It’s a rainy Wednesday, and Chef Michael Warring is mulling over the night’s menu in his eponymous restaurant, enjoying a moment of calm before seating begins in an elegantly appointed dining room that gives nary a hint of its former life as an ice cream parlor.

Drawn by the incoming arena, the burgeoning craft cocktail and beer scene and the farm-to-fork movement’s local strength, San Diego business partners Roy Ledo and Hassan Mahmood will be installing a version of their hit North Park arcade bar, the Coin Op, in place of Marilyn’s on K.

Two years ago Addison Quarles opened Addison’s Bicycle Reparium, where he says he’ll work on anything “new, old or esoteric.”

The Sacramento River Cats, for 15 years regarded as one of baseball’s most successful  minor league organizations, announced in September it would be making a big switch. Beginning this season, the team will no longer be the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics but will instead become the top-dog minor league team for the San Francisco Giants.

How likely are you to crowdsource a diagnosis for a mysterious medical condition? 

NannyMe is a business and mobile application created by a few Sacramento high schoolers. Similar to the rideshare app Uber, NannyMe receives babysitting requests, then pings nannies (local high school students), who can accept or decline the job. Since NannyMe launched in December, about 75 families have signed up with the service.

You just got back from a trip? Me too. And I already need the next one. My name is Christine Calvin, and I take vacations. That’s right, I use all my PTO every year, and I don’t feel an ounce of shame. You should do the same — it’s going to cost your company either way.

Expedia.com recently released a report report showing Europeans earn nearly twice as many paid vacation days (28 yearly) as Americans, and that 54 percent of Americans feel “very or somewhat” vacation deprived. So when was the last time you took some time off? 

Ryan Montoya’s task is clear, straightforward and possibly, well, impossible: Turn the  Sacramento Kings into the most technologically adept sports franchise in the world.

The technology website GeekWire calls the Sacramento Kings the “NBA’s most geeky franchise.” They mean it as a compliment. Here are some of the ways the Kings are maintaining their edge.

The menu you get at the onset of your dining experience is much more than a laundry list of food and prices; it’s the opening volley in a courtship dance between your taste buds and the kitchen.

Get up close and personal with the artists who are set on making the Warehouse Artist Lofts the most creatively inspirational place to call home. 

In the Capital Region, we’re lucky to be surrounded by an abundance of farm-to-fork fresh food, plus chefs who know how to showcase the flavors of our region. So you tell us: Who has the best menu around? 

Sacramento chefs like to think backwards. When it comes to menus, they let the ingredients dictate the dish — not the other way around. The result: An ever-changing seasonal menu that is as brief as the kale is healthy.

What more can your storage cabinets do for you? How can your placemats become conversation pieces? What if sitting down to read a magazine felt a little bit like being at the carnival?

A global cocoa shortage threatens to put a damper on the good tidings and cheer, as worldwide demand for chocolate outstrips the waning production in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, which produce more than 70 percent of the world’s mass-market cocoa.

Chris Jarosz is the founder of Broderick Restaurant & Bar and co-owner of the Wicked ‘Wich food truck. This year, he also took on the overhaul of midtown’s Capital Dime restaurant and its sister eatery, Trick Pony, which have been folded into the Broderick Roadhouse family of restaurants. It’s not all glamorous, but it is pretty tasty.

Last year we highlighted Sacramento’s newest design superstars, just in time for the holidays (“Fresh Perspective,” by Kibkabe Araya, December 2013). Here’s a look at what they’ve been up to over the past year.

Several records broken, many legs shaken and few bodies unbruised by the end of this year’s California International Marathon. About 15,000 participants ran a grueling 26.2 miles in the Sacramento Running Association’s CIM. Over 50,000 spectators cheered runners on along the downhill course last Sunday.

Zinfandel from Lodi’s Mokelumne River American Viticultural Area comes in two main styles: west side and east side. West-side vineyards, with their shallower soil, have lusher growth and tend to be earthier or loamier, sometimes pungently compost-like. East-side vineyards have a lower water table, producing smaller clusters and smaller fruit, which generally have more color, tannin and acidity.