Do you guys know how Game 5 of the NBA Finals turned out?
I'm asking because I went to PCI last night to watch the game -- our satellite dish was on the blink. Â I watched the second quarter in relative peace -- the only distraction was listening to the guy sitting a few stools to my left go on and on about how the world's supply of crude oil is actually infinite, and conservation is bullshit, because God replenishes it as we use it up. Â See, that's why the center of the earth is hot. Â It's God's way of cooking up more crude oil. Â There's actually so much oil that it's bubbling to the surface in Canada and the Dakotas, and the only reason there are shortages is because Democrats and environmentalists blah blah blah blah blah....
At halftime I'm eating my soup-and-salad dinner when a guy sits down next to me and proceeds to tell my all about his last five years in one long stream-of-consciousness epic saga. Â Included were details about a nasty divorce from a member of a prominent local hill clan that involved a prenuptial agreement regarding an $8 million estate, a back-stabbbing housemaid who committed perjury, a bitter custody fight, multiple car wrecks and DUIs, bulging discs, disability, Medicare, sexual molestation charges involving a minor.....
About every two minutes he says something like, "And that's all I got to say about that. I said enough already. Â You're trying to watch the basketball game. Â (He looks at the screen.) Hey, nobody touch the nigger! Â It's a foul if you touch that nigger. Â Ha ha ha." Then back to his life's story.
I'm staring a hole in the TV screen in the 3rd quarter, hoping the guy next to me is going to follow through on his promise to go talk to the owner, which is why he says he's there. Â A woman walks up and ask the bartender to change the channel. Â
This is the same bartender who knows I'm there to watch the basketball game, which I've been doing since I arrived, and I'm watching now with as much focused intensity as I can muster given that the guy next to me is still talking about how the girl involved in the molestation charge is a big fat liar, and he heard Glenn Beck say on the radio today that it's going to be a law that we all have to learn how to speak Spanish, and his only hope at getting the truth out about the molestation is the anchorman at Chanel 24 News in Chico, and if you ever need a lawyer get one from Alturas 'cause they still make their living off the land over there, and the Grand Jury won't do shit about his ex-wife even though his lawyer told him they would.....
The bartender changes the channel.
Check, please.
What a great place to have a drink. Â On a recent stalking trip by the Stalking Club of Redding (S.C.O.R.) we found the bar here to be a great place to go with the prices being right on. Â Triston our server was fun and plesant and was always there to serve us. Â We would highly recommend this place for a afternoon beer.
Review Source:I'll never go back and I've met the owner before at a victory party for
a local district attorney and found him to be quite the gentlemen.
After a long day of discussing a business proposal with a local Anderson businessman I decided to head for my home in Bella Vista.
As I sometimes do I decided to fore-go what has become a pretty busy I-5 and take the longer more scenic route which takes me through
Palo Cedro. Â I went in ordered a Bud in a bottle and proceeded to
relax talking with a local contractor, we were the only two at the bar
and he was already in the bag, but was continued to be served by
a shaved headed bar tender who I introduced myself too. I observed
at least one beer to many being served and even the contractor himself questioned if the bartender would cut him off if he ordered again.
Since I've run 7 restaurants and have been to two corporation training schools and in the employment of giant Saga Foods Services Incorporated. And owned two restaurants of my own here in the Redding area, I am not your normal type restaurant visitor and notice little things like someone being served  while way past the legal limit.  Still it's not my place to manage, but I enjoyed the younger man's conversation even when he called my president A (use N word here) and forgave him due to his oblivious condition, not looking for confrontation I did not mention that locally I was one of those that raised $65K to help him get elected.
I made a mental note that I might offer the man a ride home, if the occasion arrived since we found while conversing that he was a graduate of Enterprise High School and locally raised in Millville as I had been in Enterprise.
I passed out a business card to both gentlemen because the contractor mentioned he was going to lose a home he had put over $250k into and seemed pretty depressed about it all. Â I have a 20 year spotless recorded in home finance and offered a copy of my wallet license as proof, to both him and the bartender and offered both who had large unpaid balances on their homes my companies services involving a special, little-known mortgage mode program that can help eliminate their mortgage balances in short order.
All Good!  Now this is where things start getting strange.  Someone was grilling garlic bread on the broiler and I realized I had missed both lunch and dinner so I approached the young waitress who seemed to be pretty busy, considering there was only a party of six and a party of four at the time, and a local lady had joined the contractor and I at the bar. Since a other party of two had just walked in and had already been given menus and It was nearly  8pm I figured if I quickly ordered a rib eye and bread I'd be fed and out of the place in the next 15 minutes or so and on my way home.
The waitress was at her till about two stools down from where I had been sitting for an hour, still nursing my same beer. Â So I stood up and told her I would appreciate since I was dinning alone and knew
my way around a broiler, I'd been done and out of the place before
the new patrons got around to being served their salads.
