Consumer Products and Services

Medieval Times ... The Movie?!

Here ye, here ye, my lords and ladies! Medieval Times, the famed fake castle where you can watch a jousting tournament while gnawing on a turkey leg and chugging ye olde Diet Pepsi, may be headed to the big screen. Deadline reports that production companies Benderspink (The Hangover Part III) and ... More >>

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 >>

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 >>

Jack Frost and the Secular Pantheon in 'Rise of the Guardians'

Adventures with Santa and co. in Dreamworks Animation's holiday wonderland

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 >>

[UPDATED W/FUNNY PHONE CALL] Ace Hardware: Anti-Medical Marijuana?

*See end of post for an update and link to funny phone callORIGINAL POST, Sept. 21, 11:05 a.m.: Medical marijuana activists in Long Beach are planning a protest in front of the Ace Hardware store at 746 E. Fourth St. on the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 21. But that's not all--the protest will also ser ... More >>

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 >>

Record Store Day 2012: Your Handy Guide To Orange County Stores

What's happening in the OC/LB area for this year's edition of Record Store Day, you ask? Here's a nifty guide to all the excitement spinning around on Saturday, April 21.Black Hole Records: They will carry a selection of the official Record Store Day limited edition releases. 108 N. Harbor Blvd., F ... More >>

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 >>

The Vandals' Joe Escalante on SOPA: How the Daily Variety Lawsuit Proves it Will Ruin the Internet

​ We all know about the Daily Variety suit that plagues the Vandals, but yesteday bassist Joe Escalante published a column over at Huffington Post that talks about SOPA and how it bodes ill for the Internet...using their case as an example. Read an excerpt after the jump. (That case, by the way, i ... More >>

5 Most Important Video Game-Related News Stories of 2011

​2011 has come and gone, and the year that seemingly slipped right past us was full of major events--some of which may very change the landscape of the video gaming industry forever. Everything from new a new Nintendo console to the death of a computer pioneer was all crammed into the previous yea ... 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 >>

[UPDATED with Correction:] Revenge of the Electric Car ALREADY ROLLED Into Long Beach

​CORRECTION, DEC. 12, 9:50 A.M.: No, it was not a bank of dead batteries that prevented filmmaker Chris Paine and his new documentary Revenge of the Electric Car from showing up as advertised (by . . . gulp . . . me) at the Art Theatre in Long Beach Sunday. As it turns out, that event was Dec. 4. ... 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 >>

[UPDATED With Agreement Ratified:] Disneyland and UNITE HERE Local 11 Near Bargaining Agreement, Higher Wages, Better Healthcare For Hotel Workers

​UPDATE, DEC. 8, 10:41 A.M.: The ballots have been counted and the results announced. The fierce feud is over.An "overwhelming majority" of UNITE HERE Local 11 members who cast ballots yesterday voted in support of the new collective bargaining agreement with Disneyland Resort. The newly ratified ... More >>

The Five Best Foods to Have Delivered on Cyber Monday While You Shop Online

​It's Cyber Monday, that analogue to Friday's truly shameful display of American consumerism. (Seriously, that image of the woman's butt crack in the video for the $2 toasters? Some things you can never un-see.)Our brethren and sistren at the Houston Press wrote a great list of why Cyber Monday is ... More >>

Warner Bros. Records Announce Exclusive Vinyl Releases For Record Store Day On Black Friday

​This morning Warner Bros. Records announced that they'll be releasing exclusive Record Store Day releases on Black Friday. See below for details on limited edition vinyl packages from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iron and Wine, Tom Petty, The Black Keys, and Eric Clapton that'll be available this F ... 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 >>

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 >>

D23 Expo Announces Arena Schedule

​The annual D23 Expo (or "Disney Expo" for all you non-Disnerds out there) hits the Anaheim Convention Center this August 19th through the 21st.Disney just announced the arena schedule for the three-day event which includes feature screenings, celebrity panels, autograph signings and more.Look fo ... More >>

Art Alexakis

Coach House

I MiX What I Like! An Interview with Jared Ball (Part II)

