April 2009 Archives

From 4 to 10 p.m. tomorrow night (April 29), Chili's Grill & Bar in Redlands will host a fundraiser for San Bernardino Sexual Assault Services.

The restaurant will be donating 10% of customers' bills to the group, which provides support to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. The group offers its services free of charge to victims and their families and friends. It also works to raise awareness through community education and prevention programs.

Chili's is at 10020 Alabama St.

Click here for more information regarding San Bernardino Sexual Assault Services.

Ever dream of strolling beautiful gardens while listening to live music and sampling fine wine and delicious food?

Well, now's your chance to make your dream come true.

UC Riverside's Botanic Gardens (seen at left) will be hosting its 11th annual "Primavera in the Gardens" fundraiser from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, May 17, in the gardens.

Tickets for the wine- and food-tasting event are $50 per person and are available by reservation and at the gate.

Appetizers will be provided by prominent Riverside restaurants and caterers, and wines will come from regional vineyards and wineries.

Among the more than 30 restaurants, caterers and vintners that participated last year were Mario's Place, Café Sevilla, Saffron at the Riverside Art Museum, Trader Joe's, BevMo! Redlands, The Winery at Canyon Crest, Callaway Vineyards and Winery, Hart Winery and McDonald's.

Um...just kidding about that last one.

Live music will be presented by the band Incendio. The event also will include a silent auction, featuring dozens of garden-related items.

Proceeds from the event benefit Botanic Gardens projects, including hosting thousands of touring school children each year.

To receive advance tickets, reservations should be postmarked by May 8. Make checks payable to UCR Foundation and send to Primavera, Botanic Gardens University of California, 92521-0124.

For more information, call (951) 784-6962, e-mail ucrbg@ucr.edu, or go to www.gardens.ucr.edu.

Sounds like a lovely time. Hope you call can make it!

The battle of the grilled chicken has begun!

In this corner, we have KFC, who is giving away a free piece of their grilled chicken today (April 27).

And in this corner, we have El Pollo Loco, who is giving away two pieces of their grilled chicken tomorrow (April 28), along with two tortillas and fresh salsa.

KFC is hyping their new grilled chicken with a new Web site and stepping even further away from their roots as Kentucky Fried Chicken. Their giveaway consists of one piece (manager's choice) of the new bird for the asking. One piece per customer, of course. The offer is valid all day today at participating locations.

El Pollo Loco's deal includes a leg and a thigh and is valid until 8 p.m. at participating restaurants. It's available for walk-up orders only -- so no delivery or drive-thru. Breast substitutions are extra. Click here for full details.

Who will be the winner of the battle of the grilled chicken?

You will, of course! Any time you can get free food just for the asking, you win. Enjoy!

For those of you with the Monday blues, here's a good way to make yourself feel good and help support the arts as well.

From 5 to 8 p.m. tonight (April 27), the dA Center for the Arts is hosting the introduction party Dale Bros. Brewery's late spring seasonal brew, Dude of York.

Dale Bros. Brewery T-shirts and glasses will be available for sale with a portion of the proceeds going to the dA Center.

Also, a raffle will be held, and each ticket you purchase will allow you to sample the new seasonal, described as "a very California take on a classic Yorkshire beer."

Cheerio, Bud!

Note to self: When eating at a New York-style deli for the first time, don't start with falafel.

OK, maybe I shouldn't have ordered falafel. But I was craving it, and I knew that Innabi's in Redlands was one of the closest places to get my fix.

In fact, they have several variations: as an appetizer, served over hummus; or as a sandwich, wrapped in pita bread (my choice, $3.75), served panini-style, or as a wrap.

Why, oh why, didn't I order the turkey panini instead?

It's not that the felafel wasn't good...it's just that I should probably have started with something a little more deli-like.

My lunch partner, Richard, made the smarter choice: the pastrami combo ($6.99), which came with a generous amount of lean pastrami on sourdough bread (they were out of the usual rye), steak fries and a soda.

It's late...so let's cut to the chase.

This week Elaine Lehman stakes out Burger Bar by the Old Schoolhouse in Claremont and finds it "a bit of a splurge, but definitely worth the extra dollar or so." I do believe that's code for "expensive."

