THE DISH: Enjoy hot new menu items for summer

Jul. 29—These days the weather isn't the only thing that's hot. Local restaurants and businesses have plenty of new menu items to enjoy. Here's a look at some fresh selections.

Angry Barnyard BBQ (916 18th St.) knows you might want something lighter on these sweltering summer days, so it rolled out two new salads.

The tri-tip salad ($12.50) highlights the restaurant's Santa Maria style tri-tip, cooked to medium rare, that is served on a bed of romaine along with shredded cheddar cheese and house-made chili beans. It comes with your choice of ranch, salsa or barbecue sauce.

Another new selection is the Southern stack salad ($13) that stacks slow-smoked pork shoulder, country caviar, tomato wedges and shredded cheddar cheese atop crisp greens. It is topped with crunchy fried onions and a drizzle of Alabama white sauce and sassy Southern barbecue sauce, if desired.

Dutch Bros will have you "road trippin' back in time" with two new beverages. Starting today, the drive-thru coffee company is featuring Cookie Dough Cold Brew and Cookie Dough Freeze at all of its more than 570 locations.

The cookie dough cold brew is a mix of Dutch Bros' cold brew (regular or nitro) with chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookie dough flavor topped with Dutch Bros' signature Soft Top, a fluffy, sweet topping and chocolate sprinkles.

The same flavors are also blended and frozen for the cookie dough freeze.

Check out the two new drinks, which will stick around through the end of August.

California Pizza Kitchen (10150 Stockdale Highway) also has some new dishes out for summer focused on seasonal ingredients.

"Two things that immediately come to mind when we hear the words 'California' and 'summer' are fresh fruits and vegetables and seafood, and that's what our new summer menu is all about," Brian Sullivan, senior vice president of culinary innovation at CPK, said in a news release.

"Our seafood cioppino is the star of our new menu, made with bold flavors and fresh ingredients. It anchors the rest of our lineup of light, refreshing dishes that are ideal during the rising summer temperatures. We used lots of bright fruits like strawberries and watermelon and really took advantage of all the great seafood available during the summer, so our guests will see beautiful fillets of salmon, fresh mussels, bay scallops and more."

New offerings include:

—California fields salad: This salad combines fresh watermelon, strawberries and baby greens with house-made champagne vinaigrette, feta, fresh basil and California pistachios.

—Seafood cioppino: Served with grilled baguette, CPK's version of the Italian classic incorporates blue mussels, calamari, white fish, bay scallops and shrimp in a white wine tomato broth with fennel, garlic and fresh basil.

—Salmon with pan-roasted summer vegetables: North Atlantic salmon is roasted on a cedar plank and served with fingerling potatoes, seasonal cherry tomatoes, charred onions and bell peppers with garlic, capers, red chili and fresh Italian parsley.

—Strawberry shortcake: A shortcake biscuit is piled high with seasonal strawberries, whipped cream and housemade candied lemon zest. Recommended with vanilla Häagen-Dazs.

—Summer fruit sangria: The beverage is a blend of rosé, watermelon and basil-infused Grey Goose vodka, with fresh strawberries, watermelon and mint.

—Sparkling watermelon cooler: Good for all ages is this drink of freshly puréed watermelon with lime, Monin watermelon syrup and sparkling water.

Deals at Black Angus

In these tough economic times, Black Angus Steakhouse (3601 Rosedale Highway) is offering a helping hand to diners with a few deals.

Now through Sept. 1, Black Angus will serve up "Ranch Hand" plates, a discounted $20.22 dinner plate for the "working man/woman." Guests can choose between grilled rib-eye steak or grilled salmon, which is served with broccoli and wild rice.

And the chain's Prime Club members can earn a $10 gas gift card through Sunday when they spend at least $50. (Visit blackangus.com/prime-club to join the club.)

The steakhouse will also extend its hours, closing at 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 p.m. Sunday to accommodate diners' schedules.

And for those who want to treat themselves, Black Angus is hosting a Tequila Dinner experience on Thursday. Dinner will consist of three courses paired with cocktails featuring top-shelf tequila.

Start with shrimp scampi with garlic bread paired with a smoky El Silencio Mezcal paloma, made with El Silencio Mezcal, lime and pink grapefruit soda.

The second course includes prime rib, grilled asparagus, roasted garlic and herb mashed potato paired with a fresh jalapeño margarita with Tajin rim, comprised of Casamigos Blanco, fresh jalapeño, fresh lime mix, Patron Citrónge and Tajin rim.

Dinner concludes with an olive oil citrus cake and fresh raspberries paired with the decadent Jalisco Irish coffee made with Hornitos Reposado, Kahlua, coffee, whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon sugar.

The experience starts at 7 p.m. Thursday. Cost is $49.99 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required (at blackangus.com/bakersfield) and guests are advised to select 7 p.m. as their reservation time on the date.

Win a year of free Thrifty's ice cream

Before we come to the end of National Ice Cream Month, here is one more sweet treat. Rite Aid is offering ice cream lovers a chance to win a year of free Thrifty ice cream in a sweepstakes that runs through Sunday.

Although Thrifty stores are long gone, the delicious ice cream for which they were known lives on at more than 500 Rite Aid stores that contain hand-dipped Thrifty ice cream stations.

Rocky road is the most popular flavor, followed by rocky road, followed by cookies and cream and cotton candy. Unique to California is the "Cali Delight" flavor, consisting of vanilla ice cream swirled with orange sherbet.

For the sweepstakes, 10 lucky winners will receive a $300 gift card good for a year of ice cream (calculated as one 48-ounce container consumed per week, for 52 weeks) or whatever else they need at the drugstore.

To enter, visit riteaid.com/thrifty-sweeps and log in with your Rite Aid account or create one to enter.

Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter: @realstefanidias.