Bar View Ridgeway

BarView By Kate Serpa

I consider my dear friend Samantha to be a champion drinker. I don’t flatter myself when I say that I can hold my own better than most, but I’d have to have a sick death-wish to ever put myself up against Samantha in a shot contest. She would shut me down instantly a la intro to Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. No matter the quantity or how late into the night/morning it may be, girl will still be standing and trying to persuade me into having ‘just one more.’ Best part is, she’s an excellent drinking buddy and won’t ever get drunk-weepy-girl on me. So when Samantha, my favorite Modesto drinking partner, told me I had to go to this fantastic dive which dished out even more fantastic cocktails, there was not a shred of doubt in my mind that she was speaking true.

So with my good faith in her drinking-hole judgment (because I’m an old lady set in my ways and have a hard time going to new bars), off we went for Thirsty Thursdays at Manny’s Cocktails.

Stephanne Rumbaugh, our lovely January featured bartender extraordinaire, was managing thirsty Thursday like a pro. Instead of ordering something specific, Samantha gave a ‘surprise me’ line which resulted in Stephanne making us both one of her secret-signature tri-colored, fruity, fantastic cocktails called the Rocket Pop. As a person who limits her girly-drinks exclusively to Minnie’s Jerks, I was blown away with how damn good the drink was. Every drink Samantha and I ordered with the ‘surprise me’ line that night (never fear, we thankfully had a D.D.) was unique, fantastic, and surprisingly colorful; and with fun drink names like the Captain’s Dessert, the Horny Housewife, the Sipper, Hawaiian Delight, to name a few, who would be surprised?

This is, amazingly, Stephanne Rumbaugh’s first bartending gig. Armed with a deadly combination of innovation, knowledge, her bar-back Rico, and some mean-ass eyeliner, Stephanne has been pouring out fantastic drinks at Manny’s for the past eight years. When asked how she comes up with all of her original concoctions, she stated: “A lot of female customers didn’t want the taste of alcohol in their drinks, but wanted the strength. I’m the same way, so I make drinks that I would want to drink” The result is absolutely delicious and I’ve rarely seen so many grown men walking around with such colorful drinks, because those drinks are that delectable.

The muraled corner bar has been around for ‘forever’ and was originally a pizza joint by the same name. Inside you’ll find two pool tables, darts, a healthy sprinkling of TVs, a scratcher machine, a well-endowed bar, and an ominous black telephone that only accepts incoming calls.

Needless to say, Samantha and I had an excellent time at Manny’s and, I’ll admit it, have been back three times this past week. The bartenders are fantastic, the patrons are fun, and Stephanne’s drinks are freaking amazing. This no-frills all-fun establishment is now my new favorite, thus earning Samantha a healthy high-five for introducing me to Manny’s.

Manny’s Cocktails 420 Paradise Road 209.577.4427 Open 6 am- 2 am Monday- $5 all-you-can-drink during the game, food at halftime Thursday- Thirsty Thursdays $3 anything 6-9 Friday and Saturday- DJ Carlos and dancing, $3 anything 8-9

Drinkrecipe

AMF (with a Stephanne-twist) Combine equal parts of: -Vodka -Gin -Rum -Tequila -Sweet and sour -Pineapple juice -Raspberry Puree -Blend the hell out of it until it’s a lovely lavender shade -Top it with whipped cream if you please And pace yourself on this one kids. It’s delicious but should not be overdone. I’m not speaking from experience here….

O’Brians Tavern

By Kate Serpa

O’Brian’s Tavern was, up until this past week, completely off the radar for me. I had never previously been, and being the 95 year-old woman I often feel myself to be, I didn’t feel myself too inclined to try someplace new. How then do I adequately describe the fantastic welcoming feeling I got when I firstwalked into O’Brian’s? Well, it was midday Friday and I was rushing from school to the interview. It was terribly hot outside, and I was feeling burned out to begin with, so, once arriving at O’Brian’s I sat outside to have a cigarette…wait, my parents read this. Backtrack. I was sitting outside O’Brian’s to…not smoke, not smoke at all, and I swear to you it wasn’t three seconds before two regulars had engaged me in conversation. By the time I walked into O’Brian’s, I had met two new people, and by the time I left (and I am not being cliché here, people), I had a chorus of ‘goodbye Kate’ to salute me out.

A bar is what you make it and O’Brian’s does have an incredible set of regulars who are very vocally passionate about their favorite tavern. A lot of laughter was going on while I was there (and no, it was not directed at me) and everyone seems to know everyone, and everyone knows and loves Mary.