I'm not that huge of a burger fan, so it probably will be under my radar. Besides, if I'm in the mood for an expensive burger made just the way I want it, I'll just drive out to Fuddruckers in Ontario.

If you're more interested in the Burger Bar than I appear to be, you can read her review here.

More promising, if Allan Borgen's 5-star review is any indication, is Taste of Asia in La Verne.

Taste of Asia specializes in foods from Thailand, Vietnam, China and Laos. Laos? I don't think I've ever eaten Laotian food before.

La Verne is a bit of a drive, but I generally trust Allan's reviews. If I'm in the area, I might stop in for a taste.

You can read Allan's review here.

The 31¢ scoop, that is!

It's that time again...time for Baskin-Robbins' 31¢ scoop night. From 5 to 10 p.m next Wednesday (April 29), participating Baskin-Robbins ice cream stories nationwide will be participating in this delicious event by offering small (2.5 ounce) ice cream scoops for only 31¢.

In addition, Baskin-Robbins will be donating $100,000 to the National Volunteer Fire Council's (NVFC) National Junior Firefighter Program. On top of that, Baskin-Robbins is partnering with the NVFC to honor 25 exemplary junior firefighters who have demonstrated outstanding commitment and service to their junior firefighter program. Chosen honorees will enjoy free Baskin-Robbins ice cream for a year and be featured on the NVFC Web site.

Also, select Baskin-Robbins stores will be accepting donations for local firefighter charities.

During last year's event, Baskin-Robbins served more than four million scoops of ice cream! That's a lot of Jamoca Almond Fudge!

You know Dine 909 will be there, taking advantage of the three-scoop limit.

Click here to find out more about Baskin-Robbins' 31¢ scoop night.

For more information on the NVFC's National Junior Firefighter Program, click here.

No, we're not talking performance enhancing substances, here.

We're talking about a fundraiser for the Riverside Bengals Jr. All-American Youth Football and Cheer.

It's going to be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Saturday (April 18) at the Jamba Juice at 2653 Pats Ranch Road, Suite C, Mira Loma, in the Vernola Marketplace.

Here's how it works: Stop by the Riverside Bengals booster tent in the parking lot of Jamba Juice and pick up a flier to take into the store. Present the flier when you order and the Riverside Bengals will receive an amount equal to 20% of your purchase. Enjoy your juice!

If your juice doesn't make you feel better, perhaps helping kids will!

The Redlands location of Romano's Italian Restaurant (at 330 Orange St.) is now open.

They were slated to open at noon yesterday, but they opened a little behind schedule, at 4 p.m.

Dine 909 was invited by the crew at the Redlands Daily Facts to join them at the new restaurant, but due to the change in opening time, we ended up at a different Romano's.

Of course, we still had a great lunch (I had the Roma Duo lunch special with a Caesar salad and ½ Chicken Caesar Calzonetto, a delicious bargain at $6.99) and it was good to have another outing with the Facts folks.

To read the Facts' story on the ribbon-cutting, click here.

So, go to Romano's. And let us all know how it was.

Director Anat Baron has created a documentary about the U.S. beer industry...described as a contemporary David versus Goliath story of small craft breweries against the corporate beer industry, chiefly Anheuser-Busch.

Anat Baron knows of what she films. Although she is allergic to alcohol, she was previously general manager of Mike's Hard Lemonade.

Her documentary, Beer Wars, will be screened in a nationwide live event tomorrow (April 16) evening.

Of course, we here in the Inland Empire won't be seeing it live, since it's being delayed on the West Coast, where it will play at 8 p.m. (It's playing live at 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 p.m. Central and 6 p.m. Mountain)

The screening will be followed by a live panel discussion (unedited here on the West Coast) of the film and its topic, moderated by Ben Stein. Oddly enough, the live panel discussion will take place at Royce Hall at UCLA.

Here in the Inland Empire, the event will take place at the AMC Ontario Mills 30 in, um, Ontario, and at in Riverside at the AMC Galleria at Tyler 16. If you include the low desert in your definition of the Inland Empire, it's happening  at Regal's Palm Springs Courtyard Stadium 9 and at Cinemark's Rancho Mirage River 15. It's also taking place at Cinemark 16 Victorville.

