Archive for Dining


Cafe Rio now open in Tustin!

2 Comments By Amanda Wernick on June 2nd, 2010
Tags: ,      Categories: Dining

Last Friday was the Grand Opening of Cafe Rio Mexican Grill in Tustin.

Cafe Rio now open in Tustin

Why am I so excited about this?  Read the reviews for yourself!

I was unable to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony, but was lucky to have one of our own, Aakash “Kash” Master, Seven Gables Agent and Chamber of Commerce member attend! I threw my camera at him as he was walking out the door and asked him to take lots of pictures and give me feedback about the food and the mood of the place. Thankfully he did! :-)

I asked Kash what the atmosphere was like there and the word he used to describe it was “FESTIVE”.

I had to see for myself!

Proud Tustin “Ambassadors”

Take a look at their tasty and extensive menu:

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!
This could serve as my breakfast, lunch AND dinner!

I stopped in later that evening and there was a line out the door, which is as it should be!  People were smiling and it seemed as if everyone was really enjoying not just the ambiance, but the delicious food and each other’s company!

Kash had mentioned that Cafe Rio will be donating a certain percentage of it’s proceeds to local schools and there would be a Student and Teacher of the month voted for at every school!  I will stop in again and confirm or deny (or elaborate on this further) when they are not so busy….hmmm…that may not happen any time soon so now sounds like a good time for me to go there, taste their food, and if I’m lucky, slip in an actual interview!

Community Conscious

Did you attend?  What did you think? Would you go back and most importantly, would you tell a friend?

I’d love to know!

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Orangewood Children’s Home Monthly Contribution – April

0 Comments By Amanda Wernick on April 13th, 2010
Tags: , , , ,      Categories: Communitiy, Dining, Social Media

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Here we are Mid April and plans are underway to collect as many Grooming and Hygiene Care Items as possible!

Here is a list of what is needed:
FULL Size Shampoo & Conditioner
Soap/Body Wash
Toothbrush/Toothpaste
Deodorants
Brushes/Hair Accessories
Feminine Products (Yes…THOSE)
Body Lotion/Face Lotion
Hair Products
Curling and Flat Irons
Hair Dryers
Toilet Paper

Please drop items off at any of our three offices:
Anaheim Hills:
5481 Santa Ana Canyon Road
Anaheim Hills CA

Tustin:
12651 Newport Avenue
Tustin CA 92780

Yorba Linda
18210 Yorba Linda Bl. #404
Yorba Linda CA.

Alos join us the last Wednesday of the month in preparing a delicious Mexican Meal! You can donate your ready made foods, or join us and cook there! We look forward to participating and hope to see you there!

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Orangewood Children’s Foundation…Our First Cooking Session

1 Comment By Amanda Wernick on March 31st, 2010
Tags: , , , , ,      Categories: Communitiy, Dining, Social Media

Today was the first Cooking Session of our year long commitment to Orangewood’s Children’s Foundation.

Emails were sent and arrangements were made with regards to who was bringing what and what time we would meet.

Pam, Lisa, Dee Dee and I met there at 9:30 this morning armed with boxes of food!  We had rolls, pasta, fruit, salad and LOTS of desserts donated by some of our wonderful Seven Gables Agents.

This is Kristy and she is the go-to gal that worked so diligently with Lisa, Pam and I to put this together.

We chopped, and sliced, arranged and moved things around to make sure that there would be plenty of food for any of the youth that showed up today and tomorrow.

This is Jessica who is now a Pre-Mentor, which means she goes to visit with youth in Foster Homes and explains their options and having gone through the system herself, she has great wisdom and compassion for what these young folks are going through.

A HUGE thank you to Orangewood for allowing us to adopt them and give back to our community and Hugs and Thanks to:

Dee Dee Heath for her contribution of rolls and her time.

Laura Till for her contribution of rolls and brownies

Jocelyn Tan for her contribution of cookies.

Barbara Grandolfo for her contribution of cookies.

Diana Kendall for her contribution of lemon bars.

Melida Canfield for her contribution of the most ooey, gooey, chewy mouthwatering brownie cookie bars

Lisa Greubel for her contribution of time, pasta, homemade sauce, and brownies.

Pamela Huitt for her contribution of her time, oranges, apples, pears and lasagna.

And I’ll even throw myself in the mix for bringing a salad and donating time, which is something I LOVE to do!

