I have many fond memories of 7-11. When I went to Sycamore Junior High in Anaheim, I'd play the pinball version of Terminator 2: Judgment Day before taking the bus down La Palma Avenue. In my drunken years, 7-Eleven has always stocked my all-time favorite fast food: Zingers. And one of my most-prized possessions is a beat-up 7-Eleven cup that was a promotion back when Maggie shot Mr. Burns that I found on the street, used, which should show you the priorities I keep in this world.

There is one 7-11 I will never visit, however: the one on the corner of 17th and Flower Streets in SanTana. It's been the scene of hold-ups TWICE within the span of a recent week: a store robbery on Dec. 26, and a parking lot hold-up on Dec. 31. I've been to this 7-11 quite a few times, and it's actually the gateway business to SanTana Mayor Don Papi Pulido's Floral Park neighborhood--or, it would be if drivers could actually drive north on Flower into Floral Park. Maybe those segregationists are onto something--or maybe their bit of paradise might be coming to an end?

First of all, I love Hamamori.  I love it for all its exorbitant, creative, luxurious food.  But as I walked past it today (on my way to Macy's Home at South Coast's Crystal Court), three uniformed paramedics** came out of the restaurant, carrying their equipment.

"Someone must have just seen their check", I quipped to my companion. 

I got a well-deserved chuckle, but surely, you guys could come up with better punchlines than that...

**UPDATE:  My lovely companion just corrected me.  They were actually from the Costa Mesa Fire Department, who'd usually be the first responders.

So I was eating my 99-cent IKEA breakfast the other day, when I noticed a placard on the table.  It said "Did you know that IKEA caters?".

"No," I answered.  "No, I didn't know that."

Though I've got nothing against IKEA food, I've always thought of it as a means to an end.  For IKEA, it's a device to bring in furniture shoppers; for the shoppers, it's a convenient and cheap source of sustenance before shopping.

Don't get me wrong:  I love their breakfast.  I go there specifically to have it, and often, I leave without buying anything more.  Though I admit:  sometimes, I indulge in a frozen yogurt cone that they sell downstairs (at the same place the 50-cent hot dogs roll on weiner treadmills).

But again -- for its intent and purpose, IKEA food is seems a little incongruous for say, your New Years Eve bash.  What do you think?  Would you ask IKEA to cater your party?

Though I can tell you that if I ever find myself at an IKEA catered event, I'm going straight for the Daim Torte -- seriously -- one of the best dessert things I've ever had.

Hmm, maybe IKEA should open a bakery instead.

According to the L.A. Times, China's Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, is currently the scene of protest and outrage among the Chinese over the use of cats as food. 

The FDA has issues with Coca Cola's new Diet Coke Plus.  It sent the company a letter earlier this month about the drink, which Coke purports to have a "refreshing taste...AND several essential nutrients" with "each 8 fl. oz. serving of Diet Coke Plus provid(ing) 15% of your RDI for niacin and vitamins B6 and B12, and 10% for zinc and magnesium".

So what do the feds have a problem with?  It's the word "plus", believe it or not. 

The FDA says that the drink fails to meet the standard for the word. Their letter to Coke goes on to say that the new drink is "misbranded ... because the product makes a nutrient content claim but does not meet the criteria to make the claim."

As an avowed hater of all things Diet drink (the aftertaste makes my mouth want shrivel up and die), my problem is not with the word "plus" (which I had no idea needed to be quantifiable), it's with their claim that it has a "refreshing taste".  Blech. 

And they're going to put vitamins in it?!  I'll take water, thank you. 

On the Chowhound boards a few years ago, I remember someone asking for tips on where to find green tea ice cream.  We pointed him to the frozen dessert section of 99 Ranch or Mitsuwa.

This weekend, I found it green tea ice cream at Vons.  Let me repeat:  AT VONS!!!

What's even more amazing was that it wasn't Magnolia, Mashti Malone, or even Fubuki (which is the only brand that I knew of that made green tea ice cream) -- this was Safeway Select, the store brand!

