Consumer Non-Cyclicals

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.

The Ben & Jerry's Truck Is In OC Today! Free Ice Cream!

Free Ben & Jerry's ice cream! Today! The Ben & Jerry's Truck will be roaming Orange County, announcing where it's at via Twitter (@BenJerrysTruck). Tell 'em where you want it to stop. @BenJerrysTruck My stomach. Thanks. Follow Stick a Fork In It on Twitter @ocweeklyfood or on Fa ... More >>

Fourth Annual Orange County Food and Wine Festival

Lyon Air Museum

John Galardi, Wienerschnitzel Founder, Passes Away

The Weekly has learned that Wienerschnitzel founder John Galardi passed away yesterday after battling pancreatic cancer. He was 75. 

33rd Annual Wine Extraordinaire

Anaheim Hilton

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

The Orange County Beer Trail

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

Seventh Tea Bar to Open at the OC Mart Mix Jan. 2

Six weeks ago, we told you that the coffee nerds at Portola Coffee Lab in Costa Mesa's OC Mart Mix were going to open a tea bar called Seventh Tea Bar. They were hoping to open this year, but it looks like the holidays are going to intervene; instead, the tea bar, adjacent to the coffee lab, will op ... More >>

Frito-Lay Gets Huge Bill In California Sales Staff Wage Cheating Case

Frito-Lay, makers of the popular Fritos, Tostitos and Doritos chips, routinely cheated more than 2,100 sales employees out of money owed for overtime work in California, according to a class action lawsuit. Earlier this year, the Texas-based snack food company agreed to settle the case before a ... More >>

Tootsie Roll Pop "Indian Wrappers": Myth or Smartie Marketing?

We recall a childhood of hoarding the chocolate pops this time each year, but nary a recollection of free candy for discovering a specially designed wrapper. Rumor has it that ones sporting an Indian shooting at a star were coveted and rewarded. We're feeling kinda gypped. Urban legend and snopes si ... More >>

[UPDATED, W/IN-N-OUT STATEMENT--WON'T STAND FOR COW HATERS] Claim: In-N-Out Buys Its Cheese From Cow Abusers

Updated, with new information at the bottom...ORIGINAL POST, OCT. 10, 11 A.M. If there is one fast-food company that gets universally positive coverage, it's In-N-Out--hell, even anti-fast-food crusader Eric Schlosser praised their practices at the end of his epic Fast Food Nation (and how cool that ... More >>

Ken Hollingshead Sr., Grandfather of OC's Craft Beer Scene, Passes Away

Ken Hollingshead Sr., a pioneer in Orange County's craft beer scene, died in his sleep on Tuesday night.He was the founder of Hollingshead's Delicatessen, the eclectic deli and bar in Orange known for its Cheers-like atmosphere and unparalleled tap list. The Hollingshead family--Ken, along with his ... More >>

McDonald's to Start Posting Calorie Counts On Menu Boards and Test Out Healthy Foods Like Egg-White Breakfast Sandwiches

I know what you're thinking: Hasn't McDonald's always posted their calorie count on the menu boards? No, not yet. You're thinking of just about every other fast food chain that has. Calorie counts seem as commonplace as obesity, but it's only now that the biggest burger chain in the world has announ ... More >>

Roberto Gonzalez Barrera, Founder of GRUMA/Destroyer of Mexico's Tortilla Industry, Now Rotting In Hell

See Also:* "Five Reasons to Hate GRUMA, Makers of Mission and Guerrero Tortillas, Maseca, and Other Tortilla Evil"* Read about REAL tortillas in our weekly feature: Tortilla Tuesdayst's amazing--scratch that. It's disturbing as hell how ill-informed the mainstream media is and how damn laz ... More >>

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.

Byron Blocker & the Offbeats

Pike Bar and Fish Grill

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 >>

Beverage Giant Diageo Screws Independent Brewer At Scottish Awards Show

What do you get when you're a hugely successful independent brewer headed to an awards show you're expected to win at?Well, if the awards show was partly sponsored by Diageo, the largest distiller in the world, the answer is "not the trophy you actually won."

