Chaise Lounge, an Asian Fusion restaurant owned by a "longtime" bartender at Simon's, will replace Bulls, reports Ben van der Meer in the Sac Biz Journal.

“You could say (Chaise Lounge) is below high end but above ‘Cheers,’” he said, adding that the goal is to be accessible but refined. “I’m definitely interested in changing up the entire theme.”

Dining options at Chaise Lounge will be based around dishes with a variety of influences, such as Korean nachos and curry katsu burritos, Ng said.

A longtime bartender at Simon's Bar and Cafe on 16th Street, Ng said the new restaurant will also change its menu every six months, and could be influenced by any style from Korean to Japanese to Mexican to traditional bar food. The restaurant will retain other aspects of Bulls, such as a full bar, late hours and plenty of TVs for sports watching, he said, though the mechanical bull is gone.

Read the entire story in Sac Biz Journal.

Bulls closed suddenly several weeks ago. Its owner sold the business and new owner Alain Ng (no relation to me) took over the lease.

Chaise Lounge will open in "a couple of months...by football season," reports the Sac Biz Journal.

At least one local chef was excited by the news.

“@CowtownEats: Bulls sold to "someone affiliated with Simon's" on 16th" <-- yes....just..yes. That is all I have to say.

— Matt Masera (@MattMasera) August 1, 2014

I'm looking forward to it too. I hope the execution is as promising as the concept.

Chaise Lounge will be located at 1330 H Street.

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Dawson's showcases craft breweries in monthly dinners - With the abundance of so many new excellent craft breweries popping up in Northern California (and many of them in the Sacramento area), it's becoming a challenge to get out and try them all. Dawson's restaurant in the Hyatt Regency Sacramento on L Street wants to help. The second Friday of every month, the restaurant is hosting a craft beer dinner to showcase one brewery’s beers at a time. Andrea Thompson in Sac Biz Journal.

Food adventure features offal offerings from Sacramento's top chefs - How do you feel about eating kidneys, hearts and tongue? Do those kinds of foods whet your appetite, or do you find them revolting? Perhaps you view offal -- edible parts of animals that aren’t skeletal muscle -- more as uncharted territory that you're eager, or at least curious, to try. If that's the case, then there is an upcoming event designed specifically for you. “Have Another Offal Day” will be held on Aug. 10 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Mulvaney’s Next Door. Twelve of Sacramento’s best chefs will each prepare a bite-size appetizer, using parts of animals that are not often found on restaurant menus. Andrea Thompson in Sac Biz Journal.

Noodles & Company adding two more Sacramento-area restaurants - Colorado-based Noodles & Company, which serves an international menu of noodle and pasta dishes, announced Monday that is opening two more restaurants in the Sacramento area. The company said will open a restaurant on July 28 at 5198 Commons Drive in Rocklin. The 2,650-square-foot site will have indoor and outdoor seating for 92. A second location will open on Aug. 4 at 3984 Douglas Blvd. in Roseville. That 2,870 square-foot site will seat 110. Both restaurants will offer catering services. Mark Glover in the Sac Bee.

Cafe Rolle in East Sac beloved by Yelp'ers. In fact, it's the second highest rated restaurant in Sacramento, behind The Kitchen. So what did Sac Bee restaurant reviewer Blair Anthony Robertson, who just returned from a Twitter hiatus, think?

Here are some of the highlights:

• "But clearly there’s a gulf between perception and reality with Cafe Rolle, where the chef’s skill set comes across as limited and the food inconsistent and haphazardly presented."
• "But this was far from a Francophile’s dream. If eating here was like a journey to Paris, it was more like the food we’d encounter on the plane ride there rather than what we’d find on a cobbled alleyway in the 6th Arrondissement."
• "Cafe Rolle is not a great restaurant or even a very good one. With ever-reliable, far superior and comparably priced Selland’s Market-Cafe directly across H Street, it’s not even the best eatery on the block."
• "It’s clear that lunch is Cafe Rolle’s sweet spot."

Read the entire review in the Sac Bee.

I've actually never eaten at Cafe Rolle. I've tried to eat there several times, but have been discouraged by the wait. Each time, I end up at Selland's instead. After reading this review, maybe that turned out for the best.

Cafe Rolle is located at 5357 H St, Sacramento, and can be found online at http://www.caferolle.com/.

* Picture above is a screen shot of Cafe Rolle's Web site.

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Restaurant industry dinners let workers enjoy food - One unique industry event in Sacramento has been popping up from time to time over the last year that may serve to inspire the restaurant industry as well. Tyler Bond (former sous chef at Enotria) and Scott Ostrander (executive chef of Esquire Grill) have created a series of supper club-style dining events they call The Freaks of the Industry...The event will cost $45 for the seven courses. A cash bar will available, but there won’t be pairings for the courses. And it won’t be easy to find tickets. The event is invite-only for the moment. Andrea Thompson in Sac Biz Journal.