Surely there's no better indicator that American palates are becoming more open than this -- when it's found in the ice cream aisle.

A few frozen shelves down from it, I noticed another sign -- a sign that perhaps someone at the Breyer's Ice Cream Company deserves a raise.

There before me was Breyer's Fried Ice Cream.

My mind went in circles.  First, I thought, "What could possibly constitute a "Fried Ice Cream" flavor?  Fried batter?  Is Fryolator grease a good thing to pair with vanilla?

Then I read the description: Cinnamon Caramel Flavored Light Ice Cream with a Honey Caramel Swirl & Cinnamon Sugar Tostada Pieces.

Though it sounded tasty, I was feelin' like good old strawberry that night.  Plus it was on sale for almost half the price of the "Fried Ice Cream".

But I already can predict what's next:  Tempura Fried Green Tea Ice Cream. 

Mark my words, dear readers, mark my words.

 

Surely, you've heard this story about a Coney Island restaurant drawing the ire of the McDonald's corporation for calling itself Nicky D's? 

Something seemed fishy yesterday when the County Board of Supervisors voted to reject health department and grand jury recommendations for more user-friendly signs displayed in restaurant windows to warn the public of potential health safety violations (the board had already rejected the supremely helpful A-B-C grading system visible in the window of every eatery in LA). Instead, the board voted to make some very minor changes to the cryptic, small-print signs already displayed in restaurant windows around the county. Seems like a strange decision in light of of the health department's recommendations and the OC Register's findings that last year alone, 20,000 health violations were reported in the county's 13,173 restaurants.

Supervisor John Moorlach's idea for a color-coded system similar to the grading system in LA was also shot down. The most vocal opponent was supervisor Janet Nguyen, who refused to even vote for the minor changes to the current placards. And it's no wonder: Orange Juice Blog today connects a few dots in the case of Nguyen, who is quoted in a Register article as saying that a vote in favor of the handy color-coded system, "could really be devastating to restaurant owners." What she forgot to add at the end of her sentence is "...like my husband Tony Bonikowski, who owns a Lee's Sandwiches franchise." And the little nugget that his restaurant was in violation of county health safety codes as late as this past summer. 

Was doing what everyone else was doing last Saturday: shopping.

Well, that's not true.  I was with someone who was shopping.  And it was while I was waiting for her at the shoe department that I noticed this odd sight you see to the left -- a line to get a seat at Nordstroms' Cafe.

Well, at least it was odd to me, because if hunger struck while I was at SCP, I wouldn't have even considered Nordstroms' Cafe.

Yet, there they were -- shoppers lined up a dozen people deep.

So, I'm curious.  I really am.  If you were one of these folks, what did you have?  And more importantly was it worth that line?  And the prices? 

On a related note, Macy's is on the verge of opening their "Signature Kitchen" this week.

If you remember, that's the one that will feature menu items from Iron Chef Cat Cora, Marcus Samuelsson, and Nancy Silverton.

If you don't recall, here's my post on it back in September.

This week, The Reg's Candace Shih -- who seems to live at South Coast Plaza -- reports that it was supposed to open yesterday but got delayed.  She did provide a link to their menu.

I include it HERE.

This one, I just might line up for.

Somewhere in Springfield, USA, Homer Simpson drools, "Mmmmmm...World's Biggest Sandwich." 

I don't know where to start with this story I saw in the USA Today. 

I don't shop at Bloomingdale's, but I like going through its front entrance to get to the mall. Why? In the store's entryway, you can see into Charlie Palmer's kitchen through this eye-slit of a peep-hole. From it, you can spy all the cooking action and the Top Chef dreamers doing it, and that's exactly what most of these bright-eyed kids look like: Marcels and Hungs.

It's fun to watch what goes on in there, even if it does get a bit boring without the QuickFire Challenges.

Next to Charlie Palmer's, across the same hallway, Crustacean is slated to open in the spring. This makes no sense to me. But I suppose as long as there are people who are willing and able to drop coin on Bloomingdales' overpriced wares, there will be customers who will do the same on Crustacean's overpriced Vietnamese food -- all the while oblivious that Little Saigon lies just a few exits away on the 405.

