Hook and Ladder Manufacturing Co. – the new venture from the owners of The Golden Bear – is set to open by the end of the month, co-owner Kimio Bazett said Friday. The menu at the restaurant located at 1630 S St. is nearly complete, but Bazett said he’s keeping tight-lipped on what, exactly, will be on it. “We’re trying to be as secretive as possible,” he said. “We don’t want too many details, except that there’s going to be a lot of handmade stuff. We’re trying to do all of our baking in-house, have handmade pasta, homemade sausages and farmers market-sourced produce as much as possible.” He’s being equally mum about the interior of the building, saying that not even the workers are pe

Chef Billy Zoellin, whose creations were featured on Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” when he worked at The Golden Bear, plans to open his first restaurant May 20 in Midtown. Bacon and Butter, located in the same building as Club 21 at 1119 21st St., will serve breakfast, lunch and brunch in a space designed to make diners feel like they are in their grandmothers’ kitchens. “The name came because I was thinking about what you do, and it’s your bread and butter,” the 28-year-old Zoellin said Tuesday. “And then I thought, ‘What’s better than bread?’ For me, the answer was bacon.” In addition to The Golden Bear, Zoellin worked at The Kitchen and two restaurants run by local res

Sacramento is coming alive this weekend for St. Patrick's Day! To build upon the great round-up of events included in this article, here are a few more to consider for this Saturday. Block Parties & Pub Parties: -St. Paddy's R Street Pub Crawl: R Street Corridor (14th-15th Streets), Sat Noon-1am Come celebrate St. Paddy's Day at your favorite R District bars: R15 Bar, Ace of Spades, Burgers & Brew, and the Shady Lady. Enjoy a performance by The Cheeseballs, drink specials, and Irish grub at all locations. -St. Paddy's in The Sutter District: The Sutter District, Sat Noon-1am Come celebrate St. Patrick's Day at your favorite Sutter District bars: Ink Eats & Drinks, Blue Cue, BarWest, Mon

For football fans still suffering from the San Francisco 49ers’ devastating loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship game, the Super Bowl may have lost some of its sparkle. But with Sacramento’s great bar scene, one can’t help but be drawn to the festivities. The Giants face the New England Patriots in Sunday’s game, a rematch of the Super Bowl game four years ago in which the Giants ended the Patriots’ perfect season. The Sacramento Press found these spots to celebrate – or drown your sorrows. BarWest Burgers & Wings 2724 J St. 476-4550 19 flatscreen televisions, one 10-foot projection screen At BarWest, the festivities start at 9 a.m. with an eating contest. The brave can t

Local musician Brian Guido and Nick Miller, Managing Editor for Sacramento News & Review, have joined forces with five local restaurants to put together the first Sacramento Bacon Fest, held from Jan. 20 - 22. Guido said he got inspiration from reading about similar events in Des Moines and Chicago and decided that Sacramento needed something where local chefs can get together and showcase their talent to the community. “This is the place I call home,” Guido, who moved to Sacramento in 1992, said. “I felt that this city was just as good of a place to have an event like this, given the talented chefs that we have here.” Guido said that he approached Miller, who he has known for eight yea

Can you belive 2011 is practically over? New Year's Eve is this Saturday and if you're still searching for plans, we here at Sacramento365.com have gathered up some activities for you. If you're looking for a great, family friendly New Year's Eve experience, complete with fireworks, be sure to head to Old Sac for the New Year's Eve Sky Spectacular. But, for those of you who are looking for some adult celebrations--no kids allowed--here're a few options to greet 2012 (see even more in our Top 10 & Holiday Event Section). Sacramento nightlife is kickin'! 1. New Year's 2012 Bash with Mickey Avalon: Ace of Spades, 7pm Hailing from Hollywood, Mickey Avalon is known to the world as one of the

