Subject: Edwin Goei

• What You Missed Over The Weekend Part XV

  On Friday night, Dave Segal watched London duo, Black Ghosts, put on one of the better hipster-dance live shows he's seen in a while. Saying, "It was kind of like a combination of Daft Punk and Chemical Brothers, full of aggressive beats, filthy synth textures and sing-along tunes." Saturday found our own Luke Y. Thompson at the toy store shopping for Iron Man action figures to add to his collection. He found himself a Robert Downey Jr. action figure at the Toys R Us in Irvine. Too bad it loo

  March 24, 2008

• What You Missed Over The Weekend Part XVIII

  This weekend began on Thursday thanks to Rockstar Energy's Taste of Chaos tour coming to Long Beach arena. Weekly staffers and freelancers headed out and experienced the shenanigans reporting back later, hung over and rocked out. Music Editor Dave Segal spent Friday taking in Crystal Castles at Detroit Bar and tapping his foot furiously to the skinny-jeaned electro beats. Sadly, it was too hot and packed in there to bust out any non-existent repertoire of dance moves (view photos here). Meanwhi

  April 14, 2008

• What You Missed Over The Weekend Part XXIV

  The big news of the weekend was the OC Weekly's two wins at the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Awards in Philadelphia. Gustavo Arellano took home the award for Best Column with "Ask A Mexican" while R. Scott Moxley bagged second place in the prestigious public service category for his coverage of the indictment of Sheriff Mike Carona. The Ink and Iron Festival in Long Beach called out to Andrew Youssef who reviewed the Black Angel's performance and chatted up some of the tatted up ladi

  June 9, 2008

• Collateral Damage of the Samueli Plea Deal

  As soon as news of Henry Samueli's guilty plea in his stock-option manipulation case broke yesterday, you might have noticed a brief, faint clickety-clacking sound rising over Orange County. The more engineers you work with, the more intense the flurry was. It was the sound of two words being deleted from the line that read "The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, University of California, Irvine" on math-whiz resumes countywide. Weekly food critic Edwin Goei has been getting easy laughs wi

  June 24, 2008

• This Week in the OC Weekly

  August 8, 2008

• The Food Reconquista Begins...

  Hola, readers, and welcome to the Weekly's latest Internet endeavor: a food blog! Expect the same gourmand insanity I have brought ustedes for the past six years as food editor and Edwin Goei has in his year-and-a-half as my classier half: Where's the great local grub, the great personalities, but also the great failures, great insanities and other great greatness (can you tell I need to stop writing?). And something new for our vigorously provincial coverage: national affairs (but always throug

  September 3, 2008

• Visit Our New Food Blog!

  Stolen from our new food blog... "Hola, readers, and welcome to the Weekly's latest Internet endeavor: a food blog! Expect the same gourmand insanity I have brought ustedes for the past six years as food editor and Edwin Goei has in his year-and-a-half as my classier half: Where's the great local grub, the great personalities, but also the great failures, great insanities and other great greatness (can you tell I need to stop writing?). And something new for our vigorously provincial coverage:

  September 5, 2008

• Blogging All Over the World

  For all you armchair gourmands out there, here's a new roundup of the 50 best food blogs, courtesy of the Times in London. They range from the well-known (Chocolate & Zucchini) to the obscure (pretty much all the others), and are written by food lovers from across the planet.With useful recipes, hilarious asides and enthusiastic ramblings, if these don't get the juices flowing, nothing will.But if 50 aren't enough for you, scroll down to the comments sections, where readers have  chippe

  February 18, 2009

• Andrei's Conscious Cuisine in Irvine is Open...No Not Really

  Edwin GoeiI've known about Andrei's Conscious Cuisine -- a lofty title for a promising restaurant if there ever was one -- since last year. I knew approximately where they were going to be located, and I found their website, which for a long time had just these words: Coming Soon. Then, one day last week, I reloaded it. "What's this?" I thought. "It's open?!" There were hours, a menu and pictures of their food. The site was completely done. The "Events" page even had a description of their

