Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog

Maggianos in Costa Mesa just recently expanded their bar area.  It’s a much needed expansion, since the bar and waiting area was way too small for the volume.  They took over the Corner Bakery and it’s now all Maggianos.  I thought I was going to be walking in through the Corner Bakery as usual and was pleasantly surprised to see that it’s more of Maggianos.  There’s now plenty of room to spread out and meet friends for a drink in the bar.

This night we had Mom’s Lasagna and Veal and Mushroom Ravioli al Forno.  All was fabulous as usual.  Abbondanza!

Related Link:

http://www.maggianos.com/

I heard Carm’s Coneys on 17th Street in Costa Mesa is really good.  I hadn’t even seen it, since it’s sandwiched among many other small restaurants and businesses.  Its owner was born in Brooklyn, NY.

I stopped in tonight and tried The Original Coney said to be one of their most popular Dogs and is made with all white Veal.  You get a choice between a New England Roll or Bun.  Upon recommendation I had the New England Roll and Carm’s Award Winning Chili.  I liked it — It’s different tasting.  They say if you bite into a Dog you don’t like, they’ll give you something else.

The place is really cute and it had a lot of people inside.  Apparently I’m the only one out of the Famous NY Dog’s loop.  I found the service super friendly, helpful and happy.  I’ll go back and try a few more things.  I’ve got my eye on the Zweigle (Red or White Hot), Bratwurst, Salt Potatoes and Sweet Potato Fries.

And I’ll also try the Chili Cheese Fries, since I’m putting together a post all about Chili Cheese Fries.  Carm’s Coneys first opened in Newport Beach in 1985, closed in 1991 to pursue other interests, and is now re-open with an expanded menu in Costa Mesa.  It’s a nice little place with good food and service.

UPDATE (11/30/08):  The location is now occupied by Jimmy’s Burger Joint, which officially opened yesterday.  Jimmy is/was a partner of Carm’s and says Carm is looking for a new location to re-open.  I’m advised that the Chicago Dog is one of the things to try at Jimmy’s Burger Joint — I guess I’ll need to do that sometime.

Related Links:

http://www.carmsnyconeys.com/

http://www.hofmannsausage.com/home/

LAUNCH OF GLOBAL FOODBUZZ
BLOGGER COMMUNITY LEVERAGES REAL-PEOPLE,
REAL-TIME POWER OF FOOD PUBLISHING   

San Francisco – October 13, 2008:   Foodbuzz, Inc., officially inaugurates its food blogger community with more than 1,000 blog partners, a global food blogging event and an online platform that captures the real-people, real-time power of food publishing in every corner of the world.  At launch, the Foodbuzz community ranks as one of the top-10 Internet destinations for food and dining (Quantcast), with bloggers based in 45 countries and 863 cities serving up daily food content.  

“Food bloggers are at the forefront of reality publishing and the dramatic growth of new media has redefined how food enthusiasts access tasty content,” said Doug Collister, Executive Vice President of Foodbuzz, Inc.  “Food bloggers are the new breed of local food experts and at any minute of the day, Foodbuzz is there to help capture the immediacy of their hands-on experiences, be it a memorable restaurant meal, a trip to the farmers market, or a special home-cooked meal.”    

Foodbuzz is the only online community with content created exclusively by food bloggers and rated by foodies. The site offers more than 20,000 pieces of new food and dining content weekly, including recipes, photos, blog posts, videos and restaurant reviews.   Members decide the “tastiness” of each piece of content by voting and “buzz” the most popular posts to the top of the daily menu of submissions.  Foodbuzz currently logs over 13 million monthly page views and over three million monthly unique visitors.      

“Our goal is to be the number-one online source of quality food and dining content by promoting the talent, enthusiasm and knowledge of food bloggers around the globe,” said Ben Dehan, founder and CEO of Foodbuzz, Inc.  

The Foodbuzz blogger community is growing at a rate of 40 percent per month driven by strong growth in existing partner blogs and the addition of over 100 new blogs per month.   “The Foodbuzz.com Web site is like the stock of a great soup.  The Web site provides the base or backbone for bloggers to interact as a community, contribute content, and have that content buzzed by their peers,” said Mr. Dehan.

Related Link:

http://www.foodbuzz.com/

Online Restaurant Menus are a lot less messy and more organized than paper Menus.  Many of the pictured Menus are online, so I’d better read them there or arrange mine in alphabetical order for just as easy access.