New Roseville business caters to upscale wine crowd - Roseville is getting a new upscale wine lounge this summer. House of Oliver will fill an approximately 1,700-square-foot space at 3992 Douglas Blvd., inside the Renaissance Creek shopping center. The business also will have a 1,500-square-foot patio. Sonya Sorich in Sac Biz Journal.

Indo Cafe: Explore Indonesian Flavors in Old Sac - I revisited the Indo Café in Old Sac last week after my friend John recently posted a photo of a brightly-colored dish from there on his Facebook wall. My friends and I ordered off the yellow “Secret” Indonesian Menu, as opposed to the more Americanized colorful menu. Anna in Sac Foodways.

Skybox Grill & Bar, which had replaced MVP Sports Bar at 21st & L in May 2013, closed several weeks ago.

According to a post on Yelp, it closed at least 3 weeks ago.

A call to the restaurant and an e-mail to Loren Sparks, who has been identified owners in media reports and Facebook, was not returned.

I contacted the Tarina Sadler who is leasing the space late last week. She told me that she could not comment on what happened due to a non-disclosure agreement, but said that she was working for the owners of the building.

If I learn more, I'll keep you updated.

But for now, make your plans for March Madness elsewhere.

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Cafe Rolle lives up to review hype - Yelp's recently released list finally pushed me into visiting Cafe Rolle. Mon Dieu, I didn't know what I was missing -- a little corner of Europe in an East Sacramento strip mall...I was instantly enchanted and impressed. Ed Murrieta in Sac Biz Journal.

Chef's choice, your decision - Michael Thiemann’s new, all-vegetarian spot Mother (1023 K Street) ignites a whole lot of debate. Is it really as revolutionary as a certain well-read Sacramento food critic says? The best way to decide is to head over for dinner, when Thiemann offers 10 dishes for $40-$50. Janelle Bitker in Sac News & Review.

El Faro closes its doors at The Promenade Shopping Center - To much disappointment to regular customers of El Faro Taqueria, the longtime Mexican favorite has closed its doors, at least temporarily, in the Promenade Shopping Center, located on the corner of Rush River and Windbridge drives. Monica Stark in Valley Community News.

In this week's review, Sac Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson takes on the venerable Aioli, located at 18th & L.

There’s more to it than food, however. Aïoli has mastered the art of the dining experience in a very special way, complete with charm, polish and eccentricities. Brimming with all that is old-school and nothing that is newfangled or trendy, this Spanish tapas restaurant marries food, wine, service, setting and all kinds of intangibles into something that only gets better with each visit.

You don’t necessarily judge Aïoli by your first time here because, like a good relationship or a fine pair of shoes, there is a break-in period. In fact, my first visit years ago was a disappointment, due in part to my own clunky navigation of the imposing menu. I took a stab at it, ordered haphazardly and wound up with too many cold dishes for my liking and too many flavors that seemed repetitive rather than complimentary.

The way to embrace Aïoli is to go and return and eventually slot in as a regular, as if coming back to a second home where all your needs are anticipated. You’ll soon become friends with the entire staff. You’ll get hugs from the owner. You’ll sit at your favorite table. You’ll go through the menu backward and forward, trying new things and returning to old favorites.

Read the entire review in the Sac Bee.

I, too, have had a complicated relationship with Aioli. To me, it's kind of the Napoleon Dynamite of Sacramento restaurants. You may not like it the first time you eat there, but eventually, it wins you over.

Over the last 10 years, I've eaten there a half dozen times. The first four times, I really didn't get why friends and colleagues heaped praise on the place. The last two times were this year, and I ate there with a regular. We left the menu and wine selection both times in the hands of the waiter, and I was blown away both times.

Most recently, I had one of their pastas (among many other dishes), and it was expertly cooked. The sauces were flavorful and complex. The pasta was perfectly al dente. We were practically licking the plate.

If you would have asked me three months ago, I wouldn't have recommended Aioli. But with my most recent experiences, if you're the kind of person who can trust the waiter with what you're going to eat or you know somebody who is a regular there, you'll have a great time.

Photo via http://aiolibodega.com/.

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Sacramento earns two spots on Yelp’s best 100 restaurants list - Sacramento’s dining scene hasn’t made a mark with Michelin, but it’s getting some help from Yelp. For the first time, Yelp.com has complied its list of 100 best places to eat in America, and two well-regarded Sacramento restaurants have made the cut: The Kitchen (No. 30) and Cafe Rolle (No. 36). Tim Swanson in the Sac Bee.

25 questions about Sacramento Beer Week with founder Dan Scott - Football fans have the Super Bowl. Techies have CES. Fantasy and sci-fi fanatics have Comic-Con. And for each of the past five years, craft beer lovers within reach of California's capital city have had Sacramento Beer Week to look forward to every February. Dan Scott, the founder and executive director of the annual gathering of beer geeks and foodies, spared a few precious moments from his frantic February schedule to discuss the origins of the event, what's new this year and how to get the most out of the 2014 edition of the 11-day celebration of craft beer. On News 10.

