Meat lovers, there's a new rib place in town.

The Rib Cage bar and grill at the northeast corner of Shaw and West avenues serves baby pork ribs, beef ribs slow roasted for five hours with the restaurant's signature sauce and meaty St. Louis style ribs.

There also are burgers, several kinds of chicken sandwiches -- including the chicken bacon jack sandwich -- and salads. Diners are given complimentary garlic tortilla chips with spinach dip while they check out the menu.

The restaurant opened quietly in late November and just recently got its liquor license, so the full bar is now open.

The family that runs The Rib Cage is the same family that ran Bentley's Steaks Seafood and Ribs at Bullard and West avenues, which closed last fall.

The family took the best of their food and decided to offer it at a lower price in a more affordable location, said Deanna Bower, who doubles as a bartender and handles marketing for the restaurant.

Most dishes run from $7 to $16.

New Moon Lite

The restaurant and bar at Clinton Avenue and Highway 99 has come full circle as the New Moon Lite reopens in the building that once housed the Moon Lite.

The restaurant, at 2731 W. Clinton Ave., was also the Lime Lite's home from 1964 to 1999 before it moved to Shaw Avenue. It also had a run as Irish O'Sullivan's and most recently The Steakhouse, by the same restaurateur who owns Bella Pasta.

Longtime customers will recognize new owner Vicky Adams, who worked as a bartender at the old Moon Lite and O'Sullivan's.

"I put the old signs back up," she says. "We just added 'new' to it."

Another familiar face? Martin Ramirez, the cook. He's been there for 27 years, through all the changes, she says.

The old favorites -- like steak and lobster, chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes, and pork chops on Wednesdays -- are back.

Also back are many of the customers who once frequented the Moon Lite, including farmers, Adams says.

"The old people that came here 20 years ago, they're all coming back," she says. "They love it because that's how it used to be."

Food trucks

Cart Hop gets a lot of attention with its lunchtime events Thursdays downtown and Tuesdays in north Fresno, but did you know there's another food truck event every Saturday?

The Bella Frutta store, at the southeast corner of Shepherd and Willow avenues in Clovis, hosts four food trucks. The event is drawing a growing crowd of people, including walkers and cyclists using the trails nearby.

Breakfast food truck Benaddiction and cookie seller Crumb Snatcher Goodies are there starting around 8:30 a.m. or 9 a.m. (It's OK to eat a cookie that early if you eat it with some of the coffee they sell, too.)

And Dusty Buns and Tako BBQ sell their food from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The store is run by the Ricchiuti family, farmers who sell all kinds of fruit and other products in the store. Dusty Buns also frequently uses the Enzo olive oil the family makes.

Details: Bellafrutta.com/

California Restaurant Month

Four Madera County restaurants are participating in California Restaurant Month, highlighting certain dishes and offering special deals.

Ducey's on the Lake in Bass Lake is offering a four-course dinner for two featuring filet mignon, crab cakes and local wines for $69.50.

Coarsegold's Blue Heron Restaurant overlooking the water in Yosemite Lakes Park is offering 10% off its food, including wintertime soups, when diners mention California Restaurant Month.

The Vineyard Restaurant in Madera will showcase its lasagna and lamb shanks. If you mention the month while ordering these dishes, you'll get 10% off.

In Oakhurst, diners at the Yosemite Gateway Restaurant at the Best Western Plus Yosemite Gateway Inn get a free appetizer when they redeem the coupon online at Yosemitethisyear.com/restaurant_month.