PASTA AND A SINKING SHIP

Bakersfield is chock full of fine dining experiences. We are especially known for our Basque cuisine, probably because we have one of the largest Basque communities in the country. You can likely attribute this to the fact that the climate is very similar to the climate of the Basque region of Spain and France. If it’s Basque food you crave, you can satisfy your palate at the Chalet Basque or Benji’s. Wool Growers, Pyrenees, or Noriega’s are other tasty options. I’ve sampled three of the five and am looking forward to sampling what Wool Growers and the Chalet Basque have to offer. But that will be for another blog.

Bakersfield also features several good Italian restaurants as well. My wife and I are always looking for someplace new and different to eat and, with that in mind, we decided to take in a restaurant known as Horse in the Alley. Now, you may say, that doesn’t sound very Italian, and you would be right. The Horse in the Alley is more of a high-end steak house that I’ve heard good things about. So, it may not be Basque or Italian but, with a name like that, it deserves a look-see. And don’t let the name scare you off. It is my understanding that they do, in fact, serve beef. Anyway, they only take reservations and I tried to reserve a table on graduation weekend, of all times. Needless to say, they had been booked for two weeks. Which brings us to Uricchio’s Trattoria. Now thatsa Italian, as they say. Located downtown, about a block and a half from our intended restaurant, Horse in the Alley, Uricchio’s has been around since 1995. You will find it on a prime location at the corner of 17th and K, streets. The restaurant has a generous dining area as well as all important outdoor seating. The only real problem I have with Uricchio’s is I’m on this new restricted diet which is both low carb and low sodium. Italian is probably not the best way to satisfy my doctor’s dietary requirements. But WTH, I’ve lost over forty pounds in the last three months. I can cheat once in a while. I just hope my cardiologist doesn’t read my blog.

The staff at Uricchio’s is always friendly and courteous. While they don’t require reservations, since it was graduation weekend, I decided to put one in for 6 PM, just to be on the safe side. Probably need not have bothered. When we arrived, they were only about half full and we were seated right away. Although, by the time we left, they were pretty well packed. I guess people just like to dine a little bit later in the evening. Won’t be long now before I’ll be looking for the senior citizen early bird special so I can get home in time for my favorite show and a nap. We had a table facing one of the large windows looking out onto K street. The outdoor seating option is enjoyable also. Especially if you are like me and like to people-watch. We had dinner there about two-and-a-half years ago on New Year’s Eve and I distinctly remember sitting outside under a cozy heat lamp watching New Year’s Eve revelers pass by.

We started off with the clam chowder. Definitely not on my diet plan, but I can never say no to a good bowl of clam chowder and Uricchio’s makes, in my estimation, the best clam chowder in Bakersfield. I think my cardiologist would understand. Another nice thing about Uricchio’s is the acoustics. Even though it was rapidly filling up and there were a lot of conversations going on, we didn’t really have to raise our voices to hear each other. Some restaurants, for whatever reason, the acoustics are just off. Well, there was the one couple that brought the kids and the toddler started crying…loudly! I can’t really say it was their fault. Ever since my wife and I were dating, anytime we go to a restaurant they ALWAYS seat us next to the crying kid. I think it’s our superpower.

In the spirit of trying to eat healthy, we went with seafood entrees. I had the linguini with white clam sauce while my wife had orange roughy almondine. The linguini with white clam sauce (they also serve it with a red sauce) was excellent. Plenty of chopped clams so you got some with every bite plus little neck clams in the shell adorned the plate. Between this and the chowder, I definitely got my daily requirement of clams. The orange roughy was served with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables and had sliced almonds drizzled over the top of it. Tasted excellent although I miss putting salt on my food. Doctor has me on low sodium also. It’s amazing how much salt is added to our food, above what is naturally there. It does enhance the flavor but that much salt is really not healthy. But that’s a blog for another day. My wife also had a glass of the house Cabernet and, while I am, strictly speaking, not supposed to be drinking any alcohol, I did have a taste and it was rather good. If you have your own favorites, they have an extensive wine list and a full bar. The cost is a bit on the upper end but, overall, not too bad in the current economy. Our dinner cost $105, including an 18% tip, but it’s well worth the price.

I mentioned that my wife and I are always looking for some place new, and on this evening, we stumbled onto just such a place. We discovered it purely by accident, which is all the more fun. After dinner, and feeling full of pasta, we decided to take a walk around downtown and window shop. It can be quite fun to explore this part of downtown. You never know what you might find. It was just after 7:00 PM, so still light out, and downtown was bustling. We scoped out the Horse in the Alley and noted the location for our future visit. The restaurant is actually located in an alley. Who woulda thunk it? Oh right! It says it in the name. We then walked about two blocks north on K Street, no particular destination in mind. We found ourselves standing in front of Tiki-Ko, which is an interesting little Polynesian bar that opened a few years ago. If you enjoy Polynesian drinks and atmosphere, then I highly recommend the place. Their tagline is “A shady place for sunny people.” They offer a nice assortment of Polynesian drinks, most traditional, like Mai Tais, but also many of their own concoction. We have been there many times and it’s always a fun experience, although seating capacity is limited and there can sometimes be a line to get in. This evening there was a sign posted on the wall advertising another establishment called The Sinking Ship. The doorman noticed my wife and I were eyeing it and said that was their latest bar, which had opened the previous June. He said it was about two doors down and we should check it out, which we promptly did.

The entrance was a simple blink-and-you’ll-miss-it doorway tucked between two other businesses. Upon stepping through the doorway, we found ourselves at the top of a steep flight of stairs descending into a basement. It is actually located beneath Tiki-Ko and has been in the works since the owners opened Tiki-Ko in 2016. Where its upstairs cousin is rather small and quaint, The Sinking Ship was much more expansive and can seat up to 70 people. It has maintained the Polynesian theme but, as one would expect, it has a more nautical vibe, very Pirates of the Caribbean. Where Tiki-Ko is known as a shady place for sunny people, The Sinking Ship is Nauti by Nature. It’s very cool in that it features antique and vintage nautical artifacts along with masks and totems from Papua New Guinea. The lighting is subdued but the antique design features are highlighted. Again, a very Pirates of the Caribbean vibe. They offer several tables for seating plus an assortment of booths that can be rented to larger groups for one or two hours. That should come in handy as, on a couple of occasions, I have had to wait in line at Tiki-Ko when a group was renting the room.

It was fairly quiet for a Saturday night, but then again, it was early, being about 7:30. I imagine the after-dinner crowds and the evening party crowds would drift in later in the night when the sun goes down. The bar menu had your standard fare such as Pina Coladas, Blue Hawaiians, and Navy Grogs. It also had a number of drinks that I’ve never heard of, either because they were unique to The Sinking Ship, or because I’m just that old and out of it. Drinks with names like Shark Attack and Three Dots and a Dash. Most were heavy on rum and fruit juices, something a bartender friend refers to as foo foo drinks. If I’m going to go off my diet, I might as well go off in a big way. Not that drinking is entirely forbidden, mind you, it’s like everything else. Enjoy it in moderation. So, I suppose pub crawls are a thing of the past. But I did have three dots and a dash while my wife had something called a Saturn. Mine was more of a rum drink while hers was a gin mixture. Both, though, heavy on fruit juice. Very foo foo, as my friend would say. Pricing was high but not exorbitant. Most drinks were $13.00 or $14.00. The one thing missing, which would be very cool if they were to add it, is to have local bands performing there on the weekends. There is room to do it, and I think it would bring in more people, not that that appears to be a problem. I just happen to like going to a bar listening to a live band. This was a fun and unexpected little side trip. We will definitely be back in the future.