The lady who has been owning the lay-of-the-land behind the bar for the past four years is Mary Kline. You wouldn’t know this is her first bartending gig since she manages carrying on conversations with two people at either ends of thebar, while pouring a round of drinks, while looking fantastic, with such ease. I can barely walk in high heels and chew gum at the same time, let alone multitask like Mary. She told me she originally came here as a customer and was then asked if she would like to bartend. Mary is notshort of praise for O’Brian’s. She told about when she broke both of her arms and was out of commission for three months. She told me that every day, people from O’Brian’s would come and help her out. Mary stated, “These are my friends, and these are my family.”

O’Brian’s is incredibly fundraiser-friendly (this is not an exaggeration) and does much to show customer appreciation. Their calendar of events is so packed it could keep even the most introverted drinker busy for the month busy by default. Aside from their usual weekday happenings, cook offs are very common affair(including, but not limited to: ribs, soup, and chili), as are pool tournaments, customer’s birthdays (which I hear are quite the affair), themed costume parties, a semiannual Reno trip…take my word for it when I say the list is extensive. “We like to give our customers lots of opportunities to have fun,” stated Mary. No kidding. A list of O’Brian’s weekly events is included at the end of the article so you can clip it out and stick it on your fridge.

O’Brian’s opened in 1981 and is named for Brian Lee who owns the establishment, alongwith Donoby’s. Aside from the very well-priced well-stocked bar, O’Brian’s has its own pool league, where “the best shooters in Modesto play,” to work their cue-ball magic on the two pool tables, and dart boards, 7 HD TVs, each of which is showing a separate game, and is genuinely laid-back and completely unpretentious. Apparently also, Mary informed me, they make some good Bloody Marys. “She means,” a fellow bar-goer chimed, “the best Bloody Marys.” As a person who knows some really, really annoyingly picky Bloody Mary enthusiasts, I was sure to take note.

In short, I found O’Brian’s Tavern to be very casual, very personable, and a place I fully intend on visiting again.

P.S. Thank you Mary, Brian Lee, Tina Temple, and everyone at O’Brian’s for getting my derailed day back on track. And thank you John for the beer!

Monday Night Madness: 8-10pm, Pitcher specials

Monday Night Football Special: $1 domestics, and free hot link sandwiches during the game

2 forTuesday: Any two enormous drafts for $6

Wednesday- Industry Night: Buy 1 at regular price, the second is $1

Thirsty $3 Thursdays: Anything in house for $3 and karaoke night (an excellent combo if I do say so)

Wild Wacky Weekends: Fri-Sat, 9 pm-11 pm…. too many drink specials to list. Go find out yourself.

SuperStar Sunday: 7 pm- 9 pm, $1 domestic, $4 bombs of your choice. Be sure to come and catch the game; it serves up a fun crowd.

IrishApple – Ever-so appropriate for November, and for an Irish tavern

-Fill up a shaker with ice

- 3 counts of Jameson

- 3 counts of Apple Pucker

- Cranberry Juice

-Shake and strain into your preferred glass.

Honestly, I recommend just putting a straw in the shaker. These apples are so tasty you might as well cut out the middle-man-glass-pour.

O’Brian’s: 3619 Tully Rd., Modesto, CA

527.8826

By Kate Serpa

I hadn’t heard about Buddy’s until recently when a friend of mine told me about a bar with a great tap selection and a lax rule on throwing peanut shells on the ground.  My initial thought was:  in Modesto?  I haven’t heard of such a place.  I’m a bit on the arrogant side in which I assume I know every bar within Modesto limits, so a new place called Buddy’s was news to me.  However, lo and behold, ModestoView readers, Roseburg Square had been hiding a gem of a bar that truly lives up to its name.  Buddy’s is not only delivering an excellent bar and restaurant combo punch, it’s also a place which is totally geared toward making patrons feel as though they are a buddy of Buddy’s.

Adorable Jacquie Broussard has been shaking up her signature spiked teas behind Buddy’s bar for five months. Previously in coffee, she is now bringing her fantastic mixing skills behind the bar.  She is currently attending the nursing program at Delta (here’s where I will spare you a bad pun about how she’s a pro at nursing both patients and bar patrons back into good spirits) and cites Vierra’s as a local favorite.  When asked what her alcohol preference is, she can’t seem to decide, listing off wheat beer and dessert wine, but then begins to name a variety.  She states she loves creating and trying new drinks and mixing fun flavors both alcoholic (twisted cherry coke) and non (watermelon ice tea).

Buddy’s is named for owner Tom Arnold’s young son and is fully representative of the establishment.  Buddy’s is only a year old and was created by Arnold as a casual alternative to Appetez (which is directly next door and shares the same building, and kitchen).  Buddy’s isn’t simply a bar, by the way, but also a family-friendly restaurant that dishes out bbq (and from Jacquie says, a mean pulled-pork sandwich) from its enormous outside grill.  Buddy’s has a full bar and 12 beers on tap, hosting three or four new varieties a month. Buddy’s is currently the only establishment in town to have Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale, which is surprisingly un-cider-y and worth heading out now (yes,right now) to try.  It should be noted that Buddy’s also has a surprisingly extensive wine list and always has a featured monthly bottle.