Normally, I'd save my ire until I try a place, but about eight years ago I had the displeasure of eating at the Beverly Hills location -- an experience that left me about $80 poorer and for what? Bo luc lac and their "famous" garlic noodles, which tasted like gussied up store bought ramen.

And since we looked like Orange County bumpkin with no cash in the bank (which was not entirely untrue) you can guess how well we were treated.

Reuters had an enlightening article today about how in Thailand, authentic Thai food is endangered because of "changing tastes wrought by globalization." And most lamentably "culinary shortcuts (that) have ended up changing Thai flavors, and placing some dishes in danger of extinction altogether."  CLICK HERE FOR CARTMAN!!

It's all about the grilled onions.

I decided to end a day of puttering around my apartment by getting some air and taking my

Sunday Times up the street to the In-N-Out Burger on the corner of PCH and 2nd in Long Beach. For whatever reason, I was in a grilled onion mood for my Double Double, except I wanted the onions on the side, so I can slap 'em on my burger at my pace, rather than relying on a griddle jockey to do it for me. Simple request, no?

Umm, no. Even though I'd gotten grilled onions on the side many times before, the young lady behind the counter totally dee-nied me. I asked how come, then she wrangled a supervisor-type person, who explained that they can't give customers grilled onions on the side because the health department says thay can't.

The health department? Does this same health department know about such In-N-Out concoctions as the 100-by-100, seen in the photo here? Now that sucker is what I call a health hazard.

Turns out the reason a side of hot-off-the-grill onions are verboten is that the paper fry slips, which is usually what they're placed in when they're requested on the side, aren't considered to be a proper sanitary container. "We keep getting in trouble with the health department for doing that, so the company said that we can't offer grilled onions on the side anymore," said my cashier.

So, I'm pissed. Protesting Prop 8 suddenly seems like a waste of time, compared to this culinary injustice. OK, not really, but still . . . 

 

 

Don't get me wrong--I like Mother's Market, our homegrown Whole Foods. I make it a point to support businesses that subscribe to the principles of the Slow Food movement--we all are sinners (except for the do-gooders at Avanti Cafe), so I understand slip-ups or exceptions occur from time to time. But I was still surprised when I saw Cacique cheese on the shelves of Mother's location in SanTana amongst organic, fair-trade offerings. I'm very familiar with the brand, having eaten the queso fresco my entire life because Mami conditioned me to eat every meal accompanied with a thick slab of the wet, creamy cheese. But there's nothing organic about the cheese--doesn't say anything about the website or the packaging. Perhaps Mother's figures its hippy-dippy clientele base will mistake the cheese for a vintage fromage?

Mother's definitely doesn't offer Cacique to attract more Mexicans. The price I saw yesterday was $5.95. At Northgate Supermarket, just a couple of minutes away on Fourth Street, the same wheel of Cacique was going for $4.49, almost a buck-fifty less. I don't mind paying more cash for organic, fair-trade stuff that tastes better than its mass-produced peers, but I also don't appreciate ripoffs. Get on the Mexican ball, Mother's--and, while you're at it, fix the spelling errors on the sign hawking cactus. In Spanish, it's nopales, not napales--and in English, it's cactus, not catus.

Is corporate America trying to fleece me (more on this later), or have they stopped caring? Wait...I think I just answered my own question: It's both.

Take a look at the packaging on this packet of Capri Sun. The word "flavor" appears four times, which in itself is overkill when you think about the information that was left out (again, more on this later). And "Fruit Flavored Water Beverage"? Unless it's alcoholic, I find the use of "water beverage" redundant.

This, again, is a product made in America, by Americans. It's not a case of something being lost in translation.

And then there's this part: "Wild Cherry: Flavored with Other Natural Flavor". The circular logic makes me dizzy. If you're not using cherry as a flavor, why not just name it after the flavor you ARE using.