Click here for a complete theater listing and to purchase tickets.

Cheers!

You might want to go get in line now.

Or not.

At 9 a.m. tomorrow (April 16), the Upland Mimi's Cafe location (at 370 N. Mountain Ave.) is having a grand re-opening, and you know what that means...free Mimi's gift cards!

The first 75 adults (18+) in line at the grand re-opening will receive part of $3,000 in Mimi's gift cards that will be given away. If past "Meet Me at Mimi's" events are any indication, the first 10 people will receive a $100 gift card, the next 15 will receive $50 gift cards, and the rest will get $25 gift cards.

When the Fontana Mimi's opened a couple of months ago, Dine 909 was there. We arrived about an hour before the opening and were able to secure a $25 gift card. However there were some die-hards who arrived at 3 a.m.

Just depends on how much you love Mimi's, I guess!

OK, so we survived the great Salmonella peanut butter scare of 2009. Now we've got pistachios to deal with.

Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., Terra Bella, Calif., is voluntarily recalling pistachios from its 2008 crop due to possible Salmonella contamination.

How does this affect you?

If you purchased Chili & Lemon flavored pistachios from your local fresh&easy...you're affected.

They've been recalled.

Now, no illnesses have been reported, and the Chili & Lemon flavored pistachios are the only fresh&easy item containing pistachios from Setton, but I wouldn't take any chances.

You'll get a full refund by returning them to the store.

Your digestive tract will thank you, and not only because it's being spared the agony of having to digest a chili and lemon-coated snack.

For more information, click here.

Dine 909 got a little note the other day from Tom over at Pick Up Stix restaurants. He wanted to let us know that they are having a buy-one-entrée-get-one-free deal going on right now.

Pick Up Stix has 10 locations in the Inland Empire: San Bernardino, Fontana, Riverside (Canyon Crest and Riverside Plaza), Rancho Cucamonga, Mira Loma, Corona, South Corona, Upland and Chino Hills.

There are a few exceptions to the deal, or course: It's not good on their Dragon Deals value menu, kids meals or the $5.99 chicken wok combo. Nor is it good on specials or appetizers. Um, and don't even think of photocopying the coupon.

You have to follow this link and print out the coupon to take advantage of the deal. The coupon is good until the end of May.

However, if you follow this link, you'll find the buy-one-entrée-get-one-free coupon and several more, including free cream cheese wontons with the purchase of two entrées, $5 off a $20 purchase and any entrée salad for $4.99.

So have at it!

Thanks, Tom!

Farm Artisan Foods in Redlands is celebrating Earth Day with a five-course Vegan meal at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 20.

The five courses are:

• Beet salad with local greens
• Sweet pea and marjoram cold soup
• Garlic sauteed broccoli over whole grain spelt
• Stuffed zucchini blossoms
• Berries Napoleon

Mmmm...I can't get enough whole grain spelt!

The cost is $49, $10 of which will go directly to the Redlands Conservancy's Emerald Necklace Program, which is a system for preserving many of Redlands' unique and
defining environments.

Reservations are required. The Farm is at 22 E. State St.

The Redlands Daily Facts has written an article that can be found here.

For more information, contact the Farm at (909) 792-1162.

If you're watching your waistline, you might as well move on to the next blog, because...

From the Redlands Daily Facts, we've got good news for your sweet tooth.

Ohana Yogurt Shop will be celebrating its third anniversary from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 18. They will have music, giveaways, and best of all, their yogurt will be 25¢ per ounce instead of the usual 38¢.

Ohana is a pretty decent self-serve frozen yogurt place and is conveniently open late during the summer to satisfy those after-the-Redlands-Bowl-concert cravings. I'll probably head on over to the celebration.

They've got new competition, however.

The previously-mentioned Swirly D'lite frozen yogurt opened April 2. I drove by the other night, but they were already closed. Ended up going to Wienerschnitzel and trying their Bananas Foster sundae. Mmm! Swirly D'lite will have to wait for another day.

