Appetizers

The well-used meat smoker is still on the fenced-end back patio, but the signs on the windows and the locked front door of the Mighty Kong Cafe on Stockton Boulevard tell the story: "After three years of good food and service, it has come to an end." The official closing date was May 2, but we dropped by this morning anyway and knocked on the door. No answer.

Though the cafe is history, the bakery part of the operation is still turning out organic bran muffins in 23 flavors (including pineapple-coconut, ginger root, and banana-walnut). Order at (916) 231-3631 or www.mightykongmuffins.com.

The Mighty Kong Cafe was owned by King W. Smith, who turned a grass-roots idea into a business.

"Closing was a hard decision, but we weren't making any money," Smith said on the phone. "It turned into a breakfast place and we were down to being open only Thursday through Sunday. So now we'll stick with what we know best - the muffin business."

Will there ever be another cafe?

The Northern Plains Potato Growers Association tells us that the humble potato chip, "invented in 1853," is the No. 1 snack in the U.S.

Helping to maintain the chip's position is 10-month-old Jackson's Honest Potato Chips, made in Colorado from organic heirloom Yukon gold and German butterball potatoes sourced from small farms. The chips are kettle-fried in "organic cold-pressed coconut oil" and touched with sea salt. The use of coconut oil is an interesting twist on a traditional technique.

At its website and on the packaging, the company touts the benefits of coconut oil versus other oils, explaining the science of "fatty lauric acid" and "monolaurin." That aside, our panel of tasters found the chips darn good - dark and crunchy, curly instead of consistently flat, not too salty, and with a more substantial "body" and "mouth feel" than many other potato chips. A couple of tasters even said they could taste coconut in the background.

The problem is local availability. "We're trying to make inroads into small retail outlets and health food stores in the Sacramento area," said a spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, you can order the chips online at www.honestchips.com - three bags for $14.97, six bags for $29.94, 12 bags for $59.88.

Sacramento Bee photograph by Tim Reese

Last month, the Cupertino-based food tour company Dishcrawl led an evening mini-tour of four restaurants in Davis. If you don't already know, the town has one of the most diverse restaurant scenes around.

In a typical Dishcrawl scenario, each restaurant offered samples of three house-specialty dishes, from bites to small plates.

Eighteen curious foodies attended the tour, said Dishcrawl "ambassador" Julia Simpson. "It really was a social dining experience, with a lot of talking and laughing, and people exchanging phone numbers," she said.

The group visited Seasons, Cafe Mediterranee, Monticello and Village Pizza & Grill. Tastes included cauliflower au gratin; chicken shawarma over rice with hummus and spicy adjika sauce; roasted seasonal-vegetables soup with asparagus-cheese flatbread; kebabs; and fried calamari rolled in blue cornmeal.

Now there's a second Davis Dishcrawl planned, this one focused on breakfast-brunch. The identities of the host restaurants are a secret until just before the tour launches. Participants who sign up at www.dishcrawl.com/davis will be emailed the name and address of the first restaurant on the tour, 48 hours in advance; that will be the meet-up spot.

Get going at 10 a.m. May 25. Tickets are $45, but use the promotional code word for a 15 percent discount - it's "davis25."

The folks who run the 87-year-old Dante Club know something about food and wine. The public is familiar with the Italian cultural organization through its fund-raising crab feeds and wine dinners. Now comes Viva Vino, its second annual winetasting soiree.

Eight wineries will pour reds and whites from 2 to 5 p.m. May 19, accompanied by antipasto and pasta. Live music and an art show will be part of it. Attendees can cast ballots in the wine-judging contest.

The Dante Club is at 2330 Fair Oaks Blvd., Sacramento. Tickets are $15 or two for $25, and $20 at the door; free for 12 and younger. For tickets, visit www.danteclub.com or call Chuck Tobia at (916) 747-0035.

Also, the club hosts Italian family-style dinners at 6 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month; advance sales only at (916) 925-8230.

No need to mount an expedition to the Rhone wine region of France to sample luscious reds, roses and whites, as well as great views such as the one shown here.

Five wineries in the Pleasant Valley area in the El Dorado County foothills will pour their Rhone-style vinos (including syrahs and grenaches) and serve bites at the 10th annual Rocks & Rhones Festival. Save the dates: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., May 25-26.

Hosting will be Holly's Hill Vineyards (www.hollyshill.com), Miraflores Winery (www.mirafloreswinery.com), Narrow Gate Vineyards (www.narrowgatevineyards.com), Sierra Vista Winery (www.sierravistawinery.com) and Auriga Wine Cellars (www.aurigawines.com).

They will match their wines with locally sourced tastes of lamb, pork and beef dishes, wild mushroom ravioli, duck confit, polenta, honey, olive oil and desserts. Also: vineyard hikes, barrel tastings, new releases, arts and crafts, and winemaker discussions and demonstrations. Sign up to win the 100-bottle Mountain of Wine.

Tickets are $35 per day through May 21, $40 at the door (read: whichever winery you visit first). There is no particular order in which to visit the wineries. To buy tickets, and see maps and locations of the wineries, and for more information, got to www.pleasantvalleywineries.com.

To further explore the foothills wine region, go to the Sacramento Bee's wine site at www.sacwineregion.com.

Sacramento chef Evan Elsberry is always up to something, whether it's entering (and winning) food competitions or hosting themed dinners at his restaurant, Evan's Kitchen.

Elsberry particularly enjoys getting the creative current moving by matching ethnic cuisines with appropriate wines, usually resulting in some unusual twists. Last year, he sold out his Italian-, French- and Spanish wine-pairing dinners.

Now he's ready for the next one, with a German theme. It's planned from 6 to 9 p.m. May 20. The cost is $75 per person, with reservations at (916) 452-3896. The previous wine dinners filled up fast, so...

Evan's Kitchen is at 855 57th St., Sacramento, in the Antiques Mall; www.chefevan.com.

The German dinner looks like this; note that all wines are from Frog's Tooth winery in Murphys (www.frogstooth.com).

First course: shrimp in dill cream
Served with 2011 pinot grigio

Second course: split pea soup with Black Forest ham laced with coriander, cumin and ginger
Served with 2011 meritage white

Third course: roasted pork shanks
Served with 2010 barbera

Fourth course: slow-cooked marinated roast beef with spiced and braised red cabbage, curried butternut squash, and potato pancakes with apple salsa
Served with 2009 malbec

Dessert: apple strudel
Served with 2011 dulcinea

A library of cookbooks is published each year, the daunting avalanche overwhelming the curious home cook who's daring enough to browse the Cookbooks section of bookstores.

Where to begin? One manageable starting point could be the just-released "Snacks" by self-proclaimed "food explorer" Marcy Smothers (HarperOne, $19.99, 293 pages). It's one of cookbookdom's most entertaining and user-friendly new titles, with a foreword by celebrity chef-restaurateur Guy "Johnny Garlic's" Fieri, Smothers' longtime pal.

"Snacks" is a mini-feast of food lore, tips and trivia, surprising factoids and original recipes with chapters organized by "aisles," modeled after what a shopper will find along each aisle of a supermarket. For instance, Smothers begins with Produce, moves to Bread, then Cheese, then Frozen Food and so on - 15 aisles altogether.

Randomly flipping through the book, we found:

- The fresher the vegetables, the quicker they will cook (it's a moisture thing).

- What do the colored plastic tags on commercially baked breads signify? Answer: the day of the week they were baked (blue for Monday, green for Tuesday and so on).

- Tomato sauce doesn't have to simmer all day to be good; 20 minutes will do.

- There's no nutritional difference between white eggs and brown eggs.

Among the 50 recipes, consider prime rib sauce, crab Rangoon, fried rice and pork tacos with watermelon salsa.

As Fieri puts it: "When Marcy talks about food, I listen."

With 80 wineries and tasting rooms and 750-plus grape growers invested in 100,000 acres of vineyards, the Lodi area is obviously well-positioned to host the annual Zinfest, a celebration of zinfandel. The red wine is famous for its flavors of berry, licorice and black pepper.

Tasters can choose from among 200 wines (zins and other varietals) from more than 40 area wineries, and stroll the banks of the Mokelumne River, enjoy live music and wandering entertainers, buy wine-country goods from merchants, and dine on regional cuisine from many of San Joaquin County's restaurants.

Not enough? Chefs, wine experts and guest speakers will host cooking classes, wine-pairing lessons and hands-on seminars, including how to blend your own zinfandel.

Zinfest will be noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 18 at Lodi Lake Park, 1101 W. Turner Road in Lodi. Tickets are $45 in advance, $55 at the door. Advance tickets are at www.zinfest.com/wine-festival and at the Lodi Wine & Visitor Center, 2545 W. Turner Road in Lodi, (209) 365-0621.

One way to get a belly full of inspiration for the start of barbecue season is to show up at the second annual Smoke & Fire BBQ Cook-Off.

The 'cue fest will star competitive cooking crews from eight Sacramento fire stations, whose smoky offerings of tri-tip and pork ribs will be judged by a panel of experts, followed by an awards ceremony. It's sponsored by the Del Paso Boulevard Partnership.

The price is a bargain - $5 for a tasting, $10 for a heaped plate - with proceeds benefitting the Sacramento City Fire Volunteer Reserves.

Also: live music, beer garden, a display of antique fire trucks, community booths and more.

Check it out between noon and 4 p.m. Saturday May 4 at 1409 Del Paso Blvd., at the corner of Del Paso Boulevard and Edgewater Road. Information: (916) 923-6200, www.smokeandfirecookoff.com.

Our town hungers for smokey barbecue, but there just don't seem to be enough joints to go around. Now 'cue lovers can add one more option.

Dickey's Barbecue Pit will open at 11 a.m. Thursday in the Park Place shopping center, 4630 Natomas Blvd., Sacramento (916-378-4122, www.dickeys.com). The first 100 customers through the door will get a free pulled pork sandwich. Another store is at 110 Laguna Blvd., Elk Grove (916-546-4400); it opened in March 2012. Children eat for free on Sundays at both sites.

Dickey's started about 70 years ago in Dallas; now there are nearly 300 franchise stores in 43 states.

"We've stayed true to our Texas roots," the website says. "All meats are seasoned and slow smoked on-site at each restaurant."

Though we've not eaten there, the menu looks good: brisket, ribs (maybe like the ones pictured here?) , pulled pork, Virginia ham and Polish sausage, with a dozen sides that include jalepeno beans, fried okra and potato casserole.

We'll be knocking down a spread of 'cue at the new store for an upcoming "Counter Culture" restaurant review column. Soon.

The good news is the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is coming to town as part of its national promotional tour (it averages 500 miles a day), and you can go inside and tour the 27-foot-long hot dog-shaped vehicle.

The not-so-much part is there won't be any free hot dogs involved; instead, visitors will be given Wiener Whistles and stickers. Meanwhile, go for a blog ride at www.hotdoggerblog.com and visit www.kraftbrands.com/oscarmayer.

Relish the Wienermobile experience in front of Walmart stores at these locations:

April 19: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 7010 Auburn Blvd., Citrus Heights

April 20: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 900 Pleasant Grove Ave., Roseville

April 21: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 5821 Antelope Road, Sacramento

April 22: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 3460 El Camino Ave., Sacramento

April 22: 2 to 5 p.m. at 7901 Watt Ave., Antelope

For centuries, one of the most sought-after kings of the oceans has been the swordfish. Predictably, in recent decades the demand for its firm, flavorful flesh led to gross overfishing.

Thanks to 1998's national "Give Swordfish a Break" promotion and the subsequent conservation efforts led by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service, the swordfish stocks in the North Atlantic and the Pacific oceans reportedly are now stable.

Stocks continue to be stringently overseen to protect the resource, meaning that diners can eat swordfish from those fisheries without a lot of guilt. Still, swordfish overkill is a concern in the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.

That said, one of the best seafood dishes we've found is the seared swordfish skewers with tzatziki sauce at Bistro 33 in Eldorado Hills (sourced from the North Atlanic and the Pacific).

Slightly charred on the outside, moist and succulent inside, the chunks of fish are made even better with dips into the garlicky yogurt-based sauce ($9.95). Get it at 4364 Town Center Blvd., Eldorado Hills; (916) 358-3733, www.edh.bistro33.com.

More than 600 members of the International Association of Culinary Professionals gathered in San Francisco over the past five days for the organization's 35th annual conference, "Dirt to Digital: Real Food in a Virtual World."

Converging in the banquet rooms of the Hyatt Regency Hotel on the Embarcadero - and the Ferry Building Marketplace across the street - were chefs, dietitians and nutritionists, food stylists and photographers, cookbook authors, academics, food bloggers, farmers and others. They participated in a lengthy menu of culinary tours, cooking classes, demonstrations, lectures and panel discussions.

The conference culminated last night with an awards ceremony in multiple categories. Among the presenters were chef Thomas Keller (the French Laundry in Yountville) and restaurateur-cookbook author Rick Bayless (Frontera Grill in Chicago).

Among the award-winners were San Francisco restaurateur Charles Phan (Slanted Door and others) for his cookbook "Vietnamese Home Cooking"; restaurateur and cookbook author Alice Waters of Berkeley (Chez Panisse) for lifetime achievement (pictured); and www.food52.com and www.saveur.com for best culinary web sites.

For the complete list of winners, go to www.iacp.com.

The 35-year-old IACP has more than 2,000 members in 32 countries. It fosters connections between professionals in all walks of culinary life and serves as "a crossroads where everyone can meet to share experiences and expertise."

Over here we have the croissant and the scone. Over there are cornbread, soda bread and shortcake. Meandering around close by is the good 'ol Southern biscuit, a cultural icon.

Think of it: dark and crusty on the outside, tender and flaky and steaming in the middle. Add butter, honey and/or fruit preserves, or spice-heavy country sausage and skillet gravy. There are as many variations as there are home cooks, and we would gladly line up to sample all of them.

Unfortunately, we can't join the other 20,000 biscuit-lovers who will do something close to that at the International Biscuit Festival, May 16-18 in Knoxville, Tenn. But the Food Network and the Cooking Channel will be there - along with celebrity chef Alton Brown - strolling along Biscuit Boulevard, filming the action and tasting the goods.

This year's biscuit-partner is 47-year-old Southern Living magazine of Birmingham, Ala., a regional lifestyle publication devoted to food, travel, home and garden as represented in the culture of the South.

Its test kitchen will set up temporary shop at the fest, and its editors and cooks will help judge the biscuit bake-off. Bonus: The magazine curates a kitchenful of biscuit recipes at www.southernliving.com, along with recipes for other authentic Southern dishes.

Listen to Southern Living's editor, Lindsay Bierman: "We will never give up on our quest to discover or formulate the world's most perfect biscuit. It's one of our culture's simplest, most satisfying soul foods."

For more on the biscuit festival, visit www.biscuitfest.com. It was named the nation's No. 1 food festival by Livability.com, the arbiter of "America's best places to live and visit."

Meanwhile, we have some baking to do...

The dining scene in Davis has never been better or more diverse. To get a taste of what's happening across the Yolo Causeway, the Cupertino-based food-tour company Dishcrawl is offering a mini-tour of four Davis restaurants.

Each restaurant will offer samples of three house-specialty dishes, from bites to small plates - maybe something like the dish pictured here. Adult beverages are not included, but can be purchased separately.

Which restaurants will be visited? That's a secret until just before the tour launches. If you sign up at www.dishcrawl.com/davis, you'll be emailed the name and address of the first restaurant on the tour, 48 hours in advance; that's the tour meet-up spot.

Dishcrawl in Davis starts at 7 p.m. April 23. For a 15 percent discount, use the promotional code word "downtowndavis."

A cuppa joe is so much more than just a drink. Preparing and sipping coffee is a comforting ritual that is either good for you or bad for you, depending on the science of the moment. But is there actually a coffee-lover who has given up the habit based on shaky data from sources that are suspect to begin with?

Now those arbiters of all things food at drink at www.thedailymeal.com have conferred with coffee roasters, coffeehouse owners, baristas (including U.S. barista champ Katie Carguilo) and coffee bloggers around the country to finalize their list of America's Best Coffee Shops.

The criteria for singling out the 33 winners included "quality of coffee, quality of food, customer service, atmosphere and the 'unique' factor."

The top choice is Ultimo Coffee in Philadelphia because "what you won't find there is an attitude," the Daily Meal editors write. "That's exactly what our panelists noted Ultimo so highly for in the customer service and atmosphere categories."

California showed three winners in the list - Lamill Coffee Boutique in Los Angeles (No. 6), Ritual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco (No. 8) and Verve Coffee Roasters in Santa Cruz (No. 22).

For the complete list, go to www.thedailymeal.com/americas-best-coffee-shops-slideshow.

BTW: What's your go-to coffee joint? Let us know in "Comments" below.

Here's a novelty: In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Dawson's restaurant at the Hyatt Regency hotel will roll back prices to 1988 for a special four-course dinner. Alert: It's a one-time deal on Saturday, April 6.

The Rollback Menu For Two is $88, with items from Dawson's original menu. It starts with potato stuffed with whipped crème fraîche and caviar, then moves to a crab Louis salad, French onion soup, bacon-wrapped filet mignon (pictured) and scampi-style shrimp with sides of twice-baked potato and asparagus, and ends with bananas Foster cheesecake.

There's more anniversary celebration with a $25 prix fixe prime rib dinner, served Sundays from April 7 through December. The menu: lettuce wedge salad, prime rib, baked potato and cheesecake.

Dawson's at the Hyatt Regency, 1209 L St., Sacramento. For reservation: (916) 321-3600. Information: www.sacramento.hyatt.com.

Would you like some cheeses with those wines, with emphasis on regional sourcing?

The second annual Sierra Foothills Artisan Cheese & Wine Festival will offer wine and cheese pairings, workshops, winemaking demonstrations, winery and vineyard tours, tastings of Rhone- and Bordeaux-style wines, a marketplace and more.

Tickets are limited, so plan ahead. The festival will be from noon to 4 p.m. May 4 at Lavender Ridge Winery, 3030 Hunt Road, Copperopolis.

Tickets are $40 ($30 for wine club members). A separate cheesemaking course will be 9 a.m. to noon for an additional $65.

For more information: (209) 728-2441, www.lavenderridgevineyard.com.

As mall food courts go, the one at the Galleria in Roseville is a cut above. The spacious (and always crowded) second-floor dining area offers a wide range of ethnic-oriented choices - American, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Thai, Chinese.

We dropped by the Galleria the other day and serendipitously grabbed a bite at the Gordon Biersch Tavern, under an umbrella at a little table for two.

The server was efficient and courteous, and twice the manager stopped by to check on our well-being. Nice touches for a food-court restaurant, where a top priority is turning tables - though we never felt rushed.

The brief menu offers fish tacos, wings, roasted turkey sandwich, a cheeseburger, sliders and "signature garlic fries" ($2.50 to $10).

