Subject:

Beverages

  • Blogs

    May 10, 2013

    Five Ways To Celebrate American Craft Beer Week In (Or Near) OC

    Next week is American Craft Beer Week, a celebration of brews made in the U.S. of A. Local breweries and restaurants are taking part in the national party. Here's where to go to grab a pint.

  • Blogs

    May 3, 2013

    The Santa Ana Daisy at Playground, Our Drink of the Week!

    Here's some cocktail history for you: pretty much every cocktail you've ever had can trace its lineage back to the Old Fashioned: spirit, sugar, water, bitters. Switch the bitters for citrus juice and you have a sour; switch the sugar for grenadine (or raspberry syrup) and add orange liqueur and you ... More >>

  • Calendar

    May 2, 2013

    Fourth Annual Orange County Food and Wine Festival

    Lyon Air Museum

  • Blogs

    April 26, 2013

    Lineup for SoCal Restaurant Show THIS SATURDAY on KLAA-AM 830: TAPS, Wing Lam, Bruxie and More!

    As usual, we turn it over to the guys at KLAA-AM 830's SoCal Restaurant Show gives us the preview for their show tomorrow. Here you go, guys!

  • Blogs

    April 23, 2013

    Starbucks Testing Handcrafted Root Beer

    Once focused on, well, coffee, Starbucks has evolved into a one-stop beverage empire. Its latest offering may be handcrafted sodas: lemon ale, spiced root beer and ginger ale. Starbucks Melody, an unofficial Starbucks info site, reports that the company is testing the items, which are naturally br ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 22, 2013

    Diamond Knot Industrial IPA, Our Drink of the Week

    When a Total Wine & More store PR rep first contacted me about displaying things I like to drink in their adult beverage stores, I balked because, let's face it, who cares what a news and film blogger consumes? But when I discovered my old pal Greer Wylder of the Greer's OC dining, fashion and t ... More >>

  • Food

    January 31, 2013

    And a Special Shout-Out to Long Beach!

    The city may not officially be part of Orange County, but we love its craft beer all the same

  • Food

    January 31, 2013

    The Orange County Beer Trail

    A map to all of our fine craft breweries, liquor stores and pubs pouring the good stuff!

  • Blogs

    January 31, 2013

    Wendlandt Brewery, Ensenada B.C.- The Baja Craft Beer Scene Looks to the International Market

    There are a couple of problems with Mexican craft beer at the moment: 1) It's difficult to find bars that have a selection beyond a few brands. 2) Many are talking about how great the beer is without telling you much about the beers(how do they taste?), and there's a lack of discernment among the re ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 19, 2012

    Dave's Top 5 Drinks of 2012

    This year, we're going to publish our top drinks as well as our top restaurants, and I already know where the bone of contention will lie with my list; not all of these are cocktails. I don't want to put up something that may have rotated out of availability, since the best cocktails in Orange Count ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 17, 2012

    Five OC Breweries Win Big At The Great American Beer Festival

    Every year, thousands of brewers and beer enthusiasts convene in Denver for the Great American Beer Fest, which is basically the Olympics of beer. Breweries from across the country bring their best brews to be judged by panels consisting of 188 professionals from 11 countries. (By the way, how does ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 26, 2012

    5 Ways To Caffeinate For Free (Or Cheap) On National Coffee Day This Saturday

    As if we needed another reason to load up on caffeine, it's National Coffee Day this Saturday. (It just happens to come the day after National Drink Beer Day--thank you, calendar gods!) A handful of chains are offering coffee freebies (and cheepies). Here's where to go to score a cup of joe.   ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 12, 2012

    Diatribe With Dave: The Rise of Ryes

    Every second and fourth Wednesday night of the month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau hosts Dinner with Dave at Memphis at the Santora, where he treats drinkers to a free meal and live music as the evening progresses. To remind ustedes of this great night, Dave treats us ev ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 22, 2012

