Best of the Burbs 2015: Best of Carmichael, Fair Oaks & Citrus Heights writers' picks

Best first-row seats for second-run films

Bargain movies at Sunrise Mall

Sunrise Mall is not the place for valet parking, spendy yoga pants and gluten-free cupcakeries. The management is not interested in enhancing your “lifestyle.” The mall has one floor, reasonable prices and Cinnabon or Mrs. Fields for dessert (if the kids behave). Sunrise’s charm lies in its simple devotion to retail classics. There’s not another mall in a 100-mile radius still rocking an Orange Julius stand in the food court, and movies at the UA Sunrise 4 are only $4 for every show. The refreshment counter is always stocked, screenings are never crowded and, if you also need to buy some power tools, Sears is right next door. Oh Sunrise Mall, we hope you never change. 5926 Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, (844) 462-7342, www.regmovies.com. B.C.

Best hope for future urban coolness in the burbs

The Milagro Centre

The Carmichael Times wrote back in April that “for Nancy Emerson Davis, Carmichael’s much anticipated Milagro Centre is both monument and legacy.” Truer words have never been written by a community newspaper; Davis died March 19 with her final real estate project—the Milagro Centre on the corner of Marconi Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard—still being built. With a photo of her face now on the sign in front, the project enters the last phase of construction. It’s supposed to open sometime late this summer and rumored tenants include Ghiotto Artisan Gelateria, River City Brewing Co., Insight Coffee Roasters, Mesa Mercado, the Rind and the Patriot. 6300 Fair Oaks Boulevard, (916) 692-0642, http://milagrocentre.com. J.M.

Best peaceful riverfront walk

Ancil Hoffman Park

The thing about the suburbs is that they’re not always very pedestrian-friendly—what with all those wide boulevards and cars zipping by at gotta-get-to-soccer-practice-now speeds. Stretch your legs with a peaceful stroll at Ancil Hoffman Park, with sprawling golf courses, pretty picnic spots and numerous trails, including ones that follow the meandering American River shoreline. Paradise. 6341 Tarshes Drive in Carmichael, (916) 875-6961. R.L.

Best old-school video game fix

Fair Game

This may surprise some, but it’s actually not so easy to find a video game store that has a decent collection. Fair Game serves as a nice little island in a sea of GameStops, with a solid stable of old-school consoles, tons of games on a plethora of platforms, deals on current-generation titles and even parts and repair services for scratched discs and your Xbox 360 under the hex of the Red Ring of Death. If you’re looking for a power supply for that Super Nintendo or feel like browsing some Genesis titles, your odds will be more than decent here. 8214 Fair Oaks Boulevard in Carmichael, (916) 944-4263, www.facebook.com/FairGameInc. A.S.

Best throwback tradition

Miss Fair Oaks contest

Say what you will about beauty pageants of the Toddlers & Tiaras or Miss America variety—we still find a sort of homespun charm in these small-town contests. After a 15-year-hiatus the Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce has resurrected its annual Miss Fair Oaks pageant and this year’s winner, Gabby Coulter, embodies a wholesome throwback vibe. Applications for the 2016 crown aren’t due until next spring, but might as well get started on practicing that pageant wave now. Qualifying contestants must meet a strict list of rules including the mandate that the young women (ages 15-20) have “never given birth” and “never been convicted of a felony.” Got it. Tiaras, satin sashes and the promise of some awards and cash prizes, just like the good ol’ days. www.fairoakschamber.com/miss-fair-oaks.html. R.L.

Best place to prove your aim is true

Sacramento Gun Club

“I can tell you have no firearms experience,” the guy working the counter at Sacramento Gun Club said after I handed back the Sig Sauer 1911-22 I’d be renting for some target shooting. “You just handed the gun back to me with the barrel pointing into my chest.” Whoops. Fortunately, I was allowed to hang on to my dignity and after a brief tutorial, I was blasting .22-caliber holes in a target. Featuring classes for a wide variety of skill levels, a full-service gunsmith and an intense, exciting simulator, Sacramento Gun Club has something to offer both new and experienced shooters. 3443 Routier Road in Rancho Cordova, (916) 246-2010, www.sacramentogunclub.com. B.B.

Best familiar faces and fresh lamb

Sunrise Mall farmers market

My mom is grilling the bone lady again. We’re at the Sunrise Mall farmers market, in a repurposed parking lot fronting Sears near the Birdcage Walk side of this shopping strip. My no-nonsense German mom wants to know what happened to the fresh lamb shanks she was promised a couple of weeks ago. Our equally no-nonsense bone lady calmly reminds us that she had them at the historic Folsom farmers market the weekend before. Ah, right. My mom has her favorites vendors: the young man putting himself through school who never has enough change or vegetable bags; the little Greek woman who refills her honey jars with local bee product while absorbing a health update; the two Asian women who mix common German phrases with delirious laughing behind their orange stand. There’s familiarity here and, if you’re early enough, fresh lamb. 8 a.m.- 1 p.m. Saturdays, 6196 Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights, www.farmersmarketonline.com/fm/CitrusHeightsFarmersMarket.html. RFH.

Best place for old wood and stiff drinks

Dive bars

The nice thing about suburban dive bars is that they’re actually divey, places where you can stare at the wall until you can’t notice how stuck you are to the pleather seats. A great hideaway for blue-collar loners is Stockman Club (10219 Fair Oaks Boulevard in Fair Oaks, (916) 967-7137), a narrow bar of old wood and comfy booths. Equally as dark and divey but more spacious is the Cedar Room (5932 Madison Avenue in Carmichael, www.cedarroombar.com). It’s a family-owned place, so keep an eye out for more social events, like Crockpot Tuesday. And if you’re in a more playful mood, then maybe Players Pub (9729 Fair Oaks Boulevard, Suite D; www.playerspub.net) is likely more your speed. After all, who doesn’t love drunken shuffleboard? A.S.

Best crystal skulls among the chickens

Fair Oaks Boulevard’s Mystic Row

In dark times such as these, it behooves one to look for guidance and assistance outside of “traditional” support structures. And while we’re not sure why it is, Fair Oaks Boulevard is absolutely brimming with this energy. If you’re not sure where to start, you can check out Blossoming Path (10227 Fair Oaks Boulevard in Fair Oaks, http://blossomingpath.com), a shop that offers energy clearing, meditations, stone therapy and all of the candles and crystal skulls that your spirit craves. Maybe it’s a professional tarot reading you need? Check out Village Psychic Shop down the street (10100 Fair Oaks Boulevard in Fair Oaks, Suite A) to see what’s in the cards, along with crystal ball readings, chakra balancing and palmistry. And if you don’t want a reading punctuated by the squawking of chickens in downtown Fair Oaks, you can check out Carmichael Psychic (8234 Fair Oaks Boulevard in Carmichael). Services are offered at a flat rate here—plus, they’re available for parties. A.S.