Talk about an upgrade. After spending the past eight years with just a booth at the State Fair, O'Gara's has upped the ante in a big way. The venerable St. Paul Irish bar has basically built a whole new pub at the fair. After taking over the former St. Bernard's Dining Hall (near the main Snelling Avenue entrance), Danny O'Gara and company started from scratch by gutting the building. They've outfitted the pub with some great vintage touches, including a big, beautiful 120-year-old wood-carved arch from the old Spaulding Hotel in Duluth. Beyond a full lineup of burgers and Reubens, the bar will cater to beer fans, with 10 varieties pumping out from 60 tap lines. O'Gara's at the Fair, as they've dubbed it, will have music every night. Bands include: G.B. Leighton, the Wild Colonial Bhoys, Tim Mahoney and more.

More info: www.ogaras.com

Tequila lands at the West End They just keep pumping 'em out at the West End. Rojo Mexican Grill opened this week, joining Crave, Cooper, Toby Keith's, Ringo and Sauce at the St. Louis Park complex. The restaurant's Mexi-modern design includes hefty garage doors and a spacious patio. Inside, a glass tower behind the bar displays 75-plus tequilas. The most expensive is Herradura Suprema at $85 a shot. If you're feeling adventurous, I'd suggest ordering a $30 tequila flight, which lets you mix and match from 20 distilleries. Down the road, the restaurant will offer tequila dinners (think: wine dinners). Here's some trivia: The father of co-owner Michael McDermott founded Chi-Chi's back in the 1970s.

1606 West End Blvd., St. Louis Park. 952-657-5385. www.rojomexicangrill.com

Fulton: Minneapolis-bound Great news for Fulton fans: The upstart brewery has found a permanent home in Minneapolis. Fulton's beer has been a hot commodity since it debuted in 2009. You can find its Sweet Child of Vine in more than 70 bars around the Twin Cities. The four owners started with the idea of bringing brewing back to Minneapolis -- most breweries are located outside Minneapolis proper -- but without their own place they've actually been making beer in Wisconsin (at Sand Creek Brewing). Last week, they signed a lease on a building in the industrial part of downtown, just blocks from Target Field at 414 6th Av. N. If everything goes as planned, Fulton's new brewery could be up and running in under a year. "It's still a long ways off until we're that Minneapolis brewery that we want to be," said co-founder Ryan Petz, "but it feels really good to know that we're taking a step in that direction." In the meantime, Fulton is getting ready for its next limited release, a red ale called the Libertine.

More info: www.fultonbeer.com.

TOM HORGEN