Friendly midtown hangout is Easy on I

If you're looking for a friendly neighborhood bar and grill in midtown, Easy on I fits the bill. Similar to others in town such as The Round Corner or Old Ironsides, it's the newest hangout for folks looking to grab a drink, a meal and some entertaining chitchat from friendly owners and bartenders.

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Slideshow: Food at Easy on I

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Easy on I opened up on I Street and 18th in midtown in February, in the location that used to house Michelangelo's Italian restaurant. Mark Hoyt and Carol Hoyt say they wanted it to be a place where folks could "come in, be a part of the place, and feel like it's their living room."

The Hoyts first dated in college while they both attended Sacramento City College. They went their separate ways -- Carol into a career in finance, and Mark began opening restaurants in Southern California and Hawaii. About 33 years later, the college sweethearts reunited, married, and opened Easy on I.

The joint is geared towards all the folks in the neighborhood, those who might walk or bike over and spend an hour or two eating a meal or at the bar. It's a comfortable place to hang out -- maybe too comfortable. "We have some folks who come in for brunch on Sunday and end up eating all their meals here," says Carol Hoyt.

The full bar emphasizes local brews: half of the taps are Sacramento beers. Happy hour runs from 2 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and includes $1.50 pints of Hamm's beer. And though mixed drinks are available, Mark Hoyt points out that they have no blender. He laughs, "It's loud enough here without it."

The food is solid bar food with some fun twists. Alongside the standard appetizers of wings, sliders and loaded fries is a roasted pasilla chile stuffed with cheese and jalapenos, and sandwiches include marinated tri-tip cooked to order, a salmon reuben on marbled rye bread and burgers with juicy, thick, hand-formed patties. "The dressings and sauces are made here," explains Carol Hoyt. "We wanted it to be from-scratch cooking -- not opening jars and cans."

Andrea Thompson has a degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. She has experience working in restaurants, managing a test kitchen and writing about food for Wine Country magazine, Sacramento Magazine and Food.com.