This being a brewery restaurant, there's plenty of German-style beer on tap. GB started in Palo Alto in 1988 and now has 36 fast-casual taverns across the nation, including Hawaii.

We found a winner with the fish taco (pictured). Blackened mahi joins pepper jack cheese, lettuce, mildly spicy remoulade (think aioli) and salsa in a crunchy blue-corn tortilla nestled inside a soft flour tortilla ($4.95); we added avocado for $1 more.

We hit the tacos with shots of Cholula hot sauce and took big bites. Wow! Were we on the Baja peninsula?

Get it 1151 Galleria Blvd., Roseville; (916) 772-2739, www.gordonbiersch.com.

It's happening again, right now, this time in Granite Bay, all because of a chicken sandwich.

No, that crowd of people camped out along Douglas Boulevard isn't there to make a statement about the U.S. Supreme Court's ongoing deliberation over Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage. Nor is it linked to controversial statements on same-sex marriage made last year by Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy.

Instead, those folks are congregated at 4040 Douglas Blvd. waiting for Thursday's morning's grand opening of the Sacramento area's fifth Chick-fil-A, bringing the total number in California to 62.

Fabian Forte was in town for a few days, visiting with his son and daughter-in-law, Christian and Mercedes Forte, and with his two grandchildren. I joined Fabian and Christian for lunch at the estimable Waterboy, chef Rick Mahan's restaurant at 20th Street and Capitol Avenue in downtown.

You remember Fabian, right? He was one of the groomed-and-packaged teen idols of the late 1950s and 1960s to come out of Philadelphia, a star on "American Bandstand," the guy who rocked the worlds of hysterical teen girls.

"The singing sensation of the nation" had his share of hits ("Turn Me Loose," "Tiger") before signing a movie contract and moving to Los Angeles. His filmography is impressive - 30-plus movies, including "High Times" with Bing Crosby, "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" with Jimmy Stewart, "The Longest Day" with Henry Fonda, "North to Alaska" with John Wayne.

For the past 28 years, he and longtime pals and fellow teen idols Frankie Avalon and Bobby Rydell have toured their show, "Golden Boys," around the nation. Last summer they were in Reno for "Hot August Nights," but not this year.

"We used to do 90 shows a year," said Fabian, 70, digging into a gorgeous salmon fillet (pictured). "Now we play cemeteries - we don't have to worry about the sound system. No, really, we do 25 shows a year. It gets me out of the house."

"The house" is on 40 rural acres outside Philadelphia, shared with his wife, Andrea Patrick-Forte, 52, a former Miss Pennsylvania-USA.

"I've never been happier," Fabian said. "I ride my ATV and tractor and cut the grass. Where I grew up, there wasn't any grass.

"I'm looking forward to spring, when I can plant my garden - tomatoes, corn, you name it," he added. "I don't even water it and it grows. I just got a (gas-fueled) Weber grill and I'm waiting to get the searing thing going - lamb, fish, vegetables."

Christian and Mercedes Forte own Fabian's Italian Bistro in Fair Oaks. On one wall is an iconic black-and-white photo of Fabian at 15, looking 25, in a suit and well-oiled hair, taken by famed portrait photographer Richard Avedon.

"We named the restaurant after my dad as (an homage) to our family and heritage," Christian Forte said, finishing a bowl of seafood-filled squid-ink pasta (also pictured).

Last summer, Fabian was among the guests of honor at the San Francisco Bohemian Club's exclusive retreat in the luxurious Bohemian Grove campground in Monte Rio. Its membership consists of megastars in the arts, politics, business and media.

"For years they asked me to go, but I told them I don't camp," Fabian said with a laugh, then went on for 15 minutes to say how incredible the experience was.

We declined dessert, but I had one last question. Who is Fabian's favorite singer?

"Bob Seeger," he said without hesitation. "He's a rocker whose songwriting speaks to me. When you see him perform live, you want to shoot yourself because you know you'll never do anything like that."

Fabian paid the bill and we left. Rock on.

St. Patrick's Day came and went, but we're still dreaming about that corned Wagyu beef brisket and tender cabbage we feasted on for three days.

Which led us to Sam's Hof Brau on Saturday, looking for a hand-carved corned beef sandwich with a bowl of fragrant jus on the side for dipping.

Standing in the cafeteria-style order line, the thought struck: How about a combo corned beef-pastrami "heavyweight" instead? The counterman thought that was a good idea, too.

We admired his artistry with a carving knife as he sliced pieces off the two seasoned briskets in a blur of metal and meat and stacked them on rye bread. Also tempting: Polish sausage, chicken pot pie, veal cutlet and stuffed bell peppers.

Tableside, horseradish and hot mustard became involved with the delicious brisket duo, and the dipping jus was just the right touch.

Get it for $6.69 at Sam's, 2500 El Camino Ave.; (916) 482-2175, www.thehofbrau.com.

How about some Sam's history:

Next time your travels take you to San Francisco, carve out some time for a look a 6-1/2-foot-tall wedding cake made out of vibrantly colored French macarons (meringue-like cookies).

The mega-cake is inside the ornate lobby of the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square, next to the 157-year-old Viennese Magneta grandfather clock, a popular rendezvous spot for generations of San Franciscans. The cake is in celebration of the spring and summer wedding seasons, said a spokesperson, and will be displayed through May 6.

"Growing up in France, macarons were and still are my favorite dessert, and I find it very exciting that they've become the treat du jour here in the U.S.," says St. Francis executive pastry chef jean-François Houdré. "This wedding cake is a labor of love inspired by my childhood roots."

The chef and his staff devoted 75 hours to the cake, which is decorated with 1,000 handmade macarons in various sizes and flavors.

Upcoming at the St. Francis are Easter weekend lodging packages, children's activities, special programs and brunch. For more information: www.westinstfrancis.com, 415-397-7000.

We've sorely missed our go-to wurst since Capitol Dawg shut its doors at Capitol Avenue and 20th Street last November. Our favorite was the "hot Italian" - a juicy Italian sausage on a seeded roll topped with a heap of hot giardineria, the Italian relish of spicy pickled vegetables.

There are other wurst options, one of which serves our substitute go-to dog. Ruffhaus lists five wursts on its recently expanded menu. We've tasted them all, but keep going back to the crisp, complexly flavored bratwurst that we dress semi-Chicago-style. We get it on a seeded bun topped with sport peppers and neon-green relish, with house-made potato chips (about $7.50 for the package; pictured).

Now, about neon relish, which looks like it might glow in the dark: In the 1930s, a certain preservative was commonly put into pickle relish that made it neon-green. The chemical hasn't been used for decades, but because neon relish is a part of Chicago's food lore, many companies there use a mix of mint and artificial food coloring to replicate the bright-green hue. Call it tradition.

Ruffhaus sources neon relish, giardineria and sport peppers from the Puckered Pickle in Chicago (www.puckeredpickle.com). Ruffhaus is at 4366 Town Center Blvd., El Dorado Hills; (916) 941-3647, www.ruffhaushotdogco.com.

Other dog-centric options include:
Wienery, 715 56th St., Sacramento; (916) 455-0497, www.thewienerysacramento.com.
Wiener Works, 5207 Madison Ave., Sacramento; (916) 334-8711, www.weinerworksmadison.com.
Parker's, 1605 Douglas Blvd., Roseville; (916) 786-2202, www.parkershotdogs.com.
Hotdogger, 29 E St., Davis; (530) 753-6291, www.thehotdogger.com.
Burney's, 886 Lincoln Way, Auburn; (530) 887-1262.

Though it sounds like a mundane dessert to the uninitiated, bread pudding can be a delight.

It's found in various world cusines and in seemingly every restaurant throughout the South. In its simplest form, it's stale bread softed with milk, bound with egg, spiced with mace or cinnamon, and sweetened with rum- or caramel-based sauce.

We discovered a chocolate-rich incarnation at Fabaian's Italian Bistro the other night. Resistance was futile.

Chef Tom Patterson combines Acme-brand challah (egg bread), heavy cream, eggs, sugar and cinnamon and bakes the base for 40 minutes at 450 degrees. Then he whips up cocolate sauce from Guittard chocolate - the brand used for See's candies - adds Guittard chocolate chips to it and pours it over the pudding. It's served warm with orange gelato from the Italian Ice Cream Co. in Folsom.

Get it while it lasts ($6.95) at 1755 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks; (916) 536-9891, www.fabiansitalianbistro.

If you have a taste for dining out, and enjoy winetasting and short drives, you should know that the fourth annual Sonoma County Restaurant Week starts today and runs through Sunday.

On the table: More than 115 restaurants will offer three-course prix-fixe dinners for $19, $29 or $39, along with optional wine-pairings. After all, Sonoma County is known for its many wineries.

Cuisines range from Italian, French and Japanese, to American and "wine country" - a term that usually translates to mean locally sourced and artisanal ingredients.

"The meals are across the board," said spokeswoman Audrey Bendowski. "We have burgers and pizza, but we have salmon and ribeye steaks, too."

For more information: www.restaurantweek@sonoma-county.org.

Years ago, many adventurous home cooks who like to wrestle with whole turkeys moved beyond brining them in a spiced-saltwater solution and turned to the flavor-injection method. Turkey injector kits are sold in many barbecue-supply stores, sporting-goods and hardware stores, and online.

In this method, a big "syringe" is filled with seasoned marinade (or beer, wine, sherry, olive oil or whatever). Then the attached big-gauge needle is inserted into the turkey carcass at multiple sites and in various directions. The plunger is pushed with each insertion, spreading the liquid throughout. The injected turkey is refrigerated overnight, then smoked, deep-fried or oven-roasted the next day. The result is a juicer, more flavorful turkey.

In a smaller, far-less-hassle scenario, the French's company (of ballpark mustard fame) has introduced its new line of Flavor Infuser marinades. The theory is the same as above, but less ambitious and much easier for the weekend griller who's cooking, say, chicken breasts, pork loin, steak or fish.

Here's how: Remove the cap from the infuser, stick the plastic "needle" into the meat at several sites, remove slowly while simultaneously squeezing the plastic tube - slowly. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before grilling.

Flavor Infusers sell for about $3 each at supermarkets and come in four flavors - Sweet & Tangy Teriyaki, Classic Steakhouse, Zesty Italian and Caribbean Jerk.

While we waited for the charcoal in our Weber grill to burn down, we injected two chicken breasts (pictured), a filet of salmon, a thick porkchop and a market steak with the four flavors. The liquids certainly plumped up the meats. We found some marinade streaks when we cut into them later, but overall the infusers delivered what they promised - more juice, more flavor.

Caution: Because of the risk of cross-contamination on the injector tips, French's urges consumers not to reuse the plastic infusers. If you don't use a whole tube of liquid (which infuses up to four pounds), toss it.

For more information: www.frenchs.com.

Adam Pechal, chef and co-owner of Tuli Bistro and Restaurant Thir13en, had a good run on the ABC-TV cooking competition "The Taste" before he was shown the door on Feb. 26. His appearances were chronicled at www.sacbee.com/appetizers by my colleague, wine and food writer Chris Macias.

With that in mind, lunch pal Gloria Glyer and I walked over to Tuli to say hello. Gloria writes the weekly "Fundraisers" calendar for The Bee and is a former Dining Diva for Sacramento magazine.

Pechal wasn't in evidence, but we grabbed a patio table anyway and shared a "pollo caliente" sandwich and a Molinari salumi pizza (pictured).

The huge sandwich was tops - tender chicken breast, white cheddar, crispy onion, cabbage slaw and chipotle BBQ sauce on focaccia ($12). The accompanying skinny fries were smothered in terrific chili, chunky with succulent pork and al-dente beans, and gooey with melted cheese.

We think Tuli assembles one of the most well-balanced pizzas around, cooked in a wood-fired pizza oven that blisters the edges of the thin, chewy crust.
Ours was topped with Molinari-brand pepperoni, salami and hot coppa, rich sauce from fire-roasted tomatoes and just the right amount of mozzarella ($15).

Too bad Pechal couldn't have made those winners on "The Taste."
Tuli Bistro, 2031 S St., Sacramento; (916) 451-8854, www.tulibistro.com

Determining the exact dates of the $1.4 billion salmon season is a complicated and, well, fluid exercise. Right now, the opening and closing dates are a work-in-progress, but it's fair to say that recreational and commercial salmon-fishing seasons will be from around mid-April to around the end of September, or maybe into October.

Helping the finny natural resource along is the Golden Gate Salmon Association, which will host its annual dinner (with appetizers and cocktails) and fund-raiser at 5:30 p.m. April 26 at the Scottish Rite Center, 6151 H St., Sacramento; (916) 452-5881.

Tickets go fast and are on sale now at (855) 251-4472 and www.goldengatesalmonassociation.com. They're $80 per person, $140 per couple, $40 for ages 16 and younger. "Table Sponsor" packages for eight are $800 and include reserved VIP seating, raffle tickets and a drawing. Look for auctions hosted by auctioneers from the Discovery Channel's show "Auction Kings."

The GGSA's membership includes salmon fishermen and restaurants. So, what's for dinner? "You'd expect it to be salmon, but (the members) are around salmon all the time and they want to eat something else," said a spokesman. "There will be some salmon on the menu, but primarily it will be ribs and chicken."

Outstanding burgers are where you find 'em, in this case at Cascada Mexican restaurant in Placerville.

The thick, juicy half-pound patty is made from prime-rib meat and sits on a lightly toasted ciabatta roll that can handle the heft.

Ours was topped with avocado, bacon, pepper-jack cheese and sauteed mushrooms, with a mound of crisp, well-seasoned fries ($11.95). Best strategy: Cut the monster into halves.

Get it at 384 Main St.; (530) 344-7757, www.cascadaonmainstreet.com.

Tip: Sit at the bar for this meal; it's the best seat for people-watching and to overhear the inside chatter between the bartenders and the serviers.

The doughnut can be a work of art, as proven by a few doughnut shops around town - like Doughbot, whose motto is, "Resistance is futile." Its pastry expertise is on display from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Get there early for such exotic flavors as chocolate-caramel-stout (for Sacrmento Beer Week) and peanut butter-jelly-blood orange.

Meanwhile, Sacramento-area doughnut cognoscenti aren't the only ones who think highly of Doughbot's pastries, created by husband-wife co-owners Bryan and Dannah Widener.

Late last year, the couple traveled far north and crossed the border to compete on a new half-hour show created by Food Network Canada. "Doughnut Masters" will star doughnut-makers from 30 American and 12 Canadian doughnut shops.

Each episode will feature three contestants who must make doughnuts from three "secret ingredients." Judges choose a winner, who walks away with $10,000. That's right - they're handing out 10 grand a week.

Though the taping is a done deal and the show is scheduled to premiere at 10 p.m. April 2 on Food Network Canada, the Wideners can't talk about how they fared or who the winners and losers were.

"Our contract states we can't talk to anybody about it, and (the producers) are really serious about that," Bryan Widener said on the phone today.

Fair enough - but let's hope Food Network USA picks up the show so we can see for ourselves. Meanwhile, check out some of the "Doughnut Masters" audition videos on YouTube. Sorry, but Doughbot's isn't among them.

Doughbot is at 2226 10th St., Sacramento; (916) 444-5157, www.doughbotdonuts.com.

Those arbiters of all things food and drink at the Daily Meal have seemingly accomplished the impossible by naming their 101 Best Restaurants In America. That's from a field of 200,000 full-service restaurants, so their opinions could differ from yours. Ya think?

Among the chosen are 20 from California, and among those are a dozen within reasonable driving distance from Sacramento.

Taking the No. 1 spot was Thomas Keller's French Laundry in Yountville, in the Napa Valley. It beat out Nos. 2 through 5, all in New York City. The French Laundry is known for its multi-course, multi-hour meals, and the artistry of its dishes; pictured is snapper with veggies (but no tartar sauce...).

To see the complete list, and get an explanation of how it was devised, go to www.thedailymeal.com/101-best-restaurants-america. Meanwhile:

No. 97: Benu, San Francisco
No. 80: The Restaurant at Meadowood, St. Helena
No. 64: State Bird Provisions, San Francisco
No. 56: Michael Mina, San Francisco
No. 54: Quince, San Francisco
No. 52: Coi, San Francisco
No. 42: La Taqueria, San Francisco
No. 30: Bar Tartine, San Francisco
No. 27: Mission Chinese Food, San Francisco
No. 23: Bouchon Bistro, Yountville
No. 19: Zuni Café, San Francisco
No. 15: Chez Panisse, Berkeley

Among the 35 dining options at the century-old Grand Central Terminal in New York City is the iconic Oyster Bar & Restaurant, serving 30 kinds of oysters and 25 kinds of fish.

Also on its menu is an original dish so sublime that restaurants around the nation have adapted it as their own. That would be the pan roast, a highly prized meal in a bowl.

Typically, a pan roast is a bisque built around cream or half and half, butter, clam juice, white wine, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce and spices such as celery salt and paprika; sherry is sometimes added, as is garlic and sweet chili sauce. The broth is scalded and mixed with seafood, typically oysters, shrimp, clams, scallops, crab or lobster, or any combination.

For your next road trip, you should know that a great version is served at John's Oyster Bar at John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks; another is at the nearby Oyster Bar at the Atlantis in Reno.

Closer to home, we stopped at Powell's Steamer Co. & Pub in Placerville for a bowl of its oyster-shrimp pan roast (pictured). One delicious spoonful led to the next, one pack of oyster crackers was replaced with a second. Soon, lunch was history. We plan to do it again soon.

The combination pan roast is $18; shrimp-only and oysters-only roasts are $16 each. Powell's is at 25 Main St.; (530) 626-1091, www.powellssteamer.com.

In the prep area behind the Corti Bros. Market meat counter, meat department manager and master butcher Mike Carroll used a metal paddle to move around the trimmed briskets and other gorgeous cuts of beef soaking in his proprietary brine in stainless-steel barrels.

In preparation for St. Patrick's Day, the brine-injected cuts will soak for 21 days before they're displayed in cold cases and sold to home cooks planning to carve corned beef for their Irish-themed dinners.

Meanwhile, stacked in the display case out front is an item new to the store. The beef chuck shoulder tender filet - sold under the name "T major roast" - is "remarkable," Carroll said. It's $7.99 a pound, on sale for $6.99 from Wednesday through March 5.

"It comes off the top of the crossrib shoulder and weighs between three-quarters of a pound and a pound," Carroll said. "It just sits up there and doesn't do much (work). Like beef tenderloin, it's along for the ride. That's what makes it so tender. It's a very lean piece of meat that's been forgotten by most butchers. Traditionally, it's thrown into the trim bucket for hamburger."

We brought some home and cooked it two ways. The first steak was cut into medallions, rubbed with olive oil, coarse-ground black pepper and coarse Vignalta herbed salt from Italy, and pan-seared in olive oil to medium rare. The meat was shockingly full of flavor and more tender than many filet mignons we've had.

We seasoned the second steak the same way and put it under the oven broiler, turned it several times, removed it and let it rest, then cut it into slices (pictured). The rare beef was delicious, but the pan-fried version was better.