    Haven Gastropub Finally Debuts Its House-Crafted Beer In OC

    Back in May, Haven Gastropub released its first batches of house-crafted beer--a double IPA and a pale ale--but to our sadness, the restaurant was only pouring the brews at its Pasadena location, where the micro-production was taking place.   Finally, we'll get a taste. Haven Brewing will ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 16, 2012

    Wine In a Boat: Las Vendimias at Vena Cava

    How the Valle de Guadalupe has changed! Fifteen years ago, there were about a dozen wineries; now there are more than sixty, with more seemingly springing up every day. Ten years ago, what was being produced was quite frankly awful, sticky-sweet wine that couldn't have held a candle to Ernst and Jul ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 14, 2012

    Theorem: Portola's Specialty Concept Bar For The Ultimate Coffee Nerd

    For a little over a year, Portola Coffee Lab has been educating, surprising and inspiring the caffeine-deficient in OC and beyond, prompting java lovers to hang up their Starbucks mugs for good. The Costa Mesa shop has surely won us over with its specialty beans and unique brewing processes--check o ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 17, 2012

    New Fiat Has An In-Car Espresso Machine

    In an age of multitasking and NEVER ENOUGH TIME! comes this new development from Fiat. The Italian car manufacturer announced that its 500L model will be "the first standard-production car in the world to offer a true espresso coffee machine." Who wants to wait in line at Starbucks with the commoner ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 13, 2012

    2011 Beaujolais Nouveau, Our Drink of the Week!

    Rack up enough time at enough newspapers in enough places and you rack up freebies. Dance clubs and live jazz bars (Manchester, England); tabloid groupies (South Florida); wine tastings, movie tickets, theater (Atlanta, Georgia); title fights (Las Vegas). But one thing you rarely find is free booze ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 14, 2012

    The Bruery Goes Global: Bottles Spotted In Netherlands--Ishn't Dat Vierd?

    We all know the Netherlands is the place in Europe to get great pot and decent-looking legal prostitutes, but bottles from Orange County's own craft beer creators (and subject of last year's cover story) The Bruery? Yup.

  • Blogs

    June 12, 2012

    On the Line: Alexandra LittleJohn of Green Bliss/Cafecito Organico, Part One

    We're doing our job when Alexandra LittleJohn tells a friend that our questionnaire, "...is worse than filling out the eHarmony dating website" [Awesome!]. Our Sunday morning is spent in a hidden outdoor seating area of Kean's Newport alongside Nacho, her pup with "big dog syndrome." While we have y ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 1, 2012

    Habanero-Mango Margarita at Memphis at the Santora, Our Drink of the Week

    When the temperature inches up above eighty degrees, heavy libations with lots of liquors give way to easier-to-drink summertime cocktails. Daiquiris, sours, and--this being Orange County--margaritas. Most margaritas are saccharine syrups, and most flavored margaritas are even worse, so it was with ... More >>

  • News

    May 24, 2012

    Barely Legal Summer!

    [Summer Guide 2012] Our guide to living this sultry season on the right (and wrong) side of the law

  • News

    May 24, 2012

    How to Make Real Absinthe

    [Summer Guide 2012] Make, then drink the real stuff!

  • Blogs

    May 17, 2012

    Haven Gastropub Celebrates American Craft Beer Week

    Wait, what? It's American Craft Beer Week? Here I thought it was Bike to Work Week, and I could have been sucking down beers instead of pedaling to the office, uphill and into a stiff headwind both ways. Wil Dee, the Beverage Director at Haven Gastropub and enthusiastic road cyclist, can celebrate ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 23, 2012

    Sweet Basil Gin Rickey at Capital Grille, Our Drink of the Week!