West Sacramento's Bike Dog Brewing Company succeeds out of the gate with community-taproom model - It's become a formula: beer plus bikes, plus food trucks, plus kids, plus dogs equals brewery. Bike Dog Brewery Company is on trend with all of these things, right down to its name. It has the typical chalkboard menu, brewers in rubber boots, long benches and picnic tables, and ’90s rock coming from the speakers. The way it distinguishes itself is with its beer (as evinced by its second-place finish in this paper’s Beer Issue competition; see page 21), despite the business only being open for five months. Becky Gruenwald in Sac News & Review.

Broderick, a West Sac restaurant and bar by the owners of the Wicked 'Wich food truck, gets a rave review from the Sac Bee restaurant critic.

What's fascinating about Broderick is how it manages to pull all of its disparate, desperate and offbeat elements together, shake them up, spin them around and turn them into something that really works.

Simply put, the hamburgers are over-the-top, massive and often amazing, including the "Johnny Cash" with a thick and perfectly cooked pepper-crusted beef patty, melted cheddar oozing everywhere, thick strips of applewood-smoked bacon, peppers pickled in-house, fried onions and a special barbecue sauce whipped up in the kitchen.

The sandwiches, too, are top-notch – and over-the-top, including the "Desperado," which really should come with a warning label, a bib, a pillow and a recliner for the inevitable food coma after you wolf down the following: tender slices of marinated flank steak, grilled mushrooms, caramelized onions and a superbly decadent black pepper gorgonzola cheese sauce, some of which will probably end up all over your shirt. That and a side of fries – maybe smothered with chili!

Read the entire review in the Sac Bee.

When I visited the place back in December 2012, I sampled the Bahn Mi Fries and recommended it to Cowtown Eats readers. The Sac Bee's reviewer found the flavor for that dish to be "outstanding."

Click here for more posts referencing Broderick.

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Flaming Grill Cafe - I haven’t seen this many exotic meats since the last time I was in San Francisco’s Castro District! Flaming Grill Café’s menu is designed for repeat visits.  I came for the Ostrich, but ended up ordering the Wild Boar Café Burger, and created a mental checklist to come back for the llama and yak. Stacy Barawed on The Fun Junkie.

5 Fabulous (and Seafoody) Sandwiches - After plowing my way through a spectacular smoked trout sandwich from Juno’s Kitchen and Delicatessen recently, I got to thinking about some of the memorable seafood-centric sandwiches I have enjoyed so far this year. None are quite as creative as Junos’ smoked trout sandwich, which pairs the fish with thin apple slices, arugula, and Manchego cheese – a truly inspired combination of flavors – but each was absolutely delicious. Featuring Shady Lady Saloon, Fins Market & Grill, Cafe Bernardo and Auburn's Little Belgium Deli & Beer Bar. Kira O'Donnell in Sac Mag.

Since the First Sacto Mofo in April 2011, city politicians have been promising action on a rule to allow food trucks to operate in the city more freely while respecting locations of existing brick and mortar restaurants. Well, a year later, they're no closer to revised regulations, reports Chris Macias in the Sac Bee.

A hearing about mobile food ordinances before the Sacramento City Council's Law and Legislation committee, which was set for March 20, has since been cancelled. This is the third time that food truck ordinances were to be addressed at the committee, and third time in a row that they've been knocked off the agenda. The issue won't be taken up again until a decision is reached one way or the other about AB 1678, which was introduced by Bill Monning (D-Carmel) in an effort to fight childhood obesity.

The city's Law and Legislation committee is chaired by councilmember Jay Schenirer (District 5).

Read the entire story in the Sac Bee.

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East Sacramento's Cafe Rolle: Great for Picnic Fare - If the weather keeps up, I’m going to make my way to Cafe Rolle in East Sacramento, a neighborhood bastion of friendly, casual French dining. The cafe offers a number of delicious and picnic-friendly sandwiches and salads that can be packaged up and transported to your favorite outdoorsy dining spot. I especially like the pretty salad Niçoise, featuring a perfectly-poached chunk of salmon, firm-but-tender haricots verts and a hard-boiled egg atop a bed of fresh baby lettuces; and the popular (and warm) “Stacy’s Favorite” sandwich, spread with garlic aioli and loaded with roast beef, caramelized onion and melted brie cheese. Kira O'Donnell in Sac Mag.

First Impressions: Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar: Sacramento's Newest GastroLounge - The comments that I will make at this point are far from the last, as I hope to keep covering new dishes/ drinks/ ideas at this establishment, but I have GREAT, and slightly mixed feelings. The bar can literately not be touched, the drinks are great, prices solid, and talent unmatched. But the food has been hit and miss and although I love the owners/ staff many a comment has been made about how full you feel / or should feel at the end of a meal for the price. Charlotte King in The Grand Adventures of a Food & Wine Diva.