"You can put it on the grill for about 10 minutes," Carroll said. "It seems to do best when it's cooked rare, but you can take it up to medium. It's very versatile; you can make kebabs, roast it whole, pan-fry it, make steak sandwiches out of it, turn it into hash, add it to salads... It's an amazing piece of meat."

Corti Bros. Market is at 5810 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento; (916) 736-3800, www.cortibros.biz. Pre-order corned beef at (916) 736-3805.

The Davis Farmers Market will bring new meaning to the term "pig out" when it hosts the 22nd annual Pig Day, a celebration of all things pork that has become a part of Davis culture.

Oink this: pork and market-fresh veggies stir fry, piggie pops, pig's head-shaped French bread on a stick, smoked pork ribs, bacon-topped pizza, pulled-pork breakfast sandwiches, pigs-in-a-blanket, corn dogs and hot dogs, pig-shaped cookies, watermelon-chocolate-chip ice cream and much more.

Special events for children include pony rides, piglet petting zoo, piggie arts and crafts, and make-your-own piggie banks. Pose for photos with the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, and say hi to "Ms. Piggie."

"We have visitors from all over Sacramento and Yolo Counties on Pig Day, and more people attend every year," said farmers market manager Randii MacNear. "Pig Day celebrates the pig's rightful place as one of man's most intelligent and useful domesticated animals, and it's the only event of its kind in California."

Pig Day at the Davis Farmers Market will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 2 in Central Park at Fourth and C streets. More information: (530) 756-1695, www.davisfarmersmarket.org.

You say you love chocolate and you're prone to partying? Then you're a perfect candidate for the 7th annual San Francisco International Chocolate Salon.

More than 40 chocolatiers and confectioners will offer their sweet delights at the affair, while winetastings and live music will serve as backdrops in the 55,000-square-foot space.

A ticket buys chocolate tastings and wine pairings, demonstrations, first-taste samplings of new products, tastes of experimental flavor combinations, talks and presentations, panel discussions, games, author signings and ongoing interviews by TasteTV's "Chocolate Television" show.

The chocolate extravaganza will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 24 at Fort Mason Center, Marina Boulevard and Buchanan Street, San Francisco; (415) 345-7500, www.fortmason.org.

Early-bird tickets are $20, or $25 in advance and $30 at the door; $10 for children ages 6 to 12; free for 5 and younger. To buy tickets, watch videos from past events and for more information, visit www.sfchocolatesalon.com.

We scoff at Danish, laugh at Napoleons and don't waste a glance on doughnuts. For us, pastry doesn't get any better than the croissant, a shining star in the family of baked goods known as "viennoiseries." The word references the city of Vienna, Austria, where many such goodies originated.

The flaky, crescent-shaped puff of fleeting delight is a combination of layered yeast dough and butter, rolled, layered and folded - a baking technique called "laminating."

The croissant is not French in origin, but evolved from a Viennese pastry called "kipferl." In the 1830s, the Boulangerie Viennoise in Paris specialized in Austrian pastries, including kipferl, and it wasn't long before the French "borrowed" the template and gave it a twist -- literally and figuratively. And a darn fine job they did.

Inevitably, the art of croissant-making was sullied by the fast-food mindset when frozen, premade croissants went on the wholesale market in the 1970s, making it possible for any store with an oven to sell dumbed-down, insulting versions of the baker's pride.

Good thing for us the Bouchon Bakery exists in Yountville in the Napa Valley. The bakers there make croissants from scratch. It's a process that requires 48 hours of loving care from the bakery's pastry team and bread team, from the time the dough is mixed till the croissants are sold at the counter. That's according to assistant head baker Erik Bursteiner.

We dropped by the bakery last Tuesday and were shocked to find no line outside the door, as there is usually. We walked inside to a blast of wonderful aromas from fresh-baked pastries and breads, and freshly brewed coffee. We were tempted to tell the counter person, "Two of everything, please!" but settled for a box of croissants and a large dark-roast.

We returned to the parking lot, used the trunk of the car as a table, and ate half the stash. You can, too. In fact, you should.

Bouchon Bakery is at 6528 Washington St., Yountville; (707) 944-2253, www.bouchonbakery.com.

The Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a "farm-to-fork" food- and dining-centric website, www.farmtoforkcapital.com, which will include agricultural news and information on upcoming festivals.

"It's a work-in-progress, a shell that we will be filling in," said bureau spokesman Mike Testa.

The bureau has hired former Bee staff writer Ed Murrieta to write restaurant reviews for the site, reports today's edition of the media blog www.jimromenesko.com.

"'Culinary Concierge' is closer to what I'll actually do," Murrieta says on Romenesko. "My job is to find and showcase the best (restaurant) food and beverages in the Sacramento region. I'm interested in whether the food is good ... and (in finding) good value for the money."

To read a question-and-answer interview with Murrieta, visit the Romenesko site.

The daily menu at Fabian's Italian Bistro offers plenty of solid dishes, with some liquid surprises to be found at the bar. Co-owner Christian Forte (with his wife, Mercedes) is dialed in to the beer scene, as he has proven with his regular beer-centric events featuring artisanal and microbreweries.

For Sacramento Beer Week (Feb. 22 through March 3), he's hosting the Rocky Mountain Beer Dinner, featuring six beers from two breweries in the Rockies, matched with a multi-course meal engineered by executive chef Tom Patterson.

Look for three different pours from both microbreweries - Boulder Beer from Colorado (www.boulderbeer.com) and Grand Teton Brewing Co. from Idaho (pictured; www.grandtetonbrewing.com). Representatives from both breweries, and chef Patterson, will be on hand to discuss all things beer and food.

The evening will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 28; tickets are $49 per person (including tax and tip). Fabian's is at 11755 Fair Oaks Blvd. in the Almond Orchard center; (916) 536-9891, www.fabiansitalianbistro.com.

Each course will be paired with a beer. The menu will go like this:

Reception course: Beer-soaked housemade Yukon gold potato chips with spicy-sweet aioli
First course: Whipped bone-marrow bruschetta with capers and fried balsamic-infused cippolini onion
Second course: Beet carpaccio with shaved watermelon radish, blood orange, rocket greens and spicy pepitas
Third course: Porcini-dusted ahi tuna slider with green garlic aioli and housemade wasabi pickle relish
Fourth course: Hops-smoked quail with crispy pork belly and trumpet mushrooms
Dessert: Beer-infused chocolate brownie with salted caramel gelato and smoked bacon brittle

Innovative chef Patrick Mulvaney is whipping up something special once again. This time he has teamed with cookbook author Cheryl Rule to create a multi-course prix fixe dinner based on recipes in Rule's cookbook, "Ripe: A Fresh, Colorful Approach to Fruits and Vegetables" (Running Press, $25, 312 pages; with color photos by Paulette Phlipot).

"The book is structured around the colors of the rainbow, so I thought we would make (colored appetizers) and spread the spectrum around through the dinner," Mulvaney explained.

Of course, the ingredients are locally sourced. Mulvaney and his wife, Bobbin, are well-known for their farm-to-table philosophy, serving what they call "hand-crafted New American cuisine."

Tickets are $60 per person, or $100 for two; a signed cookbook is included. Buy tickets at the restaurant or at www.tastybooks.eventbrite.com. Mulvaney's B&L is at 1215 19th St., Sacramento; (916) 441-6022, www.mulvaneysbl.com. For more on the cookbook: www.ripecookbook.com.

Here's the menu:

For visitors to Carmel-by-the-Sea, it's always a case of "so much food, so little time." Well and good, but take a break from winetasting and expensive bistro dinners to enjoy some casual treats at the always-crowded Cottage of Sweets.

The 300-square-foot cottage sells 600 types of candies, from Turkish delight to peanut butter cups. The big draws, though, are the licorice and the homemade fudge.

The most popular fudge flavor is sea salt-caramel, said manger Karen Bateham on the phone today. "It outsells the other fudges three to one."

Dozens of kinds of licorice are on offer, 10 of which are salted - a common touch in European countries. Many of the licorices are domestic, but most are imported from Australia, England, Finland, Germany, Holland, Italy, Switzerland and Sweden.

What's the most unusual type? "Dutch licorice ship ropes," Bateham said. "They look like little pieces of rope and are dusted with an extreme salt coating."

The cottage was built in 1922 and became the Cottage of Sweets in 1959. Its current owners, Lanny and Linda Rose, took over in 1980.

The cottage was fashioned after the 20 or so "fairytale" cottages built by architect and Carmel resident Hugh Comstock in the 1920s. The style is characterized by crooked lines, swooping roofs, turrets, alcoves and stone chimneys that appear to be on the brink of tumbling down. They help epitomize the town.

If you can't get to Carmel any time soon, you can order candies online at www.cottageofsweets.com. The store is on Ocean Avenue between Lincoln and Monte Verde; (831) 624-517.

One last thing: Why can't people resist candy? I asked Bateham.

"Why would they want to?" she replied.

Good point.

Shari Fitzpatrick moved to Sacramento 22 years ago and parlayed a $1,500 advance into an iconic business. The confectioner's specialty was luscious chocolate-dipped strawberries, a staple at celebrations everywhere.

The bad economy forced the closure of her three-store Berry Factory in 2011, but not before she had written "Berried In Chocolate: How I Built a Multimillion-Dollar Business by Doing What I Love To Do and How You Can Too" (Pelican, 224 pages). The entrepreneur went on to reinvent herself as a motivational speaker.

Now she has a "special edition" of the book (Valentine's Day, anyone?), autographed and partly covered in dark chocolate drizzled with white chocolate.

The novelty: You can read the book and eat it, too - sort of. Here's how: Remove the decorative cellophane, then remove the first layer of shrink wrap. When you do, the chocolate breaks away in sweet, edible shards. The book itself is covered in a second layer of shrink wrap, so things do not get messy.

The chocolate-covered book is $35; the plain edition is $25. To order: www.sharifitzpatrick.com.

Last summer, Gary and Drew Moffat got some good news from Wine Spectator magazine, informing them they'd won an Award of Excellence for their digital list of 250 wines for the restaurant portion of their store. The Moffats are the father-son co-owners of Carpe Vino, the classy wine bar/wine shop/restaurant in Auburn. It's stocked with about 500 wines, an inventory that's in constant flux.

Their dining program includes regularly scheduled prix-fixe themed dinners. Their first of the year will be the New Orleans-accented "Big Easy Culinary Celebration," Feb. 26 through March 3. The toll: $49 per person. Reservations: (530) 823-0320, www.opentable.com.

Check out the menu (one choice per category; vegetarian options available):

First course: crispy pork boudin, or baked oysters "Josephine," or Louisiana shrimp remoulade

Second course: mock turtle soup, or muffuletta chopped salad

Main course: Creole jambalaya, or duck and smoked turkey gumbo, or crawfish and shrimp etouffee

Dessert: "gateau de sirop" ("syurp cake," made with pure cane syrup), or bananas Foster-style bread pudding

Carpe Vino is at 1568 Lincoln Way in Old Auburn; visit at www.carpevinoauburn.com.

Seems like more Sacramentans are dialing in to the growing winetasting scene in the foothills of Amador County. When it comes to tasting reds, our go-to wineries are Borjon, Cooper and Deaver. For more wineries to visit, go to the Amador Vintners Associations home page, www.amadorwine.com.

How about some goodies to go along on that winery tour? The homespun Amador Vintage Market in Plymouth is a smart stop for picnic supplies, sandwiches and salads (the curried chicken is tops). Specially prepared box lunches, basket lunches and platters are available.

"We get a lot of tourists on weekends," said market-deli owner Beth Sogaard. "Weekend winetasters are the key to our success. Ninety-nine percent of what (we sell) is made in-house, and we use a lot of local produce."

One don't-miss dish is the pairing of flour tortilla chips ($4.95 a bag) and hummus ($2.95 a container), both made in-house.

The well-seasoned Parmesan-tomato-basil-garlic chips (pictured ) are so popular they're shipped around the country. They're light, crisp and loaded with flavor. We used them to scoop up globs of hummus, a tangy paste of garbanzo beans, tahini (ground sesame seed paste), cumin, cayenne, parsley and olive oil. Somebody stop us!

The Amador Vintage Market is at 9393 Main St.; (209) 245-3663, www.amadorvintagemarket.com.

Lunch pal Neal Hagen was back in town after a business trip to Tennessee, and was talking about some of the meals he'd had there. "Fried chicken, fried catfish, fried okra - fried everything," he said.

The chat turned to the subject of meatloaf. "I don't know anybody who doesn't love meatloaf," he said. "But you never find consistent meatloaf at restaurants. Even the meatloaf at the same restaurant will vary from visit to visit, so I have to question their contents. The trick is to find a restaurant that intentionally makes the same meatloaf day after day."

I know of such a place, I told him, and they serve meatloaf every day. Well, then, he said...

That's how we found ourselves standing in line at Roxie Deli at 11:15 this morning, while the countermen assembled our sandwiches: house-smoked meatloaf on chewy ciabatta rolls with melted cheddar and provolone cheeses, horseradish, mayonnaise, tomato, onion and crisp jalepeno coins. They're built in three sizes (big, bigger and biggest) for three prices - $7.56, $9.52 and $15.06, after tax.

Here's how Roxie co-owner Chris Tannous (with wife Amy) makes the meatloaf: "I mix 80-20 ground chuck with eggs and my secret rub, then form (the loaves) in pans and put them in the smoker. It's not your mother's meatloaf."

What's in the secret spice mix? I was joking, right?

Neal and I sat in the sunshine at a small table next to the massive smoker, which burns oak and fruitwood. Wisps of fragrant smoke wafted by now and then.

We unwrapped the sandwiches, admired their artistry and began demolishing them. The melange of tastes and textures is a template for all other meatloaf sandwiches to follow.

"Gee, whiz!" Neal exclaimed. "You can smell the flavors before you even take a bite. Most meatloaves are dry, but this is moist and delicious."

Chris Tannous came outside and opened the smoker to rearrange fragrant, mahogany-dark briskets, which are smoked for 16 hours. Then he opened a top compartment and showed us the pans of meatloaf.

"I put these in at 5:30 this morning, and I'll take them out at about 5 this afternoon," he said.

Any specials coming up? "We'll smoke brisket, ribs, tri-tip and Buffalo wings for Superbowl Sunday," he said. "Get here early."

We chewed the last bites of the sandwiches and wadded up the last of the napkins.

"Sitting outside of a little grocery store, next to a smoker in a parking lot, eating a meal like this..." Neal said. "Only in America."

Neal should know - he's traveled the world. Ironically, the best meatloaf sandwich he's ever had has been right here all along.

Roxie Deli, 3340 C St., Sacramento; (916) 443-5402, www.roxiedeli.com

Lovers of fresh salmon filets and steaks couldn't wait to fire up their outdoor grills last April when the commercial salmon-fishing season opened and markets began to fill with the delectable fish. But smiles turned to frowns when the season closed at the end of summer. Home cooks have had to settle for farm-raised salmon while they wait for the season to reopen in the spring.

There's an option, though. Corti Bros. Market is selling an innovative new product, Frozen At Sea wild king salmon, for $15 to $20 a pound (depending on cut and occasional sales).

The technique as explained by FAS distributors involves "rapid freezing of the fish at minus-40 degrees while the boat is still at sea." This takes place while the fish is still pliant, which means, they say, it will have a higher moisture content when thawed out, resulting in better flavor and texture. There's more science to it than that, but you get the drift.

We broiled lightly seasoned steaks and fillets of FAS salmon at home and found them to be better than any farm-raised salmon steaks and fillets we've had, and pretty much the same in flavor and texture as fresh salmon. The succulent fish disappeared so fast, though, that we'd better get some more and conduct a second tasting just to be sure.

Corti Bros. gets its FAS salmon from Seafood Suppliers of San Francisco. The actual fisher responsible for that supply is Heather Sears, captain of the F/V Princess, docked in Fort Bragg. She and her crew caught the fish between Point Arena and Bodega Bay, an area that was thick with krill last season. Salmon love to eat krill; in turn, the small crustaceans intensify the salmons' natural orange color.

Corti Bros. Market is at 5810 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento; (916) 736-3800, www.cortibros.biz.

Nader Shirakh phoned to say he and wife Fariba have sold their Amore Cafe, Bakery and Espresso Bar in Gold River, one of our favorite go-to's.

The new owners are husband-wife Abhishek and Nina Paul, who took over Jan. 21 after the Shirakhs trained them in the restaurant's operation.

"We will have exactly the same menu, but will add some Indian cuisine in a month or so," Abhishek Paul said. "Nina is the chef, and comes from a family of chefs. She has many family recipes for Indian food."

The Pauls relocated from India to Canada, where they ran a restaurant for eight years, and then moved to Sacramento two months ago.

The cuisine at Amore will remain primarily a fusion of Mediterranean, Italian, French and Persian, prepared from scratch. To ensure that continuation, Fariba Shirakh schooled the new owners on her cooking techniques and handed over the recipes.

Nader and Fariba Shirakh once ran the fine-dining house Amadeus on Fair Oaks Boulevard, then segued to Amore Cafe about eight years ago.

"It was time to get out," Nader Shirakh said. "We want to travel around the country and we might go to Europe. After that, I'm going to get tired of sitting at home, I'm so used to doing something."

Could that include returning to the restaurant business? "You never know," he said. "We need to see where we are in a few months. I'm always open to opportunity. I never close my eyes on it."

The Shirakhs were gracious hosts who built a loyal clientele. "(Some of) our customers cried when we told them the news," Nader Shirakh said. "We've had such a wonderful relationship with the community. It has been the most beautiful experience in our lives."

Amore Cafe is at 220 Gold Springs Court, Gold River; (916) 463-0011.

Valentine's Day is Feb. 14, and romance is beginning to fill the air. Which segues to this: The diners have finished their meals (and held hands), the votes have been counted and the results are in. Check out OpenTable's "2013 Diners' Choice Award Winners for the Top 100 Most Romantic Restaurants in the United States" at www.opentable.com/romantic.

OpenTable, the free online restaurant reservations site, pored over 5 million reviews of 15,000 restaurants, "submitted (last year) by verified OpenTable diners." Most of the restaurants on the list serve French or Italian cuisines.

Of course, California had the most winners (16), followed by Hawaii and Florida. No Sacramento-area restaurants were included, but there are two in San Francisco - Acquerello and Fleur de Lys (pictured) - as well as Madrona Manor in Healdsburg and Shadowbrook in Capitola.

Let's spike this rumor before it spreads: No, the venerable old-school Espanol restaurant in east Sacramento has not closed its doors.

"This is our 90th year in business and things are going well," said Perry Luigi this morning. He co-owns the restaurant with family members. "We've held our menu prices for at least years and still serve family-style dinners."

