By Paul Giorgio

Kyoto opens. Kyoto, a Japanese restaurant & sushi bar, recently opened in the Lincoln Plaza on Lincoln Street in Worcester. In addition to sushi, Kyoto has seven Tapenaki tables for cooking. The Worcester area has seen an explosion of Japanese restaurants in the last year, with at least half a dozen opening in the last six months.

Expensive drinks. The latest craze around the country is the super premium drink. I’m not talking about drinks that just use top shelf liquor. These drinks go beyond the norm. For example, The Four Seasons Hotel in Boston serves the “Executive Decision” at its restaurant Aujord’hui. The cocktail is made with Hennessey Richard Cognac, Vya Sweet Vermouth and topped with a gold leaf wrapped cherry. The price? A mere $180. This may be the most expensive cocktail outside of Vegas.

Can I have my prescription with that steak? It appears that Cactus Pete’s, that venerable Park Ave. saloon and eatery, will be closing its doors to make way for a new CVS Drugstore. What does it say about a city when first we have a bank on every street corner and now a CVS? Can you say old and rich? Well, at least old.

Mark your calendar. Taste of The Nation, Share our Strength premier food tasting event will be held April 23rd at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Lincoln Square in Worcester. The event brings together over 30 of the area’s top chefs, wineries and other food purveyors for a night of food and wine ~ all to benefit local hunger relief organizations such as the Worcester County Food Bank.

Riley’s opens. As reported in this column last month, Riley’s, the quintessential neighborhood eatery on Lincoln Street, reopened its doors on St Patrick’s Day. The new owners are Christine and Alan Consolmagno. Christine, by the way, is part of the Riley family who made this place a Lincoln Street institution.

Dim Sum comes to Worcester. The Red Lantern on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester recently began serving Dim Sum on Saturday and Sunday mornings. For the uninitiated, Dim Sum is the Chinese version of brunch. You pick out small plates from the food cart as it passes by and then the plates are added up at the end of the meal. The Red Lantern offers four sizes of plates that are priced from $2.50 for the small to $6 for the extra large plate, although the majority of the plates fall into the medium category at $3.

Fusion. This is the name of the new night club opening next to Blu on Water Street in Worcester. Fusion will be owned by Rob Arakelian, who worked at Sh’booms. We don’t have any word yet on the concept.

Wine labels. According to Food & Wine Magazine, the next big trend in wine labels is what they are referring to as “adventure labels.” These labels will target the under 30 crowd and will feature images such as a surf board or a vintage car or truck. The purpose, according to the magazine, is to associate wine with fun.

FooBar becomes Bender’s. Park Avenue fave FooBar has undergone a make-over and is now called Bender’s Bar & Grille. The new incarnation, still at 433 Park Ave., now serves food as well as drink ~ the menu includes pub staples, salads, sandwiches and burgers and features daily specials. The kitchen is open the same hours as the bar, 11am – 2am.