It's Sac Beer Week. For those of you who don't obsessively follow the local food blogs, local brewers and restaurants are partnering to put on a whole host of events this week to celebrate Man's Favorite Drink. See a complete list of Sac Beer Week activities here.

In honor of Sac Beer Week, the Sac Bee's restaurant critic reviewed de Vere's and Pangaea Two Brews Cafe, two local watering holes known as much for their alcohol as their food.

We are at the beginning of the second annual Beer Week in Sacramento, and what better way to kick it off than to tell you about two places that not only serve good beer but are all about making sure you have a good time – time after time?

While Sacramento has many fine watering holes, de Vere's Irish Pub and Pangaea Two Brews Cafe are relatively new on the scene and, each in its own way, has elevated the pub experience in our area. Yes, they have raised the bar.

Read the entire story in the Sac Bee.

Additional News:

Suds hit Sacramento for Beer Week - Grab a pint glass – the Sacramento area is about to be awash in suds. The second annual Sacramento Beer Week runs through March 6, with more than 300 events celebrating the luscious liquid. From themed beer dinners and pint nights to special beer tastings and a festival at Cal Expo, Beer Week has grown into a must-attend event for hopheads and casual beer drinkers alike. Chris Macias in the Sac Bee.

Counter Culture: Traditional American-style Chinese food at Simon's - With its well-worn bar, its Marilyn Monroe poster and framed photos of politicians, celebrities and lobbyists past, Simon's wouldn't be out of place as a beloved relic in San Francisco's Chinatown. Actually, it was 1984 when brothers Simon and John Chan took over the space formerly occupied by a bar on one side, a cafe on the other. They knocked down the wall in between and renovated. They still own and operate Simon's. At our booth, the lunch menu showed appetizers, soups, salads, rice dishes, chow meins, chow funs and five chicken-based daily specials (a deal at $5.95). Allen Pierleoni in the Sac Bee.

Chow-mein challenge: Happy Garden, Nathan's Chinese Cuisine and Sun Flower Chinese Cuisine - This week I’m pleased to announce the results of recently completed, wildly unscientific survey of three of Elk Grove’s 25 or so Chinese restaurants. The selection of the three—Nathan’s, Sun Flower and Happy Garden—is not based on volume of Yelp reviews. Further weakening the study’s veracity, the same dish was not sampled at each restaurant. Although in each case, a “house special” was selected. Greg Lucas in Sac News & Review.

Sanders to open Jack's Urban Eats in Roseville - Trevor Sanders is converting most of a former Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurant in Roseville into a Jack’s Urban Eats.
The former Applebee’s in the Renaissance Creek Shopping Center at Douglas and Sierra College boulevards has been closed for two years. The Jack’s Urban Eats will take about 3,600 square feet, or two-thirds of the restaurant space. Mark Anderson in the Sac Biz Journal.

First Bite: Tex Mex Bar & Grill - I stopped into Tex-Mex Bar & Grill recently, a lively new addition to the midtown J street dining corridor. The bar area was thronged, but we were able to nab a table in the dimly lit dining section. Kira O'Donnell in Sac Mag.

Night Life: Maranello is Fair Oaks' latest hangout - You'll find the bar at Maranello tucked away behind the restaurant, and that makes sense because it has the feel of an altogether different establishment. The intimate restaurant has massive front windows giving diners a view of the large, inviting patio and, beyond that, today's Fair Oaks, while its walls feature black-and-white prints that depict the Fair Oaks of yesteryear. Casey Mar in the Sac Bee.