The cause of the confusion: El Dorado Savings vacated the space next door to the Espanol to move across the street, into the Sav-Mart shopping center. Temporarily occupying the empty building is Liberty Tax, which will camp there through tax season. For those driving by on Folsom Boulevard, it may look like the Espanol has closed.

The Espanol opened in the 1920s and calls itself "the Italian restaurant with a Spanish name." It began life as a Basque restaurant created to accommodate the Spanish sheepherders who lodged in boardinghouse quarters above it, at 11th and J streets. Today, the minestrone soup is brought to the table in a blue tureen with a ladle, a remnant of the Espanol's heritage of serving meals "Basque-style" or "family-style."

The Espanol changed hands and relocated in 1952 to Third and I streets in the Commercial Hotel, then to Folsom Boulevard in 1965, its present site.

Certainly, the Espanol is out of the hip farm-to-fork mainstream. It's more of a relic of a bygone era, but its clientele is famously loyal.

"The menu and the staff haven't changed much in years," Luigi said. "We're a straightforward, no-gimmick restaurant. We do what we do, and we do it well."

The Espanol is at 5723 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento; (916) 457-1936.

Today is the final day of the third annual Napa Valley Truffle Festival, where "world-class cuisine meets cutting-edge truffle science."

The festival got started last Friday, with a reception at La Toque restaurant, and continued over the weekend with truffle-centric seminars, winery tours, food-and-wine pairings, a winemaker dinner, a truffle orchard tour and a mushroom-foraging excursion.

Today, the free Festival Marketplace is taking over the Oxbow Public Market in the town of Napa, with cooking demonstrations, winetastings ($25), special truffle-accented dishes, and a cornucopia of local foodstuffs and wines for sale.

The festival sells out early each year, bringing foodies from all over California and a few foreign countries. It's a big deal. Remember, truffles are delicacies in the global marketplace. Black truffles retail for about $1,700 a pound; white truffles cost around $4,500 a pound. For centuries, truffles have been a treasured ingredient in haute cuisine, prized by master chefs around the world.

On Sunday, we caught the truffle festival luncheon at the Beringer winery in St. Helena, which included an informative tour of the caves. A day trip to the winery is a treat any time. The grounds are gorgeous, the winetasting is fine and the history is fascinating (the winery dates from the 1870s; www.beringer.com).

The speculation is over. After sitting vacant since July 2011, the Market at Pavilions has a new tenant.

That would be Sacramento restaurateur Randy Paragary (pictured), who has signed a lease and plans to renovate the space and open a Cafe Bernardo in the 4,000 square-foot space by June.

The new Cafe Bernardo will be the fifth in the Paragary Restaurant Group, which also operates Paragary's Bar & Oven, Esquire Grill, Spataro and Centro, as well as three bars.

The Cafe Bernardo concept is described on the company's website, www.paragarys.com as "relaxed casual" and "inspired by the European tradition of cafe dining."

Calls to Paragary and his restaurant-group offices were not returned.

The specialty-foods Market at Pavilions closed its doors July 1, 2011, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy from its creditors in April 2011.

Until 2008, the Market had been owned by food-and-wine expert David Berkley for 25 years and was called David Berkley Fine Wines & Specialty Foods.

In July 2008, Berkley sold his store to Greg Rhategan and investor Raymond Matteson. Rhategan was a specialty-foods and wine purveyor and restaurateur from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and was the face of the Market.

The Market's landlord - and now Paragary's - was the Costa Mesa-based retail-property company Donahue Schriber, which owns Pavilions.

At the time of the Market's closure, Donahue Schriber marketing director Audrey Yokota said the company was ready to move on. "We want to find a replacement (for the Market)," she said then. "Our leasing agents are talking with a number of players and prospects."

One well-known restaurateur whose name kept coming up as a possible new tenant was Randall Selland, whose Selland Group owns the Sacramento fine-dining restaurants Ella and The Kitchen.

Shortly before opening a second Selland's Market Cafe in Eldorado Hills Town Center in January 2012 (the original cafe is on H Street in east Sacramento), he said he was exploring additional expansion opportunities. One of them was the empty Market at Pavilions.

"There's a possibility we will open something there and still keep our (H Street) location," he said at the time. "We've been talking to Donahue Schriber about that space for a long time."

Obviously, that didn't happen.

Those arbiters of all things food and drink at the Daily Meal have announced their third annual "America's 50 Most Powerful People in Food" list, and it's a cornucopia of tasty bites.

"These are the men and woman who have made a substantial impact on the way we eat," explains a spokesman. "Their decisions directly affect what we consume day to day - for better or for worse."

Though most of the players on the list are corporate and government types whose companies and federal agencies have international influence, included are Santa Rosa-based restaurateur-TV host Guy Fieri (pictured), who was the subject of a media blitz when the New York Times' restaurant critic blasted his Guy's American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square in mid-November; Napa Valley restaurateur Thomas "The French Laundry" Keller; restaurateur Wolfgang Puck, whose Spago in L.A. helped spark the California cuisine movement when it opened in 1982; author and TV host Anthony "No Reservations" Bourdain; author Michael "The Omnivore's Dilemma" Pollan; and New York restaurateur-chef Mario Batali.

Here are the top 10 influencers. See the complete list at www.thedailymeal.com. P.S.: Coming in at No. 50 - "the American farmer."

Bee photograph by Tim Reese

Chocolate is tempting and resistance is futile.That's why See's Candies does such a landslide business throughout the year, especially when its special limited-edition batches of seasonal goodies hit the shelves in its 200 candy shops in 13 states.

Now through Feb. 14, its Valentine's Day offerings include several versions of heart-shaped boxes (including a satin box) filled with various chocolates, plus marshmallow hearts, hot hearts, sour hearts and cinnamon lollypops ($5.40 to $38.50).

Charles and Florence See opened their confectionery business in L.A. 1921, using Charles' mother Mary's original recipes and portrait to "symbolize the old-fashioned virtues of homemade quality and friendly service." Mary See died in 1939 at age 85.
Visit www.sees.com.

When it comes to wine and beer, Christian Forte knows his stuff and proves it at the bar of Fabian's Italian Bistro, the restaurant he and wife Mercedes Forte own in Fair Oaks.

Each month, they sponsor a wine or beer event featuring tastes and small plates. This time around, though, there's a five-course dinner that will match beers from the Oskar Blues Brewery of Colorado (www.oskarblues.com) with creations by chef Tom Patterson. On site will be Eben Weisberg from the brewery, talking about all things beer.

The dinner is $42 per person at 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at Fabian's, 11755 Fair Oaks Blvd. in the Almond Orchard center; (916) 536-9891, www.fabiansitalianbistro.com.

"We're also planning a Rocky Mountain Beer Dinner in celebration of Sacramento Beer Week (Feb. 22-March 3), with the date to be determined," Christian Forte said. "We'll have the Boulder Beer Brewing and Grand Teton Brewing Company here, with with some new specials by Chef Tom."

Meanwhile, here's the menu for Oskar Blues dinner:

First course: Dale's Pale Ale with blackened scallops
Second: G'Night Imperial Red with a warm salad of house-smoked salmon, frisee, spinach and chanterelle mushroom
Third: Deviant Dale's IPA with crispy pork belly
Fourth: Old Chub Scotch Ale with beer-braised beef short rib
Fifth: Ten Fidy Imperial Stout with chocolate cake and salted pretzel gelato

Next time you're strolling along Ocean Avenue in Carmel, pop into Kurtz Culinary Creations, near the corner of Ocean and San Carlos (831-625-5267).

You'll find hundreds of specialty foods, many available for tasting - jams and jellies, spreads and dipping sauces, marinades and dressings, curds and fruit butters.

"We have more items than I've ever counted," said owner Anne Just. "More than half are under the Kurtz brand from our family farm in Canada. The others are from premium companies from around the world. Surprisingly, we've introduced a lot of Californians to their own products."

The best-selling item on both sides of the border is the house-brand Asiago "bread topper," a brightly flavored mix of Asiago cheese, herbs and spices in grapeseed oil ($16.95), made in Ontario.

Shortly after local TV stations reported Friday that J.R. Rothenberger's three iconic J.R.'s Texas Bar-B-Que restaurants would be closing their doors within five days "because of a slumping economy," crowds of loyal customers showed up to help save the day.

The new bottom line: "I'm still here and in the game," the outspoken 'cue master told me earlier today.

Rothenberger got a reprieve in the form of a $20,000 personal loan "from a friend" and will continue to deliver hard-to-find smoked brisket, deeply flavored pork and beef ribs, pork shoulder, chicken, turkey and hot links. "The Lord has worked this out," he said. "I'm cool."

Consider the hamburger, in concept a simple meal. The reality is something else.

We've made a national obsession out of a sandwich that originated as beef tartare in the Baltic province of Russia. In the 1800s, the story goes, German sailors brought back the strange dish to Hamburg, a seaport town, where somebody was inspired to roll up a handful, flatten it and cook it. The burger as we know it debuted at the St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904.

Our town is blessed with hamburgers. Big burgers, little burgers (sliders), Wagyu beef burgers, hand-formed burgers, fully loaded burgers, half-pound burgers, steakhouse burgers (think Morton's, Land Ocean and Chops) and even a burger made from ground Niman Ranch shortrib meat. That one is at Maranello in Fair Oaks, and is topped with manchego cheese, Little Gem lettuce, tomato confit, onion straws and a "dijonnaise" of house-made mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, with a side of skinny twice-cooked fries (916-241-9365, www.maranellorestaurant.com).

Raley Field was packed with burger-lovers last September, when Elk Grove website designer Rodney Blackwell (www.burgerjunkies.com) organized the inaugural Sacramento Burger Battle. Fifteen restaurants flipped their best offerings in a sizzling judged throwdown. When the smoke cleared, the winner was the Chef's Table of Rocklin (916-771-5656, www.chefdavidstable.com).

For a great burger at a bargain price, our vote goes to the prime-beef burger with fries (pictured) served during Ruth's Chris steakhouse's happy hour, dubbed "Sizzle, Swizzle & Swirl." The thick, juicy burger normally goes for $13.50, but it's yours for $7 from 4 to 7 p.m. weekdays, in the bar area.

Where: In the Pavilions center on Fair Oaks Boulevard near Howe Avenue, (916) 286-2702; and in Roseville in the Galleria center on Galleria Boulevard, (916) 780-6910. Visit www.ruthschris.com.

So, what's your favorite burger and/or burger deal? Share your picks in "Comments" below.

In the holiday-season rush, the significance of simple but satisfying family traditions too often is overlooked.

Such as: For the fifth year running, I was asked to judge the annual Holiday Cooking Throwdown in the Folsom home of a very active family.

The tradition began in 2008 with cookies, and over the years moved to appetizers, bruschetta and cupcakes. This year, the "contestants" brought their cooking skills to the dish at hand - pies.

The family members ranged in age from 6 to 66 and formed two-person teams. They took the contest seriously, but mixed good humor and lots of laughter with their competitive spirits. (Two neighbors were absent this year, having committed to a performance of "The Nutcracker").

When the flour had settled, the table was laden with a raspberry mini-tart, tamale pie with jalapeno, cheese pie with raspberry-blackberry sauce, cream-filled chocolate-mint mini-pies, and a fruit pie topped with a big chunk of chocolate (pictured).

Though I used a point-based system to rank the entries (one to five each for presentation, taste, texture and creativity), as the judge I reminded the competitors that every entry was a winner.

The contest was fun and the family bonded over the creation and cooking of their eclectic pies. The whole experience was just plain...well, nice for everyone.

The point: Take a moment to reflect on your own holiday-season family cooking traditions, and share them in "Comments" below.

The 20-plus-year-old Piatti Ristorante reopened last week after a four-month closure for a complete makeover, I reported in this space last week.

We dropped by one recent weeknight for a looksee. The bar was jammed with well-dressed patrons (many of them regulars), the dining room was about half-full, and the servers rushed from the bar station to their tables, carrying glasses of wine and brightly colored cocktails.

The place definitely has a sleeker, more contemporary look - though we've heard a few veteran customers call it "stark," "cafeteria-like" and reminiscent of a "dimestore lunch counter."

Yes, radical changes have been made, but that's part of the biz.

If your weekend road-trip plans include a stop in Monterey on Saturday, you can linger over a three-course dinner that includes Alaskan king crab or Alaskan salmon, and meet the wild and wooly Capt. Johnathan Hillstrand, who will be in town.

He and his brother, Andy ("The Bad Boys of the Bering Sea"), are among the stars of the reality-TV show "Deadliest Catch" on the Discovery Channel. It documents the daring fishermen who go out in 60-foot seas to harvest Alaskan king crabs in the Bering Sea.

"I went halibut fishing in Alaska for a week with those guys," restaurateur Dominic Mercurio was saying on the phone today. "Waves were breaking over their (113-foot boat Time Bandit), but it was not nearly as rough as when they're working the crab catch (pictured). I don't know how they stay in the ocean when it's that rough. Those guys are married to the sea."

Mercurio is the owner of Cafe Fina and Domenico's restaurants on Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey. He's sponsoring the $50-per-person dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. at Domenico's. Reservations: (831) 372-3655. For more information: www.domenicosmonterey.com.

>Baked goods are an integral part of the holiday season, but, of course, not all breads and pastries are created equal.

Terrific bakeries do abound in our area - you just have to find them. One of our favorite go-to's is Grateful Bread, on the scene now for 22 years.

We dropped by the other day to check out its "Holiday Features" of eight seasonal goodies ($4.50 to $15.75): Black Forest bread (chocolate and cherries), Italian pannetone (golden raisins and citron), Swedish rye limpa (orange rind and anise seed), German Christmas stollen (raisins, almonds, hazelnuts and citrus peel) and fruitcake (only 100 brandy-fed cakes were made, beginning in August; they contain no nuts or candied fruit).

Coming Dec. 20 will be alpine lemon bread, a puckery treat with a loyal following. Also: Choose a bread and master baker-owner Joe Artim will shape it into bears, wreathes and Christmas trees (by special order only).

There's one more holiday bread to mention, something new to us. Fragrant orange stollen

We returned for two more light-as-air loaves, much of which was turned into crispy French toast. In a word: Yum!

"The recipe came from a seminar on enriched dough held in 2005 at the San Francisco Baking Institute," Artim recalled. "The chef (who demonstrated it) was from the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena in the Napa Valley. We played with (the recipe) a little bit and tweaked it for our needs."

Grateful Bread in Loehmann's Plaza, 2543 Fair Oaks Blvd., Sacramento; (916) 487-9179. Open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays.

Piatti Ristorante at the Pavilions center is back in business after a four-month closure for a makeover. What took so long?

"We were going to do a small facelift, but instead we decided to completely expand the scope and redo everything," said Nick Dedier on the phone today. He's the Italian-themed restaurant's director of operations. His resume includes more than five years with the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group in Yountville. During that time, he ran Bouchon for a year and Ad Hoc for four years.

Piatti certainly has a brighter, cleaner look.

The Daily Meal, the online site that covers all things food and drink (www.thedailymeal.com), is taking much delight over the results of its latest survey, "Top Chefs Rate America's Food Critics."

In fairness, the term "food writers" should have been added to that title, as some of the people on the list do not strictly qualify as restaurant critics, though they do cover the food and dining scenes to varying degrees.

At any rate, the Daily Meal explains: "We have given dozens of chefs and restaurateurs a chance to turn the tables on food critics by asking them to divulge their opinions about the men and women who write reviews for America's top publications. While anonymity was guaranteed to elicit the most truthful responses, every chef and restaurateur is an elite industry figure. Most, in fact, are household names."

There's a connection between Sacramento grocer Darrell Corti - an internationally recognized food and wine expert - and "Skyfall," the 23rd James Bond adventure now playing in theaters.

Some context: First there was the Vesper cocktail, the classic "shaken, not stirred" mega-martini that James Bond favored in "Casino Royale." That was the title of the 1953 Ian Fleming thriller that became the 2006 movie that introduced Daniel Craig at Agent 007, in which the Vesper found new cachet.

Inspired by "Skyfall," the head mixologist at the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London - Erik Lorincz - decided to "refresh" the ingredients of the Vesper and create a special cocktail called the Skyfall. This is what he came up with; note there are just about 30 milliliters in one ounce:

Five restaurants will be in one place at one time, dishing food and talk, with live music playing in the background and a silent auction as part of it. And it's all in the name of a good cause.

Taste of the Town will feature Fabian's Italian Bistro, Tower Bridge Bistro, Coffee Republic, River City BBQ, and Noodles & Company, each offering tastes of their specialties.

Proceeds will will help raise funds to refurbish the community stage at Crossroads Church of Carmichael. Organizers describe the much-used stage as "a canvas, a host, a venue and a tool."

Heap goodies on your plate from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday at 7100 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael; (916) 501-5916. Cost is $15 for adults, $5 for children 12 and younger; free for ages 3 and younger.

It's been a madhouse at Capitol Avenue and 20th Street in Midtown since Friday. That's when word got out that Mike Brown is closing his popular Midtown restaurant, Capitol Dawg, after lunch today. It opened in March 2008.

"I've been trying everything, but we're just not bringing people through the door," Brown told me Friday. "We've never cut quality or service, but we can't seem to turn the corner economically."

On Saturday and again on Monday, a line of 500-plus hot-dog lovers and well-wishers crowded out of the restaurant, stretched along the sidewalk and snaked down an alley. The wait to place an order both days was 60 to 90 minutes, and that was in on-again, off-again rain between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

This morning, a line of expectant patrons waited patiently for the Capitol Dawg crew to start serving, and by 12:30 p.m. it looked like a safe bet that the Saturday and Monday scenarios would be repeated.

The ever-energetic Mike Brown phoned two hours ago to break the bad news: His popular Midtown restaurant Capitol Dawg will close its doors after lunch on Tuesday.

"I've been trying everything, but we're just not bringing people through the door. We've never cut quality or service, but we can't seem to turn the corner economically," Brown said.

"This hasn't come on suddenly, it's been brewing for a long time. It's been a struggle to keep the doors open and (make) a reasonable profit. (Blame it on) rising food costs combined with years of a struggling economy - including state worker furloughs - and our location."

Capitol Dawg is near the intersection of Capitol Avenue and 20th Street in Sacramento, where a concentration of restaurants compete for diners' dollars. Nearby are Jack's Urban Eats, Waterboy, Mulvaney's B&L, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Rubicon Brewing Company, Paesanos and Zocalo.

The Daily Meal, which reports on all things food and drink at www.thedailymeal.com, is toasting its list of "America's Best Sports Bars."

Coming in at No. 9 is the only entry from California - Pete's Tavern in San Francisco (128 King St.; 415-817-5040, www.petestavernsf.com).

I called Jake the bartender.
"It's kind of busy right now, so don't ask too many questions," he said.
How many TV sets are in the bar?
"One...two...three...14."
What are the most popular menu items?
"Chicken cutlet (served Tuesdays), it's like chicken picatta. And the buffalo chicken salad and bacon-wrapped hot dog are pretty popular, too."

