Taste: The region's latest food, drink & restaurant news for July 29

We’ve got the lowdown on new restaurant openings from Woodland to Roseville and one East Sacramento Mexican eatery that revamped its menu and interior after closing from a fire last year. Plus, a cool new cheese shop debuts in Nevada City and a "big sexy" new brewery plans to open in South Sacramento.
Big Sexy Brewing Company
After their lease fell through in Auburn last June, James Thompson and Mark Taylor, owners of Big Sexy Brewing Company, took a year to find a place that would suit their needs for a local taproom. Now they are aiming for an October opening in a South Sacramento warehouse, which will provide them with 8,400 square feet of brewing and taproom space, outdoor seating and a hop garden. While initial plans for the brewery's Auburn taproom called for a more playful feel with items like pinball machines and ping pong tables, Thompson says that they are steering away from that idea for the Sacramento space and hints at “using reclaimed wood for an outdoorsy theme.” Big Sexy Brewing will open with five or six beers on tap (Thompson says expect eight or nine when they reach full production), including Late Nite Blonde, a Kolsch-style beer with a potent 9 percent ABV, and Sticky Ricky, a smooth porter boasting hints of vanilla, almond and coconut. 5861 88th St. 374-7332. bigsexybrewing.com
Cielito Lindo
This East Sacramento Mexican gastronomy restaurant reopened in June with tasty new dishes and expanded dining rooms after closing in April 2014 due to a two-alarm fire that damaged the kitchen. After shuttering his doors for over a year, chef-owner Ramiro Alarcon says he feels “blessed and excited” to be back in business, whipping up creative new dishes like Sopa Azteca (a savory tortilla soup) or the Huachinango en Salsa de Frijol y Epazote (a red snapper fillet baked with cilantro and epazote in parchment to seal in the moisture and flavor). The restaurant also added two expanded dining rooms and obtained its alcohol license to now offer a few rotating wines and bottled Mexican beers. Meanwhile, Cielito staples, like the eye-popping pepito de arrachera—a large flank-steak sandwich with refried beans, crushed chipotle peppers, pico de gallo and sliced avocado on a buttered baguette—still hold their spots on the menu. 3672 J St. 736-2506. cielitolindo.us
Land Ocean New American Grill
This popular Folsom seafood eatery is expanding with a new location in Roseville at the Westfield Galleria mall, which is set to open in late August. Owned by Mark and Karoline Platt, who also have Sienna Restaurant in El Dorado Hills, the original Land Ocean New American Grill opened in Folsom in 2011, and this second location will move into the space between Nordstrom and the Cheesecake Factory. The menu will remain largely the same, with favorites like macadamia nut-encrusted sea bass and sesame seared ahi tuna salad, as will the décor, which will feature a modern design, cozy booths and rolled-steel accents. The new space will also include a spacious, 1200-square-foot covered patio that will seat up to 50 people. 1173 Galleria Blvd. Roseville. lorestaurants.com
Morgan’s on Main
Jeff and Kellie Morgan, the husband-and-wife team behind the Woodland-based hospitality company Yolo Eats, will open this new restaurant in downtown Woodland in the fall. According to Yolo Eats general manager Brett Gardenhire, Morgan’s on Main (which takes over the space previously occupied by a steakhouse called Hoof and Fowl) will invoke an “old-world industrial feel [and] a modern wood approach” with wrought iron and saddle leather accents, wooden table tops and suspended beams in the dining room. Expect entrées like Southern fried chicken and waffles and a duck burger, plus small bites like an avocado and tiger prawn cocktail and fig chips with goat cheese mousse (made with figs grown at the Morgan’s local event venue Windmill Farm). 614 Main St. Woodland. 530-661-1845. morgans-on-main.com
Wheyward Girl Creamery
This combination retail cheese shop and small-production creamery opened in Nevada City on July 8. Owned and operated by veteran cheesemaker Barbara Jenness and culinary instructor Roberta DesBouillons, Wheyward Girl makes its own fresh soft-ripened cheeses and spreads in small batches, 52 gallons at a time, using cow and goat milk often sourced from local producers like Placer County's Long Dream Farm. The shop also carries favorites like Central Coast Creamery’s Holey Cow and Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company’s blue cheese, plus imported varieties from Europe like L'Amuse gouda. And don’t miss snack items like crackers from Grass Valley-based Huck’s Hollow Farm and picnic lunch boxes filled with cherries, almonds, chocolate and a hunk of cheese. 209 Commercial St. Nevada City. 530-478-1665. Wheyward Girl's FB page
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