    ​"Wow, I haven't made one of these in a long time," the cute, raven-haired waitress at Capital Grille confessed as she poured out my Sweet Basil Gin Rickey into a martini glass. I understand why: a Rickey is the Mr. Burns of classic cocktails--none of the Mad Men chic of an Old Fashioned or a Manh ... More >>

  • Food

    March 8, 2012

    The Orange County Bartenders Cabinet Shake It Up

    The group of county libation crafters is teaching you to drink as you've never drunk before

  • Blogs

    January 24, 2012

    How To Drink In a Craft Cocktail Bar: Five Tips

    ​You walk up to a bar to get a drink and you notice they've got six types of rye, one kind of vodka, a lineup of brown-glass medicine bottles with eyedroppers, infusing jars where the line of beers normally sits, and really freaking pretty ice. Congratulations: you've stumbled into a craft cocktai ... More >>

  • Calendar

    January 12, 2012

    Belgian Classics

    Total Wine

  • Blogs

    January 9, 2012

    Six Ways to Stop Being a Douchebag at Starbucks

    ​You probably don't know it, but every time you go to a Starbucks, 14 people behind you in line are shooting daggers at you and trying to kill you by modulating their alpha waves . . . and yes, it's your fault. You're the inconsiderate, self-absorbed douchebag, and you infest every coffee shop in ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 2, 2011

    Ten Great OC Coffeeshops

    ​We're sometimes accused of being too North County-centric around here. We can't help it; even leaving aside the snark about Laguna Engabachada, the fact is the population's up here in the 714, and choice in restaurants tends to follow the population.Coffee, however, is a different story. There's ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 30, 2011

    Belgian Beers Shine At The Copper Door Tasting Event

    ​The Copper Door brought the creations of nearly 50 craft breweries to downtown Santa Ana when it opened in 2010. The (literally) underground beer bar has approximately six beers on tap at a time but dozens upon dozens bottled delights. Their simple menu is broken down into categories (beer connoi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 17, 2011

    Dueling Dishes: Battle High-End Espresso

    ​Martin Diedrich. The father of the coffee revolution in Orange County, owner of the first coffee shop to make an unapologetic, small, truly Italian cappuccino, as well as the first to introduce la naranja to the idea that coffee needn't be roasted to dust in order to taste like something.Jeff Dug ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 10, 2011

    It's LA Beer Week--With Lots of OC Events!

    ​LA Beer Week begins today, and this year, it's two whole weeks of craft beer mayhem. Beer crawls! Beer dinners! Beer workshops! The lineup is extensive with things to do for drinkers of every budget and neighborhood. Here's a sampling of the beer events happening in Orange County and Long Be ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 16, 2011

    Wild Turkey Rare Breed, Our Drink of the Week

    ​The Wild Turkey distillery tour in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky isn't the most popular on the Bluegrass State's Bourbon Trail--that would be the Maker's Mark one--or the most-thorough--that honor goes to Woodford Reserve--but in many ways, it's the best. It's absolutely down-home, starting with a docum ... More >>

  • Food

    August 4, 2011

    Seventh Home Coffee and Tea House Shows There's No Place Like It

    This teahouse caters to Korean chicks, but you should go, too

  • Blogs

    July 7, 2011

    Soda Jerks (Emphasis on the Jerk): The Next Cupcake/Donuts/Pie?

    Flickr user Mark Crawley​Looks like we now know what's the next food trend hipsters out here will bring back from the dead or, conversely, hijack from the lower classes: sodas! It's no longer enough to merely stock regional brands ala Mello Yello and Cheerwine: now, you have to concoct your own se ... More >>

  • Food

    May 26, 2011

    Patrick Rue Is the Brue-master

    From a Placentia industrial park, Patrick Rue and his Bruery have revolutionized craft-beermaking in Southern California

  • Blogs

    April 8, 2011

    VnC Cocktails, Our Drink of the Week

    Jessica Ford​Some nights, I just want a cocktail delivered to me without having to leave the comfort of my apartment. I've come one step closer to making this a reality with VnC Cocktails--bottles of premixed, just chill-and-serve cocktails.VnC Cocktails include Strawberry Daiquiri, Banana Daiquir ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 30, 2011