Rounding out the list, in descending order:
Walk-On's, New Orleans
Red Star, Brooklyn
The Four's, Boston
State, Chicago
Duffy's, Fort Lauderdale
Chappell's, Kansas City, MO.
Stats, Atlanta
Chickie's and Pete's, Philadelphia
Nemo's, Detroit
Lagasse's Stadium, Las Vegas
Auto Battery, Seattle
Jerome Bettis' Grill 36, Pittsburgh
Phoenix Landing, Boston
Sam's, Nashville
Eskimo Joe's, Stillwater, Okla.
Frankie's, Dallas

Bee staff photo by Lezlie Sterling

Real, ground-grown heirloom tomatoes are a fond memory of hot summer days. Cold from the refrigerator, sliced and splashed with olive oil and dashed with salt and pepper, and blanketed with fresh basil - wow!

Maybe a close second is a six-variety line of organic heirloom tomatoes - chunks of brightly colored, tasty fruit, pulverized and swimming in their own juice. They're from the family-run Balakian Farm in Reedley, in Fresno County.

At the farm's website, www.balakianfarms.com, fourth-generation owner-manager Amber Balakian writes, "I wanted each sauce to embody a distinct flavor, smell and texture that is reminiscent of my family farm. It is a simple way to create fresh, organic, homemade meals."

We sampled 16-ounce Mason jars of Yellow Roman, Pink Oxheart and Green Zebra blended sauces and were very impressed. We used them as pasta sauces and as ingredients on a pizza and in meat-heavy chili, stew and soup. And, yes, we drank them straight from the jars, too.

Our favorite was sweet Yellow Roman, followed by the slightly tart Green Zebra and the complexly flavored Pink Oxhart.

You can order them at the farm's website for $10 a jar, and buy them at the Saturday farmers market at the Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco. Or you can order them at a very cool site, www.americasfarmstand.com (click on "Gifts").

America's Farmstand is an online retailer that has gathered a consortium of family farms that offer "organic and all-natural artisanal foods." There, you'll find everything from maple syrup and pickles to nuts and cheeses, along with a line of gluten-free items.

Making pies for the holidays is a snap, right? Well, for some home cooks it is. For others, not so much. Our pie crusts usually end up on the kitchen wall, but that's another story.

To the rescue come the experts at the Crisco Pie Hotline, dispensing baking advice, recipes, pie-making tips, time-saving shortcuts and trends for the ultimate goal: pie perfection.

Talk with the "pie experts" starting Monday and running through Dec. 21. Call (877) 367-7438 to get the pin rolling. For more information: www.crisco.com.

When you want a special bottle of wine with dinner, which restaurants are your go-to's?

OpenTable has some suggestions, sort of. The San Francisco-based online restaurant-reservation company recently released its latest Diners Choice Top 100 Restaurants With the Most Notable Wine Lists.

For context, OpenTable explains: "The awards reflect the opinions of over 5 million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for more than 15,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia."

Not surprisingly, California has the most, with 17. Those include Enotria in Sacramento; Carpe Vino in Auburn; Press in Saint Helena; Acquerello and BIN 38 in San Francisco; and André's Bouchée Bistro and Wine Bar in Carmel.

For the complete list, go to www.opentable.com/wine.

When it opened in September 2011, diners lined up at Kinnee O'Reilly's Irish-themed restaurant-bar in the Montano center in El Dorado Hills (1000 White Rock Road).

With good reason. The place was spacious and expertly decorated, the fare was very good, and the bartenders knew the correct ritual of filling a pint glass with Guinness. I wrote in a review, "The illusion of being in a real Irish pub is startling."

But tastes are fickle and the restaurant business is brutal, and the place closed a few months ago.

Now news comes from veteran restaurateur Richard Righton that he will open a pub-restaurant in that space, his third venture. It will be called 36 Handles, with a target date of Dec. 1 ("Fingers crossed," he said). As the name implies, 36 beers (and a few wines) will be available on tap, along with a full bar specializing in classic cocktails such as the Manhattan and the Old Fashoned.

If you're looking for great recipes and expert advice for the holiday cooking season, Brian Streeter is the man to see.

He's the executive chef and culinary director of the Napa Valley's Cakebread Cellars winery, and author of "The Cakebread Cellars American Harvest Cookbook."
On Thursday night (Nov. 1), Streeter will talk about all things food and cooking, including recipe development, ingredients, techniques and wine-and-food pairings. His presentation and question-and-answer session for the Sacramento Bee Book Club will be especially timely as Thanksgiving and other holiday "cooking days" quickly approach.

Join the culinarily curious crowd and ask Streeter your cooking questions. He will give a presentation and autograph the cookbook at 6 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Center, 6151 H St., Sacramento; (916) 452-5881.

Barnes & Noble will be there to sell the cookbook for 30 percent off the retail price (Ten Speed Press, $35, 203 pages.

Through Thursday night, these bookstores will offer a 30 percent discount on the title: Barnes & Noble, Avid Reader at the Tower in Sacramento, Avid Reader in Davis, Time Tested Books, Face in a Book in Eldorado Hills, Underground Books, the Hornet Bookstore at California State University, Sacramento, the UC Davis Bookstore and the Bookseller in Grass Valley.

For information on the Bee Book Club: (916) 321-1128

Under the heading "cool food-related websiltes," add this one:

Journalist-foodie Nicole Villeneuve maintains www.paperandsalt.org, where she reveals the favorite dishes of famous authors (recipes included).

For instance, Agatha Christie liked fig and orange scones with Devonshire cream - very tea time in the drawing room. Contrast that with Ernest Hemingway's manly go-to of bacon-wrapped trout with corn cakes, maybe his lunch after a morning of fly-fishing.

Other pairings: Nora Ephron and frozen key lime pie; Jack London and baked bacon-tomato risotto; John Steinbeck and pork-filled posole; Salman Rushdie and lamb korma; Willa Cather and spiced plum kolache. The list goes on, and includes some authors' favorite cocktails. Now head for the kitchen.

So many Californians are obsessed with food, from its history and sourcing to its preparation and consumption. We're big fans of celebrity chefs, too, from regional kitchen artists to the superstars of the Food Network. And cookbooks - we can't get enough of them.

The California State Library knows this, and has joined the table with its "Culinary California," the new program in its "A Night at the State Library" series.

The free archival exhibit is open to everyone from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through November. It offers a range of memorabilia "from California's eating and drinking appetites, from the Gold Rush to present day." Included are cookbooks, menus, bartenders' guides, wine labels and more.

The California State Library is at 900 N St., Sacramento. Information: (916) 654-0261, www.library.ca.gov.

Crab feeds and special restaurant meals are a hugely popular part of our seasonal dining scene. Leave it to innovative chef Patrick Mulvaney and cookbook authors Georgeanne Brennan and Ann Evans to come up with an unusual variation on the theme.

Using the "Davis Farmers Market Cookbook" as his guide, Mulvaney will prepare a multi-course prix-fixe dinner made with locally sourced ingredients, with recipes from the cookbook. Mulvaney and his wife, Bobbin, are well-known for their farm-to-table philosophy, serving what they call "hand-crafted New American cuisine."

After appetizers, the family-style dinner will be served platter by platter in the banquet hall (called Next Door) of Mulvaney's Building & Loan restaurant, 1215 19th St., Sacramento.

Co-authors Brennan and Evans will be there to sign copies of their "Davis Farmers Market Cookbook" (Mirabelle, $24.95, 235 pages) and offer 15 percent off the retail price

The dinner will be 6 to 10 p.m. Nov. 12; cost is $45 per person, including tax and tip. For reservations: (916) 441-6022.

For more information: www.davisfarmersmarketcookbook.com and www.mulvaneysbl.com.

As for the menu - a collaboration between cook and book - take a look:

Bee photograph by Autumn Payne

It's not as healthful as fresh fruits and vegetables, but it's nearly impossible to deny the temptation of chocolate. See's Candies knows that, and throughout the year makes special limited-edition batches of seasonal goodies.

Right now through Oct. 31, the Halloween offerings include pumpkin-spice lollypops, orange-chocolate wafers and boxes of assorted treats - the Petite Boo Box, Trick or Treat Box and Halloween Treat Box. Prices range from $5.55 to $34.30, depending on the item.

See's hasn't forgotten Thanksgiving. Now through Nov. 22, the offerings include cranberry-orange truffles, pecan pie truffles and foil-wrapped milk chocolate turkeys ($10.20 to $12.30).

See's sources its cocoa and chocolate from the Guittard Chocolate Company in Burlingame (www.guittard.com) and manufactures its candies at factories in South San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Charles and Florence See opened their confectionery business in L.A. 1921, using Charles' mother Mary's original recipes and portrait to "symbolize the old-fashioned virtues of homemade quality and friendly service." Mary See died in 1939 at age 85.

Today, there are more than 200 candy shops in 13 states. For more information, visit www.sees.com.

If you just couldn't get your fill this summer of smokey, juicy, St. Louis-style pork ribs - the cut used by professional cookers at the huge annual Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off - come on down to east Sacramento.

The fourth annual Albie Ribbin' BBQ Cook-off to benefit the Albie Aware Breast Cancer Foundation is planned from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the Hilltop Tavern, 4757 Folsom Blvd.; (916) 456-2843.

Twenty "Q teams" from area restaurants and sports bars will compete for trophies and braggin' rights. 'Cue judging will be handled by professionals from the Western States BBQ Association.

A $20 buy-in ($12 for children) gets lunch (noon to 3 p.m.), entry in a raffle, a silent auction and music from the Sacramento party band the Q-Balls (2 to 5 p.m.).

For more information: (916) 927-1592, www.albieaware.org.

Hundreds of people sipped wine and beer and tasted a variety of club sandwiches at Saturday's fifth annual Ultimate Clubhouse Sandwich Contest & Fall Food Faire, held at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Sacramento.

After munching their way through traditional and nontraditional versions of the classic sandwich, and discussing contents and techniques with the chefs representing their restaurants, five judges made their decisions. It went this way:

Yes, peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth and gives you "peanut breath," but it conjures childhood memories and is a staple in kitchen cupboards for most of us. It's so popular that more than half the peanuts harvested in the U.S. end up in jars as creamy or crunchy.

Trivia: It's generally agreed that the first commercial-brand peanut butter was Skippy, packaged in 1922 by a company in Alameda, Ca.

Now, adding a twist to the many peanut butters on supermarket shelves is the iconic snack-food conglomerate Planters, owned by Kraft Foods.

In an intriguing peanut-butter mini-makeover, its three NUT-rition ("nutrition," get it?) Energy Mix peanut butters are chocked with (mostly) good things ($3.49 to $3.99 per 12-ounce jar).

Our panel of expert food-tasters (read: always hungry) sampled the trio - Cinnamon Raisin Granola Nut, Berry Nut and Banana Granola Nut. Note that the "berries" in the Berry Nut flavor are cranberries, and the "nuts" in all three are crushed peanuts. Though the peanut butters are marketed to adults, we see no reason why children wouldn't like them.

Here's what our peanut butter-lovers had to say, starting with yours truly:

Among the most precious delicacies in the global marketplace is the truffle. How good are truffles? French novelist Alexandre Dumas famously said, "The truffles themselves have been interrogated and have answered simply: Eat us and praise the lord."

Truffles may not look like much, but for centuries they've been a treasured ingredient in haute cuisine. Master chefs call them "the diamonds of the kitchen," and with good reason: Black truffles retail for about $1,700 a pound; white truffles cost around $4,500 a pound.

A truffle is a type of mushroom that grows underground, usually close to oak and hazelnut trees. Dogs and pigs are commonly used by Italian and French truffle-hunters to help locate truffles in the wild and dig them up.

Now there's a window of opportunity to do some foraging of your own - and eat some truffled treasures - by joining the truffle cognoscenti at the third annual Napa Truffle Festival, known as North America's premier truffle event, Jan. 18-21.

We were coming back from visiting Brian Streeter in Napa Valley last week and decided to stop in restaurant-rich Yountville for a bite.

Streeter is the culinary director of Cakebread Cellars, and will present "The Cakebread Cellars American Harvest Cookbook" for the Bee Book Club at 6 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Scottish Rite Center, 6151 H St., Sacramento; (916) 452-5881.

In Yountville, the first bit of luck was something unheard of - an actual brief wait in a short line to get inside the legendary Bouchon Bakery for a bagful of the world's best croissants (6528 Washington St.; 707-944-2253, www.bouchonbakery.com).

The second piece of good fortune was the discovery of the charming and relaxed Bistro Jeanty (pictured). Sat at the bar and cruised the chalkboard specials, which included rabbit terrine, fried boneless pig's foot and Mediterranean seabass with ratatouille ($12.50 to $30).

. The recent Lake Tahoe Food and Wine Festival at Harrah's and Harveys in Stateline at South Lake Tahoe was over the top in a good way. The three-day party featured food-and-wine pairings, multi-course dinners, cooking demonstrations and costumed showgirls moving to a Latin beat.

One feature was an eating competition, judged by the Food Network's "Chopped" champion, New Orleans firefighter Michael Gowland.

The two-man eating team from the Tahoe Douglas Fire Department in Nevada beat out the South Lake Tahoe Fire Department team, donating the $500 prize to the 52 Foundation to benefit the families of fallen firefighters. Meanwhile, Harrah's-Harveys donated $2,000 to the Carson Valley Food Closet.

But what were those Godzilla-size sandwiches the four burly firemen on stage were so valiantly trying to finish in the 30-minute time frame?

Turns out the contest fare was the Dominator, on the menu of Harrah's American River Cafe from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

We asked executive chef Brad Budd about its contents.

Fall is in the air, and one good thing that means is the return of muscular red wines to the table.

Appropriately, Taylor Fladgate ports - from tawny to vintage - will take center stage at a five-course dinner hosted by the two Ruth's Chris steakhouses in town.

A different port will be matched with each course. Among the dishes will be port-steeped figs, port-poached pear, butternut squash bisque, filet mignon and "sizzling shellfish," and a dessert of cheese, berries, nuts and port-infused chocolate.

Dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at both restaurants. The toll is $125 a person at Ruth's Chris in the Pavilions center, along Fair Oaks Boulevard east of Howe Avenue. Reservations: (916) 286-2702.

The Ruth's Chris in Roseville will host the same dinner at the same time for $115. (Each store in the chain sets its own price.) It's at 1185 Galleria Blvd.; (916) 780-6910.

More information: www.ruthschris.com.

One of our dining go-to's is Thai Paradise in Folsom, especially for its succulent, garlicky lemongrass chicken, which appears on the daily-specials whiteboard.

Other diners like the restaurant, too, as evidenced by the out-the-door lines on Friday and Saturday nights. Its loyal clientele includes News10 news anchor Christina Mendonsa. There's even a corner table dedicated to her, complete with a publicity photo. It's known as Christina's Corner, partially pictured here.

"I walked in (when it was first set up) and was unbelievably flattered," Mendonsa said Monday. "That was so sweet of them!"

More about that in minute, but first the news:

Restaurateur-chef Mai Pham has worked her cooking magic in Sacramento since 1988, when she debuted Lemon Grass restaurant at 601 Munroe St. It continues to serve some of the best Southeast Asian cuisine anywhere.

Pham is a world traveler who brings imagination and flair to whatever project she happens to be involved in at the time.

Want proof? Pham is bringing Singapore celebrity chef, cooking instructor, cookbook author and food columnist Devagi Sanmugam (pictured) to the Lemon Grass kitchen to prepare a multi-course meal. "We'll be treating our guests to the flavors of Singapore," Pham said.

The feast will be Oct. 25, with seatings at 6 p.m. in the main dining room and 7 p.m. in the bar-area dining room. Cost is $48 per person (not including tax and tip). For reservations: (916) 486-4891; seating is limited.

The menu will go like this:

Area restaurants are busy compiling and testing their fall menus and wine lists, a good move for us diners. One of our go-to's, Fabian's Italian Bistro, is doing that, too.

As part of it, co-owner Christian Forte (with wife Mercedes) and his crew will pour five tastes from their new vinos, 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6.

The freight is $10 and includes appetizers by chef Tom Patterson - torched Brie with fresh fig mustard; house-cured wild salmon with phyllo, lemon crema and mache lettuce; and marinated baby beets with black sea salt.

In a mission to "reach out to the community," Hot Italian restaurant will host its third annual Moderno Italian Festival, combining "contemporary Italian food, design and film."

Hot Italian is at 1627 16th St., in Midtown Sacramento; (916) 444-3000, www.hotitalian.net, www.facebook.com/hotitalian.

Here's the lineup for the free fest, to be held at the restaurant and in Fremont Park (converted into a "bike-in theater" for the two movies) across the street from Hot Italian.

Can Northern California's foodies get enough wining and dining in the Sierra? Apparently not.

Following the spectacular Lake Tahoe Autumn Food & Wine Festival held Sept. 8-9 at Northstar Ski Resort (with 2,000 in attendance) comes the third annual Lake Tahoe Restaurant Week, Oct. 7-14.

Three-course prix-fixe meals for $20, $30 and $40 per person will emphasize organic, seasonal and local ingredients. The dining venues will range from historic resorts and landmark restaurants to shiny new bistros, from the casual to the high-end.

Maybe there's a restaurant (or two or three) you've always wanted to try, but somehow have never gotten around to it. The inaugural Sacramento Regional Restaurant Week, Oct. 1 through 14, could be your window of opportunity.

Hey, wait a minute... Isn't that two weeks, not one?

"Well, that's one more thing that makes it unique," said Daniel Conway, with a laugh. "We'll double down and have twice the fun." Conway is the public-affairs director of the California Restaurant Association. The Sacramento chapter of the CRA organized Restaurant Week.

So, what is it?

Harrah's and Harveys in Stateline at South Lake Tahoe certainly know how to throw a party. The hotel-casinos proved it again last year with their Lake Tahoe Food and Wine Festival, which was over the top in a good way. Now plans are set for the third annual soiree, Oct. 5-7, which - judging by the lineup of events, celebrity chefs and wine experts - looks like more of the same.

If you missed the spectacular Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival held at the Northstar ski resort and the Ritz Carlton hotel Sept. 8-9, this one's for you.

Bet on a long list of food-and-wine pairings and tastings, multi-course dinners, cooking demonstrations, panel discussions, seminars, live entertainment and contests. Among the highlights will be "Around the World with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay," hosted by master sommelier Jay James; "Sushi, Sashimi and Sake Tasting"; and "Decadent Desserts and Drinks."

The weather was unseasonably warm at the Northstar-at-Tahoe ski resort last weekend, but that didn't slow down the 2,000-plus foodies who sipped fine wines and sampled delectable small-plate dishes at the 27th annual Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival.

The nine-day fest, which featured food- and wine-related events around the lake and at the ultra-luxurious Ritz Carlton hotel (situated a gondola ride above Northstar), culminated at Sunday's Grand Tasting. It featured 24 area restaurants teamed with 24 wineries to vie for gold, silver and bronze medals in various categories.