  June 3, 2009

• Bari Bari BBQ to Replace Yoshino in Tustin

  Edwin GoeiIf you've driven by on Tustin's Newport Blvd., you'd notice that the building that once occupied Yoshino has been vacant for months. But today, I saw what you see above: a hastily spray painted sign guided by stencil, which says "BARI BARI BBQ COMING SOON" Edwin GoeiWhat will Bari Bari BBQ offer other than a very alliterative title? Well, the clue lies with more paint. This time, block letters in Christmas frosty paint (or whatever you call it) on the side windows says "yakiniku", the

  June 2, 2009

• Woody's Diner to Replace Islands in Laguna Hills Next Week

  Edwin Goei Next Wednesday, April 22, Woody's Diner opens in the space vacated by Islands in Laguna Hills. This will make the fifth restaurant for the 22-year-old local chain that started in Huntington Beach.  The others are in Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, and Newport Beach; but this new locale represents the first Woody's in a city that doesn't have the word "Beach" in it (Not that there's anything remarkable about that...just thought it was interesting). If you've never been to the othe

  April 17, 2009

• [Locals Only] Duress Give the People What They Want

  April 23, 2009

• Original Buffalo Wings & Crepes De Paris: Now Open at Diamond Jamboree

  Edwin GoeiThings happen at a hare's pace at Diamond Jamboree, or maybe I'm the tortoise and too slow to notice. A few weeks (or is it a month ago), Crepes de Paris debuted.  And last week, I found that Original Buffalo Wings -- a new restaurant and the only Buffalo wings joint in Irvine (as far as I know) -- was already in business. And what's more, it was doing so just two doors down from where BBQ Chicken was roosting. BBQ Chicken, if you might recall, also does fried chicken. And f

  April 29, 2009

• Revolving Sushi Bar & Thai Restaurant To Open at Diamond Jamboree

  Edwin GoeiLike I said yesterday, things are moving fast at Diamond Jamboree in Irvine.  And pretty soon, the city will get a new sushi bar. And not just a sushi bar, but a rotating sushi bar called Kula. Unless I am mistaken, Kula will make a total of four revolving sushi bars in OC. The other three being Kura Sushi in Costa Mesa, Kaisen in Santa Ana, and Sushi 5 in Tustin. Joining it, two doors down, will be a new Thai restaurant called Thai Ritz. When will they stop adding mo

  April 30, 2009

• Lessons on Naming Your Frozen Yogurt Shop

  Edwin GoeiSo now that we've compiled a formidable list of yogurt shop sightings (thanks to y'all) what have we learned and observed?First, when naming your yogurt shop, it doesn't hurt to follow the leader. Pinkberry is arguably the one that started the craze, so if you want to play it safe, try cribbing it by using some variation of "berry" (BerrySwirl, Berry Cool, Passion Berry).And in this game, misspelling is not going to make you look stupid; it actually makes you sound cool and adds chara

  May 5, 2009

• Haru Izakaya Evicted By Landlord

  Edwin Goei I saw the "Available" signs as I drove by on First Street, and I nearly slammed my brakes right there in the middle of the road. Haru Izakaya -- the new Korean izakaya restaurant, which I reviewed on these pages exactly one month ago -- has closed. Not just closed but abandoned. Edwin Goei I peeked inside and it looked like the place had been ransacked. Toppled shelves. Half-filled moving boxes. Chairs in disarray. No one in sight. An eviction notice from the O

  May 7, 2009

• Coming to The District in Tustin: Asian Mint

  Edwin GoeiWhat surprises me about this new place to open at The District in Tustin isn't that it's called Asian Mint**; it's the fact that it isn't opening at Diamond Jamboree, which currently holds the deepstack in restaurants, lording over all its new tenants like a gambler on a roll counting his chips.The District, by the way, already has two Asian eateries on its "Promenade": Thai Bamboo and Ra Sushi.If I am not mistaken, Asian Mint is going to go pad-thai-to-pad-thai and sushi-roll-to-sush

