What’s hot and what’s happening now in the restaurant scene in Central Massachusetts!

Why, oh, why do I love Paris? Maison de Manger, 670 Linwood Ave., Whitinsville, is a locally owned, casual-style creperie and restaurant that opened late last year in the restored Linwood Mill building. The daily menu is evenly split between savory and sweet crepes, most priced under $11. The 16-inch crepes, folded or rolled, come with a variety of fillings that change regularly with the seasons. In addition to crepes, the restaurant serves soups, salads and pastries, all made in house.

Out with the old, in with the new. Evo, a mainstay of Worcester’s West Side, recently closed its doors after eight years in business to undergo a makeover. The Maykel family, which owns the restaurant, will change the concept and should open shortly.

The Fix is in. The Fix Burger Bar has recently moved from its Shrewsbury Street location to a larger home on Worcester’s Grove Street. The restaurant has basically quadrupled its space in its new home, which for 20 years, was home to Northworks. The Niche Hospitality Group owners basically gutted the old space.

You don’t have to go to Rio to win the gold. Worcester’s Wormtown Brewery recently picked up another Gold Medal – this time at the U.S. Open Beer Championship. Wormtown Brewery took home the Gold Medal for Norm. The coconut-chocolate stout is the only beer Wormtown brews named for a specific person, Norman Miller, who writes The Beer Nut column for the MetroWest Daily News. And here we thought it was named after Norm from Cheers.

Speaking of beer. Draft Magazine named Worcester’s Armsby Abbey as one of its Top 100 craft beer bars for 2016; it’s Armsby’s fifth year in a row receiving the nod.

Is there a connection here? According to Uber, the ride share company, data has revealed that The College of the Holy Cross is the most requested point in the city, followed by the Compass Tavern and Worcester State University. Leitrims Pub, Assumption College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Mahoney’s Pub and the Perfect Game round out the city’s top Uber requests.

New restaurants in downtown. August will see the first of several new restaurants opening in the Bancroft Building in downtown Worcester. Techni Mediterranean will bring the Chipotle-style of building your meal to falafel, kabobs and other Greek foods. In November, The Pie and Pints will allow customers to build their own pie in three minutes, but will also have a menu and seating for a traditional restaurant experience. Next door will be Craft Kitchen and Ale, featuring classic American cuisine and more than 100 craft beers. On the Federal Street side of the building will be The End Eatery and Drinkery, an upper-casual, farm-to-table dining experience. All of the restaurants will have open kitchens, which will let customers take a look into the food preparation process.

No wall here. Tito Juan’s Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant will open the first week of August at the 10006 Shops Way, Northborough. This is the company’s eighth Massachusetts location and the first in Central Mass. The restaurant will feature a large bar and is colorfully decorated with Mexican tiles throughout. It will be in Northborough Crossing shopping center near Wegmans

By Paul Giorgio