Dixie Fix

What Recession?

Our Homeowners Assn. board and spouses went toTofannelli's last night for our annual Christmas Dinner. Downtown Grass Valley was packed!! The restaurants all looked full...Tofannelli's certainly was! Maybe it's just the holidays but everything was hopping! We did the "all you can eat pasta" deal -- the catch is, they give you so much you can't imagine having seconds.

Do you know about the Nevada County Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Council? This under-the-radar non profit raises money for local police and fire to buy them things they wouldn't be able to afford otherwise. In 10 years, that's $350,000!! These are the folks who put on the Red Light Ball. Kudos to Bill Drown for coming up with this idea and implementing it so wonderfully! I believe it's the only organization in the country filling this need... here in little old Nevada County.

The women are the majority on BOTH the GV and NC City Councils. You rock, gals!

Another Restaurant Gone...and More

You may have missed it, Missy's Cafe where Pasta Luigi's used to be? Anyway, another victim of this economy. Sad, sad, sad.

KNCO's new Web site is up...we haven't advertised it yet..these things take awhile to get the bugs out. We shopped local, of course, using Chip and John Paul at Spiral Studios in Nevada City. They are a delight to work with! We have Police Blotter now and will be adding new features all the time, so check us out!

'Tis the season for holiday parties...seems the economy hasn't dampened the holiday spirit! First up, the Contractor's Assn. this Thursday and then Rotary later that night. The KNCO bash is at Kane's next week -- he's closing for us.

From Don Baumgart: The day after Thanksgiving is "Wear Your Elastic Pants Day."

Sick of turkey yet?

Plans for the Old Brewery Building...

I talked to Nikko Wu on Friday. She has purchased -- at auction -- The Stonehouse's liquor license, and all the interior stuff. She plans to open a bar on the first floor, which probably will be called The Old Brewery. The bar food will be Asian fushion. The second floor will be a restaurant, run by somebody else, and she envisions the 3rd floor being rented to a caterer, who would coordinate banquet business. She is open to hosting events now, so talk to her if you're interested.

Check out KNCO's new web site on Monday. www.knco.com. We'll have the Police Blotter and will be adding new content as we go along.

Gil Matthew of the ERC says he could place 50 engineers in good paying Nevada County jobs immediately. Have any engineer friends who want to move to God's Country?

Wally Lamb has a new book. It's been 10 years. "Milk" comes out this Wednesday. Should be great!!

Raley's Wine Tasting, Villa Venezia, etc.....

Raley's wine tasting has moved to Friday nights...you get wine (either several from one winery or several of the same type, munchies and while you pay $3, that is good as a coupon on any bottle of wine in the store. It's from 5 to 8.

Villa Venezia also has all you can eat pasta nights Monday through Thursday for $10.98. Served family style in big bowls.

Yesterday on KNCO I did a story about a 600 acre Animal Sanctuary that is relocating here from Vacaville. It is on McCourtney, 8 miles from the Fairgrounds. She'll have farm tours, cooking classes and lots more. A perfect fit for Nevada County.

Big celebration in Downtown Grass Valley on Saturday. Discounts, coupons, raffles, etc.

Another Restaurant Gone...

It's the venerable Railroad Cafe (or Sierra Railroad Cafe) on Main Street in Grass Valley. Youngsters will miss the train that goes around high above the diners. And many made it a favorite stop for breakfast. Very sad.

On a better note, Toffannell's now has "All You Can Eat Pasta Nights" on Wednesday and Thursdays for $12.95. That includes a nice salad and bread. This is how it works. There are 3 pasta choices: spaghetti, linguini and penne and 3 sauce choices: alfredo, marinara and pesto. I was there last night and had the marinara and penne and it was terrific! Owners Susie and Frank are as gracious as can be, and there is just a really nice atmosphere there! They've remodeled a lot, including the full bar, which is gorgeous. Jerriann Van Dyke painted some lovely scenes and that's complemented by historic photos of what the restaurant looked like in decades past.

Changes at Friar Tucks? And Other Stuff...

Bill Holman tells me that after the first of the year, there will only be live music on Friday and Saturday nights...

Kiwanis Beach Party at the Foundry was a blast! For $25 you got a prime rib dinner, wine, and the chance to bid on live and silent auction items. Funniest item? A trip to the doughnut store with Grass Valley Police Chief John Foster! Wonder who got that one? And for how much?

I can't believe this endless election season is almost over. It seems like it's been going on forever. Be sure and vote. There is a lot at stake here.

If you see Rita Stevens, congratulate her for being named news director of KNCO! And yes, she'll still do the morning show. Tom Fitzsimmons becomes Operations Manager of both KNCO and Star 94. And a surprise coming soon...stay tuned.

One Last Dinner at Country Rose?

As KNCO reported Monday, today is the last hurrah for the Country Rose Cafe at Pine and Commercial streets. A lot of birthdays and anniversaries have been celebrated there for the past 20 years and you might want to stop in and wish them well.

Mountain Song, just up Pine Street, is also closing. It has changed hands a few times since being owned by Ananda. Expect this to be not abrupt, though. More like a drawn out Broad Street Furnishings scenario.

The Nevada City carriages will begin trotting down Broad Street sometime in November, I'm told.

If you live in Grass Valley -- or are a political junkie -- see all the candidates debate on Wednesday at The Center for the Arts. It's a diverse group so it might be fun.

Tongues are wagging at the Rood Center following the arrest of a county employee...

Another Restaurant Closing?

I won't mention names yet, but I spoke with the owner who said there was "a good possibility" it would close at the end of this month. Stay tuned...And patronize your favorite restaurant! Help keep it in business!

Heard a disturbing story of a "foster mom" of rescue dogs who was showing a dog to a potential adoptive person (I think 4 women were together) and the foster mom turned her back and they grabbed the dog and sped away. Dognapping! With all the great dogs at the shelter it seems  a shame to steal one. The economy, perhaps?

If you want an affordable staycation, try camping at our own Scotts Flat Lake. You'll feel like you've gotten way (leave the cell phone home) and there are lakeside spots easily available this time of year.

A Taste of Thai is Open in Grass Valley

John Kane said the place is great, so I gave it a try for lunch. (H's been there several times already.) I always order chicken curry at a new place -- good to compare. I thought it was wonderful. They've also done amazing things with the interior. It has a very calm and serene vibe and the wooden interior walls are very pretty. Cost for the curry dish -- which came with steamed rice -- was $9.50, so a bit pricy. But everything is higher these days. Burgers at Ike's and Lefty's are in the $10 - $12 range.

The Beach Hut, Carriages and Foothill Theatre...

Nevada City was in a good, non controversial groove there for awhile...so calm, in fact, that Sally Harris thought it was safe to step back into the pool. But now, all hell is exploding there. Should there be this much controversy?
The Beach Hut deli sounds like it's good food (I went on their Web site) owned by local people with deep roots in the area...
The Foothill Theatre will survive or fail on its merits and city leaders shouldn't be chastised for not coming up with money. These are tough economic times.
The carriages...well the local choice would have appealed to me but I wasn't at last night's meeting so I don't have all the facts on that one.
I also trust our elected officials to make the right decisions...that's why they're there.