The space that formerly housed Hangar 17 in Midtown has been taken over by owners of The Golden Bear, who plan to bring a “grown-up” version of their neighborhood bar and restaurant to the area. “We’ve been looking for a second location for quite a while,” said The Golden Bear co-owner Kimio Bazett. “It was preferably in Midtown and preferably a space that was built-out or established or had some unique architecture.” Hangar 17 closed in March, and the space still had all of its restaurant equipment intact, which saved a huge expense, he said. The approximately 4,000-square-foot building at 1630 S St. has about half of its space dedicated to the kitchen, an aspect Bazett said was import

A Sacramento neighborhood favorite, The Golden Bear, makes its TV debut on the Food Network early next month. The gastropub featuring chef Billy Zoellin, a friendly staff and sloping front porch is scheduled to be one of three restaurants starring on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" at 7 p.m. Jan. 3. Owners Kimio Bazett and Jon Modrow are bracing for a huge spike in customers once the show airs. "I don't know if it's more of an expectation or a hope. But from talking to other people who've been on the show ... Everyone said to expect anywhere from a tripling to a quadrupling of business in the year following the show," Bazett said. Food Network promoters told them new episodes of the show

Ahhh! The heat of summer is losing its bite....But the GrubCrawl still heats up the night on Saturday October 2nd...Starting at Chicago Fire Pizza in Midtown Sac @ 4:00 pm for some of the best comfort food a deep-dish pizza pan can offer. Next, we'll enjoy the exquisite fare at the Golden Bear...Yes! The Bear now features fine dining under the direction of their master chef, seamlessly complementing the liquid libations the Bear is renown for. Then, we "roll" to Tamaya Sushi to sample the tightly wrapped flavor firecrackers, freshly formulated to delight our palate as these epic exotic eats explode on our tongues. Duck and cover...cuz’ it's raining....Sake Bombs! And, as if on cue, up nex

Sacramentans will be forgiven for not expecting to find fried green tomato sandwiches, house-made kettle chips and prosciutto and peach paninis at The Golden Bear. Those who haven't yet discovered the neighborhood bar's new kitchen and chef, Billy Zoellin, may get their first "taste" on the Food Network's national television show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" this fall. Earlier this month, a camera crew spent a day capturing footage of Zoellin in action at The Golden Bear, located in a converted old house at 2326 K St. A camera crew will soon return with the show's host, Guy Fieri, for the second day of filming. The place will be closed for production. Zoellin joined The Golden Bear in

  The Resurrection Men performed at Harlow's on Friday, August 6. In between a solo musician opener - Josh Howell, and DJ DNA closing with and a sort of 90's club classic revival, the brothers Calloway rocked the house. This was the band's first major club appearance in Sacramento. It came just a week after they performed at The Golden Bear during the California Automobile Museum's Car Cruise and Show in Midtown. The crowd was a mix of Sacramento and Bay Area fans.  One fan, Daunish Aboobaker, came all the way from Seattle.  He happens o be the brother of bass player Nadeem Aboobaker, aka Chester Calloway.  Asked about seeing his brother in the crowd, Nadeem said, "I was really surprised

With its remodel nearly finished, The Golden Bear is expected to host a grand unveiling as early as St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday. Owners Jon Modrow and Kimio Bazett said they hope to have the work done by Monday. But the bar in the converted house at 2326 K St. must still undergo final inspections from the city and county, so the exact date for a reopening party has not been set. Crews were busy Thursday completing renovation of the kitchen, bathrooms and an enclosed, covered back patio. Aqua couches, white tables and modern light fixtures with dimmers have been installed in the back room to create a clean, light ambiance, free of artwork. The idea is to showcase people "at their best,

Kimio Bazett doesn't remember exactly when he and buddy Jon Modrow came up with the idea to open a bar. It might have been while Modrow was sharing his misery over the lack of human interaction he found in his job as a genetics researcher working on fruit flies. Or it might have been one of those golden afternoons spent bombing down sugared white slopes at a Tahoe ski resort. Modrow on skis, Bazett carving turns with his snowboard. Whenever it happened, the result was one of Midtown's most popular and laid-back watering holes -- The Golden Bear. "We were two people who made a huge effort to make a dream become a reality," Modrow said last week. "The idea came from the kinds of places I