    Brewing With the Barley Bandits, OC's Oldest Homebrewers Club

    Kate Kohl Fancher/OC WeeklyBarley Bandits John Edwards (left) and Spencer Colman enjoy a brew. ​Call them chefs, artists, craftsmen. Or simply call them guys (and some gals) who love good beer.  It's Brew Day for the Barley Bandits, Orange County's oldest homebrewers club. Standing beside a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 28, 2011

    Tropical Tea at KDB Long Beach

    Courtesy of KDB​KDB in Long Beach, your "neighborhood kitchen, den and bar," is a Dave and Buster's-esque fun zone for adults. It happens to trump its competitor, however, with two full bars, a bowling alley, karaoke, pool tables, a restaurant, and games that actually give you a decent amount of t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 18, 2011

    Dueling Dishes: Battle Cappuccino

    Dave LiebermanKean Coffee's Italian cappuccino​As hard as it may be to believe, I am not a die-hard coffee snob. I do not care to memorize the names of coffee estates as though they were domaines in Bordeaux, I don't trust any place that gives me a palate cleanser before my espresso, and I'm not y ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 15, 2011

    Homemade Grappa: Don't Tell the ABC

    Rows of homemade grappa in a bar in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.​Grappa. Just the word sends waves of warmth down the esophagus.Grappa is brandy distilled from pomace--the solids left over during the wine-making process; the stems and pips and skins and pressed pulp. The French call this leftover gun ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 4, 2011

    German Beer Culture Dying; Will the United States Save It?

    Flickr user InfrogmationThe saviors of Oktoberfest?​The big food story going around the Internet right now is Slate's piece on the decline in Germany's beer culture. It's a relatively well-written piece, with a lot of history and anecdotes thrown in, but something nagged throughout--hadn't I read ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 24, 2011

    ¡Ask a Comida Critic! A Good Mimosa Near the Coast?

    ​From Twitter, from a gal whose name I can't remember, whose question I can't quote verbatim because it's buried under a pile of tweets, but which went like this:Where can I find a good mimosa near the beach?Actually, she first asked about a good mimosa, period. I recommended Memphis at the Santor ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 21, 2011

    Yuzu Blossom at 320 Main, Our Drink of the Week

    Tobin Sharp​This week's adventure found me at the popular Seal Beach watering hole, 320 Main, a place where the mixologists take the creation of cocktails very seriously.

  • Blogs

    January 14, 2011

    Adult Chocolate Milk, Our Drink of the Week

    ​About two weeks ago, Edwin spotted a pallet of Adult Chocolate Milk in Costco. I also witnessed that same gigantic stack of bottles right by the entrance and had to try it out.It's a 40-proof-vodka beverage packaged in a retro glass bottle with a swing-top lid--the spiked version of your favorite ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 12, 2011

    Haven Gastropub Expanding to Pasadena

    ​OC's own Haven Gastropub is opening a second, Pasadena location in late 2011. It's not just a clone of the Old Towne Orange restaurant, but an ambitious expansion into their own, on-site beer brewing operation.

  • Blogs

    November 29, 2010

    Drunk After Work: Ecco

    Edwin Goei​The Place: Ecco, 2937 Bristol St., Ste. A103, Costa Mesa, (714) 444-Ecco (3226); http://www.eccocm.com The Hours: 5-7 p.m.The Deal: $4-$8 appetizers. $3 domestic beers. $4 import beers. $6 well martinis. $4 well drinks. $5 house red or white wines by the glass. $10 cocktails.

  • Blogs

    October 22, 2010

    El Patron Margarita at Yucatan Grill

    ​Yucatan Grill in Seal Beach is my go-to spot for tasty margaritas. This Caribbean-Mexican restaurant always makes their margaritas stiff (you have to get your money's worth in this recession!) and offers a variety of choices from a Suprema Yucatan (equivalent to a Cadillac Margarita) to a Pomerit ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 15, 2010

    Drink of the Week: Entourage Mojito

    ​After tasting the Mojito at Brea nightclub/bar Entourage last night, it occurred to me this concoction is slightly out of season. It's a clear drink made with mint leaves and evokes fond memories of summer. 

  • More >>
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