  May 12, 2009

• New Gelato Shop To Open At Diamond Jamboree

  Edwin GoeiWhat's this? A new frozen dessert shop at Diamond Jamboree? And it's not another Pinkberry or Yogurtland clone? Finally, we discover that there is an entrepreneur out there who realized that the market is oversaturated with froyo and undersupplied with gelato.And if there's any frozen desserts were are more in need of, it's gelato. For reasons unknown to me, the milk-based Italian ice cream seems to be an endangered species around these parts. It's as rare as a platypus. When thi

  May 20, 2009

• Now Open at The District: Asian Mint

  Edwin GoeiI've never been so relieved in being so wrong.  As it turns out, Asian Mint at the District has no affiliation whatsoever with the Asian Mint's in Texas, as I previously guessed.  It is, in fact, a straight-up Vietnamese restaurant, not a Thai-sushi hybrid like their Lone Star State doppelgangers.They opened for business two days ago.  And the dining room is quite the looker.  It is, perhaps, too good.  In my experience with Vietnamese restaurants, there is an inverse relati

  May 21, 2009

• Two More Sandella's Slated To Open in O.C.

  Edwin Goei If you think that I write a lot about what goes on at Diamond Jamboree: you're right, but also, you're wrong. In case you haven't noticed, I also write a lot about what goes on at The District, which is a block away. So there!  HA! As you might have guessed, I pass by both on my daily commute, and the fact the two plazas are sprouting new eateries almost weekly is just easy fodder for blogging. Last week, I noticed that The Distict will play landlord to another Sandella's,

  June 8, 2009

• Dueling Dishes: Green Beans. Capital Seafood vs. Jamillah Garden

  The title for this new feature in Stick a Fork In It should be self explanatory. Each week, we'll try a dish, either deliberately or randomly, which may or may not be a signature item of the place from where we choose to try them, and then compare them against each other, concluding with what we think is the better dish. This week's duelers: Dry fried green beans from Capital Seafood in Irvine versus those from Jamillah Garden in Tustin Why? Well because the dish is a personal favorite of mine

  June 12, 2009

• Kogi Was In Costa Mesa This Weekend; For Some, Disappointment Followed

  Edwin Goei Take it easy. This isn't another Kogi story. It's more about my friend and his Kogi disappointment. Previously, he told me he'd never tried them before and was keenly interested in what the hubbub was all about, so I did him what I thought was a favor and called him up, knowing that they were going to be in Costa Mesa on Saturday at the Holiday Inn parking lot on Bristol near the 405 from noon to 3 p.m. "Hey, they're going to be in your city," I told him. "Awesome," he says

  June 15, 2009

• Valhalla Table Coming To The Camp in Costa Mesa

  Edwin Goei It's been three months since I checked in on the progress of Valhalla at The Camp, a new eatery slated to offer "artisan brats and craft beer". When I did, I wasn't surprised to find that it wasn't open yet, but what I did discover was a delectable hint printed on a new banner.  Along with a short summary of what they plan to serve, there was this cookie crumb of a sentence: "Don't forget desserts which will be made by our sister company, Layer Cake Bakery in Irvine." This, I

  July 22, 2009

• LA Times: De-odorized Kimchi Patented

  Edwin Goei​Breaking news: according to a fascinating LA Times article, someone has invented kimchi that doesn't stink. Now, I didn't know kimchi stink was even a problem, let alone one that needed fixing. To me, the Korean side-dish of Napa cabbage pickled in garlic, chili and ginger does not possess an offensive odor. In fact, I think it's got a glorious aroma. A little pungent, yes, but so are dill spears.It's still got nothing on the stench of the Filipino bagoong or the Indonesian tera

  July 29, 2009

• Sushi 5 in Tustin Closes

  Edwin Goei​I found out this week, after writing a blog review of Sushi 5, that the day after I had my meal and the day before I wrote the post, the restaurant had closed for good.In retrospect, all the clues were there.  The other half of the restaurant was separated by curtain.  I peeked and saw booths ripped out, chairs in disarray.  But I simply dismissed it.  I thought they were remodeling.  My optimism stemmed from the fact that I thought I just stumbled upon them

