Costa Mesa

Blunt Talk

Cafecito Organico Now Offering Monthly Coffee Classes

A few weeks ago, we suggested a few workshops where you can learn all about coffee -- roasting, brewing, tasting and so on -- and now we have yet one more class to add: This week, Cafecito Organico will host one-hour tasting classes focused specifically on comparing and contrasting several different ... More >>

Matthew See: 'Spice' Marijuana Causes Man to Flip Out, Attack Elderly Couple

With the wide availability of medical marijuana in Southern California, we have wondered aloud what the appeal of synthetic, "Spice" pot was. Perhaps it's that it seems to make you completely, utterly insane. The DEA had already essentially outlawed what was once an over-the-counter drug. Cops in ... More >>

Mitsuwa Torrance Hosts Four-Day Special Japanese Food Fair

This weekend Mitsuwa Market locations in Torrance and Costa Mesa are hosting the chain's 7th annual "Umaimono Gourmet" food fair, which flys in specialist chefs to feature specific dishes you probably won't find in the U.S. another time of the year. It's sort of like the "Comic-Con" for Japanese cui ... More >>

Kurt Vile, Santigold, Rusko

Also, Star & Dagger, Charli XCX, Church of Misery and others

The Growlers Have a Shot at the Big Time, but It Makes Them Feel a Bit Uneasy

Also, Star & Dagger, Charli XCX, Church of Misery and others

Top 5 Spirits for Beer Geeks: Belgian-Style Rum, Hoparitas and Moonshine IPA

The relationship between beer and spirits is closer than you think -- and not just for the growing beer cocktail trend or the "pint and a shot" special at your local dive. Mainly, the two crafts thrive on the same fermentation science with spirits beginning life as a fermented-sugar liquid similar ... More >>

Yamadaya Word Cloud: Pig, Pig, Noodle Opening in Sherman Oaks

If this does not make you hungry, well, then there's not much we can do for you. The ramen -- they also have rice bowls and gyoza and tsukemen -- at Yamadaya is of the kind that won't leave you needing more food for some time. It is a study in pork more than noodles, although the noodles are excelle ... More >>

Waiter-Free Dining? Umami Expands to the Grove and Westwood With "U-Mini"

Adam Fleischman is a busy man with seven Umami locations throughout California, the launch of Umamicatessen downtown and recent announcements of the chain's expansion to Westwood (this summer) and the Grove. With the restaurateur's roots already established in Westwood Village, 800 Degrees opened ... More >>

Orange County Restaurant Week Begins Sunday

OC Weekly/Kevin Laramilk and cereal at Chapter One in Santa Ana​Calling all Angelenos who need an excuse to trek down to Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, Irvine, Costa Mesa, and other Orange County locales: Orange County Restaurant Week begins this weekend, running from Sunday Feb. 26 to Saturday Mar. ... More >>

Marijuana Crackdown in Southern California as Feds Move to Take Assets of Four Dispensaries

Bad times for pot shops in Southern California. Dispensary operators in Long Beach were recently convicted for ... selling weed. L.A. City Hall's move to ban them outright is gaining momentum. And today the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that it's going to take everything that belongs to targeted ... More >>

Barbara T. Smith: How Divorce Causes Performance Art

Bad times for pot shops in Southern California. Dispensary operators in Long Beach were recently convicted for ... selling weed. L.A. City Hall's move to ban them outright is gaining momentum. And today the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that it's going to take everything that belongs to targeted ... More >>

Short Attention Span Dinner Theater: Your Week in Food, 4/18-4/22

Flickr/Lauren Manning​ In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "As Sotto, the new Italian restaurant from Steve Samson and Zack Pollack, who ran David Meyer's Pizza Ortica at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, somebody sprung to fix up the basement, because it is ... More >>

Jonathan Gold Reviews Sotto

Flickr/Lauren Manning​ In which we highlight the past week in food, either at home or abroad. "As Sotto, the new Italian restaurant from Steve Samson and Zack Pollack, who ran David Meyer's Pizza Ortica at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, somebody sprung to fix up the basement, because it is ... More >>

First Bite: Sotto, or The Happiness of Abattoir Jocks

F. FriesemaJonagold apples​ When it housed Test Kitchen, the dim, low-ceilinged restaurant space below the old Orlando-Orsini had a kind of cheerful rec-room vibe, like a pop-up jazz club where the artists just happen to wield knives instead of saxophones. As Sotto, the new Italian restaurant ... More >>

Costa Mesa Company Fights Horse Cancer With Grass-Scented Horse Sunscreen

Lewis Circle​Don't let your horse's thick, gleaming beast coat fool you: Dude can still get skin cancer. Freaky, right? One would think, with all those teeny hairs and years of evolution from prehistoric odd-toed ungulates and general indestructibleness, such would not be the case for a horse. ... More >>

