When life hands you lemons…

…sell lemonade!

That’s what kid volunteers will be doing from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday (August 21) to raise funds for the Let It Be Foundation.

The foundation offers support for families of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

The lemonade stands will be set up at the following locations:

Chino

  • Ralphs (Mountain Avenue)
  • Stater Bros. (Riverside Drive)

Chino Hills

  • Albertsons (Grand Avenue)
  • Albertsons (Soquel Canyon Road)
  • Chino Hills High School (Husky Football BBQ)
  • Henry’s (Grand Avenue)
  • Los Serranos Golf and Country Club
  • Trader Joe’s (The Shoppes in Chino Hills)
  • Vellano Country Club
  • Vons (Chino Hills Parkway)
  • Western Hills Golf Course
  • Wetzel’s Pretzels (The Shoppes in Chino Hills)

South Ontario

  • Stater Bros. (Philadelphia Street)

Diamond Bar

  • Ralphs (Grand Avenue)
  • Vons (Diamond Bar Boulevard)

Corona

  • Albertsons (Archibald Street and Schleisman Road)

The proceeds from the lemonade stands will go toward the non-profit’s “room enhancement” makeover project.

So, if you’re out and about in the Chino Valley on Saturday and happen to see one of the stands, drink up…and dig deep!

For more information, click here.

Highland Wienerschnitzel grand opening Saturday

They’ve already been open a few weeks, but the Highland Wienerschnitzel, 2565 E. Highland Ave., will celebrate their grand opening from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday (August 21).

The celebration will feature free activities and games, including a hot dog eating contest, where the winner will receive an Apple iPod Shuffle and Wienerschnitzel chili dogs for a year, and a raffle with a bicycle and Apple iPod Shuffle as prizes.

Kids can get their faces painted and spin the prize wheel for a chance to win free T-shirts, antenna toppers and free chili dog and Tastee-Freez soft-serve ice cream cone coupons.

KOLA 99.9 FM’s Vic Slick will be broadcasting live from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

And since the restaurant is technically within San Bernardino city limits, city suits will attend. Mayor Pro Tempore Tobin Brinker will give a speech during the ceremony and 4th Ward San Bernardino Council Member Fred Shorett will also be in attendance.

Just don’t tell Takeru Kobayashi about that hot dog eating contest, or you can kiss that iPod Shuffle goodbye.

R.I.P. $2 BreakFiesta

When I left work Friday night I stopped by my local Del Taco to get my occasional late-night snack, the $2 BreakFiesta.

As I pulled up to the intercom to order, I noticed something was missing from the menu board: The $2 BreakFiesta!

Curses!

I knew it was a limited time offer, but I was hoping this day would never come.

They’d changed their menu. Now they’re promoting their new biscuit sandwiches. Yawn.

$2 BreakFiesta, I will miss your hash browns and two tiny egg and cheese burritos. My wallet will never be the same.

Restaurant survivors keep serving it up

I’ve thought of a few more restaurants (with the help of a few friends) since writing last Friday’s column. There’s Nena’s in downtown San Bernardino, Las Palmas on E Street in San Bernardino, Donahoo’s Golden Chicken in Pomona, Lucy’s on Sierra Way in San Bernardino, Zacateca’s Cafe in Riverside, Taco Tia on Del Rosa Avenue in San Bernardino and Wong’s Kitchen on E Street in San Bernardino.

I’m sure there are many others. Feel free to comment below.

My column (as it appeared in the paper) follows:

My column of two weeks ago about the state of flux among Inland Empire restaurants prompted a former Redlands resident to write asking the fate of the fondly-remembered Bing’s Famous Cathay Inn in San Bernardino.

I informed the reader that the restaurant had long been sold and the building demolished to make way for the expansion of Crest Chevrolet.

This got me thinking of the local eateries that have survived year after year.

What is the secret to their longevity?

Quite a few of them are along Route 66, perhaps not coincidentally.

In San Bernardino, for instance, the Mitla Cafe has been around since 1937.

Wow. That’s almost as long as my parents have been around.
Continue reading “Restaurant survivors keep serving it up” »

Baskin-Robbins + Fondue = Mmm!

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Sometimes Dine 909 does venture out of the Inland Empire.

In this case, we traveled to Old Town Pasadena to take a friend out to lunch for her birthday. We decided on Mi Piace, an excellent Italian restaurant and bakery that I’ve been going to for over a dozen years.

