University of Beer, a tap house that will feature 100 beers on tap, will open in the next several weeks, reports Ben van der Meer in Sac Biz Journal.

“We should be having our grand opening later this month or in early June,” said Jennifer Meyer, who works with the tap house, in an email. “Currently, we are finishing up the construction and then we will just be adding in the rest of the details and getting the final touches perfected...”

“The new Sacramento location will be strong due to the midtown location, the bigger space, and the large fan base that has been already established at the Davis location,” she said.

Read the entire story in the Sac Biz Journal.

Cowtown Eats first reported the arrival of the Davis-based restaurant in January.

The restaurant is owned by the same family that owns KetMoRee, a Thai restaurant in Davis, although different siblings run the different ventures.

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Discussion: The Best Pizza in Sacramento - Furthermore, who says we don’t have amazing Pizza right here in Sac? Well actually, this guy does. Yes, the owner of a new Pizza place, “Trick Pony” – set to open this month in Midtown-hurt our hearts a bit when he said that our town is lacking when it comes to really good Pizza. Eek! We have to respectfully (but like, fully) disagree with that. While we are super excited for his new pizza spot-and will likely be first in line when they open- we can say with complete confidence that Sactown is hardly MIA when it comes to amazing Pizza. (But there is definitely room for more places and we welcome all of them! #NOM) If a restaurant in Melbourne, Australia can win the world’s top margherita pizza, (WTF?) then surely the notion that good pizza only comes from Chicago, Italy, San Francisco, et al. is complete bull. IMG_0414 Ok, enough of the italicized intro. Below, we present to you a list of our favorite existing Pizza joints that you can enjoy right here in Sactown. On Girls on the Grid.

Try It: LowBrau's Poolside - Feeling parched? Dive into LowBrau’s Poolside. This pinkly pleasing house cocktail is a boozy version of limeade, prepared with gin, Luxardo Maraschino (a sour cherry liqueur) and a dash of fresh citrus juice and bitters. The vivacious, brightly flavored tipple is garnished with a deftly swirled lemon peel and a tuft of mint (mix them into the Poolside for extra flavor). Kira O'Donnell in Sac Mag.

On Flavorful Food and Spicy Writing - Overall it was a phoenix-like second trip to Mother, almost every dish a beautiful presentation that held its own in the flavor department. The skill in presentation, preparation, and recipe manipulation showed through. It felt like the consistency from dish to dish was there, but one more return trip in the future might seal the deal on that one. Sac Eats on The Sac Rag.

After his gave a glowing first impression of the place in January ("Thiemann and his staff should be making every chef in town either frightened or inspired."), Sac Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson has been eating at Mother early and often. Followers of him on twitter were treated with a constant stream of pictures from his meals there.

In this week, he reveals why he went there so often.

The more I ate, the more convinced I became that this place was excitingly unique. I couldn’t stay away, captivated at one point by the flavors of the collard greens, cooked without a hint of bitterness (and absent the obligatory pork fat). It was another Southern soul-food staple taken to new heights in California’s capital.

But I knew this review, in time, would be challenging. I couldn’t be anonymous and blend in as a regular customer. The approach would have to be different. But how? I decided to continue visiting until an idea revealed itself.

Since the chef had recognized him (as described earlier in the piece), Robertson eventually eats 100 dishes specially prepared for him by the chef. He ends the review simply with, "I recommend this restaurant."

Read the entire review in the Sac Bee.

As an aside, the other time I remember Robertson being recognized in the process of doing a review was an Oct. 2012 review of Enotria.

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Sacramento gelato artisan will go bananas at international competition - The co-founder of midtown Sacramento’s Devine Gelateria & Cafe wants nothing less than world domination, but hey, she’s willing to start with Austin, Texas. Elizabeth McCleary is flying to the Lone Star State’s capital on Tuesday to compete in the first round of the Gelato World Tour, which will culminate in a showdown in Rimini, Italy, in September. McCleary will be one of 16 contestants in Austin seeking to be crowned the world’s best gelato artisan. Only three will advance to the grand final, joining other first-round qualifiers from Dubai, Shanghai and other world cities. Cathie Anderson in the Sac Bee.

Sacramento restaurant makes top brunch spot list - OpenTable’s newest list of restaurants is a top 100 of the best places for brunch, and a Sacramento spot is on it. Mama Kim Eats, at 1616 Del Paso Blvd., which specializes in Creole, Cajun and Southern food, is the only Sacramento-area restaurant to make the list. Melissa Wiese in Sac Biz Journal.

Not many details, but apparently a new sushi/Japanese restaurant coming to 19th & S in midtown, former Sweetwater Bar & Grill site. @Sacbiz

— Ben van der Meer (@benvsacbiz) April 25, 2014

And a hat tip to @CowtownEats for sending a heads up on that last tweet, we'll keep looking into it.