Search Menus By all USA Locations:

http://www.allmenus.com/
http://www.menuism.com/
http://www.takeouttonight.com/
http://www.imenuhq.com/
http://www.usmenuguide.com/

Specific Area Menus:

http://www.menupages.com/ – New York
http://www.usmenuguide.com/lasvegas.html – Las Vegas
http://www.menupix.com/losangeles/ Los Angeles
http://www.menukarma.com/menus/los-angeles

Design Your Own Menu:

http://www.themenumaker.com/
http://www.menushoppe.com/

About Online Menus and How To Find More:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_menus
http://www.ehow.com/how_2002982_menus-restaurant-online.html

Ruby Tuesday Restaurant has been advertising in Southern California forever it seems, at least a year — But there hasn’t even been one in the entire state.  It’s kind of annoying, especially since they’ve persuaded me to want to try their Mini Burgers – HA.  I guess they’re busy building a brand, but seeing as they’ve spent a lot of money advertising in this market, they should at least open a restaurant in the state.  Right?

And I just recently saw a new Ruby Tuesday commercial telling me to “…forget everything [I] know about Ruby Tuesdays, [your] changing it all, a new menu, new decor…”  Blah, blah, blah.  Well, since I’ve never actually seen one, I can certainly forget everything I don’t know about it.

NEWS BULLETON:  A Ruby Tuesday finally opened in California last month — It’s in San Bernardino, so I still won’t be trying their Mini Burgers (aka Sliders) anytime soon.  Have you been to one?  If so, where?  I guess the advertising worked on me, but I’m still not driving to San Bernardino, so there. 😉

Ruby Tuesday: http://www.rubytuesday.com/

Ruby Tuesday’s MENU: http://www.rubytuesday.com/menu/pdf/s7.pdf

Make your own Sliders: http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=4063

About three years ago, I sent Elmer Dills an e-mail.  I had a few questions about writing restaurant reviews.  And the very next day I arrived home to hear a message on my answering machine from Elmer Dills.  He responded to my e-mail by calling me.  He left his actual home and KABC studio phone numbers.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was so excited. 

I called him back immediately and we talked on the telephone for 20 minutes.  One thing I remember is — He told me that a reviewer should be careful not to injure the reviewee.  Every entity has its good days and bad days, and good qualities and those that need improvement.  Honesty is important, but be conscious of livelihood.

And he also invited me to provide a restaurant review on his radio program on KRLA — But at that time I didn’t have a specific food angle, nor restaurant to rave about, plus I was kinda nervous.  I did appreciate our conversation. 

I saved his message for about two years — I’m such a dork sometimes.  I’m surprised I never crank called him (HA), or is it prank called?  I’m still not sure about that.  Either way, THANKS for your time and advice Elmer.  I hope your last meal was fantastic!

FYI:  A Memorial Service open to the public will be held at 1:00p.m. on October 3rd at All Saints Church, 132 North Euclid Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101.  RIP.

Related Links:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local&id=6393546

http://www2.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_10483221

http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings17-2008sep17,0,1218907.story

http://www.wildbell.com/2008/09/16/elmer-dills-changed-my-life/

http://krla.townhall.com/

KABC, Channel 7 recently revealed where to get the BEST SLIDERS (Mini Burgers) and it recommended we try Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale’s in South Coast Plaza.  Although they named the “Top 7 Slider Restaurants in Los Angeles,” they noted that Charlie Palmer’s in Orange County has exceptional Sliders too — I just tried two of the three.

I had the Kobe Beef Slider and the PBLT (Pork Belly, Lettuce & Tomato) Slider.  And before I even took a bite of the Kobe Beef Burger, I knew it was the Best Slider I’ve ever had.  Seriously, it’s aroma put me at the best backyard BBQ on a sunny day.  I usually don’t write this flowery, but it was that amazing to me.

And the PBLT was also surprisingly good.  “Surprisingly” because I’m generally a visible fat avoider — I trim all meat.  For that reason I haven’t gravitated towards Pork Belly, but I just went for it.  The texture was tender, not chewy as feared, but more like a thick slab of Bacon, which I love.

Both Sliders are worth traveling for.  Pictured above (L-R) PBLT, Kobe Beef & Kobe Beef — We haven’t yet tried the Crab Cake Slider, but may need to.  There’s more to this meal, but Charlie Palmer’s Sliders deserve a showcase.