Jacquie states that Buddy’s mission statement is that everyone who walks in the door to feel immediately as though they belong.  Jacquie also states that because Buddy’s is locally owned and operated that it is Buddy’s job to build their business into the community and make it the best in can possibly be.  In my opinion the aspects that set Buddy’s apart are the details.

You may be unaware, but Buddy’s offers something really fantastic called the ‘Buddy Locker.’  This ingenious system is aimed at the shot-taking crowd (which yours truly has ceased to be a member of since that throwing-up-on-the-dance-floor-because-of-tequila night…which we shall never speak of), which if you are a member of, should considering taking full advantage of.  Here’s how the Buddy Locker works: you purchase a bottle of your favorite poison at retail price at Buddy’s who will then store your bottle in one of its behind-the-bar lockers.  Your bottle will be eagerly awaiting your return and you can then pour out shots at your convenience at $1 a go.  This is an excellent set-up for birthdays, impending heartbreak, and frequent customers.

Speaking of frequent customers, Buddy’s has yet another ingenious system called…wait for it…the Buddy System.  This system is specifically geared toward regular patrons/buddies.  Here’s how it works: you are issued a card with which you are able to accumulate points, and these points accumulate perks, and who doesn’t love perks?  Perks include happy hour prices at any given time, or having your name engraved on any number of the wall-mounted tankards ready for your disposal any time you’re at Buddy’s.  I’d say you’d have to be a pretty mean and miserable person not to get a tad excited about either one of Buddy’s systems.  And if you are that mean and miserable, do us all a favor and don’t come to Buddy’s; you’ll ruin the fun vibe.

How would Jacquie sum up Buddy’s?  It’s about family, creating fun moments, and finding new buddies, three things that I believe would be easy to access given the great vibe Buddy’s projects.  Come for the pulled pork sandwiches and fantastic bar, come back for the awesome vibe, great staff, and lax rules on peanut-shell throwing.

Jaquie’s Southern Spiked Tea

Here’s what you need:

-1/2 oz. Jack Daniels Honey Whiskey

-4 oz. Lemonade

-4 oz. Ice Tea

-1 oz. Tuaca

Here’s what you do: -Throw all the ingredients in a shaker.  Well, don’t actually throw them in.  You know what I mean.

-Shake and pour into a tall lemon-garnished glass filled with ice.

-Enjoy!

This drink is very light, a great alcoholic alternative to the usual ice tea, and surprisingly orange.

Buddy’s Pub

(209)521-6329
825 W Roseburg Ave
Modesto, CA 95350

www.appetez.com/buddys

NightView

Hero’s Sports Lounge & Pizza Co.

“Go big or go home,”

By: Kate Serpa  

I don’t get very excited over sports bars.  I’m not one to tune in for big games, I couldn’t tell you who is on whatever team… I’m more of an indoor martini sort of person rather than a baseball game and beer one.  99% of sports bars I’ve ventured into have been a bit disappointing, to be nice, and can only be described as dark, narrow as hell, and unremarkable.  But I tell you what, ModestoView readers, Hero’s Sports Lounge and Pizza Co. has a firm grasp on that remaining 1% and it blows the rest out of the water. 

Hero’s 14,000 square feet features pool tables, outdoor patio seating (equipped with televisions, of course), electronic poker, a sizable bar-side stage with a huge projection screen, banquet hall on the upper level, a VIP lounge featuring a 15 ft. screen, and seven, I counted twice to be sure, flat screen TVs around the main bar, and just so happens to be a doorway away from fresh, fantastic beer from St. Stan’s Brewing Company.  Part bar/restaurant, part sports memorabilia museum, Hero’s is damn impressive to say the least.  This interview was the first time I had been to Hero’s.  You better believe I was back the next day for more IPA.

The ceiling-high extensive memorabilia collection, belonging to Hero’s owner Dan Carranza, is as versatile as the establishment itself.  Notable items include a Lance Armstrong jersey, Shaq’s unbelievably enormous shoe, a number of Muhammad Ali items including a copy of his vinyl hit “I Am The Greatest”, 73 significant ticket stubs from Barry Bonds’ 2001 season…. honestly, there’s so much you’ll have to go see yourself.  I’ve even heard rumors of Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe’s marriage certificate being housed there. The collection is so staggering it makes me wonder if Hero’s is just so large as to fit everything in!  