— Ben van der Meer (@benvsacbiz) April 25, 2014

A few weekends ago, I was driving down 19th St. and noticed out of the corner of my eye that the For Lease signs had come down from the windows at the building that used to house Sweetwater Restaurant & Bar. But since this isn't my day job, I don't always have time to chase down all the little things I notice, so I sent the tip over to to Sac Biz Journal real estate reporter Ben van der Meer (whom I used to deal with when he covered the State Capitol and I worked there).

Given its proximity to the very competent Taka's Sushi, which is located a block away at 18th & S, I'm not sure that that's the first type of restaurant I would have chosen to go there. But maybe the new owner/chef will surprise us with something amazing.

The restaurant has been empty since Sweetwater Restaurant & Bar ended its nearly 3 year run in that space in Aprin 2012. Before that, the space housed a midtown outpost for Fins seafood restaurant.

At least one chef has looked at the space and decided against opening a restaurant there. Bacon & Butter's Billy Zoellin considered the space and eventually decided to move his restaurant in Tahoe Park (which should open in the next month or two.)

When I learn more about the new restaurant, I'll pass it along.

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Is this the future of pizza in Sacramento? - The Sacramento region is looking at a surge in build-your-own-pizza restaurants, which extend Chipotle's ordering format to the pizza world. Guests generally wait in line, choose their crust and ingredients at a front counter and receive their pizza in minutes after it's cooked in an extremely hot oven. Sonya Sorich in Sac Biz Journal.

City backs off mandatory cover charge in Old Town Roseville bars - Roseville is easing up slightly with its restrictions on bars in Old Town Roseville, by rescinding a mandatory $5 cover charge, and dropping dress code requirements on bars open past 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Mark Anderson in Sac Biz Journal.

New downtown restaurant prepares gourmet dishes solely with vegetables - With the goal of always wanting to try a different outtake in making dishes without the use of meat, executive chef Mike Thiemann is finally able to create  gourmet vegetarian food for Sacramento to enjoy. His restaurant Mother, located at 1023 K Street, opened in January and is bringing a different perspective on vegetarian and vegan food, making meat lovers appreciate farm fresh produce a little more. Calin Jessup in the Sac State Hornet.

Lou's Sushi at 28th & P is helmed by Lou Valente, probably best known in Sacramento for a stint at Zen Sushi on the corner of 15th & I.

The Sac Bee's Blair Anthony Robertson recently delivered his verdict on the restaurant.

Then there’s that amazing rice. Valente uses a strain called Koshihikari, which he refers to as some of the most expensive rice available. The textural quality and expressive flavor of this rice just might amaze you.

The chef spares no expense on this ingredient, and it makes a significant difference, even if most diners don’t stop to appreciate exactly why...

Lou’s is an appealing, intimate place to eat, with a great neighborhood feel about it – it’s in a more residential section of midtown on P Street several blocks from most of the bars and eateries.

Whether you order from the menu or hand the reins to Valente and dine omakase style, you’re bound to find the experience to be satisfying, entertaining and inspiring.

Read the entire review in the Sac Bee.

I'm in the minority when it comes to Lou's Sushi. All of my friends who have tried it love Lou and his sushi. I went in late November, and with a group of people, ordered nearly everything on the happy hour menu during my visit. While everybody else raves about Lou's Sushi, I found it to be decent but unremarkable.

Maybe I didn't go on a good day. There were two sushi chefs there that day. Maybe I didn't get Lou. But based on the Bee's review and on the feedback I keep getting from my friends, it's probably time to give it another chance.

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First Impressions: Fahrenheit 250 - Fahrenheit 250 looks and acts like a winner, partly because of its use of carefully sourced, high-quality ingredients, and partly because of the cooking and presentation of from-scratch dishes. The ‘cue is the real thing, complemented by four house-made sauces. Its could well become a sipping-and-supping destination. Allen Pierleoni in the Sac Bee.

Fate of Pre-Flite Lounge uncertain - Should the Pre-Flite Lounge – which has the misfortune of sitting directly where the new arena is planned – also be spared?...Jason Yee, who at 39 is younger than the bar he’s owned for three years, wants to move the Pre-Flite somewhere nearby. He’s a Kings season ticket holder and hopes the team finds a place for the Pre-Flite in its entertainment district plans. Ryan Lillis in the Sac Bee.

My Dinner at Mother - This joint happens to be 100% vegetarian.  Not because anyone involved is particularly vegetarian, I don’t think, but I do know that the chef-owner Michael Thiemann did wonderful things with plant life when he worked at Ella...Vegetarian or not, get your butt down to Mother and eat some good food. Sarah Singleton on Undercover Caterer.

Aji Japanese Bistro launched with great fanfare in December, scoring a feature in the Sac Bee by Chris Macias touting the level of service a diner might expect at the restaurant.

Four months after they opened, Sac Bee restaurant critic Blair Anthony Robertson tells us whether they lived up to the hype.