A panel of judges had huddled earlier in the day for an extensive tasting. From noon to 4 p.m., crowds of attendees went from tent to tent, tasting samples and sipping wines while bands played on the main stage.

The judges' choice for "best pairing of food and wine" was Granlibakken Resort of Tahoe City (mushroom stuffed with red lentil hash, chevre, duck and red currant) and Morgan 2010 pinot noir
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Second place: Jake's on the Lake of Tahoe City (seared scallop) and Wente 2010 chardonnay
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Third place: North Tahoe Catering of Kings Beach (chile smoked beef tender with roasted-peach truffle sauce) and Renwood 2010 old-vine zinfandel.

The Hard Rock Cafe chain won for "best pairing of food and beverage other than wine" for its bayou shrimp burger and Indian spices-dusted potato chips, with Charbay blood-orange vodka negroni cocktail.

In the "best food" category, Jake's on the Lake of Tahoe City took gold for its seared scallop; Six Peaks Grille of Squaw Valley took silver for its roasted beet salad with goat cheese and fried shallots; and Hawks took bronze for its smoked pork belly with corn pudding and pluots.

Once again, Hawks of Granite Bay was the competition's only entry from the Sacramento area. Last year, co-owners Molly Hawks and her husband, Michael Fagnoni, took gold for "best food" and silver for "best food and wine pairing."

As for the people's choice winners, "best food" and "best pairing" both went to the Chocolate Bar of Northstar (turkey crepe), teamed with Francis Coppola 2009 petite sirah.

As our group tasted, we found other favorites:
- A delectable smoked Korean pork rib roll from Plumpjack Cafe in Squaw Valley, teamed with our new favorite wine, the grenache D-66 from Orin Swift winery in the Napa Valley.

- A perfect seared scallop with corn-crab pudding and fig space from the West Shore Cafe in Homewood.

- A luscious vanilla-saffron mussel from Farm to Belly personal-chef and catering service in Truckee.

- An exceptional pork rib with black bean sauce from Drunken Monkey Sushi in Truckee.

We also ran into an old friend among the dozens of exhibitors and vendors selling goods in the Northstar central plaza. Limerock Orchards of Paso Robles makes a silken walnut oil that we use on everything we grill, from pork roast and ribs, to chicken and corn on the cob.

For the complete list of festival winners, visit www.tahoefoodandwine.com.

How much money do chefs make each year? According to the trade magazine Nation's Restaurant News, executive chefs who run the kitchens at independent restaurants pull in around $71,000 a year.

Now let's move to the next level - celebrity chefs. They're celebrities because of their TV shows or their great restaurants or both.

The Daily Meal - the online site that reports on everything food- and drink-related - has compiled its annual list of "America's 25 Most Successful Chefs," ranked by their annual earnings.

Included are Gordon "Hell's Kitchen" Ramsay at $38 million; Paula "Paula's Home Cooking" Deen, $17 million; Bobby "Throwdown!" Flay, $9 million; Thomas Keller (The French Laundry in Yountville), $8.4 million; Guy "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" Fieri, $8 million; and Anthony "No Reservations" Bourdain, $6.1 million.

For the complete list, visit www.thedailymeal.com.

The 24th annual Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off over the Labor Day weekend was a serious rib-cookin' throwdown between 25 professional cookers competing for cash, trophies and braggin' rights.

Along the way, they sold a quarter-million pounds of bones to a sauce-smeared Rib Nation a half-million strong, while a medley of bands blasted the crowds with multi-genre music. To go with the St. Louis-style spareribs were roasted corn, onion rings, funnel cakes and plenty of beer.

The six-day event - considered the most prestigious of its kind anywhere - culminated Monday on Victorian Square at John Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks. That's when Nugget officials announced the winners (and their cash winnings) to a cheering throng. They were:

First place: Chicago BBQ Company of Burr Ridge, Ill., $7,500
Second place: Sweet Baby Ray's of Wood Dale, Ill., , $3,000
Third place: Famous Dave's of Minnetonka, Minn., $2,000
Fourth place: Porky 'n' Beans of Port Saint Lucie, Fla., $1,000
Fifth place: Checkered Pig of Martinsville, Va., $500
Best Sauce Award ($500) went to Famous Dave's, while Back Forty Texas Barbecue of Pleasant Hill, Ca., took the People's Choice Award ($500).

For more information: (775) 356-3300, or www.nuggetribcookoff.com.

Veteran restaurateur and cookbook author Cindy Pawlcyn is reinterpreting the "American wine-country comfort foods" so popular at her iconic Mustards Grill (since 1983) in Yountville in the Napa Valley. They will migrate to the menu of her newest restaurant, Cindy Pawlcyn's Wood Grill & Wine Bar.

Diners will also find some of the signature dishes from two other restaurants that Pawlcyn once co-owned - the Buckeye Roadhouse and Fog City Diner.

"C.P.'s," as it will be called, will open Sept. 5 at 641 Main St. in St. Helena. The space was formerly the site of Pawlcyn's Go Fish restaurant, then became her Brassica Mediterranean Kitchen.

This newest incarnation replaces Brassica and will serve dishes such as sweet-crispy pork belly, Napa cabernet-braised shortribs, crab roll, artisan pizzas, vegetarian dishes and desserts (blackberry-apple crumble with crème fraîche ice cream is a good choice).

"We are all really excited about this transition," said Pawlcyn. "Many friends have been asking me to bring the flavors of Mustards Grill to this location, and it makes sense."

Look for live jazz and world beat music on the patio (6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays), and the ongoing Vintner Splash casual wine-tasting program (6 to 8:30 p.m. Saturdays).

More information: (707) 963-0700, www.cindypawlcynsgrill.com.

Ethnic festivals are always a good thing, a chance to explore a different culture and discover new delicacies.

The 49th annual Greek Food Festival this Labor Day weekend will offer that and more. Scheduled are dancing, live music, cooking demonstrations, cultural displays and a marketplace full of imported clothing, art and jewelry.

Food-wise, 55 Greek "YiaYias" (grandmothers) are preparing a menu featuring appetizers, gyros, lamb and desserts.

Sip a little Greek wine, or pair anise-flavored Ouzo with strong Greek coffee.

The action will be happening at the Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J St., Sacramento. Admission is $5 ($4 for seniors); food and drink priced separately.

Days and hours:
Friday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Saturday: noon to 11 p.m.
Sunday: noon to 10 p.m.
More information at www.sacramentogreekfestival.com.

Evan Elsberry is a chef who enjoys creating original dishes for food competitions. His imaginative menus have won numerous ribbons at the California State Fair over the years. Last year, he was among the top three winners in the Ultimate Clubhouse Sandwich contest at the Scottish Rite Center, and in the second annual Sacramento Tomato Fest at Town & Country Village.

Elsberry is partial to pairing ethnic cuisines with matching wines. So far this year, he has hosted Italian-, French- and Spanish wine-pairing dinners at his restaurant, Evan's Kitchen. Now he's geared up for a Mexican-themed dinner, with accompanying Mexican wines.

Wines from Mexico? Yes, especially from the Baja Peninsula. The wine industry there has taken huge strides in recent years, surprising critics and casual imbibers alike. Some of those wines were featured in the "Mexico Issue" of the high-end food magazine Saveur. Go to www.winesfrombaja.com.

Meanwhile, "A Taste of Mexico" is planned from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 17. The cost is $75 per person, with reservations at (916) 452-3896. Tip: The previous themed dinners filled up fast, so...

Evan's Kitchen is at 855 57th St., Sacramento, in the Antiques Mall; www.chefevan.com.

The Mexican wine dinner looks like this:

Greek-style yogurt has caught on in this country as a favorite snack, to the point where it seems like a new brand (or version of a brand) is in supermarkets' dairy cases every month.

In general, Greek-style yogurt has more butterfat than regular yogurt, along with more protein. Straining the yogurt removes some of the liquid from it, so Greek yogurt is more dense and creamy than regular yogurt.

Add another version of Greek-style yogurt to the table, this one aimed at the diet-conscious. Yoplait's fat-free Greek 100 carries 100 calories and "two times the protein of regular yogurt (10 grams)," the company says. On the Weight Watchers scale, it's two points.

Greek 100 isn't as thick as most other Greek-style yogurts, but it's not as thin as traditional Yoplait, either. It's artificially sweetened with zero-calorie Sucralose, giving it a bit of an aftertaste. Think "sweetish" instead of "tangy."

We sampled the six flavors and ranked them from most favorite to least favorite ($1.29 per 5.3-ounce cup): key lime, black cherry, mixed berry, peach, strawberry and vanilla.

For a money-saving coupon, go to www.everydaysaver.com/yoplait. For more information: www.yoplaitgreek.com, www.generalmills.com.

You know Grand Marnier, right? It's the famous bitter-orange infused brandy concocted by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle in 1880, still made in France. It's versatile (and volatile) stuff, especially tasty as a topping on ice cream or as an ingredient in flambeed crepes.

Coming in September and available through the holiday season will be the limited-edition cherry-flavored version ($41.99), made with premium European Griottes cherries.

Try it in these cocktails, created by "Cocktail Guru" Jonathan Pogash:

Cherry Sidecar
2 ounces Grand Marnier Cherry
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce simple syrup
In a shaker filled with ice, vigorously shake the ingredients and strain into a chilled sugar-rimmed martini glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge and cherry.

Cherry-Hattan
2 ounces Grand Marnier Cherry
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
3 dashes Angostura bitters
In a shaker filled with ice, stir the ingredients, strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a brandied cherry.

Cherry Surprise
1-1/2 ounces Grand Marnier Cherry
3/4 ounce dark, aged rum
1 ounce milk
1/4 ounce simple syrup
Pour ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with dark-chocolate shavings.

Cherry Tiki
2 ounces Grand Marnier Cherry
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
3/4 ounce orgeat (almond) syrup
1/2 ounce pineapple juice
3 dashes Angostura (or Tiki) bitters
Pour the ingredients (except bitters) into a shaker filled with ice, shake well and strain over an ice-filled tall glass. Garnish with mint sprig and lime wheel. Add bitters on top.

After traveling, tasting and judging, the culinary experts at Bon Appetit have announced their picks for "The Hot 10: America's Best New Restaurants." Two of them are in California.

Taking the No. 1 spot is State Bird Provisions in San Francisco, co-owned by husband-wife Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski.

The small plates "arrive on either a dim sum-like trolly or a tray," says the Bon Appetit review. "Each dish is identified with a price: whipped smoked trout with croutons and peas, $5; duck neck dumplings, $6; crispy kimchi pork belly in a broth with clams and tofu, $8."

The California state bird is the quail, and State Bird Provisions has an interpretation of it: "Dusted in pumpkin seeds and breadcrumbs, deep-fried, and served with onion jam and Parmigiano-Reggiano."

We called the restaurant, but no one picked up. However, Bon Appetit quoted Brioza: "Eating should be fun. We want to throw a sense of adventure into the dining experience."

State Bird Provisions is at 1529 Fillmore St.; (415) 795-1272, www.statebirdsf.com.

Recipes and reviews accompany each pick at www.bonappetit.com.

The nine other winners are, from No. 2 to No. 10:
Blanca in Brooklyn
Battersby in Brooklyn
Luce in Portland
Catbird Seat in Nashville
Bachelor Farmer in Minneapolis
Little Serow in Washington, D.C.
Oxheart in Houston
Baco Mercat in Los Angeles
Cakes & Ale in Decatur, Ga.

With more than 2,000 foodies expected to show up, now's the time to make a plan for a culinary safari, to sip and sample, and take plenty of tasting notes for future reference.

The 27th annual Lake Tahoe Autumn Food and Wine Festival has expanded from two days at the Village at Northstar ski resort to nine days of gourmet events and activities around the north, east and west shores of the lake (www.villageatnorthstar.com). It will be happening Sept. 1 through Sept. 9.

"We're moving forward with the growing trend of culinary tourism," said Pettit Gilwee, public-relations representative for the North Lake Tahoe Visitors Bureau. "There will be something food- and wine-related going on in your neck of the woods, wherever you're staying."

The centerpieces of the festival will continue to be the Grape Stomp (Sept. 7 in Tahoe City); Gourmet Marketplace, and classes, seminars, demonstrations, tastings, food-and-wine and beer-and-cheese pairings, and cooking competitions at Northstar (Sept. 8); and the Grand Tasting and Culinary Competition at Northstar (Sept. 9). At the judged Grand Tasting food-and-wine pairing, guests can graze and sip at more than 30 booths.

Some events are free, others are ticketed ($15 to $95). For details (including special lodging packages) and to buy tickets: www.tahoefoodandwine.com.

It's ice-cream weather and you're in luck.

The four-generation family-owned Leatherby's Creamery will celebrate its 30th anniversary with what it calls "an old-fashioned birthday party" from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14.

The party hats will be out at the three area Leatherby's. Featured will be free hot dogs for the 18-and-younger crowd (dine-in only), prizes via scratch-off cards, giveaways (including T-shirts and gift baskets), balloons, face-painting, and ice cream for 30 percent off.

Leatherby's stores are at 2333 Arden Way, Sacramento, (916) 920-8382; 7910 Antelope Road, Citrus Heights, (916) 729-4021; and 8238 Laguna Blvd., Elk Grove, (916) 691-3334.

More information: www.leatherbys.net.

Two wine-and-food extravaganzas are approaching fast, both of them Aug. 18, but it will be easy to catch one and then drive to the other.

We're talking about the 17th annual Grape & Gourmet, and the 14th annual Off to the Races.

Grape & Gourmet will feature pours (and sales) from the 200 wineries that won medals in the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. They include Wise Villa, Ciotti Cellars and Secret Ravine.

Plus, look for award-winning beers from the fair's Commercial Craft Brew Competition, and award-winning cheeses from the fair's cheese competition. Also, nosh on samples from 20 area restaurants, among them Paul Martin's American Bistro, the Porch and Pizza Rock.

The results of the fair's wine competition are in California Wine magazine, which will be available at the event and in SaveMart stores soon.

Grape & Gourmet will be 3 to 6 p.m. in Buildings A and B at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento. Tickets are $40 in advance, $50 at the door. Online group sales of 10 or more are $35 per person. To buy tickets and get more information: (916) 263-3636, www.calexpo.com.

Proceeds will benefit the Friends of the California State Fair's scholarship program.

After Grape & Gourmet, set your sights on Off to the Races, a fund-raising food- and wine-tasting.

Line up for hors d'oeuvres from nine area restaurants, including Ruth's Chris, Roxy and Fabian's Italian Bistro. Then enjoy pours of red, white and rose from seven wineries, among them Napa Cellars, St. Supéry and the Hess Collection.

Off to the Races will be emceed by KCRA news anchor Edie Lambert. Accompanying will be live entertainment from Suzuki Music Association, six-time Ellly Award-winning El Dorado Musical Theatre, and guitarist Sean O'Conner.

The event will be 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the courtyard at Pavilions center on Fair Oaks Boulevard (east of Howe Avenue), Sacramento. Tickets are $40 at the door or in advance at (916) 933-4056.

Off to the Races is the kickoff event for the 14th annual Race for the Arts. Race registration starts at 7 a.m., with the first run-walk at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 25 at William Land Park. Both "Race" events benefit arts groups and arts programs throughout California.

For more information: www.raceforthearts.com.

Let's start with the book and segue to the dinner.

For a shocker, open the extraordinary "What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets" by Napa-based photojournalist Peter Menzel and his wife, former TV producer Faith D'Aluisio (Material World/Ten Speed Press, $40, 335 pages; www.menzelphoto.com).

The book combines striking photos of and interviews with 80 people in 30 countries, accompanied in each case by a menu of their meals on a typical day. Their stories are arranged by daily caloric intake, from a low of 800 calories to a high of 12,300 calories.

In Kenya, one of the wives of a Maasai chief derives her 800 calories from porridge, bananas, tea, milk and sugar. In London, a mother of three consumes 12,300 daily calories from three full meals, plus three daily snacks.

Now for the five-course meal, inspired by the book: Menzel and D'Aluisio will give a presentation at a "farm-to-table" outdoor dinner-lecture sponsored by the Squaw Valley Institute, in a private home on "20 acres overlooking Truckee."

Preparing the meal will be chefs from some of the Tahoe area's top restaurants: Plumpjack Café, Moody's, Wolfdale's, Mamasake and Six Peaks Grille. Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing will offer samples of organic ales.

"The dinner is designed to pay homage to our local culinary leaders and providers, and to present an intimate evening where we can truly digest the topic - exactly what the Squaw Valley Institute is about," said executive director Renee Koijane.

Limited-seating tickets to the Aug. 18 dinner-lecture are $135 a person (including a copy of the book) at www.squawvalleyinstitute.org. More information at (530) 581-4138.

What is that eerie howling echoing over the misty moors? Likely the limited-edition Werewolf Irish red ale from the suds-meisters at the Caledonian Brewing Company in Edinburgh, Scotland, makers of Newcastle. They've been knee-deep in hops and malts for 80 years, crafting variations of their famous brown ale.

Each year, Heineken International distributes several special-edition, seasonal Newcastle beers for limited times. Rotating through the calendar year are Summer Ale, Werewolf and, in December-January, Winter India Pale Ale.

The company has just released its first round of Werewolf, which "pours naturally blood red, starting smooth and ending with a bite." Lycanthropic references aside, the 4.5 percent-alcohol ale will be on store shelves from now through October, $9 for a six-pack.

Visit www.newcastlebrown.com.

Here's a big one for the sip-and-graze crowd: The 20th annual Monterey Winemakers' Celebration is a day of vino (40 wineries, 200 wines, 42 varietals) and tastes (10 restaurants, seven vendors).

Plus: winemaking displays, silent auction and "special promotions and pricing." Bonus: meets-and-greets with winemakers. If you taste one of their wines you like a lot, you can buy it at the Try and Buy Wine Marketplace.

Among the mainstream and small boutique Monterey County wineries will be Kori, Chalone, Silvestri, Dawn's Dream, Chateau Julien and Saint's Valley. Tastes will include bratwurst, pizza, sushi, sliders, cheeses, olive oils, chocolates and much more.

The fest will be 1 to 4 p.m. Aug. 11 at the covered Barnyard Village Event Center, 3652 The Barnyard off Highway 1 in Carmel. Tickets are $35 in advance, $45 at the door. Designated driver tickets are $15 (no wine-tasting) and include "young adults between 16 and 20."

For tickets and more information: www.montereywines.org, (831) 375-9400.

When it comes to restaurant fare, Italian is tied "neck and neck" with Mexican and Chinese as the most popular ethnic cuisines in the United States. That's according to the National Restaurant Association, which has 400,000 restaurant members.

Knowing that, you're now ready to eat and play at the 27th annual Festa Italiana. Load up on Italian sausage and meatball subs, pizza, pasta (including deep-fried ravioli), lasagna, chicken Parmesan, rice balls (arancini), stuffed peppers, polenta, calamari, cannoli, gelato and more.

