Despite all the other turmoil and chaos at Granite Park, we could always count on Victory Grill.

No matter how much drama was at that nightclub, we always knew that the sporty Me-N-Ed's offshoot would be there for us. Right, Victory Grill?

RIIIIGHT?!?!?

Sadly, not even Victory Grill -- the longest-lasting survivor in the Mess That Milt Built -- could be a winner at Granite Park. Though it made a good go of it. The Bee's Bethany Clough reported on Tuesday that Victory Grill has closed and will be replaced next week by a new restaurant called Revolución Tequila Bar & Cocina, which opens May 5 from the same ownership group.

From Clough's post:

The newest chain restaurant in Fresno open its doors today at 4 p.m.: Texas Roadhouse, which knocked down the old Sweet Tomatoes at Shaw and Feland, re-built and hired 200 people, all so YOU could have another place to get a steak.

It's a couple blocks from Tahoe Joe's and Outback, making the Shaw and Marks vicinity now the Official Steakhouse Capitol of Fresno™.

This being Fresno, you can expect the wait to be long for the first few months. We love us some chain restaurants. However, if you're really hungry and don't want to brave the Fresno Chain Restaurant Zombies, then I'll offer you this exclusive tip to avoid hour-plus wait times.

Are you ready?

Just go to Logan's Roadhouse. It's almost the exact same thing. Down to the freedom to toss peanut shells on the ground. You're welcome.

The Venue has opened at the Palm-and-Nees spot that used to house Twist and, according to its website, it has "the most elegant food in town."

The restaurant is owned by Vahan Panossian, who also owns House of Kebob and Fresno Deli.

In her restaurant column this week, The Bee's Bethany Clough gives us the skinny on The Venue:

The restaurant has hired chef Adam Yaghmour, a graduate of the University of Jordan and a former executive chef at Hotel Marriott in San Francisco.

The restaurant will feature authentic Mediterranean food, not Americanized versions, Panossian says.

For example, the menu features the Sultan Ibrahim fish, a red mullet imported from the Mediterranean and served the Lebanese way, fried and with pita bread. The menu is huge, offering more than 30 appetizers.

Many folks have been waiting for the food truck scene in Fresno to get kicked up a notch -- what with the overwhelming success of Dusty Buns and all. Taste Kitchen is still in limbo, last we heard.

Well, today comes good news for Fresno food truck fans: We've got a Korean barbecue truck rolling around town now.

It's called Tako BBQ and this is its second week on the street. They were just parked across from The Bee and I grabbed a spicy pork taco. It was delicious -- and spicy.

Tako BBQ is run by the husband-wife duo Tony and Eun Joo Mullins. Tony is an ex-marketing guy and Eun Joo went to culinary school in Korea. She's previously worked in town at restaurants such as Karma and Sushi Go Round.

Tony says they started the truck because Fresno didn't have a Korean barbecue truck -- and as you probably know, trucks like Kogi in L.A. are staples of the gourmet food truck scene.

He says they're still "feeling out" their route -- but that Tako is on the move Monday-Friday. For lunch on Wednesdays, for instance, you can find Tako near Community Hospital downtown. On Fridays, it's at the Manchester Farmer's Market. Other stops are announced on Twitter. Menu and a few more pics below.

Good news, Fresno eaters. Dusty Buns Bistro -- the oft-embattled (and more-oft-delicious) food truck -- is settling into a brick-and-mortar location in the Tower District. It opens tonight.

Dusty Buns Bistro is at the corner of Echo and Weldon avenues, across from Fresno High and in the same row of shops as P*DE*Q. It'll be open 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, serving the same fresh, local and seasonal food that draws big lines to its food truck.

This doesn't mean the bistro bus will stop truckin'. Dusty Buns is still doing the food truck thing -- just for the lunch crowd. It's keeping its usual afternoon stops on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and changing its Thursday night Wishow Row stop to a 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. lunch stop.

So basically, you'll find Dusty Buns out on the streets for lunch Wednesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., then in the restaurant from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. those same days. The entire schedule is here.

The Bee's Bethany Clough explains why all this is great news for Dusty Buns fans:

UPDATE: This post generated some good discussion and questions. Owner Kyle Kirkland addresses them in the comments.

ORIGINAL POST, 2/9: The downtown sports bar on Van Ness Avenue near the spiral parking garage has had a disappointing life. It was Hero's, then Austin's, then Heroes again -- each one unable to find the right mix of games and grub.

