Seasons 52, which replaced Fresh Choice at Arden Fair Mall, opens for business today.

I had the opportunity to eat there last week, and I'll have my thoughts on the place in a post tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some thoughts from Ms. Munchie and CaveGrrl, both of whom I had the pleasure of hanging out with that night.

From Ms. Munchie:

As their name implies, Seasons 52 focuses on dishes reflecting seasonal produce from the area for the freshest flavor and nutrition - " seasonally-inspired with the fresh appeal of the farmer’s market." They try to preserve the flavors through the simplest preparations such as grilling and roasting. Interestingly, none of their menu items is over 475 calories and you can see the nutritional breakdown of the menu on their website. Don't expect Olive Garden sized plates of food here. Instead you'll find satisfying but smaller portions of good, healthy food. There are also special gluten-free, vegan, lactose-free, and low sodium menus...Everything was delicious although I wasn't a fan of the desserts.

From CaveGrrl:

The next course was a small plate of Sonoma goat cheese ravioli, roasted garlic, basil, organic tomato broth, and I have to admire the culinary team at Seasons 52 for remembering my gluten-free request. Instead of the ravioli’s they brought me a sampling of the delicious tomato broth, and a mixture of garlic, basil, and goat cheese. I was still able to taste the dish in effect without the pasta element. It was dreamy.

More News:

Big turnout, business makes second Bacon Fest a sizzling event - By 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the chefs at Selland's Market Cafe were whipping up their third gigantic batch of bacon paella. With each paella pan generating 90 servings, the east Sacramento eatery was well on its way to dishing out 300 orders by the time business wrapped up at 5 p.m. All of this pigging out was part of Bacon Fest Sacramento 2, which kicked off Jan. 20 at a variety of area restaurants and concludes today. Along with showcasing bacon-related goodies and filling local bellies, the event has been a boon for local businesses. Chris Macias in the Sac Bee.

LowBrau = Legit Addition to Midtown - Living in the East Village of New York City after college one of my favorite neighborhood haunts was a German beer hall called Zum Schneider. The liter steins of beer were plentiful, the pretzels and bratwurst were delicious, and the warm friendly atmosphere was so comforting. Moving back to Sacramento, I was disappointed at the lack of establishments in the area with that same Bavarian congenial feel. The opening of LowBrau (1050 20th Street), however, has finally made me feel like I have my Zum Schneider replacement. Julia Tanghetti on Girls on the Grid.