Plus: gift and food items imported from Italy; bands and singers; activities for children; Italian auto, motorscooter and bicycle exhibits; bocce ball competitions; and a raffle for a trip to Italy.

The festival will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Croatian Center, 3730 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento. Admission is $12, free for ages 15 and younger. Free parking.

Information and ticket sales: www.festaitalianasacramento.com.

Evan Elsberry is a chef who enjoys competing. For instance, his imaginative dishes have won numerous ribbons at the California State Fair over the years. Last year, he was among the top three winners in the Ultimate Clubhouse Sandwich contest at the Scottish Rite Center, and in the second annual Sacramento Tomato Fest at Town & Country Village.

Also, Elsberry is partial to pairing ethnic cuisines with matching wines. So far this year, he has hosted Italian- and French- wine-pairing dinners at his restaurant, Evan's Kitchen. Coming in October will be a Mexican-themed repast.

While we wait for that one, "A Taste of Barcelona" Spanish-themed dinner is planned from 6 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 6. The cost is $75 per person, with reservations at (916) 452-3896. Evan's Kitchen is at 855 57th Street, Sacramento, in the Antiques Mall. Visit at www.chefevan.com.

The menu looks like this:

First course: Tapas of Spanish olives, marinated artichoke, anchovies, chorizo, Spanish cheese and ham, chicken croquettes, and tomato-rubbed bread. Pouring NV Campo Viejo Brut Rose Cava.

Second course: Garlic and spring vegetables soup. Pouring Campo Viejo Reserva 2006.

Third course: Red wine-braised short ribs with wild mushroom ragout. Pouring Marques de Riscal Rioja 2006.

Fourth course: Paella with chicken, shrimp, chorizo, monkfish, mussels, clams, vegetables and herbs over long-grain rice in saffron broth. Pouring Ramon Bilbao Albarino Valinas.

Dessert: Creme caramel flan. Pouring Sandeman Royal Ambrosante Sherry.

Food and wine pairings always get our attention, such as the program going on at the Miraflores Winery in El Dorado wine country.

Each weekend through Oct. 14 (including this Saturday and Sunday), the winery's "Pairings" program will feature local and Bay Area chefs creating seasonally inspired four-course lunches to be paired with Miraflores' award-winning zinfandel, tempranillo, voiognier, muscat and other varietals and blends. Lunches will be served on the terrace, overlooking acres of vineyards.

The lineup includes Sacramento-area chefs Lance Carlini of Enotria, Gabriel Glasier of Maranello, Christian Masse of Allez, and Karen Holmes of Karen's Bakery Cafe.

Prix fixe lunches are served from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekends; $40 a person, $30 a person for wine-club members. For reservations: (530) 647-8505.

For a complete list of participating chefs and the schedule of lunches, go to www.mirafloreswinery.com.

Miraflores Winery is at 2120 Four Springs Trail in Placerville.

San Francisco-based OpenTable knows something about restaurants and the people who eat at them. After all, it specializes in making free online restaurant reservations for diners across the country.

In a yearlong program, the company solicited restaurant reviews from many of its users. The result: critiques of more than 15,000 restaurants in 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Using that data, OpenTable determined its Diners Choice Award-winners for the Top 100 Scenic View Restaurants in the U.S. Though there are winners in 29 states, California swept with 37 awards.

To see the full list of winners, and visit them via links, go to www.opentable.com/scenic. Meanwhile, whet your appetites with this sampling of scenic dining in Northern California:

A Caprice - Tiburon
Fish Hopper - Monterey
Fog Harbor Fish House - San Francisco
Franciscan Crab - San Francisco
Grandviews at the Grand Hyatt - San Francisco
McCormick & Kuleto's - San Francisco
Miramar - Half Moon Bay
Moss Beach Distillery - Moss Beach (near Half Moon Bay)
Pacific's Edge - Monterey
River's End - Jenner
Rocky Point - Carmel
Skates - Berkeley
Spinnaker - Sausalito
Sunnyside - Tahoe City
Sutro's at the Cliff House - San Francisco

Bee photograpgh by Scott A. Craig.

When it comes to frozen fruit-filled turnovers popped into the home oven, our longtime go-to is Pepperidge Farm's raspberry and blueberry flavors. With ice-cold milk, of course.

So we were happy to learn that the company is celebrating it's 75th anniversary with some new products, which were recently taste-tested by our group of usual suspects.

As for company history, this slice is posted at www.pepperidgefarm.com: "It all began with a humble loaf of bread, which Pepperidge Farm founder Margaret Rudkin baked in her rural Connecticut kitchen. Created in 1937 to address her son's allergy to common preservatives, Margaret's simple recipe is the origin of a flourishing business."

P.S.: Pepperidge Farm bakes 142 billion of its famous Goldfish crackers each year.

As for new items - arriving in stores in August ($2.99 to $3.99) - we sampled pumpkin cheesecake soft cookies; Milano Slices salted pretzel chocolate-coated cookies; Milano Melts vanilla cream-filled cookies; and three flavors of Jingo crackers - lime and sweet chili, Parmesan-garlic, and cheddar.

We did not taste two other new products (because we didn't have them) - Goldfish soft bread (brown sugar and cinnamon flavors), and Swirl Bread (limited-edition caramel apple, through November).

The results, beginning with me:

The weekend forecast is for heat - reason enough to head for the Delta for its cooling breezes.

Perhaps a more compelling motive is to attend the 11th annual Taste of the Delta, offering sips and samplings from 15 area wineries and 13 restaurants, and live and silent auctions. Plus, eight vendor booths (including the Department of Boating and Waterways) will be on site.

Taste of the Delta will be 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Village West Marina, 6649 Embarcadero Drive, Stockton. Take Interstate 5 south to the Benjamin Holt exit and bear right; drive about 1-1/2 miles and turn right on to Embarcadero and into the marina parking lot.

Advance tickets are $25 at www.tasteofthedelta.com, and $35 at the door. For more information: (916) 777-4041.

"Foie gras," which translates to English as "fat liver," has long been regarded as a delicacy among food connoisseurs. To their disappointment, a controversial statewide ban on the sale of the goose liver pate at restaurants went into effect July 1.

Which has led chef Russell Michel to create "a great twist on a negative direction for foodies." Michel oversees the four-star Morgan's restaurant at the Sheraton Grand Hotel.

"Let the fight continue about the ban, but let's do something positive with this situation right now," he e-mailed this morning.

His alternative to foie gras is a creation he calls "faux gras." The recipe includes "naturally harvested duck livers" with cognac and black truffle, that "looks, feels and tastes like foie gras," he said.

The seared faux gras is served on toasted brioche with nectarine-cherry chutney, port wine syrup and sunflower sprouts (pictured). It's $13 on the summer dinner menu.

Chef Michel is also a member of Sacramento Connect, the Bee's blog
and community news network, with his blog "Ask a Chef"
(www.fox40.com/news/cooking).

Morgan's is upstairs at the Sheraton, 1230 J St., Sacramento; (916) 341-4100, www.morgans-restaurant.com.

Good things are happening to Gary and Drew Moffat. They're the father-son co-owners of Carpe Vino, the classy wine bar/wine shop/restaurant in Auburn.The store is stocked with about 500 wines, an inventory that's in constant flux.

Recently, the Moffats created a digital list of 250 wines for the restaurant portion of the store. The Wine Spectator took notice of the "breadth and depth" of that list and gave Carpe Vino an Award of Excellence. Given that it's celebrating its 10th anniversary, "This couldn't have come at a better time," said Drew Moffat.

Which ties in nicely with the restaurant's monthly prix-fixe dinners. The next one - "Everything Corn" - will be at 5 p.m. July 24-28. The four-course meal (with options) is $49 a person, plus tax and tip.

Hmmm. We could start with creamed corn fritters with smoked pork belly, move to white sea bass with corn emulsion, and then ...

Reservations: (530) 823-0320, www.carpevinoauburn.com, www.opentable.com.

Elk Grove website designer Rodney Blackwell knows something about hamburgers. He maintains the 19-month-old www.burgerjunkies.com, the all-things-burgers site that takes burger-lovers on visits to burger joints throughout California and far beyond.

Blackwell is the driving force behind the upcoming Sacramento Burger Battle, a throwdown and tasting event to benefit the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

The battle will commence the evening of Sept. 18 - National Cheeseburger Day - at Raley Field. Fifteen restaurants will flip their best offerings in a sizzling quest to find the best burger in Sacramento. Winners will be determined by a panel of judges and a people's-choice vote, so two restaurants could walk off with top honors. Craft beers, winetasting and live music will be part of it.

Ticket sales will be capped at 800 and are available now, so maybe it's the right time for attendees to get cookin'. Tickets are $45 general admission (7 to 10 p.m.), $65 VIP (6 to 10 p.m.); prices will jump by $10 on Aug. 1. Buy them at www.sacburgerbattle.com.

The burger champ(s) will get braggin' rights, of course, but also a custom-made championship belt modeled after the ones handed out by the World Wresting Entertainment organization.

One last thing: What is Blackwell's favorite burger?
"In Sacramento, it's the one at Mulvaney's B&L (1215 19th St., 916-441-6022). My favorite burger of all time is at the Playground in Santa Ana (www.playgrounddtsa.com)."

Good to know.

As Sacramento swelters under a heat wave, things could be hotter. For instance, the heat in the hybrid "naga bhut jolokia" chile pepper - known as the ghost pepper - has been ranked at 855,000 "heat units" on the Scoville capsaicin-measuring scale. That's about 300 times hotter than a jalapeño.

So use caution next time you grab a burger at Red Robin. It recently became the first national restaurant chain to add ghost peppers to the menus of its 460 units, though the brutal heat level has been mellowed.

The Fiery Ghost burger (pictured) is topped with ghost pepper sauce, cut-and-fried jalapeños and pepper jack cheese. The Cry Baby burger is loaded with crisp onion straws tossed in Sriracha dry seasoning, onions sauteed in Cholula hot sauce, pepper jack cheese and ghost pepper catsup. They're $7.99 each, with limitless steak fries. The burgers will be available through August.

To locate Red Robin restaurants, go to www.redrobin.com.

The last time I talked with Alex Won and his business partner, Yoon Hee Cho, was in 2006. The occasion was a "Counter Culture" review of their Folsom Boulevard 'cue joint, Yunece 61 Smoked Barbecue & Grill.

On its menu, crispy spring rolls, taquitos and teriyaki salmon met hickory-smoked pork and beef ribs, tri-tip and hot links. An intriguing blend of cuisines, a curiosity at the time. The food was tops, and the restaurant had a good run before its not-so-good location finally did it in.

Now Won and Cho have re-teamed to create Tako Korean BBQ, opening Friday at the intersection of Alhambra Boulevard and T Street.

It will be housed in an architecturally stunning, long-abandoned Richfield gas station, an Art Deco-Moderne historic landmark that opened in 1936. The inside has been refurbished, of course, and a large patio has been added. The outside of the building has been cleaned up and - wisely - pretty much preserved. The restaurant's retro logo is a salute to the classic American gas stations of decades gone by, Won said.

The menu will show the type of fare that helped launch the red-hot food-truck movement that originated in Los Angeles and spread throughout California.

"The concept is Korean barbecue meets Mexican-style foods like tortillas and burritos," Won said on the phone today. "(The specialty) will be Korean beef short ribs served in tacos, burritos and rice bowls."

Beer and wine? "Our license is coming," Won said.

Everybody likes a good deal. Get ready for these two:

First up: The Oregon-based Dutch Bros. Coffee company caters to folks in a hurry, selling its brews exclusively via 174 drive-through kiosks in seven states.

To celebrate the grand opening of its new outlet, at 7445 Madison Ave. in Citrus Heights, everyone is invited there for a free coffee drink from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday. Check it out at www.dutchbros.com.

Now this: Wienerschnitzel, the world's largest hot dog-centric restaurant chain (350 units in 10 states), has served wurst since 1961.

To celebrate National Hot Dog Month (July), the nine Sacramento-area restaurants will sell three favorites for 61 cents each, all day Sunday - chili dog, kraut dog and mustard dog.

For Wienerschnitzel locations, go to www.wienerschnitzel.com.

When it comes to longevity and quality meats in the cold cases, Taylor's Market is in a separate league. Proving the point, the Sacramento icon will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a five-course wine-pairing dinner on Aug. 12.

Meanwhile, co-owner and head butcher Danny Johnson (pictured) is planning a lamb feast Tuesday after leading a "butchering 101 class" in which he will disassemble a lamb from Lava Lake Ranch, situated near Sun Valley, Idaho. The hormone- and antibiotics-free lambs raised there are free-range and grass-fed (www.lavalakelamb.com).

"The lamb I will butcher will not be the lamb we're cooking for dinner," Johnson was quick to point out on the phone this morning. "My class will focus on the different cuts of lamb and what (the home cook) can do with them."

As for his choice of Lava Lake Ranch: "It has a seasonal (lamb-raising) program, not 24/7 like so many other ranches. They're doing things the way ranchers used to do them."

After the class, Taylor's Kitchen chef Richard Telford will prepare a multi-course lamb dinner. During the evening, Lava Lake Ranch owner Brian Bean will give a presentation and answer questions.

The lamb dinner menu will include bresaola (air-dried salted lamb with arugula, fennel, pickled cherries and pine nuts), lamb carbonara (handmade fettucini with lamb bacon, English peas, egg and pecorino cheese), Moroccan spiced leg of lamb, and Manchego cheesecake (fig compote, honey and Marcona almonds).

The butchering class will begin at 6 p.m. (with appetizers), followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $75 (plus $5.12 surcharge) at www.taylorsmarket.com, and at the door on Tuesday (availability permitting).

Taylor's Kitchen is at 2924 Freeport Blvd., Sacramento, adjacent to Taylor's Market. Information: (916) 443-6881.

Can we get enough hot dogs?

If the answer is "no" - and it is - then Good Dogs owners Michael Floyd and Tyrone Norman are in for the wurst ride of their lives.

About three weeks ago, the business partners transitioned from selling wurst at two hot dog carts in Midtown, to opening a brick-and-mortar Good Dogs store at 8166 14th Ave. in Sacramento.

The menu goes beyond hot dogs, hot links and Polish dogs to include nachos, five kinds of fries, and sandwiches. Call (916) 642-0126, or visit more socially at www.facebook.com/GoodDogsCatering.

Indulging in a cornucopia of food and drink from 100-plus vendors is part of the experience at the California State Fair. That, and riding the Ferris wheel.

When it comes to overindulging in a competitive way, fair officials have that covered, too. Dozens of food-lovers, foodies, professional eaters and just plain good sports will compete in three timed (and entertaining) eating contests. All events will be on the Promenade Stage.

Big Rib Throwdown: This year's big-buzz fair-food item will be the Big Rib - two pounds of prime beef attached to a 17-inch-long cow's rib. How much of it can one person eat? Find out at 1 p.m. on opening day (July 12). A lineup of Sacramento media personalities (including Bee food and wine writer Chris Macias) will indulge in a literal "feeding frenzy."

Hooters Wing-Eating: The restaurant chain will supply its own "top major-league eaters" for this event. They will be in competition for a spot in the Hooters World Wing-Eating Championship in New York City in late July, for a $15,000 purse. The state fair competition is the final preliminary before the nationals, and is worth $1,000 to the winner. The eaters will get down to business at 6 p.m. July 14.

Corn Dog Countdown: Much more casual is the fair's invitation to "anyone who is hungry to become a part of California's corn dog history." Register at www.bigfun.org and try to beat the previous record of downing 15 corn dogs in seven minutes. The preliminary round is at 5 p.m. July 20, with finals at 4 p.m. July 21.

The California State Fair runs July 12-July 29 at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento. Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays-Sundays.

Admission: $12 general, $10 ages 62-plus, $8 children 5-12, free for children under 4. Parking is $10. Information: www.bigfun.org.

The "adult beverage" part of many Fourth of July celebrations is bound to be there. But let's not forget conventional wisdom: Don't drink and drive. Plus: Moderation in all things.

That said, your backyard barbecue party could move beyond the standard beer and wine offerings to include the overlooked potent brandy called pisco. It's made from muscat grapes and is the national drink of Chile and Peru.

Pisco was the rage in the bars of San Francisco's Barbary Coast during the gold rush. Lore tells us that it was there, at the Bank Exchange & Billiard Saloon, that the famous pisco punch was concocted by owner Duncan Nicol. For aficionados, there's even a book about it: "History of Pisco in San Francisco: A Scrapbook of First Hand Accounts" by Guillermo Toro-Lira (CreateSpace, $24.99, 100 pages).

Now the 180-year-old family-owned Marnier-Lapostolle company is reintroducing pisco with its Kappa marque ($34 for a 750 milliliter bottle). The distillery furnished these recipes. Note there are many variations on the classic pisco punch.

Pisco punch
Ingredients:
1½ ounces pisco
½ ounce Grand Marnier
1 ounce pineapple juice
½ ounce lime juice
2 dashes bitters
½ ounce fresh orange juice
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Pisco rico
Ingredients:
1½ ounces pisco
1 ounce Grand Marnier
¾ ounce fresh lemon or lime juice
¼ ounce simple syrup
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Shake vigorously and strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Pisco grapefruit fizz
Ingredients:
1½ ounces pisco
3 ounces grapefruit juice
1 ounce bottled soda water (or lemon-lime soda)
Directions:
Pour pisco and grapefruit juice into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with soda water (or lemon-lime soda) and garnish with a lime wedge.

One vital part of Sacramento's summer season is cold beer, and there's no shortage of small breweries providing it. Where to sample them? For one, Fabian's Italian Bistro is getting the reputation as a Beer Central.

"Almost all of our taps (are beers) from Northern California craft breweries," said co-owner (with wife Mercedes) Christian Forte. "That's our thing right now."

Among them are Hoptologist (from the Knee Deep brewery in Lincoln), Franklin (Sutter Buttes brewery) and Brother David (Anderson Valley brewery).

Wednesday will be Beer Night at the restaurant, featuring a representative from the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., who will be happy to talk "all things beer."

The deal: four tastes plus two appetizers for $10, with live music on the patio.

The brews: Bigfoot Barleywine Ale and Ovila Dubbel Belgian Ale on tap. In bottles will be Hoptimum and Summerfest Lager.

The bites: Chef Tom Patterson will make beer-battered mascarpone-stuffed pepperoncini with smoked paprika aioli, and beer-battered Vidalia onion rings with spicy catsup.

The special: The main-course dinner ($14.95) will be house-made Italian sausage steamed in Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, served with mascarpone polenta and peperonata (simmered bell peppers with onion and garlic).

Beer Night begins at 5:30 p.m. and ends "until we're tapped out," said Christian Forte.

Fabian's is in the Almond Orchard center, 11755 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks; (916) 536-9891, www.fabiansitalianbistro.com, www.sierranevada.com.

