This ice is cool. How two Sacramento-area companies make artisan cubes to chill your drinks

I used to think opulence was a refrigerator with an icemaker. Then I learned about artisan ice crafted by Block Ice in southeastern Sacramento.

Marketed as the “Cold Standard,” water is filtered seven times, frozen in 300-pound chunks and cut with a chainsaw (and then a band saw). This ice is so clear that customers can place it atop a piece of paper and read the words underneath.

If you’ve drunken something other than water at a medium-to-high-end Sacramento restaurant or bar, there’s a decent chance it filled the space around a Block Ice cube. Dozens of local spots, from the Kitchen to the Melting Pot to the Snug, use Block Ice, which home bartenders can also find in some Nugget Markets’ freezer sections.

Some Block Ice captures strawberries or rose petals in the center, and businesses can buy a $150 reusable stamp to imprint their name on the cubes. Air bubbles are pressed out of the ice during processing, causing it to melt 2-3 times slower than cubes from the tray in my freezer, according to Block Ice co-owner Heather Briggs.

Block Ice may be the cool local product, but, at just 4 years old, it’s the new kid on the block. And at $20 for a pack of 28 cubes, it’s a budget deal compared to Gläce Luxury Ice in Davis.

Vice TV has a show called “Most Expensivest,” where hip-hop artist 2 Chainz samples the priciest items he can find. In a 2021 episode, that meant Gläce Luxury Ice’s cubes, a 40-count set of which now sells for $325.

Founded by then-UCLA business student Roberto Sequeira in 2007, Gläce Luxury Ice sells cubes or spheres directly to customers around the U.S. as well as larger enterprises including Disneyland, Pebble Beach Resorts and Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

Both Block Ice and Gläce Luxury Ice were founded on the same general premise. Bartenders, both professional and amateur, carefully select the spirits and mixers they want to drink and serve. Why mess those up with ice that will water down the drink quickly, or will take on unpleasant flavors from the rest of the freezer?

“It’s very, very, very clean. It’s going to leave no taste in your drink, because people put a lot of time, money and ingredients into drinks now,” said Briggs, who owns Block Ice with her two brothers.

Block Ice’s address is 8185 Belvedere Ave., Suite A near Device Brewing Co. and Boulder Field rock climbing gym; Gläce Luxury Ice is made at 140 B St., Suite 5 in Davis. Interested parties need to order from either of their websites, though.

What I’m Eating

After years of driving by without stopping in, I celebrated a friend’s engagement at Rudy’s Hideaway Lobsterhouse last week. Founded in 1972 by Rupert “Rudy” Rudis and now owned by Steve Ryan, Rudy’s sits along Highway 50 near the Rancho Cordova-Folsom border.

Rudy’s shack-like exterior gives way to a high-dollar nautical theme inside, with several metallic, sea life-themed pieces by Fresno artist Tomas Castaño selling for north of $5,000 apiece. The plexiglass over our table showed shells, sand and ropes beneath.

Surf-and-turf dinners are among the most extravagant items, such as the prime rib and king crab ($73) dinner with clam chowder, a baked potato and vegetables. While the steak needed its accompanying jus or horseradish cream sauce to take on much flavor, the clam chowder topped with bacon bits was excellently balanced and rich without being overly heavy.

If you’re scared off by those surf-and-turf prices, the Thursday night Lobsterfest ($28) is a terrific value for a one-pound live Maine lobster, corn on the cob and a small basket of fries. The food truck offshoot, Rudy’s on the Roll, sells items such as fish and chips ($18 for three pieces of beer-battered cod) or lobster rolls ($29) around the region.

Handmade lobster ravioli ($30) was similarly delicious. The hexagonal pastas still had some welcome firmness after being filled with crustacean meat and Parmesan cheese, then doused in a cream sauce with shrimp and peppers.

Rudy’s Hideaway Lobsterhouse

Address: 12303 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova.

Hours: 4-8:30 p.m. Sunday and Monday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Friday, 4-9 p.m. Saturday.

Phone number: (916) 351-0606.

Website: https://www.rudyshideaway.net/

Drinks: Full bar.

Vegetarian options: No mains. Appetizers include garlic cheese bread and grilled artichokes served with housemade aioli.

Noise level: Medium-loud.

Openings & Closings

• Donuts & Coffey is opening a second bakery, this one at 3291 Truxel Road in San Juan Village shopping center in South Natomas. Aaron Coffey and Thana Ny’s original doughnut shop opened in East Sacramento in April 2020.
  
  

• Bennett’s Westside Grill opened on Aug. 3 at 6604 Lonetree Blvd. at Blue Oaks Town Center in Rocklin. The sister concept to Bennett’s Kitchen.Bar.Market in Roseville and Bennett’s American Cooking in Sacramento’s Sierra Oaks neighborhood, Brian and Susan Bennett’s new restaurant has similar items such as pasta, steaks and housemade meatloaf.

• The Commons Farm Kitchen, also known as Rustic BBQ, has closed in the Yolo County farm town of Guinda. Originally opened in 1926, the roadside Santa Maria-style barbecue joint was a hidden gem that also served housemade pickles, Portuguese specialties and small plates made from produce grown by parent operation Casa Rosa Farm.

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