Dine 909 enters the “terrible twos”

Yep, it’s been two years since we started Dine 909.

Since our first anniversary, we’ve:

Among other things…

We pledge to keep bringing you the latest in Inland Empire food news. And if you have anything you want to let us know about, please feel free to email us.

As before, if you want to keep informed of the latest from Dine 909, be sure to bookmark us and follow us on Twitter, as if you haven’t already done so. Oh, and get your friends to do the same!

Thanks again for reading, Inland Empire!

What would you do for a deep-fried Klondike bar?

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I can’t believe I ate the whole thing…and then kept going!

As has become a tradition here at Dine 909, we shlepped out to Pomona on Sunday to the Los Angeles County Fair to see what’s new at the food booths.
This year, we were pleased to see that this year the fair has invited some of L.A.’s most popular (and trendy) food trucks to park inside the grounds.
We’re also glad that Chicken Charlie’s hasn’t been resting on their laurels. They’ve got a couple of new fried concoctions for us to try this year.
Follow the jump and let’s get started…

Continue reading “What would you do for a <i>deep-fried</i> Klondike bar?” »

Has California Pizza Kitchen given you $25,000?

Since the end of July, California Pizza Kitchen has been handing out “Thank You” cards to diners which are then opened on a return visit to reveal either a dining discount (10%, 20% or 50% off) or a prize.

Prizes range from a year’s worth of frozen CPK pizzas to $25,000 cash.

Well, according to this tweet today, they haven’t given away the $25,000 grand prize yet.

Have you been to CPK, received a card and not returned?

You could be holding onto that $25,000 card.

Or perhaps they haven’t even given the card out yet.

You’ve still got a couple of weeks to get in on the promotion. It’s scheduled to last until October 8.

You’ll find CPKs in Rancho Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Riverside, Chino Hills, Palm Springs and Palm Desert.

Good luck…and if you win, be sure to let us know!

All-you-can-eat for $3.99? Must be CiCi’s…

And indeed it is.

CiCi’s Pizza Buffet has lowered their price yet again from $4.99 to $3.99 beginning today and lasting until October 3.

It’s part of their continuing 25th anniversary celebration.

CiCi’s finally landed in Chino Hills earlier this year after bombarding for years with their TV and radio ads.

(There will at some point in the uture be two CiCi’s in the Inland Empire, as their website lists a Coachella location under their “coming soon” listings.)

I’ve been to the Chino Hills location a couple of times and found it to be a great bargain for the price. I may take a trip out there to take advantage of this deal.

The Chino Hills CiCi’s is at 4200 Chino Hills Parkway.

The Gourmet resurrects in San Bernardino

The Gourmet in San Bernardino is one of those places that would’ve made our list of restaurant survivors had it not closed a couple of years ago.

Well…guess what?

They’re back!

And they’re offering some great deals during their grand re-opening Wednesday (September 22) through Saturday (September 25).

Take a look at some of the mind-blowing deals:

  • Hawaiian Mahi-Mahi: $4.95
  • Steak and lobster: $11.95
  • Lobster tail: $9.95
  • Grilled northern halibut steak: $7.95
  • Lamb chops: $9.95
  • Veal parmigiani: $4.29
  • Filet mignon: $9.95
  • Caesar salad: $4.95
  • Coffee, ice tea, milk: 25
  • Spumoni: 75

In other words, you need to be there.

And if you happen to go there around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, you may spot a certain blogger/newspaper columnist.

The Gourmet is at 1445 E. Highland Ave., just west of Del Rosa Avenue. For more information, call 909-883-2613.

Great American Dine Out is this week

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Share Our Strength’s Great American Dine Out began yesterday and runs through Saturday (September 25). Several Inland Empire restaurants (mostly chains) are participating.

Share Our Strength is a group focused on ending childhood hunger. Participating restaurants are donating funds (and taking donations) toward the fight.

Some examples:

  • P.F. Chang’s is donating 50 from every order of Chang’s Lettuce Wraps to Share Our Strength, up to a maximum of $50,000.
  • Donate $1 to Share Our Strength at Boston Market and receive a coupon for a free side dish on your next visit.
  • Donate $5 at T.G.I. Friday’s and receive a coupon book worth $15.
  • Buy a “No Kid Crabby, No Kid Hungry” T-shirt at Joe’s Crab Shack and the proceeds go to Share Our Strength. Or, make a $1 or $5 donation and get a coupon for a free piece of key lime pie or an order of crab nachos on your next visit.
  • A $1 donation at Corner Bakery Cafe gets you a free whoopie pie. A $5 or more donation gets you a coupon book worth $20.

Other participating restaurants include the Real Mex restaurant group (El Torito/Chevys/Acapulco), Claim Jumper, Dave & Buster’s and Elephant Bar, Big Mike’s Country Palace in Apple Valley, Daily Grill in Palm Desert, and Circa 59 at the Riviera Hotel in Palm Springs.

To find a participating Great American Dine Out restaurant near you, click here, and then dine out!

Pomona Fatburger opens

I finally made my annual trek to the Los Angeles County Fair on Sunday, and on the way I stopped to follow up on a tip that Fatburger was soon going to open on Garey Avenue, replacing the old Hamburger House.

I was thinking that they were working on it and it would open sometime in the next couple of months, but…

It’s open now!

I’m keeping my fingers crossed, since I haven’t been too impressed with most of the other Inland Empire Fatburgers (in Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside and Cabazon — Palm Springs has been OK).

The new Fatburger is at 3109 Garey Ave. (at Grove Street).

The big question is not whether or not you want to go. The big question is — fat fries or skinny fries?

San Bernardino Zendejas closes

Another Zendejas restaurant has closed…this time it’s the one on University Parkway in San Bernardino.

A little over a year ago, the Colton restaurant closed, only to reopen in May.

The Rancho version closed a while back, but is reopening in the next shopping center over from where it used to be.

Perhaps Zendejas will resurface again here in San Bernardino.

That seems to be their modus operandi.

Texas-style pit BBQ fundraiser today

I saw on The Sun’s website that the Fontana Masonic Lodge is holding their annual Texas-style pit barbecue fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today.

Proceeds will go to the building fund for improvements to the interior of the lodge. Suggested donation for the barbecue beef meal is $8.

The Fontana Masonic Lodge is at 16650 Arrow Blvd.

For more information, call 909-213-6406.