And yet our experiences so far suggest all that focus on nuance might be best reserved for later. Right now, Aji could use greater emphasis on its cooking – how it can take its eclectic and often inspiring words on paper and make them come together for a more consistent, dynamic and entertaining eating experience.

While the restaurant already exhibits a sense of sophistication when it comes to the ambiance and service, there were simply too many missteps from the kitchen. The seasoning of the food, the use of ingredients, the composition of the dishes – much of it seemed random, if not clunky.

Despite its rather uncommon concept, Aji finds itself in the most competitive restaurant category in the region. Casual upscale dining, in fact, is the direction fine dining is going throughout the country. It’s less formal and often more fun. But to distinguish itself, a restaurant has to make the food really sing and dial in the value.

Read the entire review in the Sac Bee.

I've only eaten there once - the weekend after I read the Bee's profile since I was already at the outlets in Folsom. On my one visit, I found it middling. Maybe that's too strong. I was ready for an experience that would blow me away, but what I got was what you'd typically expect from a new restaurant. There were some good dishes and others that had execution issues. The service was friendly, but not world class.

Instead of underpromising and overdelivering, they made the mistake of overpromising and falling short. On the bright side, they really nailed the modern Japanese decor.

El Dorado Hills is a long drive for those who live on The Grid. I have no doubt that they'll be successful with those who live out there, but I'm not sure if they'll continue to draw people from other areas in the region unless they start delivering what they promised.

Aji Japanese Bistro is located at 4361 Town Center Blvd in El Dorado Hills, and can be found online at http://www.aji-bistro.com/.

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A (Fresh) Fish Tale - An all-star restaurant team launches a sushi-focused Japanese bistro in El Dorado Hills that keeps things pure and simple. Anita Chabria in Sactown Mag.

Chando’s Tacos plans to open its third location in Roseville in May - Restaurateurs Lisandro and Karla Madrigal will open a third Chando’s Tacos location, this one in a shopping center at 943 Pleasant Grove Blvd. in Roseville. An opening date hasn’t been set, but it will be sometime in May. “We had to kind of tweak our business model a little bit to make it work,” said Lisandro Madrigal, whose nickname is Chando. “We like standalone buildings or more end-cap buildings, but there’s a lot of traffic there. It’s next door to Starbucks.” Cathie Anderson in the Sac Bee.

Not all taps are created equal - As the Sacramento area continues to embrace craft beer, you’re going to see more and more tap handles at bars, restaurants and beer-specific pubs...All those selections can either be a great thing, a confusing thing or, if the lines that run the beer from the keg to the handle are not properly maintained, a downright funky thing. Blair Anthony Robertson in the Sac Bee.

That photo, taken on March 19, will be incorrect as of this evening.

Enotria, the restaurant that closed abruptly in January, will reopen as an event space/wine bar serving comfort food, reports Sonya Sorich in the Sac Biz Journal.

Enotria Restaurant & Wine Bar  will reopen as a wine bar on Thursdays through Saturdays, and will serve as a venue available for private parties on remaining days....

But Hardie has retained his role as owner in the restaurant's new incarnation, he said in a phone interview Wednesday.

He said he's reconciling any challenges by giving more responsibilities to a leadership team that includes general manager/events manager Brianna Fried and the restaurant's lead caterer, Gabriel Glazier, a former executive chef at Maranello and Slocum House. Matthew Lewis will direct Enotria's wine program.

Read the entire story in the Sac Biz Journal.

Also, here's the Sac Bee's version of the story.

Enotria is located at 1431 Del Paso Blvd and can be found online at http://www.enotria.com/.

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Feast and a foodie fight - Monday's "Insight" discussion veered from Feast when fill-in host Rick Kushman, a former Bee political reporter and lifestyles columnist questioned why restaurant reviews written by the Bee's Blair Anthony Robertson were "mean." Robertson wasn't in the studio -- or even anonymously on the telephone -- to defend the accusation but features editor Swanson fairly explained to Kushman the role and latitude of critics. Ed Murrieta in the Sac Biz Journal.

Mother, Sacramento - But the standout of the evening was the Fresh Pasta. This dish changes regularly, but on the night we dined it included fresh homemade noodles, peas, mushrooms, asparagus, buffalo mozzarella and mint leaves to garnish. Lucky for me that my friend who ordered this dish was willing to share because it was so fresh, so good and so clean plate-worthy. Now I am no vegetarian, but I didn’t miss the meat for a second during my meal at Mother. It’s walking distance from our office, so for my next visit I’m planning to grab a few fellow SacFoodies and head over for lunch. Who’s with me? Liz Conant in Sac Foodies.

Fruity Tipple: Ernesto’s Raspberry Mojito - I’m a big fan of mojitos, especially on warm afternoons—but I have found a variation on the traditional, super-minty version that just may become my new favorite. Ernesto’s Mexican Food crafts a lovely, blushing-pink raspberry mojito that contains raspberry puree in addition to a judicious amount of muddled fresh mint and lime. Kira O'Donnell in Sac Mag.

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.