Enjoy!

 Foodbuzz just kicked off its 24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs promotion.  They picked 24 Blogs from around the world to participate by posting a Meal within the same 24 Hours.  I entered, but you’ll see that the competition was stiff — Hopefully my idea will get picked next time.  Until then, here’s a link to the 24 excellent posts.  All did an amazing job – http://www.foodbuzz.com/24.

As a Featured Publisher, I received this Apron and Spatula in the mail today.  Thanks Foodbuzz!  I’ll take a picture using them someday. 🙂

A friend of a friend started Mélange, which offers fabulous high quality Cooking Classes.  If you live in Orange County, you should definitely sign up — The menus sound terrific.  Here’s a message from one of its founders:

I hear the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is having its 45th Birthday.  I would have never guessed it.  I thought they were younger, but it appears they’re older and wiser.  Happy Birthday. 🙂

I like the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf because they don’t call their small drinks a “Tall” if you know what I mean — That really bugs me about their main competition.  I’m not going to call an obviously short cup a tall.  It’s blatant trickery I tell you.  And somehow the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores seem a little more hometown friendly, although they have 676 stores in 19 countries.  Apparently the first one opened in 1963 in Brentwood, California.

In celebration of their Birthday, they’re offering a SPECIAL EVERY TUESDAY in September through the first Tuesday in October.  The specials include 0.63 cent Coffees and Hot Teas, 20% off Pounds of Coffee and Tea Bag Tins, and a FREE Espresso Shot added to your drink.

The picture above is of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on 19th Street in Costa Mesa, California.

Related Links:

http://coffeebean.com/

Most of the appetizers at The Yard House are half price during Happy Hour, which is 3:00-6:00pm (M-F).  It’s a great deal on good quality food.  We got the Crab Cakes, Ham and Pineapple Pizza, Sliders with Bearnaise Sauce and French Fries, plus a Hefeweizen and Dirty Martini.  We liked it all.

Related Links:

http://www.yardhouse.com/flash/default.asp

http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=1310

Dolcissimo Cupcakes on 19th Street is NO MAS.  I’m not sure if they just moved or closed.  Their website doesn’t currently state.  It just shows business as usual, but their telephone number is out of order.  I’ll update this post later if I get the full story.  It appears the property owners didn’t have trouble securing another tenant.  The sign is already posted — Mazzottis Italian Deli & Catering, which doesn’t sound bad, but I’ll miss those Cupcakes.  I guess it’s another reason to make my own Cupcakes.

UPDATE 08/03/09:  It appears that Mazzottis opened, then closed a few months later.  The space is now occupied by Thai Tastee.

It was a Cake Making Competition among culinary students from The International Culinary School at the Art Institute.  The participants represented a few different schools, including Orange County, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Texas. 

The theme was America’s Best.  On this first day of the competition we saw the makings of a Liberty Bell, Luggage, a Hamburger and French Fries, a Stadium, the United States, and a few others we couldn’t make out at the time.

And the winner is…

We didn’t see all the Cakes in final, but do have a picture of the WINNER.  This picture was sent to me by one of its creators, Michael Hadobas, who is coincidentally the one piping the playing cards above.  He did a great job on them.  He and his partner Dorthy Sepcic made the winning Cake.  As you may guess, they’re from The Art Institute of Las Vegas.  Congratulations!

Related Links:

http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=793

http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=735

http://www.celebrityfoodshow.com/

http://www.artinstitutes.edu/

The event was touted as the 2008 Celebrity Food Show.  It was heavily promoted and looked enticing, so I went with a friend.  We didn’t stay for the Ace of Cakes Show because the food exhibit area was way too small.  We had reservations to see Duff and the rest of the gang at the 4:30 show, but left before it started.  The picture is from a peak at the 2:30 show.

We had arrived at 1:30 to first experience the Cake Making Competition and Food Exhibits, but there wasn’t enough to see to fill the time.  Overall we weren’t impressed.  It seemed more like a glorified swap meet or Costco’s on a Saturday, plus a fair number of vendors weren’t fabulous or even set up.  And we saw way too many Salsa booths.  

