Lisa Heyamoto: Parking not part of the fun at eatery

The Riverside Clubhouse is known for many things: an excellent happy hour, the refreshingly random rooftop steer and some truly terrible parking.

You know of which I speak.

The lot fills up faster than your martini glass drains, and understandably irritable neighbors have vetoed street parking.

To top it all off, as Sharon Becerril found out the hard way, the nearby businesses are off-limits as well.

Becerril had had a rough day at work, she needed a nice meal and she needed it stat.

So she and her sister headed on over to Riverside, where they figured it wouldn't hurt to park in the empty lot across the street, being as it was, well, empty.

But about halfway through her meal, the manager spread the word that cars there were being towed, whereupon she rushed out to see the distressing sight of her car on the back of a flatbed.

It would take 80 bucks, the driver informed her, to get it back on the ground – $200 less than if he took it all the way in.

The lot owner had some kind of grudge against the restaurant, he went on to explain, and had hired him to periodically make a sweep.

Which is right about the time when Becerril got mad.

Never mind that the driver's offer felt a wee bit like extortion, she didn't see why parking in an empty lot would be a problem.

Moreover, she felt that Riverside ought to tell its customers what was going on.

"How do I know they're feuding with the people next door?" she said. "It's an empty lot. There's no one there."

Brian Spence, Riverside's manager, said he doesn't know anything about a feud, but he does know that the lot owner does not take kindly to Riverside cars.

The restaurant has now put up multiple signs informing people to park elsewhere, he said, and continues to provide what help it can, such as free weekend valet parking.

But until the Hatfield and McCoys of Riverside Boulevard resolve their tiff, it looks like your best bet is arriving by Segway. And yes, I'm writing this from the year 2002.

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There is, some would argue, no greater form of patriotism than having had a beer on the Fourth of July, but to those folks, I would submit the following rejoinder: How about having a patriotic beer on another day? I mean, who needs voting, right?

Luckily, our very own Elk Grove Brewery produces such an ale, the Freedom Double IPA, which recently made Draft Magazine's list of Top 10 Beers for Patriotic Drinkers.

Unfortunately, according to its Web site, the brewery isn't making it this year due to costs, proving that the price for Freedom is high indeed.

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Been wondering what those military planes that have been rumbling overhead the last few days are up to? You need only ask the age-old question about the location of the inferno.

The 302nd Air Expeditionary Group out of McClellan Air Force Base has been working with local and state partners to fight the scourge of wildfires in the area, using helicopters and C-130 Hercules aircraft to douse the Gap and Piute fires with more than 380,000 gallons of fire retardant in more than 180 missions so far.

"It's definitely a united effort," said Capt. Lisa Citino. "This is just a (great example) of interagency coordination."

Interagency fire coordination. That's hot.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Lisa Heyamoto, (916) 321-1261.