I asked for the rib-eye, bread and salad and sit back down at the
bar. Â (I am carefully detailing my visit to the PCI here because something went badly wrong afterwords and I maintain it had
very little to do with my demeanor or actions. (Read Buzzes review
regarding the employees though I was treated professionally and curiously by my waitress and tipped her too well as I was nearly thrown out of the place (which would have been a bad mistake for the bartender had he attempted it).
Since there are only a few places really in Palo Cedro you can
get a drink and a meal over the years I have visited and had
my beers there and usually will not eat alone, but have brought
both my second and third wife's there and cooked for them and
dined there with  a pretty much enjoyable mental history  of my prior visits.  Still I am far from a regular and really stopped by due to
my previous meeting with the nice newest owner of the establishment. Â
Deciding to wash up before cooking and eating my meal, I walked into a pitch dark restroom while searching for the lite switch I was somewhat alarmed to run into another customer who had just finished his business and as I apologized for barging in he was leaving wishing me good luck at finding the fixtures in the dark as the light had burnt out. Â i made a mental note to mention it to the bartender washed and as I was exiting the restroom my waitress informed my steak was ready and waiting for me at the broiler.
Having spent hours at broilers grilling steaks in my earlier days, I noticed their was no wire brush available or a wet towel, still a
dry one was there which sort of works when wiping wet butter from the tile counter I made do with my grilling fork cleaning the crusted
burnt leavings from earlier chefs who unlikely ever noticed the need.
To Be continued........................
I have been holding back on this review, I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but cripes!!! There's just something wrong about paying $16 for a steak and having to cook it yourself. Â The waitress had an argument with my companion as to what type of steak she served him: Â He ordered a fillet and she served him a new york. Â He said, excuse me miss, this is a new york. Â She said, "no it's not because it was in the fillet drawer". Â He said, "excuse me miss, it's shaped like new york, and I cut meat for a living, this is a new york steak." She argued a little more before I finally opened my mouth and said, "excuse me, are you wanting a tip tonight? because the biggest tip you will ever get is DONT ARGUE WITH YOUR CUSTOMER!!!" Â
I hate this place. Â Beyond the dark redneck atmosphere, the place was dirty, my table was dirty, my waitress was a retard, my seven & seven didn't taste like it had any seagrams 7 in it, and I was pissed I had to cook my own steak and still pay the same price that I would have paid at cattlemen's or any other dank steakhouse in shasta county.
I would never go back... unless they hired some hot hunk of flesh to cook my steak for me while I watched sipping a stronger drink.
As a long-time resident of Palo Cedro, PCI has been the go-to place for good steak dinners and the late night rendezvous with a friend. Â The live music on Friday is a big plus. Â
Having lived in Berkeley and the Bay Area for a while, I can tell you that you will not find a place like it south of Redding. Â This is one of those old rancher, mill-house themed bars, with the dark wood paneling, old barbed wire fencing adorning the walls, and not a hint of yuppiness. Â As Katie said, this is not a place for cocktails. Â (On a side note, one of the locals has shown me how you take 2 shots of Crown Royal, drink one, and use the other to fan the fire grilling your steak. Â The fire leaps up a few feat, singeing any unbeknowning passerby's eyebrows, while effectively searing the steak. Â Don't expect to see this every night, it was a very slow night when I was there). Â
The crowd can be quite diverse. Â The place is a big draw for any of the old ranchers and cowboys. Â There is a large following of bikers who frequent the joint as well. Â And strangely enough, after 10pm on a Friday night, a wave of baby-boomer children descends upon the bar (It's Palo Cedro's best bar, so it's understandable), with their sweaters, trucker hats, and nice cars. Â All the while, the live band is playing country, blues, or jazz, or some fusion thereof. Â Definitely a sight to behold. Â
My only complaint (the reason it doesn't get 5 stars) is that the quality of the food can be spotty during busy nights. Â I've been served slimy salads before, and the fish has been bad (as in, bad fish; my warning for the vegetarians). Â Stick with the steaks, and do a quick spot-check of the salad, and you'll be golden.
PCI is an experience in American culture. Â It simultaneously disgusts and intrigues me, but ultimately I love it. Â
On one level PCI is a bar--the kind of dark, wood-paneled, country dive bar that people only dream about in San Francisco. Â This is the real deal, honey. Â You don't drink martinis at PCI, you drink whiskey, rocks.
But PCI goes beyond just drinks and dive bar perfection. Â It's also a steak joint. Â A do-it-yourselfer's dream, you pick your meat and then season and grill it yourself on either their indoor grill or outdoor patio bbq. Â For those of you who don't eat steak (hippies), they also have bourbon soaked salmon. Â Each cut of steak is $14, which includes a baked potato, a huge salad, and bread (throw that on the grill too). Â The five people I was eating with got out for under $100 with four steaks, one salmon, two bottles of decent wine, and three drinks. Â
If none of that seals the deal, go for the jukebox. Â Classic country, rock, and soul with just enough of the newer twangy stuff to keep things fun.
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