All didn’t seem worth the $25.00 entry fee — And no one even asked for our tickets.  People were just wandering in and out of all the open doors.  The pictures below are of a few items we sampled or purchased, and a couple displays that caught our eyes.  The Cake Making Competition pictures will be featured in a future post, since it was the best part of the event.

Related Links:

http://www.celebrityfoodshow.com/

http://www.thesmokestackco.com/index.shtml

http://www.chipotletx.com/

http://www.lacookiestogo.com/Lisa_Anns_Cookies_to_go/Home.html

http://www.ineedtext.com/FoodBlog/?p=735

http://www.foodnetwork.com/

It’s a new cool convenience to fresh Herbs if you don’t have them on hand.  They’re pretty good and especially great for Soups and Stews.  I’ve seen them in Basil too at Trader Joe’s, but the manufacturer sells a larger variety.  Both links are below.

Related Links:

http://www.dorot.co.il/eng/

http://www.traderjoes.com/

I have been one of your biggest cheerleaders for years, but some of your recent decisions have been disappointing.  It started with the cutback of Tortillas.  Having received 3 Tortillas with a Chicken Combo Meal since EPL’s opening in California, the downgrade to 2 Tortillas was quite obvious and lame.  At first I thought it was a mistake, but then learned what’s up after a few visits.  Not good.

Then one day, NO more Chipotle Dressing for the Salads.  Why?  It was tasty.  I was eating Salads at EPL all the time.  Dressing can mean everything to a Salad.  That crazy decision was hard to get over.

And now NO more Chipotle Salsa — Another bad move.  It was your best Salsa.  I tried its new replacement Salsa (top left in above picture) and it’s okay.  It has a good spice, but it’s a little too thin.  The Chipotle Salsa went better with the Chicken and Tortillas.  The thinner Salsa tends to make the Tortillas soggy.  Bring back the Chipotle Salsa!

El Pollo Loco you have been my favorite fast food joint for many years, but you’re acting crazy.  You’re changing things that worked well for many.  Can you explain your corporate position here, or better yet, change these things back?  I’ll like you more.

BTW, your Crunchy Taco is pretty good — I hope its time isn’t limited, but I somehow suspect it will be.  But PLEASE don’t take away the Chicken.  It’s excellent.  I keep trying to recreate its flavor, but haven’t so far.  All the copycat recipes I’ve tried miss the mark.

Related Links:

Tell EPL you want 3 Tortillas, plus the Chipotle Dressing and Chipotle Salsa back – http://www.elpolloloco.com/

Pictured respectively below are the Crunchy Taco, the Value Menu Nachos, and a Small Garden Salad with the Creamy Cilantro Dressing, the runner up to the Chipotle Dressing.

Hello.  Welcome to Nibbles of Tidbits, a Food Blog.  I’m Shelly Borrell and its publisher.  We report about and photograph all things FOOD related — Cooking, dining out, recipes, competitions, events, products and a whole lot more.  We review and feature many Southern California restaurants and other fabulous food finds discovered through travel and eating on Earth. 

Nibbles of Tidbits is a place to read about the terrific dishes we’ve made, as well as “dishes gone wrong.”  If you’ve been cooking for a fair amount of time, you know that many dishes turn out great and some just become that (hopefully funny now) day of enlightenment.  

Nibs of Tids for short (probably only once – HA) is a blog about the GOOD, the BAD & the FUNNY regarding FOOD — From Yikes to Ooo La La.  We emphasize food experimentation, comparison, various cooking techniques, uncommon ingredients, easy meals, helpful tools, shortcuts, cool ideas and fun stuff.  

When not dining out, our goal is to prepare unique and flavorful, high-quality meals on a daily basis.  Why not?  We report the results of our testing and tastings, good and bad.  We’re a ‘Tavern on the Web’ to take away yummy inspiration or learn what not to do next time.  Thanks for visiting and do check back often.  Ciao.

BONUS INFO:  If seeking information regarding Freelance Writing Services, please visit our main site — I Need Text Company, www.ineedtext.com.  And if you’d like to read more, I currently write as the Orange County Food Examiner on Examiner.com.  I’ve been a cookin’ fool for years and lucky enough to win a few recipe/food contests.  To learn more about that, click here and to view additional (non-food related) writing samples, this is the link for you. 

All the Best, Shelly Borrell

P.S.  We love reading about interesting TIDBITS, so leave us a comment to NIBBLE on while you’re here.