Matt Crane has been a Chick-fil-A guy most of his life. Now he's about to become a franchise operator in Folsom, making his store the 50th in California.

"It feels amazing. The (company's signature) chicken sandwich is my favorite thing to eat," he said.

Crane's store will have its grand opening at 6:30 a.m. June 28, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. The first 100 adults in line at the new restaurant will win free Chick-fil-A sandwiches for a year. Queue up at 2679 E. Bidwell St., at the outer edge of the Home Depot parking lot.

Meanwhile, Crane wants to introduce Chick-fil-A to Folsom. Today, for instance, he and his team will distribute 2,000 chicken sandwiches to police departments, fire stations, city hall and area businesses.

The public is invited for samplings Friday, when 4,000 sandwiches will be give away from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Orchard Supply Hardware, 905 E. Bidwell St.; (916) 984-7020.

On Saturday, another 4,000 chicken sandwiches will be handed out from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at iFit Golf, 2395 Iron Point Road, in the Folsom Gateway center, next to REI (916-983-3660).

Crane moved to El Dorado Hills three months ago from Atlanta, where he worked as a grand-opening supervisor at Chick-fil-A corporate headquarters.

"I've worked for Chick-fil-A since I was 15. The corporate job was an avenue to becoming an owner," he said.

The Folsom outlet joins sister Chick-fil-A stores in Sacramento, Roseville and Elk Grove. The chain has 1,635 units in 38 states and Washington, D.C., numbers that must make the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association very happy.

Information: www.chick-fil-a.com.

It seems that every town in Northern California has a "signature event." Lucky for us. Tahoe City's is the annual Wine Walk, the sixth one. It will run from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The Sierra town, on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, will welcome visitors with wine-tasting at 30 locations in downtown, accompanied by food samplings from area restaurants. Stroll, sip and sup while bands play their music at three venues.

Buy tickets at www.tahoecitywinewalk.com, $35 in advance, $45 the day of. The Wine Walk is part of Tahoe City's annual Solstice Festival, which concludes Sunday (www.visittahoecity.com).

Bonus: As you plan your summer trips to Lake Tahoe, keep the North Lake Tahoe Summerlong Music Series in mind. You can catch free outdoor concerts, and ticketed festivals and headliner events at sites around the lake. For a detailed schedule, go to www.tahoehighnotes.com.

In May, Piatti Ristorante & Bar marked its 20th year of serving a loyal clientele at the upscale Pavilions center. Now it's preparing for a new look.

"We'll be doing a major renovation, tentatively starting in the second week of August, and will be closed for approximately eight weeks," said general manager Kelly Brean on the phone today. "We're not excited about being closed for that much time, but everybody's excited about the project."

The makeover will double the Italian-themed restaurant's banquet space, adding 750 square feet by expanding into a vacant storefront next door.

"We'll replace the flooring, the ceiling and the lighting, the bar top and the furniture," Brean said. "The present atrium area will be opened up for easier service, and the booths near the bar will go away and become high-top dining, making that (space) more a part of the bar area. The courtyard will be done as well, with lounge-type furniture and fire pits."

As for the restaurant staff, "Some folks (will be) helping out at banquets at other restaurants, others are looking forward to long sabbaticals. At this point, everyone says they're coming back," Brean said. "I will be here working with the construction crew, but I'm planning a vacation, too."

Will there be a 20th anniversary/grand reopening celebration?
"We haven't put all that together yet, but there will be some type of celebration when we reopen," he said.

Piatti in Pavilions is one of eight restaurants in the California-based group, and the only one in the Sacramento area. Pavilions is on Fair Oaks Avenue, near Howe Avenue, in Sacramento.

For more information: (916) 649-8885, www.piatti.com.

OK, all you fathers, Sunday is your day, but that doesn't mean you have to stoke up the grill and cook ribs or burgers chased with a cold brew.

The Green Boheme restaurant has a more healthful alternative. And if there's one thing chef Brooke Preston knows, it's how to cook healthfully. Green Boheme specializes in "organic, raw, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free (dishes)."

On Father's Day, the restaurant will debut the Manly Man Quiche at a special brunch, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the regular dinner menu from 4 to 8 p.m.

Just what's in the quiche? "The ingredients include fresh zucchini, spinach and mushrooms; sunflower, sesame and flax seeds; cashew and macadamia nuts; and onion and chipotle powders, garlic, pepper, nutmeg and chickpea-miso paste," Preston said. "Tumeric and psyllium powder help achieve the egglike texture. One of the coolest things is we wrap it in zucchini bacon."

Dads will get 25 percent off the Manly Man Quiche, which will sell for $12.95.

Green Boheme is at 1825 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento; (916) 920-4278.

The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op is often innovative and always interesting. Let's see... cooking classes, stocks of hard-to-find food items, by-the-cup coffee that's better and cheaper than the joe sold at the chains. Plus, world-class produce, imported honeys and nut butters, and incredible cherry and apple turnovers.

Now it's preparing to host the family-style Sunday Supper, featuring a menu by chef-teacher Dionisio Esperas, owner of A Healthy Kitchen catering company.

Please pass the citrus- and herb-accented grilled chicken, frijoles de olla (stewed pinto beans), cilantro rice, calabacitas (squash sauteed with onion and spices), salad with avocado dressing, and Mexican chocolate brownies with strawberry-cinnamon compote.

Eat well for $30 at 5 p.m. June 24 at the co-op, 1900 Alhambra Blvd., Sacramento; (916) 868-6399, www.sacfoodcoop.com. The dinner will benefit the Soil Born Farms Urban Agriculture Project.

The day was warm, the cars were cool and the food was plentiful at Sunday's 18th annual Capitol Concours d'Elegance. More than 130 automobiles were displayed along a long stretch of Capitol Mall in an extravaganza of what essentially were metal sculptures on wheels.

As hundreds of car buffs and the simply curious inspected pristine cars at the juried event - from Ferraris and Corvettes to rarities such as as a 1940 Pontiac Woodie Wagon and a 1939 Graham Sharknose - the hungry and thirsty crowded around six Sacramento food trucks, whose fare also was judged.

Lined up beneath a row of shade trees were Coast to Coast, Wicked Wich, Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen, Heavenly Dog, Fuzion Eatz and Willie's. Each truck operator was asked to offer his/her signature dish for judging. Not their most popular dish, but the single item best representative of their cooking philosophy and skills.

The judges and winning food trucks were:

Bowls of steaming chili in June? Sure, why not. The versatile stew (with or without meat) is so popular year-round that 10,000 chili-lovers are expected to attend the Old Town Elk Grove Chili Festival, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

Join the merry-makers along Elk Grove Boulevard, from Second Avenue to Derr Street. Line up for chili tastings, chili cook-off, food court, beer garden and wine bar, entertainment, children's activities, arts and crafts, and more. Information: www.oldtownelkgrovefoundation.org.

As for chili itself: Its origins are muddled, but many food historians agree that it did not originate in Mexico and is rarely seen there today. Chili as we know it now likely originated in 1800s San Antonio, Texas. Because of the heat from chili peppers as an ingredient, it was called "the devil's stew."

When it comes to beer, Newcastle is a world-class suds-meister. The brewmasters at the Caledonian Brewing Company in Edinburgh, Scotland, have been up to their necks in malts and hops for 80 or so years, crafting variations of its famous brown ale.

Each year, Heineken International distributes several limited-edition, seasonal Newcastle beers for all-too-brief times. Rotating through the calendar year are Werewolf ("Naturally blood-red in color)," Winter India Pale Ale and - how's this for timing? - Summer Ale.

Summer Ale, in stores now through July, is lighter in color and "weight" than other Newcastle beers. It's also expensive, at $9 per six-pack.

We asked a few beer-drinking buddies to pop some tops at an informal tasting and offer their opinions. Among them:

"I can see knocking back a bottle of this one after mowing the lawn on a Sacramento afternoon."
"Very 'hoppy' tasting, with a finish that's almost dry."
"I like the 'grassy' aroma and taste."
"It's a thirst-quencher."

Visit www.newcastlebrown.com.

Sacramento Bee photo by Paul Kitagaki, Jr.

About 60 well-wishing hot dog fans and friends - and two local televsion stations - showed up this afternoon at Capitol Dawg not for lunch but from curiosity, eager to witness hot dog history being made.

The Sacramento heat didn't stop the good-natured group from crowding the patio and kitchen of the popular Midtown restaurant to watch Guinness World Records adjudicator Michael Empric bestow the official title of "World's Most Expensive Hot Dog" on owner Mike Brown's California Capitol City Dawg. The three-pound sandwich sells for $145.49. A third of the proceeds from sales will benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Shortly before the grand moment, Empric explained that the Guinness World Records organization required him to see first-hand "two key points" at Capitol Dawg in order to grant the title.

"We have firm, established guidelines we must stand behind to uphold our integrity," he said. "(In this instance) the hot dog has to be a regularly listed menu item (it is), and an actual transaction needs to take place (it did)."

Give you and yours a break from your backyard grilling ritual and head out to the country for the Back to the Farm barbecue and celebration. It will be on a bucolic 200-acre walnut farm.

You'll find smokin' ribs, chicken, burgers and wurst, with side dishes - and you won't have to cook. Plus, live entertainment, a farmers market and a pie-eating contest. When was the last time you saw tractor and farm equipment exhibits and demonstrations?

Take Highway 99 north toward Yuba City, then scenic Highway 20 west to Meridian, finding Farmlan Road when you arrive.

The good times will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Information: (916) 355-4056, www.benalishrine.org. Back to the Farm will benefit Ben Ali Shriners.

We're always tempted when we see bags of nuts in the supermarket. To the point where we recently paid top dollar for a bag of in-shell peanuts with the San Francisco Giants logo on it. At home, we discovered they were stale, dusty and oversalted.

Similarly, we've been burned a couple of times with bags of stale pistachios that were nearly impossible to open.

We've moved on to two products that solved the problems. MV's Best extra-large "hand-prepared gourmet peanuts from the fields of Virginia" are big, fresh, crisp and crunchy. The shell-less legumes come in flavors, too - sea salt, unsalted, jalepeno, Cajun, toffee and chocolate-covered. This is a top-quality product available at www.virginiacocktailpeanuts.com.

Everybody's Nuts-brand pistachios are packaged in cute bags, but that's not the reason to buy them. The nuts are fresh and crisp, in three flavors - salt & pepper, sweet chili and garlic & onion.

We love the guarantee: "Everybody's Nuts are 100 percent open. Should you find a closed nut in this package, do not attempt to negotiate with it. Send it in and you'll receive a free bag."

All of the pistachios in our bags were open. How'd they do that? Look for them in supermarkets or order at www.everybodysnuts.com.

The eye-opening check at the end of the meal seems not to be an obstacle for high-rolling foodies with a penchant for high-end restaurants.

Now the online Daily Meal - which reports on all things food and drink - has compiled its list of "The 25 Most Expensive Restaurants in America." Nine of them are in California, named here according to their rankings. Not surprisingly, most hold Michelin stars.

The No. 1 spot goes to Masa in New York City, where the average check is $1,269.

The notion of spending a bucolic day on a 200-acre walnut farm an hour's drive from Sacramento brings to mind the "unofficial anthem" of the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. Sure, there's a connection.

"Goin' Up the Country" by Canned Heat became an international hit after Woodstock, with lyrics that include, "I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away.../Well, I'm going where the water tastes like wine.../ I'm goin' to some place where I've never been before."

Which sounds a lot like going to Back to the Farm - yes, in the country - where you'll find live entertainment, smokin' barbecue, a farmers market, pie-eating contest, games of horseshoes and a good ol' fashioned milk bottle toss. Plus: tractor and farm equipment exhibits and demonstrations.

You'll take Highway 99 north toward Yuba City, then scenic Highway 20 west to Meridian, finding Farmlan Road when you arrive.

The good times will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 2. Admission will be $5 "per wheel," so you'll pay $20 if you arrive by car, $10 if by motorcycle. Information: (916) 355-4056, www.benalishrine.org. Back to the Farm will benefit Ben Ali Shriners.

The notion of spending a bucolic day on a 200-acre walnut farm an hour's drive from Sacramento brings to mind the "unofficial anthem" of the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. Sure, there's a connection.

"Goin' Up the Country" by Canned Heat became an international hit after Woodstock, with lyrics that include, "I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away.../Well, I'm going where the water tastes like wine.../ I'm goin' to some place where I've never been before."

Which sounds a lot like going to Back to the Farm - yes, in the country - where you'll find live entertainment, smokin' barbecue, a farmers market, pie-eating contest, games of horseshoes and a good ol' fashioned milk bottle toss. Plus: tractor and farm equipment exhibits and demonstrations.

You'll take Highway 99 north toward Yuba City, then scenic Highway 20 west to Meridian, finding Farmlan Road when you arrive.

The good times will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 2. Admission will be $5 "per wheel," so you'll pay $20 if you arrive by car, $10 if by motorcycle. Information: (916) 355-4056, www.benalishrine.org. Back to the Farm will benefit Ben Ali Shriners.

The notion of spending a bucolic day on a 200-acre walnut farm an hour's drive from Sacramento brings to mind the "unofficial anthem" of the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. Sure, there's a connection.

"Goin' Up the Country" by Canned Heat became an international hit after Woodstock, with lyrics that include, "I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away.../Well, I'm going where the water tastes like wine.../ I'm goin' to some place where I've never been before."

Which sounds a lot like going to Back to the Farm - yes, in the country - where you'll find live entertainment, smokin' barbecue, a farmers market, pie-eating contest, games of horseshoes and a good ol' fashioned milk bottle toss. Plus: tractor and farm equipment exhibits and demonstrations.

You'll take Highway 99 north toward Yuba City, then scenic Highway 20 west to Meridian, finding Farmlan Road when you arrive.

The good times will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 2. Admission will be $5 "per wheel," so you'll pay $20 if you arrive by car, $10 if by motorcycle. Information: (916) 355-4056, www.benalishrine.org. Back to the Farm will benefit Ben Ali Shriners.

Most restaurants have signature dishes. If Sacramento has a signature restaurateur, it's the pioneering Randy Paragary.

The "corporate menu" of the Paragary Restaurant Group includes Paragary's Bar & Oven, Esquire Grill, Centro Cocina Mexicana and Spataro. Add to the list four Cafe Bernardos, the newest one opening a couple of weeks ago downtown along the K Street mall. It's serving breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekends. Its menus offer more choices than its three siblings' menus.

The new cafe is inside the converted former site of Paragary's Cosmo Cafe. It closed in December because it didn't "resonate" with the cabaret crowd that frequents the neighboring bars and nightclubs, Paragary said in December.

It's not too early to plan for a road trip to Monterey for the 11th annual Monterey Beer Festival, 12:30 to 5 p.m. at the Monterey County Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road. Tickets are still available, but maybe not for long, said event organizers.

Three beer wagons will be on site, pouring gallons of draft suds. Deschutes Woody Wagon (pictured), Ninkasi Adventure Wagon and English Ales Beer Wagon will be joined by the Bruvado Beer Truck. Plus, more than 80 breweries will offer hundreds of beer and ciders from 15 countries.

Five-time All Star Frank "Big Hurt" Thomas, the super-slugging first baseman/designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox in the 1990s, will emcee the event. This will be the California debut of his new Big Hurt beer brand.

Dozens of vendors will be on hand with long menus of eats, from bratwurst to fish. Sip and sample while several local bands take turns on the stage.

General admission is $40, with VIP ticketing at $60. You must be 21 years old to attend. To buy tickets and for more information, go to www.nightthatneverends.com/brew_with_a_view.html.

The local festival season continues with the upcoming 10th annual Taste of Carmichael. Restaurants, bakeries and wineries will offer tastings, with a backdrop of live music, art, and a vintage- and classic-car show. Don't overlook the raffles and silent auctions.

Taste will be from 4:30 to 8 p.m. May 19 at La Sierra Community Center, 5325 Engle Road, Carmichael. Tickets are $35 at the door or in advance at (916) 481-0196.

The candy-centric folks at the Nestlé company have teamed with Girl Scouts of America to "reinvent" the iconic Girl Scout cookie as the Nestlé Crunch Girl Scout Candy Bar. The three flavors will be dark chocolate-covered Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Crème and Caramel & Coconut. Anticipated sales are through the roof.

The bars (and boxes of Crunch pieces) will be sold nationwide from June through September in stores that usually sell Crunch bars. However, on Wednesday there will be a pre-sale during which the curious can buy the candy at www.facebook.com/nestlecrunch "while supplies last."

There's more:

Get you 'cue hunger on - the barbecue season has begun, and cook-offs are a part of it.

For starters, the inaugural Smoke & Fire BBQ Cook-Off will feature cookers from eight Sacramento fire station teams, whose labors of love will be judged in the tri-tip and pork rib categories, followed by an awards ceremony. The public will be the ultimate winner, of course.

Cost is $5 for tastings and $5 for a full lunch plate. Also, look for a display of antique firetrucks, a beer garden, live music, and demonstrations by the DART rescue team.

The smokin' event will be noon to 4 p.m. May 20 at Acacia Hall, 1803 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento; (916) 923-6200, www.smokeandfirecookoff.com.

Smoke & Fire will benefit the Sacramento City Fire Volunteer Reserves. Co-sponsored by the Del Paso Boulevard Partnership.

When the Oak Park Farmers Market opens Saturday, it will be in a new venue - McClatchy Park, 3500 5th Ave., Sacramento. On opening day, tickets to the May 12 Jubilee Farm Pig Roast will be sold and given away.

About that upcoming pig-out: Chef Brad Cecchi of the Grange restaurant and his crew will roast two whole Berkshire pigs, a sight to behold. The lunch menu will include salt-roasted pork, grilled pork ribs, roasted porchetta, sausages, and chicken (cooked inside the pigs), with side dishes.

The market will open at 9 a.m., with lunch starting at 1 p.m., accompanied by live music and activities for children.

Tickets are $25 general admission, $50 for VIP and $65 for a "family pack" (two adults and two children). Information: (916) 304-3276, www.jubileefarmca.com.

As good (and getting better) as the Sacramento dining scene is, it's fair to say that San Francisco is one of the world's great dining destinations, full of world-class restaurants.

Which leads to the news that reservations are now being taken for "Dine About Town San Francisco," in which 111 restaurants will feature two-course lunch deals for $17.95 and/or three-course dinner specials for $34.95. Those price points "can represent up to a 25 percent saving," said Joe D'Alessandro, president and CEO of the San Francisco Travel.

"Dine About Town" will be June 1-15. To reserve a spot and see the list of participating restaurants, go to www.sanfrancisco.travel/dine/dine-about-town. For more information: (415) 391-2000.

Party time is coming to the Fountains center in Roseville on Thursday, in the form of the second annual Mikuni Japanese Street Festival.

Look for martial-arts demonstrations, taiko drumming, dance performances, oragami and other activities for children - and a Honda Fit car giveaway (the finalists have already been chosen).

Food will also play a big role, of course, as the