33rd Street & Stockton Blvd.

]]> no@spam.com (James Raia) Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:34:18 EDT http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/89/1/Sacramento039s-Hidden-Auto-Museum-Bertolucci039s-Auto-Repair/Page1.html http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/88/1/Sargent039s-House-Of-Coffee-Sacramento039s-Best-Brew/Page1.html The mural features the profile of man wearing a brimmed cap and a wide grin. One bear cub is perched on the man's head, another is clutching his right arm and shoulder. The image is a painter's rendition of a 1940s photograph of Dalen Sargent's grandfather. A logger in the Northwest, the elder Sargent one day came upon the two abandoned cubs. He temporarily raised the cubs before they were given to a zoo in Washington.

The original photograph captured the freeze-frame of the cubs and their surrogate parent, and its endearing qualities have since been a treasured family keepsake. The painted image is also the large indoor wall logo for Sargent's House of Coffee, a new husband-wife owned small business that teeters the border of East and Midtown Sacramento.


]]> no@spam.com (James Raia) Sun, 18 Feb 2007 20:07:15 EST http://www.byjamesraia.com/articles/88/1/Sargent039s-House-Of-Coffee-Sacramento039s-Best-Brew/Page1.html