As if this amazing array of collectables wasn’t enough, Hero’s is also home to the lovely Ms. Melissa Jaco, who is as hospitable as she is hot.  Jaco, mother of two boys, has been working for the family owned establishment for 1 1Ž2 years and is quick to sing praises about Hero’s.  “There are a lot of great bars in Modesto [she lists Speakeasy as a favorite], but Hero’s offers a variety that other places don’t.”  She lists the menu as being particularly distinctive in that it offers the expected bar food but also offers a number of unique items and also many healthy options, the weekly line-up of happenings (listed below just for you), the events hosted by Hero’s, and the seasonally rotating beer selection.  Jaco reassures, “We’re never without a good porter.”  Jaco also states Hero’s is individual in that it’s out of the downtown circuit.  She says, “People who are here want to be here.  It isn’t the usual crowd.”          

Jaco also notes that the variety of events Hero’s hosts brings in a variety of people.  Naturally sports events are a huge draw; Hero’s also hosts weigh-ins for amateur fights.  Sports aside, Hero’s also holds live music and comedy nights.            

I’ll admit…I drank quite a bit of St. Stan’s fantastic beer that day while talking to Melissa.  I asked her how she might sum up Hero’s in one sentence.  She stated: “Go big or go home,” a motto, I believe, perfectly befitting.

Knockout Punch!

-1 1Ž2 oz. Smirnoff Raspberry

-1Ž2 oz. Amaretto

-1 oz. Alize

-2 oz. Cranberry Juice

-2 oz. O.J. 

…Stir it all up.  Put some damn feeling in it.

-finish with a healthy float of Malibu and a cherry

(Triple, quadruple, or quintuple for a pitcher-full of Knockout)           

Happy Hour Every Day!

3-6 pm

$3 well, microbrews, appetizers

$5 personal pizzas

$2.50 domestic

Lazy Sunday- Happy Hour all day

Taco Tuesday- $2 tacos + other amazing specials (fish tacos are a steal)

Whatcha Want Wednesdays- $5 shots any way you want, you pick, we pour

Friday- Live Music

Select Saturdays- UFC

*Also: Be sure to look out for Hero’s Halloween party!

Thank you to Melinda and Hero’s for the opportunity to stop by!

By Kate Serpa

I have walked past Fuzio Universal Bistro a number of times, however I have never, until today, been inside.  Why?  I had always assumed it was A) a chain, B) an Italian restaurant, and C) probably pretentious.  As I am a creature of habit, I never saw any reason to venture in.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Fuzio, which is Italian for ‘fusion’, is locally owned and operated, manager Thomas Lopes informed me, and is not simply an Italian restaurant, but a fusion restaurant with a wide array of dishes which are prepared in their open red-tiled kitchen. And my ridiculous concern about the pretentiousness?  That flew out the door when I finally went inside.   

Please meet Miss. Jessica Hailey, bartender extraordinaire who is cute as hell and overflowing with compliments about Fuzio.  Jessica has been with Fuzio since they opened in December of ’01 starting off as a server and then got behind Fuzio’s painting-decked bar where she belongs. “My kids and Fuzio are my important things.”  A fellow employee told me that she is making up drinks all the time, to which Jessica added, “I love making drinks, inventing them and watching people enjoy them.  People ask what my special is, but I can’t just make you any drink!  I have to get to know you so I can make you something perfect.”  Example?  The Fuzio Cucumber Martini. “One of our regulars, Joe, really loved cucumbers but doesn’t like too-sweet of a drink.  It’s perfect for this time of year; it’s summer refreshing.” It should be also noted that Jessica, a fellow gin lover like myself, pours a really lovely gin martini.

Two martinis in, I informed Jessica about my previous misconception about Fuzio.  She added: “So many people walk by here and think it might be too fancy.  You can dress up or down here, from a prom dress to a sundress.  When people do come here, we always see them come back again. We take the ordinary and make it dynamic.”

Sometimes its good to be wrong
Oh right.  Nearly forgot to tell you Fuzio does this really fun deal where you can electronically check in on their Facebook page for monthly check-in specials.  This month is currently rocking a free pair of X-Fest tickets with a $50 dollar order!  Be sure to visit their page to see what is going to be featured next month (it’s sure to be fantastic).  And if you present a movie/theatre ticket at Fuzio (from that day naturally), you can receive a discount on your overall bill.  “We are trying to encourage dinner and movie pairings and support the local scene,” says Thomas Lopes. 

 Fuzio Cucumber Martini
-1/2 oz triple sec
-2 oz Grey Goose-Muddled Cucumber
-Whole squeezed lemon
-Mix that baby up and pour it into…
-1/2 sugar or salt rimmed martini glass
(maybe get fancy and do half salt and half sugar!)
-And garnish that beauty with:
-I slice of skinned cucumber 

Fuzio Happy Hour!
Weekdays 4-6.30
Weekends (for the hung-over crowd) 12-3
$3 draft beers
½ off appetizers
½ off signature dish (which is really, really fantastic)

1020 10^th Street
Modesto, CA
209.557.9711