MORE bacon-wrapped tots...and beer

New items at Fran’s Filling Station: jalapeno-bacon-wrapped tater tots with a Tabasco honey glaze (available in a duo with the original bacon-wrapped tots or on their own); sweet corn nuggets with goat cheese ranch; lamb ragu over rigatoni with ricotta and goat cheese; chicken Milanese topped with a seasonal salad; and a daily fish. Also on tap: nightly specials such as “Something Spicy” on Mondays (such as Malaysian chicken curry or shrimp with ancho chiles) to “Red & White Checked Tablecloth Italian Night” on Saturdays (steak Marsala or chicken cacciatore). Lunch changes are coming, too, with tots and fried pickles joining that lineup, more combos being added and more plate lunches and international sandwiches. 2410 Park Road; 704-372-2009.

Rock Bottom Brewery starts offering Oktoberfest Lager with a seasonal menu (plus prizes and giveaways) Sept. 14 and the lineup will stick around until Oct. 24. Among the new: Oktoberfest Combo (grilled bratwurst, knackwurst and Hungarian sausages, housemade pretzel sticks and seasoned fries, with beer mustards), steak tacos (top sirloin marinated in Oktoberfest), smoked pork loin, German Kobe burger and more. 401 N. Tryon St.; 704-334-2739.