Finally, if you've ever wanted to try a Whoopie pie, now's your chance. The Daily Facts has been printing $5 in "Whoopie bucks" in Wednesday's, Thursday's and Friday's editions. The coupon is good for anything at West Coast Whoopies' Calimesa bakery. The "bucks" are good through the month of April.

I've been meaning to get out there to try them, and the "Cheryl's Snickerdoodle" and "Aunty Anne's Red Velvet" varieties have certainly piqued my interest. This is just more incentive -- like I needed it.

For more info, read the original Facts blurb here.

Got a handful of things to clear out this week , so let's get started!

First up, as per usual on Friday, is new reviews...

Elaine Lehman stays in her neck of the woods this week with a trip to Via Venetto Cafe, No. 105, in Rancho Cucamonga.

I know exactly where Via Venetto Cafe, No. 105, is, since Elaine and I both bank at the same credit union, and I've been to that ATM near Via Venetto Cafe, No. 105, at 6th Street and Haven Avenue many, many times

It just never occurred to me to stop and eat.

Perhaps next time I will, especially since, according to Elaine, it's both "easy on the wallet and (has) lots of choices for lunch."

Her full review can be found here.

Next up is Allan Borgen's review of the long-established Mona Lisa Italian Restaurant in Redlands, which surprisingly, has a drive-through.

It's also another place I've been by many, many times and never bothered to stop. After reading Allan's review, I know I want to stop in next time.

Their prices seem like an incredible bargain (nothing over $6.95!), and Allan raves about the lasagna and the Friday special, linguine with Alfredo sauce.

You'll find his review here.

But that's not all. There's more after the jump...

Redlands' restaurant scene is soon to be growing by one.

Romano's, a small Riverside-based chain (and not to be confused with this one), will open its first eatery north of the county line next Tuesday (April 14).

The new Romano's will be at 330 Orange St., in the former Carlson's Hardware spot, next door to Citrone.

The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, with "family" dining downstairs and "quaint" dining upstairs.

Owner Gary Romano also owns the Beacon Printing building next door at 336 Orange St., and intends to use that building as a banquet space.

Click here to read the entire story from the Redlands Daily Facts.

Any Dine 909ers been to any of the Riverside Romano's? What can we expect? Let us know below.

According to this blurb in today's Redlands Daily Facts, the Gourmet Pizza Shoppe (a Dine 909 Favorite) in Redlands and Yucaipa is paying your taxes in honor of the tax month of April.

Your sales taxes, that is.

For the month of April, the "shoppe" is helping out diners by taking care of the sales tax.

With California sales tax at an all-time high, that certainly helps.

In addition to not having to pay sales tax, after 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, pints of Hangar 24 beer will only be $3 and you can get $5 off a 16" pizza.

Wait a minute...today is Tuesday!

I guess that answers my question about what's for dinner tonight. Now comes the tough part...deciding which of their unique pizzas to order!

Now's your chance to find out what the Pomona Valley tastes like.

The Pomona Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 5th annual Taste of the Pomona Valley from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday (April 13) at Avalon at the Fairplex.

Details are amazingly scant, other than the time, location and price, which is $25 in advance, $30 at the door. And if you can con gather nine others to experience the unknown, you'll all get in for $200 ($20 apiece), due to the fact that if you purchase eight tickets, you'll get two free.

Looking at the chamber's Web site, this year's prices are $5 less than in 2007, when they were $30 pre-sale and $35 at the door. A portion of the proceeds that year went to the chamber's scholarship program, and I'm thinking that the same might be possible this year.

I just don't know.

Their newsletter promises "delicious food, premium wines and great fun in an elegant setting," along with live entertainment, raffles and an auction.

Read for yourself on the chamber's Web site here and here. There's also another blurb at The Bizz.

Interested? Tickets are available from the chamber by calling (909) 622-8484 or emailing info@pomonachamber.org.

I was mighty sad to learn that Nancy's closed while I was out of town. I've heard about the diner's popularity for years and enjoyed my first breakfast there recently. It was "pick up sticks," french toast cut into strips and buttered on all sides. It was one of those breakfasts that you eat at 10 a.m. and then feel the first pangs of hunger 12 hours later. Nearby, I watched an elderly couple enjoy an early lunch. They were probably regulars. The woman spread a healthy dose of mayonnaise on her club sandwich after every bite.