We got a parking spot on Colorado Boulevard, across from Mi Piace and in front of Baskin-Robbins.

When we got out of the car, we noticed that the ice cream shop had a sign in the window advertising ice cream fondue.

As we were discussing coming back to Baskin-Robbins for dessert, one of the employees was coming out of the store to go on his break and overheard our conversation. He stopped and we asked him about the fondue.

He told us they were one of only two locations (the other being a Cafe 31 in Foxborough, MA) in the U.S. to have fondue.

That sealed the deal.
Continue reading “Baskin-Robbins + Fondue = Mmm!” »

Noodle 21 opens

Noodle 21 Asian Grill opened late last month in the shopping center just west of Citrus Plaza in Redlands.

A friend who has been to the Vietnamese restaurant twice already has recommended it, and said the prices are very reasonable.

If you’ve tried Noodle 21, feel free to comment below.

Noodle 21 is at 10040 Alabama St., Suite B.

Also, in my wanderings, I noticed that Fazoli’s in Ontario has closed, either late last year or early this year. The one in San Bernardino (on Harriman Place) didn’t last very long before being replaced by an El Pollo Loco. That leaves the Chino Hills location (13015 Peyton Drive) as the sole location in the Inland Empire (and California!).

And lastly, during my sojourn to Victoria Gardens, I saw that Beard Papa’s was gone, and apparently has been since some time last year. I only got a chance to visit that location once, so it seems I’m partly to blame for its demise.

I guess I’ll just keep getting my cream puff fix when I visit Hollywood and Highland or the Americana at Brand.

Donate $5 (or more) to help fight hunger, get a free slice of cheesecake

The Cheesecake Factory has teamed up with Feeding America (and American Idol Live!) to help raise funds for the hunger-relief charity, in preparation for the upcoming Hunger Action Month in September.

Here’s how it works:

Step 1) Go to the Cheesecake Factory/Feeding America/American Idol Live!’s Share Your Voice website.

Step 2) Click the “Donate now” button.

Step 3) Donate $5 or more to Feeding America.

Step 4) Wait for your e-slice to arrive (the fine print says it could take up to 48 hours).

Step 5) Head to Cheesecake Factory and enjoy your slice of cheesecake!
Continue reading “Donate $5 (or more) to help fight hunger, get a free slice of cheesecake” »

Happy anniversary to Eureka!Burger

Redlands-based Eureka!Burger is celebrating its first anniversary this weekend.

In the past year, the restaurant chain has doubled in size by adding a second location in Fresno, and is anticipating opening a third in Claremont in December.

They’ll be offering $3 Hangar 24 Craft Brewery beer throughout the weekend, and the restaurant will be open until 1 a.m. Saturday.

Also, anniversary glasses will be available while supplies last.

Eureka!Burger is at 345 W. Pearl Ave., Suite 130.

56th annual Fish Bake and Corn Feed is Friday

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Let’s face it…56 years is a long time.

But the Upland Host Lions Club has put on their Fish Bake and Corn Feed every year for 56 years.

This year’s feed is from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday (August 6) at Memorial Park, 1300 E. Foothill Blvd., in Upland.

In addition to the fish and the corn-on-the-cob, they’ll also be serving up steak, corn dogs, cole slaw, and rolls.

All donations collected during the Fish Bake are used to support the community and charities which serve those in need.

By donating during the Fish Bake, the Upland Host Lions want you to know you are making a donation to local schools, the Little League, the Scouts, the blind, and local kids whose families can’t afford eye exams and eyeglasses.

The Lions pledge to put every penny back into the community and want you to know that no donation is too small or too big.

For more on the good works of the Upland Host Lions and the annual Fish Bake, click here to read Suzanne Sproul’s article which recently ran in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

Update: The Fish Bake is over for another year. View Jennifer Cappuccio Maher’s photos here (that last one looks delicious!), and click here to read a brief that ran in Saturday’s Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

Highland In-N-Out confirmed

In case you missed Michael J. Sorba’s recent article, the seemingly never-ending saga of the quest to bring In-N-Out Burger to Highland may soon be over.

The company has submitted an application to the city to build a restaurant in the Highland Crossroads center, in front of L.A. Fitness on Greenspot Road, just east of the 210.

In front of L.A. Fitness? What’s that? A test of willpower?

The approximately 3,400 square-foot restaurant and drive-through will be similar to the San Bernardino location at Harriman Place and Tippecanoe Avenue, less than five miles away, as the crow flies.

For the whole story, click here.