Dine Downtown Week: Head Downtown to Brew it Up!

Dine Downtown week continues today through Sunday January 16th, allowing Sacramento residents and visitors (lucky enough to be in town this week!) a fabulous opportunity to enjoy a three course meal at 30 different restaurants for $30 per person at each participating location! 

When I first saw the promotion going on for Dine Downtown week, I went to the official website and checked out all the menus. The price is $30 for either 3 or 4 courses (some restaurants throw in a glass of wine or extra appetizer.) 

Rather than go to the newest place on the block, those who know me best know that I look for a bargain! $30 is not a lot of money for some people, but it still kind of is for me. So it is important for me to feel like I am getting great food at a great value. If you are the type of person I am, but you still want to support local restaurants/take part in this week, head downtown to Brew it Up!

I had already been to Brew it Up a number of times, and it's one of my favorite places to suggest when someone is looking at a restaurant that is: open late, or can hold a lot of people, or has a great happy hour, or has a wide menu selection with kid/veggie/fussy-eater friendly items. ;) They also have 22 handcrafted beers on tap and a long list of wines from which to choose, in addition to having a full bar.

Brew it Up's menu for Dine Downtown week is here. If you read it and still aren't convinced to make reservations RIGHT NOW, then continue reading below! :)

The soup of the day was a beer cheddar soup with a balsamic reduction. OMG. Tastes like a liquid grilled cheese sandwich. I swear the only thing that would have made it better would have been a crostini and some bacon on the top. Note: the portion size below is only a "tasting" portion or "cup" size,  because I was curious and wanted to try it before ordering my salad.

The dine downtown meal at Brew it Up comes with a complimentary appetizer for 2 to 4 people. Just another reason to choose this restaurant over some of the others, because you'll definitely have leftovers to take home! For the appetizer, I chose the hummus and vegetable plate. This hummus has cilantro and it is an interesting addition. Love the vegetables being there for me to munch on instead of bread!!

Moving on to my first course, my dining companion (we'll refer to as DC for dining companion) ordered the spinach salad, and I also ordered the spinach salad. I have to say the alluring ingredients for me were: gorgonzola cheese. cranberries, and fried onion strips. Sold. It was fantastic, and I took some of it home to save room for my main course. I was already filling up pretty fast. Also, I ordered my dressing on the side, and thought the salad had so many flavorful items already, it didn't need anything else on the top.

Behold my main course below, the Dungeness Crab Boil. This is probably the most diet-friendly item on the menu if you don't eat the butter (I don't). I prefer the taste of the crab with lemon and pepper. But I ordered it because I was really in the mood for fresh crab and haven't yet been to any crab feeds this season!! 

It comes with sauteed vegetables (squash and peppers) and a savory sweet cornbread. The cornbread is something I would eat for dessert! It is a savory "cake" with sweet notes, prepared by making a first round of cornbread, crumbling the pieces, covering them with a custard, and then baking it again. 

My DC ordered the Mahi Mahi (lemon-caper butter on the top) that comes with parmesan polenta (almost a combination of the creamy and baked style, I think because of the parmesan therein), and a caprese salad with balsamic reduction. Note: if you have never tried the potato chip appetizer at Brew it Up, do so. It has the same reduction on it with blue cheese and fresh basil. I am not really a potato chip fan myself, but it is addicting.

We were very full by meal's end, so I ordered the Chocolate Decadence Cake. I send this one home with my DC because I don't do sugar, but here's a picture of the dessert. Also, my DC ordered the Blueberry Cobbler. Even though I didn't get a picture of that, I was told by our server that the cobbler is the most popular.

Convinced yet? To make your reservation or more information about Brew it Up, call (916) 441-3000 or head to opentable.com to set your appointment with deliciousness! They are located at 801 14th Street in downtown Sacramento.

If you are one of those social media types, follow them on twitter here, and "like" them on facebook here. One thing to note if you are on Facebook and have a smart phone, "check in" with 6 friends and receive a free kettle chip appetizer (that's the one I was raving about earlier)!!

Finally, if you are as much of a crab lover as I am, you'll want to know about the crab boils that Brew it Up has scheduled for this month!

They are filling up fast, so don't miss out. It's $39 for all you can eat crab (plus clams, mussels German sausages, soft pretzels, salads, sides, and dessert!!) Two seatings are scheduled for the dates of January 22nd and January 29th, from 5-6pm and from 7:30-8:30pm. More details are located here.

Happy Dine Downtown week!