Welcome to the City of Saloons

”I arrived in the City of Saloons this morning at 3 o'clock, in company with several other disreputable characters, on board the good steamer Antelope, Captain Poole, commander. I know I am departing from usage in calling Sacramento the City of Saloons instead of the City of the Plains, but I have my justification -- I have not found any plains, here, yet, but I have been in most of the saloons, and there are a good many of them. You can shut your eyes and march into the first door you come to and call for a drink, and the chances are that you will get it.” –Mark Twain February 25, 1866

"Cow Town." When I moved to Sacramento in 1999 that was without a doubt the most common nick-name I heard with regard to California's capitol. Ten years later I know the city is so much more. Hopefully you know that, too. If not, that's what we're here for.

This site has two primary goals. First, we hope to highlight the capitol's better bar scene - it does exist and people should know. We're not here to promote an irresponsible appreciation for our drinks scene, quite the opposite. In fact, part of promoting our better bars is to appreciate the community we have and not put small business owners at risk, let alone those on the roads and sidewalks. Still, we've found that it's easy, fun and appropriate to make a night out with friends - old and new. No, here we'll strive to fully support the businesses that truly deserve our support.

Which leads us to our second goal: to push for more better bars in our region. We don't want box store bars, clubs without souls that are happy to serve drinks without personality to an audience that may not know better (those who believe cold beers are best, that cocktails should be unoffensive and watery, served in glassware with more character than its contents). We are people of strong opinions and experienced palates, so from time to time we'll likely step on a few toes - but that really isn't our goal. Hopefully you'll stick with us as we journey through Sacramento, the City of Saloons, and together we can reclaim the nick-name penned for our city 140 years ago.

So, here begins our journey. We don't have a destination, nor do we have a starting point, just a smattering of ideas and desires for our town. If you know of a place, a barkeep or hole-in-the-wall bottle shop, please let us know - we'd love to check it out and let the world know. Hopefully, with your help, we all can be the voices for those who don't have the budgets to advertise, but serve up something worthy to be discovered.

- The Crew
City of Saloons