Find out what’s hot and what’s new in the Central Massachusetts restaurant scene!

Cupcakes across America. Sweet in Worcester has been picked as one of the best cupcake restaurants in the country by Tripping.com. The vacation rental website selected one cupcake shop in each state, and Sweet was picked for Massachusetts. Should we expect a cranberry cupcake soon?

Blackstone Tap. Always wanted to run your own kitchen? Blackstone Tap on Worcester’s Water Street is looking for someone to take over the kitchen and create a menu.

Menu madness. Worcester’s EVO has a new menu, which launched at the beginning of March. Evo has been open since 2008 and is co-owned by siblings Celeste and Al Maykel. Under award-winning Chef Al Maykel, Evo is serving some of the most innovative cuisine in the city.

Some pub news. Our spies tell us that the old Baptist church on Worcester’s Summer Street is going to be converted into a brew pub. This is something the city hasn’t had since Irish Times closed. Since we are talking about brew pubs, we hear Charlton will be getting a brewery when the much acclaimed Tree House Brewing Company moves from Monson. Ground-breaking will take place this spring with an early 2017 opening date. The brewery was founded in 2011.

Just in time for Patriots Day. The British Beer Company will open this month on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester. This small, locally owned chain is a welcome addition to Worcester’s Restaurant Row. The decor is very British, with the bar imported from across the pond.

This little piggy went to the Hangover Pub. Green Street in Worcester is now home to the Hangover Pub, which will feature a bacon cure for what ails you. Nearly everything on The Hangover Pub’s dinner, brunch and even the cocktail menu comes with the house-cured bacon. The Hangover is slated to open the first week of April.

First came Jeff, now comes Frank. Jeff’s on Worcester’s Shrewsbury Street, which morphed into Rivalry’s before it closed a few months ago, now has new owners. The new name is Frank’s, and it’s owned by Frank Creighton and Perry Jano, both of Worcester. Frank’s is slated to be a comfortable lounge geared toward a 30-plus crowd. It will offer up live music and bar food.

Eating out in Shrewsbury. Lakeway Commons, on the site of the former Spag’s on Route 9 in Shrewsbury, has landed three new restaurants. They are Tavern on the Square; Sweet Pizza, a casual build-your-own-pie place; and Burton’s Grill.

West Side news. We hear that Birkbeck’s over on Worcester’s Mill Street has closed its doors after about a year in business. This spot on the shore of Coes Pond should be a natural; it just needs a good restaurant operator. Joey’s was the last successful place at the site. Bierbeck’s got off to a fast start but died from what we hear was lack of attention by the management. We also hear that Shiraz on Park Avenue will be closing. This great Armenian restaurant with reasonable prices was a hit for almost two decades, but it was time for the owners to retire. We are told that the folks who own Livia’s Dish on Main Street purchased the building. No news yet about a move.

Banned in Boston, welcomed in the Woo. It looks like Chick-fil -A will open soon on Worcester’s Gold Star Boulevard, at the corner of Millbrook Street in a space that once housed the Millbrook Diner. The chain is somewhat controversial; the founder is a right-wing evangelical who opposes marriage equality.