Cheers to cider

Thanks, Two Rivers: If you’re a cider fan, you’re probably frustrated that there isn’t a cidery you can visit to geek out over your favorite alcoholic beverage. Beer drinkers have tons of breweries in town. Wine enthusiasts have wine country.

Good news: Two Rivers Cider Co. understands your plight and, finally, is opening a tasting room. On Thursday, June 30, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., celebrate both the tasting room’s launch and the company’s 20th anniversary.

The space at 4311 Attawa Avenue, Suite 103, is a similar size to the original Track 7 Brewing Co.’s location in Curtis Park—pre-expansion into the neighboring warehouse. At the party, Two Rivers will serve a few specialty ciders inside, plus its usual lineup in the more expansive outdoor area. Alex Haarmeyer, part of the Two Rivers production crew, said they’ll probably offer a cherry cider, a cider made with four apple varieties and, potentially, some barrel-aged ciders.

Haarmeyer said the Two Rivers team hasn’t decided what the taproom’s hours will be post-launch, but he guesses it’ll open around 4 p.m. at a maximum of four days per week.

Crab, oysters and lobster: Another seafood-focused restaurant has landed on the grid, but there’s nothing else quite like it downtown.

Station 16 (1118 16th Street) is softly open in the former Sapporo Grill space, specializing in crab and other shellfish. It comes from chef-owner Minnie Nguyen, who also operates south Sacramento’s Firehouse Crawfish, an Asian-Cajun seafood boil spot. Station 16’s concept is pretty different, though, focusing on the seafood of your choice—mild or spicy—prepared and served in a cast-iron skillet.

There’s also an oyster bar, cioppino, clam chowder, lobster rolls and lobster mac ’n’ cheese. For the ocean-averse, there’s a rib-eye steak, fries with Korean short rib and a burger. But really, it’s about the shellfish here. Nguyen is aiming the price point at $12-$20 per person.

For now, Station 16 is open for dinner, with lunch and brunch still to come.

The name—and the prominent use of red in the modern interior—stems from Nguyen’s husband’s participation in the fire academy. Back when he was enrolled, she was searching for a name for her first restaurant, Firehouse Crawfish, which opened in 2011. She kept with the fire theme with “station” and “16” for its location.