Haven't read the exclusive Martin Hamish press release about his new gastro-tavern, The Dark Horse? See it here.

Blind item of the week (and one that I'm incredibly excited about): A craft beer bar will be coming to Midtown in roughly the same time it takes to conceive and gestate a baby. Except this baby's father is one of the most esteemed bar owners in town. And the baby will have a diet primarily composed of small-batch craft beers. It'll be taking up residence next to another beloved bar, right along the light rail, making this small section of Midtown suddenly infinitely more intriguing. And that's before you've heard the name of the place...

In other equally exciting news, the tiny Jonathan's the Rub will soon be tiny no longer. Increasing popularity has led to the restaurant's decision to add 50 more seats -- some inside and some outside -- to more than double its capacity from 40 to 90 people. Expect the new seating layout to be done within the next few weeks. (And if Jonathan's burger is crowned king at Monday's 2011 Burger Bracket Championship, expect it to be pretty busy for a while too.)

If you've been wondering about the stucco monstrosity that's been slowly erected behind Agora and the antique store on Dunlavy, wonder no more: It's a wine bar, and -- according to my sources -- it will be called Bacchus (of course).

This weekend, if you want to escape to a non-"hospitality zone," the Heights should be mostly NCAA-free. And you'll be able to hit up the Heights Ashbury Coffee Shop while you're there -- it opened yesterday morning. (We received what turned out to be an inaccurate report that Heights Ashbury was open. It is not yet open. Apologies for the confusion.) According to B4-U-Eat, the coffee shop will be serving freshly made juices by Juicy In the Sky and a vegan menu by Radical Eats in addition to a rotation of locally roasted, organic coffees.

Also now open once again is Skewers, which closed for several months after an electrical fire. I'm happy to report that the baba ganoush and kafta kabobs are as good as ever, and the patio has already been filling back up with folks smoking shisha and enjoying Lebanese wine.

Closed, however, is The Elegant Hogg, a westside bar whose continued presence in its scary little strip mall always confused me all these years. A toast to the dearly departed.

On the next page, a recap of all the openings and closings from March 2011.

Openings

Akashi Sushi Asian Cuisine, 2271 Northpark Drive, Kingwood, 281-358-8828 Aling's Hakka Chinese Cuisine, 15425 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, 281-242-0432 Annam Indian Cuisine, 1029 Highway 6 North, Suite 200, 281-492-1688 The Blue Fish, 550 Texas, 713-225-3474 Bullritos, 3115 Dixie Farm Road, Pearland, 281-993-2855 Burger 101, 11460 Fuqua, 281-464-6611 Burger Girl, 17117 Highway 249, 281-894-6644 Cajun Way Crawfish, 900 FM 359, Richmond, 281-342-2645 Candelari's Pizzeria, 14545 Memorial Drive, 281-497-0612 Chispas Del Tiempo, 1504 Airline, 713-802-2221 El Real Tex-Mex, 120 Westheimer, 713-524-1201 Heights Ashbury Coffee House, 242 West 19th Menchie's Frozen Yogurt, 10880 Louetta, 832-717-4500 Milano's Pizzeria & Italian Grill, 9135 West Sam Houston Parkway N, 281-469-8600 Paco Joe's Grill & Cantina, 9906 Gulf Freeway, 713-987-7300 Pecan Creek Grille, 1510 Eldridge, 281-759-3663 Pondicheri, 2800 Kirby, 713-522-2022 Red Mango, 801 Town & Country Boulevard (CityCentre), 713-463-3830 Revival Market, 550 Heights Boulevard RockHouse Bar & Grill, 5402 Highway 6 North, 281-463-3000 Sapori Ristorante Italiano, 12225 Westheimer, Suite B, 281-496-4941 The Tasting Room, 818 Town & Country Boulevard (CityCentre), 281-822-1500 Trattoria Il Mulino, 945 Gessner, 832-358-0600 Up Restaurant, 3995 Westheimer, 713-640-5416

Closings

6th Street Bar and Grill (to become a third location of BB's Cajun Cafe), 2701 White Oak Al-Amir Cafe & Hookah Bar, 12645 Whittington Basil Grill, 7952 Westheimer Bella Luna, 3010 North Fry Road, Katy China View, 11113 Katy Freeway Dave's Rib Shack, 5102 FM 1960 Dolce Vita Pizzeria, Spring The Elegant Hogg, 1900 S. Kirkwood Frozen in Thyme, 16750 Highway 3, Suite B, Webster Ponte Vecchio Ristorante Italiano, 507 Dallas, Suite B Ruthie's Mexicana, 5022 Highway 90A, Sugar Land Tamarind Indian Bistro & Market, 202 Sawdust Road, The Woodlands Terlingua Texas Border Cafe, 920 Studemont