McRib is back!

Oh, boy.

Chipotle shows Best Buy shoppers some love

Those folks at Chipotle…if anything, they’re givers.

In a near-repeat of this summer’s Costco-related giveaway, the San Bernardino Chipotle at 1092 E. Hospitality Lane, #B (at Tippecanoe Avenue) is giving away a free burrito, bowl, salad or order of tacos when you bring in a Best Buy receipt dated November 27, 28, or 29.

Unfortunately, I just found out about the offer tonight and…even though it started yesterday, it’s only good until tomorrow (November 29). Chipotle is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Better late than never?

I used my Best Buy receipt to get a veggie burrito, a slight change of pace from my usual veggie bowl.

What did I buy at Best Buy? Hellboy II: The Golden Army on DVD, on sale for $3.99 in the store, but on their Web site for $2, which they matched.

Yep, for $2 I got dinner and a movie.

Apparently I am a cheap date.

Christophe’s of Upland opens…with a little help

Christophe’s Restaurant and Lounge opened November 19 in downtown Upland, in the former D’Uplanders space.

Chef Christophe Jardillier, previously of Rancho Cucamonga’s French/Italian restaurant Le Bellisimo, aims to bring “fine dining with emphasis on French cuisine” with this venture.

The restaurant has a wine and spirits lounge, private dining room, outdoor caf and marketplace.

It’s open for lunch and dinner, and reservations are now being accepted for dinner and holiday celebrations.

It’s also the first restaurant to open with help from the city’s new loan program, which is intended to encourage restaurateurs to open new sit-down, full-service restaurants in certain parts of the city.

The loan program (and Christophe’s opening) is detailed in an article by Sandra Emerson in today’s Daily Bulletin.

Click here to read Sandra’s article.

Christophe’s is located at 296 N. 2nd Ave. (at C Street). It is closed Mondays.

For more information, call (909) 256-4327.

Redlands’ Old Spaghetti Factory: Less than a fortnight away

According to Joy Juedes’ article appearing in The Sun today, the Redlands location of the Old Spaghetti Factory (in the old Babe’s Slim PigN’s building at 1635 Industrial Park Ave.) will open December 7.

That’s about a week earlier than previously announced.

It’ll be the third Inland Empire location for OSF, after Riverside and Rancho Cucamonga.

Apparently, they can only build in cities that begin with the letter ‘R.’

Click here to read Joy’s article.

Now that you’ve gobbled a gobbler…

By now, you’ve probably gorged yourself on carbohydrate-laden goodies from your Thanksgiving feast and you decide to check Dine 909 just before the food coma sets in (you wonderful reader, you!). You’re in luck, because we have a few more tips for you holiday foodies.

Be sure to store your leftovers within two hours of cooking. Sure, that post-meal nap sounds nice right about now, but postponing putting away your carefully-planned spread could mean food poisoning later on as bacteria colonize your neglected, cooling turkey and side dishes.

Okay, so I see you’ve got it all put away and are about to stumble to the couch for that well-deserved postprandial snooze; just remember to eat those leftovers within 3-4 days, or freeze them. When reheating, be sure to do it thoroughly to a temperature
of 165 F or until hot and steaming.

Now you can rest with the knowledge of proper holiday food care.

Happy Thanksgiving from Dine 909!

All of us here at Dine 909 wish you a Happy Thanksgiving…whether you are cooking your meal, buying a pre-made one, going out for dinner, or just sponging off of are dining with someone else (Thanks, Mom & Dad!).

We also care about the littlest Dine 909ers — no, not your children — your pets!

That’s why we’re passing along these Thanksgiving pet safety tips from the San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control Program.

Read on after the jump…
Continue reading “Happy Thanksgiving from Dine 909!” »

Euro Deli closing its doors

San Bernardino’s Euro Deli, which replaced a short-lived Quiznos at 292 E. 40th St. (at Waterman Avenue), is apparently itself going to be short-lived.

News assistant Kristina Hernandez reports that there is a going-out-of-business sign on their door.

One would think that the business, which shares a building with a Starbucks, would be in a decent location, what with all the mountain commuter traffic during weekdays, at least.

Apparently, that’s not the case.

So, if you’re in the mood for a bratwurst, you better hurry!

Thanks, Jack! Broguiere’s egg nog found at my local Stater’s

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Well, imagine my surprise last week when I went to my local Stater Bros. to pick up ingredients for making butter pecan ice cream when I spotted a lone bottle of Broguiere’s egg nog sitting on the shelf in the dairy case.

Perhaps someone high up in the Stater Bros. chain of command saw my plea from last year.

Whatever the reason, it took about a half-second for me to grab it off the shelf and throw it into my cart.

It’s not cheap — Stater’s sells it for $6.99 a quart — but it sure beats driving to Montebello to pick it up directly from Broguiere’s dairy, as I did last Christmas Eve.

I had a second surprise when I sat the bottle on the conveyor belt at the checkstand and realized it was one of the Huell Howser bottles.

You see, Broguiere’s has several different designs printed on their
glass bottles, and since Huell did a pair of his “Visiting…” shows
from there, so they decided to use his image as one of them, as a
“favorite visitor.”

Anyway, if you are an egg nog fan and want to try some delicious, good
old-fashioned nog, you really should give Broguiere’s a try.

I had quite a
difficult time finding it last year, but in addition to Stater’s, I hear
it’s available at Gerrard’s in Redlands and Wolfe’s Market in
Claremont. Good luck.

Any other Inland Empire sightings? Feel
free to comment below!

Continue reading “Thanks, Jack! Broguiere’s egg nog found at my local Stater’s” »

Recession buster — free lunch or dinner — at Alfredo’s

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Dine 909 favorite (before Dine 909 even existed…yes, their number is programmed into my cell phone) Alfredo’s Pizza and Pasta is offering a very generous bargain to frugal diners.

Sunday through Thursday, buy a meal and an appetizer at regular price and get another meal of equal or lesser value for free!

Yep…buy a lunch and an appetizer and get a free lunch of equal or lesser value. Ditto for dinner.

Alfredo’s has always been generous with their deals (I don’t think I’ve ever paid full price for a pizza there), but this is the first time I’ve ever seen them offer any kind of bargains during their lunch hours, so you’d be wise to take advantage.

If you’ve never been to Alfredo’s (which has been in San Bernardino for
three decades), where have you been?

The food is delicious, the service is friendly and the portions are
huge!

Continue reading “Recession buster — free lunch or dinner — at Alfredo’s” »

An icon transformed: Norco’s Cowboy Bob’s Big Boy

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Tonight in Norco, Bob’s Big Boy got the boot.

Actually, a pair of boots and a cowboy hat.

What seemed like half the town of Norco showed up to celebrate the culmination of a two-year journey for the Western-clad statue.

When the restaurant was in the planning stages in late 2007, the planning commission of “Horsetown USA” didn’t think the iconic mascot was Western enough. So they requested a makeover.

The restaurant’s headquarters, having complied once before by putting a Tyrolean hat on the Big Boy statue in Alpine-themed Gaylord, Mich., agreed to the change.

The restaurant opened in March of this year, but without the customized Big Boy.

The statue finally arrived late last month and the date for the big debut was chosen.
Continue reading “An icon transformed: Norco’s Cowboy Bob’s Big Boy” »