  July 31, 2009

• UPDATED: Sur La Table in SCP Scheduled to Open August 28th

  Edwin GoeiJust got a tip from the Sur La Table people that the once super-secret location at SCP's Crystal Court is slated to open August 28th.I know what you're thinking: Finally, a place to buy kitchenware at South Coast Plaza when you're just too far away from Williams Sonoma.I feel the same way too! Update, by Lesley, September 3: The store is indeed now open, and selling a wide range of kitchenware and subsidiaries (read: pricey gourmet food items). I spotted everything from Le Creuset dish

  September 3, 2009

• "Daily Express" Coming Soon to South Coast Plaza Area

  Edwin Goei​What do I know about Daily Express, a new restaurant to open soon next to Thasos Greek island Grille? Nothing, except that a men's tailor used to occupy the spot it's now in the middle of developing.  But if I were to make guesses simply by looking at the Ruby's-like font they chose to use (a red and white cursive with a red ribbon border), I'd say they're going to be a diner.  That "Breakfast Lunch Dinner" thing also suggests this.  This is a good developmen

  August 13, 2009

• Letters From OC Weekly Readers

  August 13, 2009

• A Karaoke Lounge To Open In Diamond Jamboree

  Edwin GoeiI can't say I didn't see this coming, and I'm not at all surprised that it will happen here.  Diamond Jamboree, the Asian-est of all Asian mini-malls in Orange County, will have what I think is Irvine's first karaoke lounge.  It will be called Plush.This inevitable development comes thanks to the fact that all Asian cultures share one commonality: the desire to belt out tunes while intoxicated.  As seen in this filing with the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, it is

  July 9, 2009

• Bon Epi Patisserie & Cafe Opens at Diamond Jamboree

  Edwin GoeiAs I said before, the folks at the now-open Bon Epi Patisserie and Cafe must have a set of giant cojones to open their shop within sight of 85 Degrees Celsius at Irvine's Diamond Jamboree. The latter is still arguably the most popular bakery to hit Irvine in well, ever.But hey, this is America.  And monopolies should only belong on board games.  So when I noticed that Bon Epi quietly opened last week, I thought, "Way to go giant cojones"...and today, I surveyed their offerin

  June 4, 2009

• The Alley Owner Planning To Open Shabu-Shabu/Yakiniku Restaurant in Costa Mesa

  Edwin Goei ​This tip comes from fellow Weekling, Matt Coker, who was at The Alley in Newport Beach recently when owner Jeff Chon told him that he's planning to open a new Japanese shabu-shabu/yakiniku joint near Mother's Market on 17th Street in Costa Mesa. The target opening date will be sometime in early December, which is good, because the last thing anyone wants right now, in this sticky August heat, is too cook one's lunch in front of a indoor BBQ or stove. More details to follow a

  August 27, 2009

• TODAY: Thai Nakorn in Garden Grove to Have Grand Opening Lunch Celebration With Free Food

  Edwin Goei Commentor Terry M. just wrote in that Thai Nakorn Garden Grove will officially be having their Grand Opening today (Friday, August 28) and that they will be celebrating it by offering free food at lunch. (As I reported, they had their soft opening last weekend).  Details are sketchy on today's offer, since I cannot confirm what this free food is at this early hour.  But really, don't go for the free food, go because this is the second branch of one of the best Thai restaura

  August 28, 2009

• Kogi in Newport Beach tomorrow (Saturday, 8/29/09)

  Edwin Goei Kogi's schedule may say Costa Mesa: 10PM-1AM@Big E in OC - 866 W. 16th St. Costa Mesa, Vorhees Studios But the street address is technically in Newport Beach. Give 'em a break: they're from L.A. , what do they know about our geography?  Well, hopefully enough not to get lost.  Still have gripes about the hype of Kogi? Air 'em out! Comments are open.

