So many Monterey County food-and-drink developments it’s crazy.

If it’s food news you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place. And I hope you’re hungry. Because the nutritious news keeps coming. More awaits at www.mcweekly.com/edible, and with @MontereyMCA, but here are three courses to hold you over.

1. A bigger burger isn’t always better.

RG Burger (626-8064) expands into the neighboring Carmel Crossroads space this fall (or brings in another concept, as they did with sister spot Island Tacoon the opposite side). That’s good news or bad news, depending on who you ask.

For Weekly readers who frequently vote them the best burger in Monterey County, and fans of the impressive fish tacos at IT, it smells pretty good.

For the current tenant of that space, Bistro 211, and owner-operator Carmen Magnusson’s loyal following, it smells rotten. Along with a bunch of local business owners who depend on 21-year-old 211 for takeout, they’re going to miss the house-smoked salmon Benedicts, cheese blintzes, coq au vin and beef stroganoff.

Magnusson concedes her lease is up, but wants to stay, and says she’s been given an unfair shake from management.

“This is the older crowd I serve,” she adds. “They don’t go to RG Burger.”

That crowd circulated a petition, but it doesn’t appear it will change anything.

“This is like my home,” Magnusson says. “You can take it, but you can’t take the love of my customers. It’s not just food I serve.”

2. jeninni kitchen’s new era is here.

New Exec Chef Matt Zimny gives jeninni kitchen + wine bar on Lighthouse in Pacific Grove (920-2662) the talent to carry on the momentum created by founding chef Jeffrey Weiss and owner-GM-sommelier Thamin Saleh.

Zimny has cheffed in Chicago and Minneapolis, and for an extended stint in Alaska, much as an executive chef for storied Talkeetna Alaska Lodge. Now he’s gotten the style of things at jeninni after a few weeks – exotic spices! housemade sausages! – and has started into his new menu, introducing two items at a time.

Early returns are good. Last week the goodies included the revelatory terrine-like pâté with pork, goat, dates and North African spices to go with grilled bread and yummy pickled cauliflower ($13) and an intense seafood stew with calamari, clams and in-shell prawns ($23). The most memorable, though, was a kohlrabi-watercress-radish salad with sumac yogurt dressing and magic pita-like croutons ($12). Crunchy, fresh and fabulous.

Meanwhile, barkeep Luke Thompson is helping craft a lower-alcohol “session” cocktail menu. Details like ice cubes with rosemary blossoms in their bellies and house-aged negroni help. A great brunch continues 9:30am-1:30pm weekends, happy hour 4-6pm daily; find photos and more on the cocktail program via the blog.

3. Aubergine makes a big change.

One of the area’s very best pastry chefs, Yulanda Santos, replaces another great at atmospheric Aubergine (624-8578). James Beard nominee Ron Mendozais off to start pasteurizing his own ice cream for a new shop called Revival Ice Cream. (If you’ve seen what Mendoza can do with gelato you also know RIC will kill it; stay tuned for the scoop on that soon.)

Santos, his collaborator in fun events under the Desserts First! flag and a ramen pop-up pioneer at Carmel Belle, starts next week after an impressive run atSierra Mar that included salted pretzel granache and Big Sur “campfire s’mores” reimagined in ways I never imagined.

On the Post Ranch cliffs where Sierra Mar sits, a new era is well underway, as former exec chef John Cox and ex-sous chef Michelle Estigoy have also left recently, to collaborate on highly anticipated Cultura in Carmel.

~QUICKBITES ~

• Big Fish Grill (372-7526) re-opens its awesome wrap-around deck on the end of Fisherman’s Wharf this week. Get photos and more – including locals deals to rival any in the area – on the blog, www.mcweekly.com/edible.
• The Bull and Bear Whiskey Bar & Taphouse on Alvarado (655-3031) is back open after a few weeks dark, and hosting the South Bay Dub All-Stars 8pm Sunday, July 3, fresh off their appearance at Cali Roots.
• Tried some of Monterey Bay Seaweeds’ delectable red dulse seaweed fried, and it’s up to the hype. Get a recipe and link to last week’s cover story about the fascinating family-run operation on the blog.
• Farmers Union Pour House (975-4890) is open in Oldtown Salinas. Get a look at the craft beers and California wines they’re flowing on the blog,www.mcweekly.com/edible.
• Food sleuth Mary Schley reports Artemis Turkish Kitchen is coming to Carmel at Ocean and Mission to do things like pan-fried-and-beef-stuffed bulgur, slow-marinated lamb chops and prawns in pepperoncini sauce.
• The memorable Terroir series at Aubergine (624-8578) continues with a Russia-themed four-course dinner with wine pairings Tuesday, July 12. The next day Exec Chef Justin Cogley leads a Monterey Bay abalone cooking class ($100).
• Tricycle Pizza aims to open on Lighthouse Avenue, on the border of New Monterey and Pacific Grove, by the middle or end of July.
• Weekly reporter Nick Rahaim’s love note to tortas de milanesa inspired a suggestion from Sue Parris of Pacific Grove: El Milagro Oaxacan in Seaside (1104 Broadway Ave., 324-4125), which does a range of milanesa tortas in a surprisingly big place.
• This makes a great match: Down on Cannery Row, LALLA Oceanside’s (324-0891) new speakeasy-style craft cocktail lounge, Angel’s Share, now features the work of artist Andrew Jackson. His Bar Series paintings – which play to his gift for night scenes – include moments at storied (and sometimes departed) places like Segovia’s, Jack London’s and Viva’s.
• Super popular East Coast chain Rita’s Italian Ice has debuted in Salinas at 1182 S. Main St., doing frozen custards, gelatis, mists, milkshakes and frozen custard cakes.
• Fun wine tasting event at Carmel Road tasting room (624-1036) on Lincoln as Katie Blandin Shea of Bar Cart Cocktail Co. collaborates on Riesling spritzer samples and tasting flights 2-7pm Saturday, July 2.
• Tickets are now on sale for the Cooking for Solutions party at Monterey Bay Aquarium Saturday, Oct. 1 ($100 members, $125 general, 644-1055).
• Chef Cy Yontz of Rio Grill, Chef Tony Baker of Montrio and Chef Todd Fisher of Tarpy’s talk gardening and cooking with Kinship Center kids at Kinship Center (455-9965) June 29. The center’s White Party (455-4723) occurs Sept. 24, when the three chefs return to craft dinner paired with wines from Bernardus Winery and Scheid Vineyards to go with a hosted martini bar by Southern Wines and Spirits, silent and live auctions and live music. Ticket sales open July 15.
• El Jefe tequila, the agave brainchild of Carmel’s Ryan Sanchez (Surf N Sand, Corral de Tierra Market), has another zesty credit to tuck under its championship belt: The ring art for a Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino bout for up-and-coming Jose Ramirez (who El Jefe sponsors) Saturday, July 9, features Jefe on canvas, with three 30-second national commercials accompanying the broadcast.
• Zume, a new (and secretive) startup in Mountain View, is trying to make a more profitable pizza through robotics. Dubbing itself the “Amazon of pizza,” it has also created special delivery trucks that will finish cooking pizzas during the journey, if approved by the Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health.
• Augustine of Hippo: “Patience is the companion of wisdom.”