Thanksgiving

k'ya Anaheim Closes; Now Rebranded as American Tavern Eatery & Drink

k'ya, the hotel restaurant that I reviewed some years ago at the Hotel Menage in Anaheim, has changed concepts once again. And this time, unlike the last time it called itself k'ya Street Fare, it has completely ditched the name. With the new title American Tavern Eatery & Drink,  ... More >>

OC Supervisor Janet Nguyen Alerts Little Saigon Residents to Active Burglary/Auto Theft Ring

Attention Little Saigon residents: Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen says there is a vehicle theft/residential burglary ring operating on her turf.According to a press release, local law enforcement officials--but probably not their tainted, unsupervised and ultra-expensive aerial units who are ... More >>

Post-Thanksgiving Hike and Picnic

Richard and Donna O'Neill Conservancy

Dana Point Turkey Trot

Dana Point Harbor

On the Line: 'Sushi Dave' Fernandez of Sushi At the Venetian Gentlemen's Club, Part Two

​Our conversation continues, as Dave craves corned beef and pastrami across the street at Roscoe's Famous Deli. I realize this is probably his breakfast, lunch and even dinner (based on how busy he was in part one). If we didn't have places to be, I probably would've asked about the next destinati ... More >>

Akeem Jelani Johnson Guilty of Raping Aussie Tourist and Dumping Her Behind Alley

​A 28-year-old Tustin man who raped a drunken Australian tourist in a car before dumping her in an alley behind Godfather's Bar was convicted Friday.Akeem Jelani Johnson, 28, faces eight years in state prison and lifetime registration as a sex offender at his April 20 sentencing in Westminster.

[UPDATED with More Participating Cop Shops:] Super Bowl Sunday Flex Defense Employed Against Offensive Boozers Behind the Wheel

​UPDATE, FEB. 3, 4:27 P.M.: According to a release this afternoon from the Anaheim Police Department, that agency and 13 others are taking part in the previously announced countywide law enforcement patrols targeting drunken drivers on Super Bowl Sunday. That now makes it an "Avoid the 26" operati ... More >>

Report: Best-Selling Video Games of Black Friday 2011

​Like watching football or having a nap after stuffing yourself with turkey, Black Friday shopping has become a Thanksgiving tradition for millions of Americans. If you're a smart shopper and a gamer, there's no doubt that you've saved many of your video game purchases for the weekend following Th ... More >>

Guess Where Professor Salt Ate, Win a Prize!

​Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving break! We're back to our weekly guessing game with this dish.What is it, and which restaurant makes it?

Glowbox Gifting

[Trendzilla] And Lancome Christmas Crackers for the gal you have no idea how to shop for

Ten Vegetarian Musicians with an Open Invite to My House for Thanksgiving Dinner

​I gotta be honest: I have a love/hate relationship with Thanksgiving.On the one hand, it's my vegetarian anniversary. I gave up meat on Thanksgiving 1997, which, for all you math failures, means this year marks the 14th Thanksgiving in a row since I've eaten meat. For that, I am excited and proud ... More >>

The Five Best Parts of a Roast Turkey

Flickr user kimberlykv​White meat or dark? The traditional Thanksgiving question. Usually, piles of meat are passed around on a platter--but that's ignoring some of the best cuts on the traditional holiday fowl.Here are five of the best pieces of meat available on the modern American turkey--but y ... More >>

Lupe Fiasco's 'Friend of the People' Mixtape Drops Tomorrow!

​Rapper Lupe Fiasco is in a giving mood again. Last Christmas, he gifted fans with the premiere of the music video for the first single "The Show Goes On" off of his chart topping Lasers album. This time around, Fiasco is releasing his Friend of the People mixtape tomorrow on Thanksgiving.

Five Great Minnesota Versions of Hotdish (a.k.a. Casserole)

​As winter approaches, with its occasional rain and frigid mid-50s-high temperatures, people break out the sweaters, boots and think about hot, stick-to-your-ribs food. In the winter, a lot of baking happens and a lot of lasagne, but when it's chilly out, I think of the time I spent in Minnesota a ... More >>

Five Stupidly Awesome Thanksgiving Recipes

​Thanksgiving has a few connotations in our society: family, togetherness, getting together, being grateful; oppression and decimation of a native people; and, of course, the stupid crap we do to food in order to get it on the table. Ask anyone who has worked in an emergency room for longer than 1 ... More >>

Thanksgiving Extravaganza

The Prospector

How a Charitable Person Mistook a Seal Beach Family Camping Out for Black Friday as Homeless and Gave Them a Full Thanksgiving Dinner

Nice meal if you can get it...​I spent the Sunday after Christmas at Isaiah House, the base for the Orange County Catholic Worker, one of the biggest batch of mensches in Orange County. The chica and I arrived shortly after they had just prepared a free meal for anyone who needed it, and given the ... More >>

