www.irvinekoreanfestival.com

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Dense in the head that I am, it still took me all of 3 seconds to realize how the City of Irvine came to host the Irvine Korean Cultural Festival tomorrow. Steven Choi, city councilman and a candidate for mayor, is also its founder. Why tomorrow? Well, because today, January 13th, is the day the City "permanently recognized" as Korean-American Day in Irvine in 2008.

According to the website: "January 13 was chosen because it was on that day in 1903 that 102 pioneer immigrants arrived in Hawaii to work the sugar cane fields."

This is the third year of the festival.

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ProfessorSalt.com

Competition-grade spare ribs from Tropical Heat BBQ Team

​Would you guess that Orange County hosts more sanctioned barbecue contests than L.A. County? It's true. We're not talking about unsanctioned "rib burns," either, but legitimate contests with certified judges like you'd find in Kansas City.

To conclude the contest season, the world of competition barbecue dukes it out for a $15,000 purse on December 31 and January 1 at Knott's Soak City in Buena Park.

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We don't publish many of these clustertruck notifications because they're really not news anymore--unless they're huge or for charity.

The clustertruck this Friday, Nov. 18, at the Orange County Employees Association (OCEA) fits the latter bill. It's raising funds and accepting donations of canned goods and supplies (deets here) for people who are unemployed or underemployed. Every three cans you bring gets you a raffle ticket for a bunch of door prizes, including tickets to Disneyland, plus 15 percent of the truck proceeds go to charity.
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This Friday, 11/11/11 from 7 to 11 p.m., PositivePlate.org presents a special event featuring sustainable dishes prepared by some of our top local chefs. Haven Gastropub, Avanti Cafe, Sol Cocina, Taco Asyum, Sage, Duke's, Xanh Bistro, and Haute Cakes are those expected to serve signature small plates throughout the evening hosted by the Second Harvest Food Bank at the OC Great Park in Irvine.

Tickets to the event cost $60 each, and a portion of the proceeds benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, Kid Healthy, and the OC Food Access Coalition.

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OC Chocolate Festival Facebook page

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While we're still a few weeks away from some turkey and tryptophan, there's a solution if you're looking for some early indulgence.

For those with a sweet tooth, mosey down the 405 for a little chocolate lovin'. Over at the Fountain Valley Recreation Center, 50 tempting vendors will be showcasing their wares. They've even thought of the perfect pairing to go along with dessert: wine tastings!
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/www.cvhsfoundation.org

​It must be a South County thing. A few weeks ago, Aliso Niguel High School held a fund-raiser that brought together a roster of restaurants for its 5th Annual Taste of Aliso Niguel.

This week, Capo Valley High School in Mission Viejo is hosting a similar event, a so-called "Taste of Capo," Thursday, Oct. 20 at the high school (26301 Via Escolar, Mission Viejo) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., with food tastings from about 20 different eating establishments.

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Taste of Aliso Niguel Facebook

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Hey South Countians who read this blog. All one of you. Did you know about the Taste of Aliso Niguel happening tomorrow, October 8th, from 6 p.m.- 9 p.m. at the Summit Office Campus at 101 Enterprise, Aliso Viejo?

Well, there you go. Now you do.
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Mehregan OC

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A duo of Middle Eastern culture festivals will be held this weekend in OC.

There's the 15th Annual Persian Festival of Autumn to honor the harvest from October 1-2, from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. at the Lakeside Lagoon Next to Wild River (8800 Irvine Center Dr., Irvine). Expect music and dancing in a concert-like setting and food like that you see above there, which will also include Persian drinks, ice cream and treats, served buffet style.

The cost of a ticket is $25 presale and $30 at the door. A video taste of the festivities can be seen after the jump.


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ProfessorSalt.com

Beef brisket from Los Alamitos team Inhale BBQ

​Last Friday and Saturday, September 23 - 24, fifty BBQ teams from across the Western states took over the lush lawns of Sea Terrace Park for the inaugural Dana Point BBQ Championship. Top teams featured on TLC's BBQ Pitmasters show such as Big Poppa Smokers, Slap Yo Daddy BBQ and Four Q BBQ lined up with some of the toughest competitors in California for $10,000 in prize money.

Click here to see the photo slide show!
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​A huge column of smoke rises from a charcoal grill set into a counter; the air fills with the scent of beef grilling and the sound of fat spattering onto the fire below. It takes just a minute or two, and I'm fascinated. My rapt gaze is lost on the taquero, for whom this is not new. He hacks the beautifully charred diesmillo of beef--still miraculously tender in the center--into slices, then throws it unceremoniously into homemade tortillas and cocks an eyebrow at me.

"Con todo," I instruct him, and he throws--literally--salsa, onions, cilantro and guacamole onto each taco and slides the plate across the tile counter. It takes maybe ten seconds from the time the beef comes off the grill to the first bite. The flavor is primordial, the meat perfectly cooked, the red salsa as necessary to the dish as the meat itself. Suddenly, I look up from my food. This is not some shiny franchise; this is a run-down stand open to the air on two sides near the so-touristy Rosarito Beach Hotel. There's a self-service cooler of bottles of water and made-with-real sugar soda. Outside, groups of bewildered norteamericano college students wander by, oblivious to the wonder inside. I pay my bill--$2.50 for three tacos--and shake my head in bemusement.

Welcome to Baja.
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