​Yesterday, we published the first part of an interview with Jared Ball, author of I MiX What I Like! A Mixtape Manifesto, where the "Funkinest Journalist" talks about the politics of hip-hop and popular culture. Read the first part of the interview with Jared Ball here; in this second installment ... More >>

[UPDATED with Tribune Talks Back On:] Sale Could Lead to One Company Owning All SoCal Dailies

​UPDATE, JUNE 16, 9:22 A.M.: Now that merger talks with MediaNews have broken down, Irvine-based owner of the Orange County Register Freedom Communications has revived negotiations with that other Southern California newspaper  publisher.No, not the Los Angeles investment company that bought ... More >>

Jenna Jameson Faces Suit, Tito Ortiz Loses His

​A theater owner is suing Jenna Jameson for allegedly faking an illness to get out of a series of Chicago-area personal appearances to promote her movie Zombie Strippers! Meanwhile, the retired porn star's off-and-on-and-off-again boyfriend/baby daddy Tito Ortiz, known around MMA circles as the " ... More >>

Surf City Sex Stuff Seller Summer Sale

​Ah, summer. You've packed the towels.Sunscreen: check.Anal Lube Natural!?!

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 >>

Record Stores Revinylize OC

The vinyl boom is fueling a resurgence of record retailers

Young the Giant

House of Blues

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.

Volcom Sues Jay-Z

[Mental Notes] More important, what's going on for Record Store Day in OC?

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 >>

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 >>

Delaware North Says its Offer for John Wayne Airport Food Contract Won't Rip Off Consumers, Like Rival Bid HMSHost would

Flickr user b r e n t​Many of ustedes are probably going through John Wayne Airport for points north and east this week, probably munching on food you brought with you from home lest you get ripped off at Mickey D's or Starbucks. Many of you are hoping that the Orange County Board of Supervisors a ... More >>

Toyota Lawsuits Can Move Forward, Judge Tentatively Rules in Santa Ana Court

​A federal judge has tentatively (double-negative alert) refused to dismiss dozens of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against Toyota Motor Corp., despite the automaker's motion. U.S. District Judge James V. Selna issued the order last Wednesday, and then heard arguments from Toyo ... More >>

WTF of the Week: The Grammy Noms

Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklyEminem, nominated for 'Recovery'​WTF:Despite the fact that the way the world listens to music has changed radically over the past decade, the Grammys ostensibly continue to reward bands based on a model en vogue 50 years ago. This year's list of nominees reflects that ... More >>

Embassy Suites Irvine, Hotel Facing Worker Complaints and Union Push, is Sold

​HEI Hotels & Resorts just sold the 293-suite Embassy Suites Irvine-Orange County Airport for an undisclosed price.The Norwalk, Conn.-based investor in hotel properties reportedly says the sale will allow it to implement further cost-cutting at the hotel by managing the property. But it also ... More >>

Record Stores Hold Nationwide Vinyl Sale on Black Friday; Here's a Handy List of Local Participants

John Gilhooley/OC WeeklyFingerprints Record Store​A few weeks ago, the people behind Record Store Day announced their plan to host "Back to Black Friday," where indie music stores will be carrying exclusive and limited vinyle and CD releases by Metallica, U2, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and the Heartbre ... More >>

Orange County Register Owner Freedom Communications' Papers, TV Stations for Sale

​Update, November 18, 5:20 p.m.: A media industry watcher suggests Freedom Communications may have a strategy behind what would seem to be a counter-intuitive move to sell the modern-day equivalent of buggy whips, daily newspapers."Might the strategy be to sell some of the properties, keep othe ... More >>

Know Fearless Records

The OC label that first signed Plain White T's has a plan for keeping the next big thing from bolting to the majors

The Thing About the North Park Music Thing

​The thing about the North Park Music Thing, explains founder Kevin Hellman, is that he wants the two-day festival in San Diego to be as regional as SXSW. And some day, maybe bigger.  "The first year it was called North by North Park, but the folks in Austin (home of SXSW) threatened to su ... More >>

Because You're Ugly: Paul & Joe for Perrier

Dropping In

Following his sale to Nike, Bob Hurley has global reach

Coffee Crusade

The great Little Saigon coffee inquiry

Hi-Fi Food!

Oranges Filling Station pumps up the vittles