How’s this for one cool looking bar?

You’ll find it at the new Aquarius restaurant in the newly renovated Santa Cruz Dream Inn in Santa Cruz.

The modern American bistro is headed up by Chef Philippe Breneman, formerly of the Ventana Inn and Spa at Big Sur, who’s all about sustainable seafood and seasonal, organic produce. Look for California white bass with udon noodles, lychee glaze and miso-truffle broth; and seared Pacific cod with white corn succotash, smoked bacon, and mache.

The 2,900 square-foot restaurant features wraparound windows to take advantage of the views of Monterey Bay. A whimsical canopy of handmade surfboards and teardrop-shaped latticework lamps hang from above to give the restaurant a carefree attitude.

Leave it to Napa Valley’s celeb chef, Michael Chiarello, to know how to throw a shindig.

Aug. 9 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., he will host a “Mid-Summer Zin n’ Ribs Party” on the lawn outside his Bottega restaurant in Yountville.

Chiarello, a finalist on this season’s “Top Chef Masters” on Bravo TV, will sign cookbooks and wine bottles at 11:30 a.m., then host a 1 p.m. cooking demonstration.

The menu includes Chiarello’s signature barbecued honey espresso ribs, and Chiarello Family Vineyard’s Zinfandel.

Tickets are $30 per person for those ages 21 and older; $15 per person for those under age 21. Proceeds benefit Clinic Ole, and the Land Trust of Napa County’s Connolly Ranch.

For more fun with chefs, head to San Francisco’s Union Square, Aug. 6-9, for “SF Chefs. Food. Wine.” The multi-event extravaganza features a bevy of the Bay Area’s best chefs and sommeliers heading up cooking demos, wine seminars, food panels, grand tastings, and special gala dinners.

Tickets range from $40 to $700 for individual events and multi-day passes.

The town of Los Gatos invites you to try its many highly regarded restaurants during “Sizzling Summer Restaurant Week,” Aug. 5-12.

Participating restaurants will feature special three-course prix-fixe menus for $25, $35 or $45. California Cafe, Cin-Cin Wine Bar & Restaurant, Crimson, Forbes Mill Steakhouse, I Gatti, Nick’s On Main, Restaurant James Randall, Tapestry, Three Degrees, Trevese, Viva, and the Wine Cellar are among those who will be participating. Reservations can be made through the restaurants directly or through OpenTable.

If you’re a fan of “Top Chef” and in the Los Angeles-area, you’ll be interested to know that “Top Chef” contestant Stefan Richter, whom fans loved to hate, is expected to open his first restaurant, Stefan’s at LA Farm in Santa Monica, on Aug. 6.

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Restaurant Michael Mina in San Francisco is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a “birthday tasting menu.”

For $125 per person, guests can enjoy a meal of signature favorites. It starts with a trio of classics (lobster corndogs, ahi tuna tartare, and caviar parfait); then butter poached South African lobster tail; seared day boat scallops; Four Story Hills poularde (a young hen); Brandt Farm beef rib-eye; and finally, a delectable Trio of Dessert Classics (root beer float, strawberry mascarpone, white peach financier).

Paired wines are an additional $55.

The gourmet birthday meal is available through July 11.

Mina’s Clock Bar (across from his eponymous restaurant inside the Westin St. Francis) also celebrates its first year in business with five nights of guest bartenders who will be shaking up special cocktails, starting July 13.

Among the celeb bartenders who will be making appearances will be Scott Beattie (formerly of Cyrus in Healdsburg) on July 13, and Erik Adkins, of Heaven’s Dog in San Francisco, on July 16.

Clock Bar is open daily from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. For reservations or group bookings, contact Matthew Meidinger at (415) 397-9222.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar (with Northern California locations in Palo Alto and Walnut Creek) is serving up an Alaskan King crab legs feast for $99 for two people.

The three-course meal includes butter lettuce salad with citrus vinaigrette, warm Yukon Gold potato salad, summer squash, and two berry cobblers with vanilla ice cream. Each guest then gets a choice of either 1 1/2 pounds of crab legs with drawn butter or 3/4 pound of crab legs plus a filet mignon.

This special is being offered through Aug. 31. If you reserve online, you’ll receive a $25 Fleming’s card at the end of the meal, which is valid for the month of September.

Fans of San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza Farmers Market will be glad to know that it’s now also open on Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This new market day features not only local produce for sale, but sustainable street foods to enjoy for lunch. Among the purveyors are: smoked hot dogs and peanut butter bacon brownies from 4505 Meats; Korean barbecue tacos and kimchee fried rice from Namu; pizza made to order from Pizza Politana; and smoked fish sandwiches from Cap’n Mike’s Holy Smoke.

Over in the East Bay, Pican Restaurant in Oakland is now serving weekday lunch and Sunday brunch.

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