Now, I wouldn't normally write a diatribe over the word choice on a kid's beverage, but the fact that they used all that space and lettering, but still FAILED to tell me that the drink uses Sucralose as a sweetener? THAT'S unforgivable.

Again, I'm no food prude. I don't need all of my produce to be organic or my meat to be free-range, but I do consider Sucralose (otherwise known as Splenda) to be an artificial flavor. Yet, still it says "No artificial colors or flavors" and still it says "Wild Cherry: Flavored with Other Natural Flavor".

The makers of Capri Sun need to learn this word: "Diet".

Browsed through the online ads for 99 Ranch today and I noticed something I'd never noticed before. On their flier, attached to pictures of items that are look remotely Asian in origin, there are now big cartoony bubbles that proclaim "Made in Taiwan" or "Made in Japan".

I'm pretty sure that before the Chinese milk scandal, they didn't bother doing this. So obviously, someone got wise and included the country of origin, because, let's face it, everyone's a little nervous nowadays about Chinese products -- especially when you still do your shopping in a Chinese supermarket like 99 Ranch.

Since everyone's already checking the "Made In" labels anyway, to me, this doesn't seem opportunistic -- just reactionary. Though, if you look closely at the flier, you'll also notice that there are Asian items that do NOT have the "Made in Taiwan" or "Made in Japan" text bubble.

Any guesses where they are from?

No it's not a story by The Onion. This one's reported by WPTZ, an NBC affliate.

Read it for yourselves here.

I just saw the latest Indiana Jones at a second-run cinema. It cost me $2. It was worth exactly that. Before the flick, I had dinner. It was $6.

Clearly, the people at Village Roadshow -- the Australian entertainment company -- did not have people like me in mind when they envisioned their Gold Class Cinemas, a luxury $35-a-seat movie theater planned for three Southern California locations next year, including at Costa Mesa's Triangle Square.

What do you get for the money? Reclining chairs decked out in suede, a personal attendant, and the chance to see the same movie that's playing at the local cineplex for a 350% markup.

If you think that dinner and wine is included in the ticket price, you'd be wrong. Check out their menu, which include these gourmet options:

Hot Dogs
Spicy beef mini hot dogs served with chunky chips, tomato relish or dijon mustard
AU$15

Traditional Fish and Chips
Lightly battered fish fillets, thick potato chips and tartare sauce
AU$22

Though the prices and items above are from their theaters in Australia, even if you converted it to U.S. dollars, you're looking at quite an expensive night out.

The ArcLight, the Landmark or the Bridge in L.A. already offer this kind of premium theater seating with some success. But Triangle Square? Really? Remember NikeTown? Virgin Megastore? If Phil Knight and Richard Branson couldn't make it there, what makes these Aussies think they can do any better?

I had several reactions when I saw a story on the product you see pictured to the right. First was, "Huh?" Then, "Why didn't I think of that?"

The device is made for women, or more precisely; their purses.

It is a plastic hook stuck to the underside of a bar, restaurant table or countertop.

Imagine it ladies: You're out on the town, in a crowded pub, but your table's tiny and slinging the strap over you chair is risky. On top of that, you're out with the girls, so your boyfriend/hubby isn't there as the designated purse security guard.

You needn't worry is there's a SecureKlip around. Just hang your purse on it and it'll be out of reach from would be purse-snatchers.

If you still don't get it, this video should tell you all you need to know.

Though it's a good idea, I can already see a big hurdle for the inventors: How to convince bar and restaurant owners to buy it.

And when they do, there's the other problem: drunk women who will inevitably forget that they hung their purses underneath the bar.

So I was driving along Grand from Dyer towards the 5 and I notice a Subway sign twirler. At first I thought nothing of it. Then I see another one up the road.

And then another.

And another.

And another.

I lost count after five, but here's the best part: Once I passed one Subway (evidently on Warner), the sign twirlers I see afterward are now pointing the way to the next Subway that I will inevitably pass on my journey north.

This Subway, on First and Grand, actually has a sign twirler within a few feet of the store! He can probably smell the bread baking.

Now that's commitment.