If you can help out, we will be getting together once a month on the last Wednesday of each month and next month’s menu will be enchiladas!  What can you bring?

Also, please remember that we will be collecting hygiene supplies throughout the month of April for the foundation.  ALL are welcome to contribute!

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Claim Jumper as a Community Builder……

0 Comments By Amanda Wernick on March 23rd, 2010
Categories: Communitiy, Dining, Social Media

I received an invitation via Twitter to attend a Fundraiser at Claim Jumper….I read the link which was an invitation to Claim Jumper for their Community Support Event to raise funds for Leukemia/Lymphoma fight against blood cancers. Debbi Miller (also known as @TheBigDebowski on Twitter) was putting it all together. Here is a little blurb from her Facebook Page:

“Claim Jumper at South Coast Plaza has generously offered to host a Community Support Event wherein 15% of all purchases made on March 18 with a flyer (found below in the “photos” section) will go toward my LLS fundraising.

What’s even more awesome is that it’s good all day — 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. — and includes food, beverage AND happy hour purchases (pre-tax) AND it’s also good on both dine-in and take-out orders!

The only requirement is that you bring the flyer with you and present it when you order. Go any time of the day — lunch, afternoon, happy hour, dinner — with friends, family or co-workers (tweetups?!); great excuse to go out to eat and support a great cause at the same time”.

I was curious. Was this something that Claim Jumper was known for, or was it the first time they had sponsored such an event? I marked my calendar and set out to get some answers!

I met with Brett Lowe, the Manger of the South Coast Claim Jumper Location.

I found him to be warm and deeply committed to Claim Jumper and it’s far reaching community roots. I was totally unaware until Brett told me that Claim Jumper had been actively supporting different Charities and Organizations for the last 20 years!

Me: What Charities or Events is Claim Jumper involved with?

Brett: Craig Nickeloff actually started contributing to the community 20 years ago through the Special Olympics.

Me: How has this grown?

Brett: We’ve gone from holding Community Support Nights for only the Special Olympics to Girl Scouts, Local Baseball Teams, Pet Fund Raisers, and we’re extremely proud of our “Tip-A-Cop” evening.

Me: What’s that?

Brett: Off duty Police Officers work alongside Claim Jumper Servers to raise money for the Special Olympics

Our next “Tip-A-Cop” Event is scheduled for April 8 and is held at EVERY Claim Jumper Location.

Me: How do you advertise?

Brett: We used to use traditional means such a newspaper and radio but it wasn’t cost effective. We are now using a lot of online media such as Twitter and Facebook.

Me: What does someone have to do to hold a Community Support Event?

Brett: You can contact us via one of our Hospitality Partners

We print out the flyers for your event, or you can put the flyer online and have people print their own.

Me: What happens next?

Brett: You spread the word and people show up, present the coupon and 15% of your bill is donated to your cause.

Me: How much time in preparation does one need?

Brett: 3 weeks to a month is usually plenty of time to get the word out.

So there you go! Another Community Builder recommendation for you! Do you have someone that is an active Community Builder? Would you like us to write a blog about them? Please contact me:

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Cooking at the Chaparosa Grill

0 Comments By Amanda Wernick on March 12th, 2010
Categories: Communitiy, Dining, Social Media

You may have already read the blog I posted about Chaparosa Grill and their generous donation to Haiti. I mentioned in my blog that Tony holds monthly cooking demonstrations at both of his locations.
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I have eaten there before and always enjoyed the food so of course I HAD to see for myself what this demonstration was about! I am SO glad I did!

When I arrived, I saw that Tony had set everything up in the patio…heaters were on (which was nice because it was a little chilly out…yes, even for California), and there were two long tables set up with what seemed like regulars.

I promptly told them all that I was going to be posting a blog about Tony and the Chaparosa Grill and asked permission to take pictures throughout the evening and all agreed.

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Dinner started with an appetizer of Spinach and Ricotta Crepes…

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Followed by the main course, Indian Spiced Lamb Shank

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(my Sister in Law Adrienne diving in)

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(me following suit)

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and then dessert, homemade Butterscotch pudding.

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Wine was flowing and so was the coffee.

Tony’s presentation was flawless…he shared the recipes with us and then showed us step by step how to put it all together….he regaled us with stories from his home and a wonderful evening was had by all.

Visit their website and find out about the next cooking demonstration and join them for a wonderful evening off the beaten path!
http://chaparosagrill.com

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