Death Hymn Number 9

The Prospector

Bear Mountain Opens Today, Completing SoCal Ski and Snowboard Pre-Thanksgiving Trifecta

​Bear Mountain in Big Bear opens today, joining sister resort Snow Summit and Mtn. High in Wrightwood in welcoming skiers and snowboarders before Thanksgiving.Well, paying skiers and snowboarders anyway. Snow Valley outside Running Springs also opens today. Mammoth Mountain near Bishop got the sno ... More >>

Nothing Says Thanksgiving Like a Bird in a Bird in a Bird in a Bird in a Bird in a Pig

Thank the masterminds at Epic Meal Time for this recipe that's sure to be a Thanksgiving classic. A quail in a cornish hen in a chicken in a duck in a turkey in a pig. Wrapped in bacon. It's the TurBaconEpic. Bon appetit.

Free Ticket Tuesday! First Come, First Served with Heavy Doses of Norwegian Black Metal

​We're giving away tickets to two shows at Fox Theater Pomona: Attack Attack! with Emmure, Pierce the Veil, Of Mice and Men, and In Fear and Faith on Friday  and Dimmu Borgir with Enslaved, Blood Red Throne, and Dawn and Ashes on Saturday.These shows are perfect if you're all familied out aft ... More >>

This Week in Food: Belgian-Waffle Sandwiches, Bad Bánh Mìs, and Gobble Gobble Hey!

Flickr user WishUponaCupcake​Given Thanksgiving is next week, it's natural that most of us spent this week giving ustedes tips on how to celebrate a better Thanksgiving. But we did more--highlights after the jump!

¡Ask a Comida Critic!: How Can You Celebrate a Mexican Thanksgiving?

​In the spirit of the season, Rex from one of the little Lagunas sent me this:For Thanksgiving, do Mexicans celebrate it with tamales? What dishes would you suggest? Wish that it were true, Rex. Fact is, Mexicans usually celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States the same way Americans do: the sa ... More >>

OC Restaurant Thanksgiving Round-up

Clay Oven's Tandoori Turkey​This is the post we do every year around this time. This is the part where I say, "Not planning to cook for Turkey Day?!  Well, here's a few restaurants who'll do the cooking for you!!", yadda yadda. And this is the part where I add some funny quip about overeati ... More >>

Five Not-So-Common Things To Do With Leftover Turkey

Flickr user jenniferbrooke​Every list of turkey leftover suggestions involves one or more of the following: soup, chili, salad, sandwiches (usually on whole wheat bread with mayonnaise) and turkey Tetrazzini. It's not that these things are bad--they're not--it's that they're jaded and overused, an ... More >>

Five Food Challenges in Orange County

The Catch Facebook Page The WTF Burger at The Catch in Anaheim is a stomach-busting stack of eight pounds of meat, five avocados, 15 strips of bacon, 24 slices of cheddar and a heaping pile of fried peppers.​Yes, America, this is why you're fat. Ah, well. Unbutton those pants and win some stuff! & ... More >>

Would You Drink Bacon Soda?

​Bacon ice cream, Baconnaise, bacon cupcakes even, I can understand.  But now it's gone too far. Jones Soda Co. has introduced bacon soda.  No. Just no. The last thing I want to do after a long day of work is crack open an ice cold bottle of swine. Oh, and imagine the bacon bur ... More >>

Gettin' Made: Read All About It!

It's book review time again, crafters! This week we're taking a look at three titles from Chronicle Books--Paper Craft: 25 Charming Gifts, Accents, and Accessories to Make From Paper by Minhee & Truman Cho, Every Day's a Holiday by Heidi Kenny, and Silhouette Art by Vana Chupp. Plus, enter to wi ... More >>

At the Farmers' Market: Fresh Pasta

Dave Lieberman​Thanksgiving is the single biggest cooking juggernaut in the calendar here in America. People all over the country throw themselves into cooking an impossibly huge feast. Cooks who normally feed four people suddenly have to feed twenty or more. The setup, prep, cooking and carving t ... More >>

Mark Norris Capitalizes On the Comfort-Food Craze With Crispins

Dishney: PETA Recommends Animal Sanctuaries Over Disneyland

In yet another effort to make both meat eaters and vegetarians further dislike them, Ingrid Newkirk, president and co-founder of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has issued an open letter to President Obama via the Huffington Post, pleading for him to send the traditional Than ... More >>

Recipe of the Week: Cranberry-Orange Relish

cobalt @ flickr.com CC BY-NC 2.0​There are two kinds of people in the world: people who serve cranberry sauce slipped out of the can and sliced with the ridges still in evidence, and people who serve cranberry relish. If you're a fan of the former, it's the easiest dish to prepare for Thanksgiving ... More >>

Gettin' Made: Pie-eyed Wonders

We've seen some great turkey and cranberry creations, but no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a little dessert! Felt pumpkin pie by Pearl25​ I'm loving the elegant whipped cream topping on this felt pumpkin pie slice--after the jump, more pie-themed Etsy finds to make you drool!