  August 28, 2009

• Kula Sushi Opens at Diamond Jamboree; Also, Plush Karaoke

  Edwin Goei​Kula Sushi opened its doors on Monday. Unfortunately, they were only allowing "VIPs" when I took the picture you see above, or else I would've gone in, surveyed the surroundings, and eaten a few items.

  September 3, 2009

• Arrested Development on New Restaurants at The Camp

  Edwin Goei​The last time I checked in on the progress of Valhalla Table at The Camp in Costa Mesa was back in July. Now that summer's just about over, I went to check again. And the only update I have for you? They've put up the sign. It's a nice sign, to be sure. But it's obvious that things aren't moving as fast as I would've hoped.

  September 16, 2009

• Dueling Dishes: Zankou Chicken vs. Sasoon Chicken

  Edwin Goei​This week in Dueling Dishes, a good old fashion cock fight: a battle of Armenian rotisserie hens. The first contender, of course, is Zankou, the Chowhound obsession of a few years ago, when every post on the foodie bulletin board seemed to wax poetic on the glory of its gossamer, crisp and golden brown skin.And it wasn't just the bird, it was also about the garlic paste called toum that accompanied. The sauce actually enjoyed equal, if not greater, acclaim as the chicken it's mean

  October 8, 2009

• I've Revealed A Secret; Now It's Your Turn

  Edwin Goei​If you've picked up the latest edition of The Weekly -- which is, by the way, our annual, and might I say, awesome Best of OC Issue (okay, I'm done with the shameless plug) -- you might have noticed my review of May Garden's secret menu in the usual Food section. During a chat with head honcho Ted Kissell, he asked me, "Don't many/most Chinese restaurants have two menus, the Americanized one and the Chinese one?" I told him that, actually, I'm not sure. But for the most part,

  October 9, 2009

• Progress Seen (and Heard) at The Camp's Planned New Eateries

  Edwin Goei​There's progress on two of the three new restaurants planned for The Camp in Costa Mesa. Valhalla Table is hopeful that they're on track to do a soft opening sometime by the end of the month, owner Liz Karnaga told me.

  October 13, 2009

• Wacky Snacks: Rumba

  Edwin Goei​Name: Rumba - Chocolate Flavored Sandwich Cookies With Coconut Flavored FillingOrigin: ArgentinaFound at: Villa Roma, Laguna HillsCost: $2.99

  October 19, 2009

• Menu For Newly Opened Fish Grill Factory in Santa Ana

  Edwin Goei​Back in May I chronicled the closing of a sushi joint on Bristol Street, a block or so away from South Coast Plaza. I entitled it "Blue Fish, We Hardly Knew Ye". Later in August, Lesley had the scoop: another fish-centric restaurant was going to take it's place. After a while it became evident that it wasn't just going to be another sushi joint, but an American fish grill cut from a similar cloth as the ever popular California Fish Grill chain.

  October 20, 2009

• A Sign of Redundancy at Costa Mesa's IKEA

  Edwin Goei​See the sign above? Add this to the redundant redundancy files (see what I did there?). 99 cent breakfast "weekdays starting at 9:30 am & weekends at 9:30 am!" it says. Not "everyday starting at 9:30 am", but "weekdays starting at 9:30 am & weekends at 9:30 am!" It's just as redundant as my repeating the redundancy...and using the word "redundant" for the fifth time in two paragraphs. But wait. Is there a method to the madness? There's an exclamation after the

  October 22, 2009

• Slideshow of This Weekend's Autumn Food Fair at Mitsuwa

  Edwin Goei​Catch the Autumn Food Fair at Mitsuwa this weekend? If you're reading this right now (it's Sunday at 5:45), you still have about two more hours to go before they pack up! If you're reading this on Monday morning, or have otherwise missed the event, then "please to enjoy" the slideshow I put together with the help of our web editor Vickie Chang. Mmmm! Things on sticks! Gooey, crispy, hot okonomiyaki! Rice balls! Oh my!

