There's been a lot written about sweet treats to eat during Sacramento's hot summers. The most buzzed about place is Vampire Penguin, which I have yet to try.

But let me add a new place to the list - Sweet & Shavery in Davis.

On Sunday evening after a meal at Sofia's Thai Kitchen, we decided to stop at Sweet & Shavery for dessert. The store offers a couple items - Italian ice, frozen custard, a "parfait" with frozen custard on top of Italian ice and crepes.

On the recommendation of the cashier, I tried the parfait, with strawberry and mango Italian ice topped with vanilla custard.

The Cultured & The Cured, an East Sac cheese shop and charcuterie shop, opened its doors in November 2013. Despite all the buzz about the place, I didn't have a chance to check it out until several weekends ago.

I'm sorry I waited so long.

Now, first a little background. My wife and I were lucky to go on a vacation to Europe last Fall, which included a couple days in Lyon and Bonne, France. Neither of us speak much French, so a lot of our meals consisted of going into a store, pointing at something and hoping I gave them enough Euros to cover whatever we ate. We also tried to avoid anything marked "chavel," which we knew meant horse meat.

But besides that, we were game to order randomly, bring it to a park, and enjoy a meal of wine, cheese, cured meats and bread.

So when I went to The Cultured and The Cured, I thought I was all set. All the signs would be in English, and I'd be able to find a pate, cheese and bread for dinner that night.

In an effort to be healthy, I bring a boring romaine salad topped with diced chicken breast for lunch every day. But to nobody's surprise, it doesn't always satiate my appetite.

On those days, I leave my downtown workplace looking for something sweet for dessert. Yesterday was one of those days, and I decided to head to Estelle's Patisserie at 9th & K for one of their amazing macaroons.

Their macaroons are light, crisp and fluffy all at the same time. I'm not sure how they do it -- probably black magic -- but they're delicious. But that's not what I'm writing about today.

When I arrived at Estelle's, I spotted their creme brulee bread pudding in the display area. It looked too good to pass up. I ordered it and whisked it back to my desk at work for an afternoon snack.

I really only eat Fish & Chips at British pubs and in the Lenten season before Easter.

Too often, the fish is dripping with oil or it was fried hours ago, and all you get is a soggy piece of breaded fish.

But if you're looking for truly great fish and chips in a casual setting, look no further than Ocean Fish & Chips in Elk Grove. (Disclaimer - the owners are the parents of a former co-worker.)

Ocean Fish & Chips is the antithesis of the stereotypical fast food chips and fish joint. Each piece of fish is hand breaded and made to order. Sure, that means it'll take a couple extra minutes, but when you bite into it, it's worth the wait.

Eat It! is a semi-regular feature where I recommend great bites in Sacramento-area restaurants.

Here's the recipe for a dynamite meal. Head to Kru on J St., sit at the sushi bar and just order off the specials board. Don't look at the regular menu. Ignore the (gasp!) happy hour menu.

I did this over the weekend and was treated to a wonderful, delicious and creative meal.

Eat It! is a semi-regular feature where I recommend great bites in Sacramento-area restaurants.

When I visited to grab Broderick's happy hour a couple weeks back, we decided to be responsible and eat a little something while we drank our happy hour beer. One menu item caught my eye - the Banh Mi Fries.

Visiting San Diego for a recent work trip, I had heard of the concept of Carne Asada fries, which were basically nachos, but with the chips replaced with fries. I thought this was a genius concept. The banh mi fries take this concept to a whole new level.

I'm bringing back a long dormant feature from Cowtown Eats. Eat It! is a post where I'll recommend a single outstanding item at an establishment. It may be an appetizer. It might be a drink. It might be an entree or dessert. But whatever it is, it'll be worth your time and money.

Today, on the cusp of a scorching weekend, I recommend the Snow Cone from Osaka-Ya, a Japanese market on 10th St. between V & W streets.

Pictured above is a small snow cone ($2.50), with blue rasberry syrup added to the finely-shaved ice. Other available flavors include bubble gum, cherry, grape, lemon, lime, watermelon, orange, punch, strawberry, pineapple. On a separate occassion, I tried the lime. (Pictured below.) Both were amazing. Prices vary from $2 for an XS to $4.25 for a large snow cone.