Vons, Albertsons, and Walmart To Stop Selling "Pink Slime" Beef

​What Louis Braindeis once said about sunlight being the best disinfectant can probably apply here. After being "pink"-listed by The Daily as sellers of "pink slime" beef, several supermarket chains have announced that they will stop offering beef that contains the filler previously known as  ... More >>

10 Great Gay Bars in Orange County (and Long Beach)

​A while back, we received instructions from the suits to put together a set of lists of the ten best in several categories. As Gustavo explained, this is meant to make our already awesome Best Of applications even more awesome...er.One of the categories was gay bars, and we all stood around sc ... More >>

Budweiser To Launch a Reality Show on ABC (That Has Nothing To Do With Beer)

PR Newswire​Today, Beerpulse posted on its Facebook page the news of a Budweiser reality show coming to ABC on Jan. 21.  Those who follow Beerpulse, a craft beer news site, are typically those programmed to hate the Anheuser-Busch InBev empire, and thus, a snark explosion ensued. "I envi ... More >>

Carl's Jr. Does Handmade Biscuits. Really?

Dave Lieberman​It's a rare occasion when we link to Fast Food Maven around here, but I was intrigued by the recent article post handmade biscuits at Carl's Jr.After all, everything in a fast-food chain comes preportioned and pre-dumbed-down so that anyone can do it, right? Creativity and individua ... More >>

Stone's Greg Koch To Sign Books and Share Rare Beer Flights at The Bruery Provisions on Thursday

StudioSchulz.com Koch​The founders of Stone Brewing Co., Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, have written a book on how they built SoCal's biggest and arguably best-known craft brewery. The Craft of Stone Brewing Co. reveals the 15-year history of the Escondido-based brewer, and includes recipes for ... More >>

New (Fake) Ben & Jerry's Flavor: OccuPie Wall Street

Tauntr.comSpeaking of fake Ben & Jerry's flavors, this one is 99 percent awesome. Illustrator John Defreest created the conceptual OccuPie Wall Street, described as "apple pie ice cream with some other good stuff in there, we think. We're not really sure. No one can explain it to us."  ... More >>

Huffington Post Gets Punked by Fake Ben & Jerry's Arrested Development Ice Cream Flavor

​It is amazing (and hella disturbing) how most people even bother to scan, let alone read a story anymore before spreading it around the Internet. Sign of the times, I guess. But when the offending organization is the Huffington Post (which carries my ¡Ask a Mexican! column), such a rush for web ... More >>

[UPDATED: Tentative Agreement Reached] UFCW Cancels Grocery Contract, Removes Final Barrier To Strike

UPDATE, SEPT. 19, 11:50 A.M.: After an lengthy session that extended well past the end of the union's declared cutoff time, negotiators have announced that they have reached a preliminary agreement with the grocery stores; it looks like the strike is off for now, pending a vote by the union members. ... More >>

Apple Accuses Chinese Noodle Maker of Trademark Infringement

​About the same time that Dave revealed that Kellogg's was threatening a non-profit for using a toucan as a logo, news that Apple has a similar complaint about Chinese company spread through the web. According to a report from GoChengdoo, the computer maker is alleging that Sichuan Fangguo Fo ... More >>

Hardees Commercials for Fried Bologna Biscuits

​ You may or may not like Carl's Jr's. commercials. They're purposely polarizing and provocative. The ads use either tits or creepers to capture your eyeballs and your wallet. Now they're using both at the same time--creepy old man moobies to sell Hardee's Fried Bologna Biscuit breakfast sandwic ... More >>

Best Bar Snack Ever: How to Make Murky Jerky

Dave LiebermanDoesn't look like much, but it's still awesome.​I love dive bars. Dive bars are my birthright as an American. I love walking into a dim, dank room, bellying up to a worn old bar of no pedigree whatsoever, ordering a beer and maybe a shot, and talking to the random characters sitting ... More >>

Anheuser-Busch Wants the 713... and the 714?

Flickr user tsandHow is drinking Bud Light 713 Beer like having sex in a boat? Both are fucking close to water.​Our sister blog, Eating Our Words over at the Houston Press, reported that Anheuser-Busch's parent company, AB InBev, has applied for trademarks on the number 713--which just happens to ... More >>

The Mumlers

Commonwealth Lounge

Patrick Rue Is the Brue-master

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

As Food Prices Rise, is an Economic Slowdown Our Only Hope?

​Well this is a great story: mega-chains ranging from McDonald's to Nestle, Cracker Barrel to Whole Foods, are raising their prices, not because they're trying to milk you dry, but because the cost for food is going up, up, up. Yay!The United States Department of Agriculture had already forecast t ... More >>

American, Mexican Beermakers Fight Over Mexican Livers in the United States

​It's no big secret that beer companies have long targeted Latinos in the United States to drink their swill, going as far as to turning an obscure Mexican holiday into the Cinco de Drink bacchanal we celebrate every May 5. Beer-company logos now decorate everything from booth banners at Mexican I ... More >>

Chili's Allegedly Serves Alcoholic Mudslide Instead of Chocolate Shake to 4-Year-Old

It was first Applebee's, then Olive Garden, and now this. Chili's is the third restaurant in the last few weeks to be accused of serving an alcoholic drink to a child. This time it's in Chicago, and the drink was a Mudslide allegedly mistaken for chocolate shake.