Marijuana: SoCal Man Who Told Cops Someone Stole His Weed Can Keep His Dope

This is legal, maybe.​Oops. We had a little too much fun with the story when we learned that an Orange County man reported earlier this month that someone had burgled his bud -- 25 pounds worth. Really? Just tell 'em nothing was taken was our advice. As it happens, Newport Beach police tell t ... More >>

Best Relishes: Viola's Gourmet Goodies, The Vintage Hollywood Party Staple

J.GarbeeViola's Relishes, Vintage Furniture Not Included​There's nothing that says "Hollywood cocktail party" quite like mango chutney and corn relish. Or at least in the 1930s and 40s, an era when pillows of cream cheese were piled on top of just about every appetizer, and cocktail hour wasn' ... More >>

Tonight: White Arrows, Fol Chen, Devin Sarno

​"Current residency holder White Arrows is a fine proposition taken all on its own. With ties to local indie-psych legends Dios (Malos), the band specializes in a sometimes blues-informed brand of out-there pop, but this sextet is its own beast, swirling bits of electronic dance and clean Stro ... More >>

SPIN & TONIC

​"Current residency holder White Arrows is a fine proposition taken all on its own. With ties to local indie-psych legends Dios (Malos), the band specializes in a sometimes blues-informed brand of out-there pop, but this sextet is its own beast, swirling bits of electronic dance and clean Stro ... More >>

Head Of Double Homicide Victim Found In Long Beach Park

Suspect Wozniak.​The head of a young Orange County man who was allegedly killed by a stage actor was found this weekend in a Long Beach park, police said. We told you Friday about the deaths of 26-year-old Samuel Eliezer Herr, whose body was dismembered, and his friend, 23-year-old Irvine resi ... More >>

Mitsuwa Torrance Umaimono Food Fair

Flickr user cgfanQueuing for takoyaki at last year's Umaimono​ Every spring, the mythical Hakata Ippudo noodle emerges from its pot in Northern Kyushu, Japan and migrates west, to the great delight of Stateside ramen devotees who don't happen to live in New York City, Ippudo's sole U.S. kitche ... More >>

O.C. Pot Shops Facing Closure Appeal Case To Federal 9th Circuit Court

​A quartet of Orange County pot shops have appealed their case, which seeks to avoid closure at the hands of the cities of Costa Mesa and Lake Forest, to the federal 9th Circuit court, the Daily Pilot reports. The appeal comes after a U.S. judge denied the plaintiffs' case earlier this month, ... More >>

Cities May Close Down Pot Shops, SoCal Federal Judge Rules

​A bid by four medical marijuana patients to prevent a pair of Orange County cities from closing down medical pot shops was denied by a federal judge in Santa Ana Monday, according to the Orange County Register. The foursome had argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act protected their ... More >>

Brick's Picks: That's How It Grows

​A bid by four medical marijuana patients to prevent a pair of Orange County cities from closing down medical pot shops was denied by a federal judge in Santa Ana Monday, according to the Orange County Register. The foursome had argued that the Americans with Disabilities Act protected their ... More >>

The Thursday Edition: A Roundup of Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections mid-week. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is free ... More >>

The Wednesday Edition: A Roundup of Today's Newspaper Food Stories

SapphireBlue22stack of newspapers​What's the country reading today food-wise? Here's a roundup of some of the food-related stories from other newspapers, many of which print their food sections on Wednesday. And remember, even if you don't actually buy papers these days (or not; this paper is ... More >>

What's New in the 714: OC Openings, Anniversaries, Disney Food Fest and a Hot-Dog-On-a-Stick Digression -- Should Guys Really Wear the Sexy, Multicolored Uniforms? And Does Hot Dog Batter Work as A Facial Mask?

Matador snap Anyone who's done serious eating in and around Orange County's South Coast Plaza knows that the well-heeled mall's food offerings go way beyond your basic Hot Dog on a Stick. (PS: Anyone who thinks that only the ladies can wear the iconic rainbow-brite outfits, check out Frank Furter ... More >>

Imperfect Wagnerites

The Ring wrongly rung

Sphere of Action

The Ring wrongly rung

No Greater Attainment

The Ring wrongly rung

Man of Many Parts

The Ring wrongly rung

An Annual Alphabet

The Ring wrongly rung

An Annual Alphabet

The Ring wrongly rung

Bell, Book and Casket

Curiosity shopping for the adventurous

Dark Elegies

Similar voices: Uitti, Griffiths

The Lemons of Orange

Similar voices: Uitti, Griffiths

Connecting the Dots

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

The Prose and the Passion

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

Gilding the Pumpkin

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

The Grim Weeper

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

Not With a Whimper, but a Bang

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

All-American

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

Witchcraft

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

Island of Bliss

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

Manon First, One Out

The long tentacles of the get-Arnold campaign

A Choir of Angels

L.A.'s classical music scene

The Product, Triumphant

L.A.'s classical music scene

Dream Boat

L.A.'s classical music scene

Three for the Road

L.A.'s classical music scene