Nancy's is not the place for egg white omelets but comfort food goes down well in this town. According to commenters on David Allen's blog, the closing might be the result of a divorce as opposed to the economy. If that's the case, a Nancy's comeback is possible. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Denny's is at it again. And T.G.I. Fridays is getting into the act.

Denny's is getting ready for its next round of food giveaways. This time, however, it's not entirely free.

They're having a "Pass Along Grand Slam Kindness" promotion from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday (April 8). What that entails is that for every Grand Slam bought during the promotion, you'll get a free Grand Slamwich (normally $4.99) as well.

So bring a hungry friend...one who likes scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, mayo and American cheese on potato bread with a maple spiced spread. Um...yum?

And wouldn't it just have been easier to have a coupon in the paper? Ah...but then they wouldn't be getting all this free publicity. Oops...Dine 909 has fallen into their trap!

Ladies and gentlemen...in this corner we have Pepito's, a longtime Riverside establishment with a not-so-storied past.

And in this corner, we have Kool Kactus Cafe, offering a fresh take on your standard Mexican fare.

Who will win? We'll leave that decision up to you.

I'm referring, of course, to this week's reviews...first up is Elaine Lehman's lunch review of Kool Kactus in Loma Linda. I've been to Kool Kactus, but not for a very long time. I seem to recall that it was a bit pricey for what you got, but that their focus was on freshness and being perhaps a little healthier than your typical Mexican standard.

Just glancing over their menu here, it appears that very little has changed over at the cafe. They're a dollar or two above what you might find elsewhere, and they have a number of items (Squash burrito? Sounds intriguing!) that are approved by the San Bernardino County Department of Health as being healthier for you.

Elaine seemed to enjoy her chicken quesadilla special, commenting favorably on the accompanying beans. You can read her entire review here.

We here at Dine 909 love sharing free goodies with our faithful readers.

This time it's an exclusive sneak-peak from the business page of tomorrow's Redlands Daily Facts.

Theron's Frozen Custard in Redlands is giving out free small frozen custards this Friday (April 3), to celebrate their summer season re-opening. Their summer hours will be from 11 a.m .to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, just right for stopping by on the way to that weekend Redlands Bowl performance.

If you've never had frozen custard, you are truly missing out. It's kind of like an American version of gelato...really dense, thick ice cream. I've tried it at the now-shuttered Lickity Split near the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, and also at Theron's. Both were excellent.

Lickity Split served a variety of flavors, while Theron's offers chocolate and vanilla, with an assortment of mix-ins.

Theron's is at 44 Nevada Street (at Barton Road), behind the Barton House.

In fact, I went to Theron's about two weeks ago, only to find they were closed, so I figure they owe me one anyway. Hope to see you there!

When one reaches one's 30 anniversary, it's a good time to take pause and ponder the mysteries of life.

And Meaningful Muffins.

Which is exactly what Mimi's Cafe is doing. For their 30th birthday, they are looking nationwide to find the best muffin recipe.

Could yours be the one?

If it is, you'll win $1,000 in Mimi's gift cards (that'll take care of Christmas and birthday presents for years to come); your muffin recipe will be added to Mimi's menu as a seasonal feature and posted on their Web site; and you'll receive a cookbook signed by award-winning pastry chef, television personality and acclaimed cookbook author Gale Gand, who just so happens to be helping judge the competition.

Mimi's Cafe Executive Chef Adam Baird will also help pick the winning recipe.

Of course, it's all for a good cause, and this competition happens to benefit Share Our Strength, the leading national organization focused on ending childhood hunger in America, which will receive $1 from each Meaningful Muffin sold, up to a max of $40,000.

If you're thinking, "Well, that's all well and good for the starving children, but what about me?," then let me tell you what's in it for you.

Every entrant gets a special coupon.

If that isn't enough incentive, then think about the starving children...and click here to get more info and to enter the contest. You've only got until May 15th to enter.

Good luck, and if you win, don't forget to mention Dine 909 in your acceptance speech!