So the current ownership group, headed by Kyle Kirkland of Club One Casino, decided recently to ditch the sports bar concept, change the name and give the place a new vibe. Now it's Brick. And Brick is looking nice.

The place has a mature look -- black table cloths and black-and-white pictures of people like John F. Kennedy on the walls. Even a piano and a screen showing old movies. Brick sorta feels like the place you'd go if you were a mobster. Before anybody breaks my kneecaps, I mean that as a compliment.

Brick is aiming for a more upscale vibe, says Kirkland. Just see the dress code: "After 5 p.m,, if Sinatra wouldn't wear it, you shouldn't either." It'll eventually have entertainment aimed at the older crowd -- music, comedy, etc. For now, Brick is open weekdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday for dinner and drinks.

I had lunch there last week and was quite impressed. I would certainly go back. Here's a look inside Brick:

Pat E. Wackers opened this week on West Shaw Avenue in the Costco shopping center. It calls itself "The Ultimate Burger Joint" but it's not a typical burger joint, doesn't have a typical owner or typical menu items. Its slogan, for example, is "Have you had your patty wacked today?"

Biz reporter Bethany Clough wrote a interesting story in Wednesday's Bee about Pat E. Wackers. Here are a few highlights:

Co-owner Chris Benson is the pastor of the Road to Victory Church and spent most of his career in the restaurant industry, including opening Fresno's T.G.I. Friday's in 1979. He got into drugs and alcohol in his teens and twenties, but found Christ and cleaned up. Now he leads a church, is a volunteer chaplain with the Sheriff's Department and works with substance abuse programs in Fresno ... Benson says he isn't afraid to hire others who don't have sparkling resumes, including people with a history of alcohol and drugs, as long as they're not felons.

It seems like the Tower District's businesses come and go in waves. If that's the case, the last few weeks have marked a wave of openings in the neighborhood.

Here's a list of what's new:

• Pinot Wine Bar & Bistro: It opened yesterday in the old Palomino's space, offering wine and small plates of food. It's open 4 p.m. to midnight daily, except Mondays. More on The Bee's news blog. Can't wait to see what they do with that great patio.
• Tower Cafe: A couple doors down from Pinot is Tower Cafe, which brings new life to the Tower Dogs space. It's still a late-night destination -- serving stuff like chili-cheese tater tots until 3 a.m. It has more sandwichey fare during the day. More from the News Blog.

The space near Fresno High that used to house Javawava and Echo Street Coffee has a new tenant serving up something cheesy. And we mean that in the nicest way possible.

P*DE*Q -- which makes a cheesy Brazilian bread -- celebrated its grand opening last week after being born out of the Fresno Food Expo. Not only is the new shop selling its cheesy bread, but coffee and tea as well.

Here's more from this week's Word on the Street column from The Bee:

The new space is part coffee shop and store, and part manufacturing plant. All of P*DE*Q's rolling, baking and packaging happens in the location. It's at 1940 Echo Ave., in the former Echo Street Coffee and Javawava space.

The small rolls, baked with tapioca flour and cheddar and parmesan cheese, can be eaten for breakfast or a snack. Owner Flavia Takahashi-Flores brought her love of them with her when she moved to the U.S. from Brazil.

She launched the company last spring, and has worked out of a commercial kitchen and shared space with Frosted Cakery. Having her own location allows her to sell coffee and tea to customers, and have a gluten-free kitchen.

The P*DE*Qs sell for $1.50 for two, more for larger frozen P*DE*Qs in bags and jars. The business also sells coffee and tea, including boba tea.

P*DE*Q is open 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays, 6 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursdays and Friday and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

Today is the grand opening of downtown's newest eatery -- Kocky's Bar & Grill, which takes over the old Smokehouse spot at 1231 Van Ness Ave. (near Fresno Street). There's a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. and then Kocky's will be open serving bar food to the lunch crowd.

Here's more on Kocky's from The Bee's Bethany Clough:

The business is going for a "Cheers" feel - an "everybody knows your name environment" - says co-owner Michael Smith.

The menu includes favorites like burgers, sandwiches, fish and chips and salads. The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday. It will also feature an early happy hour with deals on appetizers and draft beer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Smith is one of three owners with degrees in marketing - two of them California State University, Fresno, grads. Smith graduated in 2003 and another owner, James O'Donnell, graduated in 2010. They've joined with Morehouse College graduate Robert Douglas to open the restaurant.

They hope to have software up and running soon that will allow downtown workers with limited time for lunch to preorder their meals.

Below is a menu, some pics and a few nightlife events happening soon at Kocky's