Carl's Jr. Turkey Burger: Not Bad

Flickr user keenanpepper​During last week's Carl's Jr. Missed Connection, I mentioned that I was waiting patiently for a turkey burger and a salad. This is a new development at Carl's Jr., whose advertising for the last half-decade has revolved around manly men doing manly things and eating 1,000- ... More >>

Beer Makers Raising Prices on Budget Beers to Make Consumers Buy More-Expensive Brands

​Better load up on the Pabst Blue Ribbon, Keystone Light, and other budget brews that help this Great Recession go down a bit smoother: the nation's beer cartel is openly raising the prices of such beers in a blatant effort to squeeze consumers into buying their more-expensive brands. So much for ... More >>

A Review of New Sun Chips Flavors

Edwin Goei​I have a love-hate thing with Frito-Lay. I hate some of their products but love others. Sun Chips goes in the "love" column. I don't buy into the idea that they're really any healthier than a regular snack chip. Junk food is junk food. Furthermore, I think their "multigrain" compo ... More >>

Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day is April 12!

​Yep, it's been a whole year: Ben & Jerry's free cone day is coming up on Tuesday, April 12. And as much as we love classics like Chunky Monkey and Cherry Garcia, why not try one of four new (or newish) flavors? There's even one that contains chocolate-covered potato chips. And it's tastier th ... More >>

Coors Light Exec: "Budweiser is Going Down, Baby"

​As I always point out, I'm not a beer drinker, but that doesn't mean I don't taste it. And I've never understood why anyone would bother with either Budweiser or Coors, or their Light derivatives--it all smells like piss to me, and tastes barely better. But that obviously means nothing to America ... More >>

Carl's Jr., Hardee's to Sell Turkey Burgers--Chain Finally Going Healthy?

Is this burger going the way of Carlos Jr.?​Carl's Jr. has spent most of the last decade boasting of its waistline-busting burgers, proudly proclaiming their entrees are for sloppy guys who think a salad and any thought of health is one fey thang, hanging their hat on 1,000-calorie-plus creations ... More >>

Diet Coke Now Outselling Pepsi--Are the Cola Wars Finally Over?

Flickr user joyosity​AdAge is reporting (via the subscriber-only Beverage Digest) that "a historic shift for the beverage industry" has occurred: Diet Coke is now outselling longtime second-place holder Pepsi. Last year, Coca-Cola's junior product sold 9.9 percent of all sodas in the United States ... More >>

Tapatio-Flavored Fritos Now Available at Costco, Coming to a Store Near You

​Last week, I interviewed the Saavedra family, the clan behind the wonderful Tapatío Hot Sauce, for my book on the history of Mexican food in the United States. I might release some details of it later, but this one can't wait a year: Sometime in February, Tapatío-flavored Fritos hit Costco, the ... More >>

Phil Shane and the Hot Damn Band

House of Blues

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.

Orange County No Longer the Promised Land for Fast Food?

​Taco Bell, Del Taco, In-N-Out, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.--the list of fast-food chains with headquarters in Irvine is among the largest in the country. They came to our land of plenty not just because of a friendlier business environment, but also because Southern California has always offered delive ... More >>

Dee Nguyen of Break of Dawn and Gabriel Zambrano of Soho Tacos Get into a Knife Fight!

From Soho Taco's website, obviously...​Kind of. The owners behind my top choices for the best restaurants of 2010, Break of Dawn (número 1) and Soho Taco (# dos), met at Dee Nguyen's Laguna Hills temple to breakfast and lunch. "But, it looks like Chef Gabe made an attempt to get express his culin ... More >>

Princeton University Doctoral Candidate Writing Dissertation Partly on Northgate Supermarket

​Yesterday, I enjoyed a lunch at Zait and Zaatar in Anacrime while getting interviewed by Alejandro Rivas. He's a doctoral candidate in sociology at Princeton University, and his dissertation is...well, I'm not going to spill its thesis or main contents, but I am allowed to share one of the focuse ... More >>

Playing Hive and Seek With the Backyard Beekeepers

Coffee Crusade

The great Little Saigon coffee inquiry