  October 25, 2009

• Wacky Snacks Halloween Edition: Bug Factor Arackneggz Candy

  Edwin Goei​ Name: Bug Factor Arackneggz Candy Origin: Candy Made In USA; Toy Made in China Found at: 99-Cent-Only Store, Cypress Cost: $0.99

  October 26, 2009

• Topz "Healthier Burger Grill" Shutters All Over

  Edwin Goei​Topz "The Healthier Burger Grill" seems to be shutting down all over. The Hutton Center location was completely barren, the space already available for lease. And the Orange store's phone number has been disconnected. Reports of other Topz locations locations shuttering include West Hollywood and also a location in San Mateo. I would want to see what other locations are still in business, but their main company website is down with a nothing but a logo, a contact e-mail address,

  October 26, 2009

• Chowhounds Suspect That Disneyland Has Changed Their Corn Dog...For The Worse

  Edwin Goei ​ I'm always monitoring Chowhound for the latest food grumblings. A recent thread reports on lamentable news involving the possible change of one of Disneyland's beloved staples: the corn dog. It started with a chowhound (a poster named ReelMike84) suspecting that something has changed with the Little Red Wagon's signature product. "It was smaller then usual, and dare I say, tasted different," he wrote. The suspicion is later confirmed by a reply by another poster named ce

  October 29, 2009

• Wacky Snacks: Charoni Crackers

  Edwin Goei​Name: Charoni Crackers Origin: Phillipines Found at: Pinoy Mart, Tustin Cost: $1.39 Ingredients: Cassava Starch, Wheat Flour, Vegetable Oil (May Contain Palm and/or Coconut Oil), Onion, Iodized Salt, Sugar, Natural Flavoring, Spices, Monosodium Glutamate, Malic Acid, Artifical Food Color (FD&C Yellow #5, FD&C Yellow #6)

  November 2, 2009

• Cafe Rio in Lake Forest Not Open Yet...But There's a Sign

  Edwin Goei​ Among all the posts that I've written here this year, none have gotten more comments and curiosity than the one where I announced that the Utah-based chain Cafe Rio was opening its first California outlet in Lake Forest. Nevermind that there's already excellent Mexican all over our fine county -- people seem to want this place to open, and to open quick.

  November 2, 2009

• Pastagina in Irvine's Woodbury Neigborhood Shutters

  Edwin Goei ​If it seems like it's only been a year since Pastagina opened; that's because it has. The concept debuted February of 2008 and won our Best Yogurt category on the Best Of Issue 2008.  And now, it is closed, out of business, kaput, history. The Italian pasta fast-casual that touted precision cooking of al dente pasta by machines, and one that I reviewed and actually enjoyed, has been getting less popular of late. But as far as I can tell, it was up and operational up

  November 4, 2009

• Wacky Snacks: Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce

  Edwin Goei​Name: Mang Tomas All Purpose Sauce Origin: Phillipines Found at: Bodega R Ranch, Tustin Cost: $0.79 Ingredients: Water, Cane Sugar, Bread Crumbs (Flour, Sugar and Palm Oil), Cane Vinegar, Salt, Hydrolized Plant Protein (Soy Protein), Onions, Garlic, Black Pepper, and 0.1% Sodium Benzoate Added As A Preservative Why I Bought It: The name. A friend quipped, "Does it clean floors too?" Of all things that the "all purpose" label should be applied to, I wouldn't think a

  November 16, 2009

• Is Ralphs Selling Rotten Rambutans?

  Edwin Goei​While walking through the produce section of Ralphs at Irvine's Woodbury neighborhood the other night, we were stopped cold in our tracks. This is what we saw. Rambutan. At first I didn't believe my eyes. But as I refocused my vision on the familiar fur on the golf ball-sized fruit, it confirmed it. These were, indeed, rambutan! But they were not well, my friends. These looked like rambutan corpses. Dead, hard, brown mummies of the fruit I ate and loved as a child, and

  November 16, 2009