Japanese tapas

More than sushi: In a matter of months, Sacramento went from having zero to two izakaya-style dining options.

Takumi is now softly open at 826 J Street, in the former Sushi Paradiso space. While it also imports binchotan charcoal and offers a variety of grilled, skewered items like Binchoyaki Izakaya Dining, Takumi sets itself apart with a much larger menu, including sushi. That fits, knowing Takumi comes from the same owners as Banzai Sushi and Banzai Japanese Kitchen in Davis.

There are small, izakaya-style plates, such as honey miso ribs ($8.95) and monkfish liver with ponzu ($13.95). There are nine types of ramen, including one with lobster ($50). And, buried in different sections, there are a few dishes unusual for Sacramento: stingray fin ($7.95); salmon carpaccio with truffle oil ($14.95); uni carbonara ($14.95); and sea snail ($8.95) and foie gras ($14.95) yakitori.

Growth: Sacramento’s Fit Eats is expanding to the Bay Area within the next few weeks.

Fit Eats is a meal delivery service, which allows you to order prepared meals that will eventually make their way to your doorstep in the middle of the night. The company also has retail locations in Midtown and Roseville.

With a new commercial kitchen in Hayward, CEO Don Arnold is planning to roll out food deliveries to the East Bay, South Bay and eventually San Francisco, a market crowded with all kinds of meal planning apps and businesses. How will Fit Eats carve its niche?

“Not too many are focused on healthy meals—they’re focused on the on-demand thing,” Arnold says.

Fit Eats also plans to open retail locations in Concord, Pleasanton and San Jose. The ultimate goal? Take Fit Eats national.

Hop farm update: Remember all that drama surrounding Ruhstaller Farm & Yard? For months, you’d see that tongue-in-cheek sign off the freeway: “Breaking the rules since 1881—it finally caught up with us—Closed for a bit.” Now, that closure is permanent. JE Paino announced in July that he is officially abandoning—and tearing apart—the Dixon tap room. Videos document the slow demise on the Facebook page, www.facebook.com/RuhstallerFarm. You can still taste Ruhstaller beer at the downtown location (630 K Street).