Can't Find Canned Pumpkin? Use Kabocha!

strata @ flickr.com CC BY-NC-SA 2.0​By now it should not be news that the U.S. is facing a severe shortage of canned pumpkin. News sites and blogs everywhere are talking about the effect on our Thanksgiving pumpkin pies.If you're depending on canned pumpkin to make your holiday pumpkin pie and you ... More >>

Gettin' Made: No Need to Argue, Cranberries are Delicious!

So last week we took a look at some delicious turkey crafts on Etsy--in keeping with the Thanksgiving feast theme, let's take a look at some mouthwatering cranberries. Winterberry Halo Earrings by Emily Gray Jewels​ These delicate cranberries are sure to class up any of you turkeys. I real ... More >>

Alex's Thanksgiving Jam

Alex's Bar

Cops to Be Out in Force Throughout OC This Weekend, "Black Friday"

​Various Orange County communities are going to be crawling with extra cops this weekend as pre-Thanksgiving pushes are made to get drunks, druggies, the unlicensed and unsafe motorcyclists off the road and to ensure everyone is buckling up.R. Scott Moxley blogged earlier today about the Orange Co ... More >>

Time Again For Tandoori Thanksgiving Turkey

​Thanksgiving's 'round the corner, have you thought about what you're going to feed your fam? How about a tandoori Thanksgiving turkey -- the alliterative alternative. Once again for the thirteenth year, the folks at Clay Oven in Irvine are offering up their, um, clay oven roasted birds ... More >>

Barbara Coe on Obama: "It's time to STAND UP & BE COUNTED - OR - DIE"

We already knew that California Coalition for Immigration Reform head witch Barbara Coe doesn't like President-elect Barack Obama, going so far as to compare him to Hitler. But, boy oh boy, does Barry have her goat! To the left (natch) is a doctored photo Babs sent around to CCIR's mailing list befo ... More >>

LowBallVideoChatter: The Band, "Don't Do It"

The Time: Thanksgiving, 1976.   The Place: Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco.   The Occasion: The final concert by the original lineup of the Band, with a jaw-dropping number of guests (Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Dr. John, ... More >>

Cover Me Badd

Cover Me Badd

Tandoori Thanksgiving Turkey!

So you just heard about a vegetarian turkey from Matt Coker, how about an Indian one? No, not the "Indians" who joined the Pilgrims for dinner in story of the first Thanksgiving. The real Indians! The ones the European mistook the indigenous inhabitants of America for. Think about it: Indian coo ... More >>

Let's Talk No Turkey -- at Native Foods

Believe it or not, the Native Foods vegan restaurant in Costa Mesa bustles during the Thanksgiving season, offering a birdless (and delicious) alternative to the traditional turkey dinner. Many OC vegans and vegetarians – and the families that enable their madnesses – order gussied up Tofurky d ... More >>

Gobble Gambol

Turkey Trot

Free Thanksgiving Feast Tasting This Saturday at Whole Foods

I'm a sucker for free samples. You'll often see me at Costco on Saturday mornings making the rounds on the sample buffet, emulating Homer Simpson. Remember that episode? Anyway, it looks like I'll have two places to graze this weekend. All L.A. and Orange County Whole Foods will be doing a Thank ... More >>

To Do Today - 11/22 TURKEY DAY!

BODY BLAST WORKOUT, 8am Workout and burn those calories before the big feast. The Brea Community Center, 695 E. Madison Way., Brea, (714) 990-7100 TURKEY TROT, 8am More than 3,500 runners and walkers expected in the 5th annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K/10K. Funds will benefit local charities ... More >>

Tuesday's Headlines. No Surprises: Stealing Irvine's spotlight

New! Improved! And sort of the same! "New Web strategy" reads one of the Register's headlines in that little rotating box on the paper's website (yes, next to the turkey and pumpkin pie photos). But click it and you get this, which doesn't sound like it veers away from the current setup much: Loc ... More >>

Knott's Berry Farm Welcomes Veterans

Sure, there are easier ways to get inside Knott's Berry Farm than joining the military (there used to be a great way sneak in off of La Palma and. . . well, let's just leave it at that), but for those Americans who've already taken the military oath, KBF is offering free admission now through Thanks ... More >>

The Blakes Play The Doll Hut 11/1

Last night I ventured to Anaheim’s famous Doll Hut to see Seattle-based rock band The Blakes. I was worried I had missed them, showing up at 10 when the show started at 9. Nope. Doll Hut owner Juan Reynoso, who was working the door (gotta love that!) told me they had yet to go on. I was in luc ... More >>

Something So Good

Say thank you and mean it at East Winds Asian Cuisine