Category Archives: Ventura County

by | June 13, 2009 · 10:54 am

It’s All Greek to Me – Ventura Greek Festival 2009

by Brian

I didn’t get to post this last night because I went to see The Hangover.  Sorry, but even bloggers need a night off every now and then.  The other thing I accomplished last night is the topic of this post.  I went with a few of my coworkers to the opening night of the Ventura County Greek Festival.

Ventura County Greek Festival – At the Camarillo Airport (see website for driving directions) June 12, 13 & 14.

Honestly, for a history major, I don’t know a lot about Greek stuff.  I know that Greeks invented democracy and city-states and gyros.  Other than that, I’m pretty ignorant on the whole topic.  Which as most of you know, is extremely painful for me to admit.  And it’s for that reason (and the fact that I got a free ticket) that I chose to take this chance to learn a little more about my greek brothers and sisters.

This festival is going on all day today and tomorrow.  The hours for today are 10:30am to 9pm and tomorrow they’re open from 10:30am ’til 7pm.  Rather than giving you a review on the event and then making you wait an entire year to actually attend, (strawberry festival/cajun festival) I’ve decided to give you a few highlights and hopefully encourage you to check it out this weekend.

The Ventura Greek Festival is held at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Camarillo.  The price of admission is $4 but if you bring the coupon from their website, it says that you’ll get $2 off the price of your ticket.  Either way, it’s a dirt cheap price to pay for a festival.  As usual for these events, kids get in for free.  In this case that includes all non-teenagers (12 & under).

dancing

Continue reading →

7 Comments

Filed under Camarillo, Ventura County

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | June 11, 2009 · 3:58 pm

Mr. Lee’s Chinese Food

by Mikey

This is a classic EatmeCalifornia drive by. Nobody told me to visit Mr. Lee’s and nobody said they had great food.  It was a ninja ambush of the highest degree. Would Mr. Lee be ready for culinary combat?

Mr. Lee’s Chinese Food Ventura – Thompson/Borchard

P6110001

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took a picture of the outside of Mr. Lee’s and it was definitely not my best work.  I decided to take another one after lunch because I was pretty hungry.  Mr. Lee’s is fairly small and only has one dining room.  I’d say, at the most, 50 people could be comfortable.  After that, it would get to be more like a clown car.  The inside is pretty beat up, the ceiling is stained, the walls are a bit dirty, and there are a lot of patches and covering.

I experienced an EatmeCalifornia first at Mr. Lee’s.  My waiter never said a word to me.  I’m not exaggerating; I’m not just saying he mumbled, I’m saying he never spoke one word to me.  They sat me down, brought me water and tea, gave me a menu and then did a ninja vanish.  5 minutes later he re-appeared with notebook in hand, stood by me and waited.  I had said hello at my arrival but now the ninja battle of silence had begun, so I decided not to talk as well. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | June 10, 2009 · 7:29 pm

PJ’s Pub – Home of the Mega Burger

by Brian

I don’t know why, but Mikey seems to have unfairly usurped my title of “man of the people.”  Maybe it’s because I use words like usurp when I write.  Who knows?  In an effort to get my title back, I’ve decided to bring you a post on the only “dive bar” in Thousand Oaks:  PJ’s Pub.

PJ's

PJ’s Pub – At Moorpark Rd and Avenida de los Arboles in the Trader Joe’s shopping center, Thousand Oaks.

Say what you want about PJ’s.  No, really, say what you want about the place, they don’t give a damn.  This is a bar that makes no apologies for what they are: a place to play some pool, get drunk and eat greasy bar food.  In my opinion that’s what makes them unique to Thousand Oaks.  PJ’s is a little bit of Bakersfield, thrown down in the middle of the Conejo Valley. Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under Thousand Oaks, Ventura County

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | June 8, 2009 · 6:52 pm

Cafe Fiore Has It All

by Brian

I usually leave Ventura reviews for Mikey, since he’s local and all.  But last Friday night I got an opportunity I just couldn’t pass up.  My friend Tiffany happens to be friends with the executive chef at Cafe Fiore and since I was craving a little decadence, I decided to give Fiore the EatMeCalifornia treatment.

Cafe Fiore – On California St. near Main, in Downtown Ventura

What ended up happening was that EatMeCalifornia got the Fiore treatment.  We arrived right on time for our 8 o’clock reservation and were whisked away to a nice little booth in the back of the restaurant.  The place was packed with 20-30 somethings drinking cocktails and having a great time.  I instantly loved the vibe of this place and it didn’t hurt that it was gorgeous too.  The look is rustic, with high ceilings, dark wood and wine racks everywhere.  It reminded me a lot of what the guys over at Cafe Firenze were trying to accomplish, but this smaller, more intimate space carries it off even better than Fabio and his crew have managed. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | June 6, 2009 · 3:51 pm

Busy Bee Café with Gravy and even more Gravy

by Mikey

I thought it might be fun to hit up the Busy Bee Café in Ventura, down in the older part of town, off of Main St.  They have been a staple of the community and a tourist hot spot for a very long time.  Busy Bee is modeled after a 1950’s diner and tries and keep their food similar to that era.  They are all about hamburgers, shakes, pie, and blue plate specials.

Busy Bee Café – Ventura Main St in Old Town Ventura

CIMG0013

This part of Ventura is actually loaded with places to eat, so B and I will be picking them off, one by one.  I chose this one because I had been there a few times many years ago and I remember enjoying the burgers, shakes, and the waitresses in little cheerleader outfits awesome jukebox. Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under Ventura, Ventura County

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | June 5, 2009 · 6:36 pm

We Love BJ’s

by Brian

Mikey and I spent last night at a cigar tasting event.  The cigars were pretty good, I think.  But then again, I don’t really know anything about cigars, so they could have been horrible and I wouldn’t have known it.  The place that had the tasting was the little cigar shop on Agoura road, next to Bad Ass Coffee, in Westlake Village.  The owner does these tastings every couple of months and there was a pretty decent turn out.  We just sat around, smoked a free cigar, watched the Lakers beat the tar out of Orlando, and had a wee dram of good Kentucky bourbon.  All in all, it was a very nice evening.

After the event, Mikey and I were starving.  Because it was pretty late, our options were sort of limited.  We ended up at BJ’s on T.O. Boulevard and although I usually don’t review chain restaurants, I just couldn’t resist doing a post on BJ’s.

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse – Near the intersection of Westlake Blvd and T.O. Blvd, Thousand Oaks

I really like this place.  It’s too bad that I hardly ever get to go back to restaurants because we’ve got so many awesome places to review thanks to you guys.

BJ’s is very similar in feel to Rock Bottom in San Diego.  It’s a fun place to watch the game, hang out with friends, or grab after work drinks.  I’m betting that most of you guys have been there already so I won’t waste too much time talking about the restaurant.  Instead, I’ll just give you a few of my favorites. Continue reading →

9 Comments

Filed under Thousand Oaks, Ventura County

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

by | June 1, 2009 · 10:09 pm

Eat This Donut Now! Eat It!

by Brian

This post is going to be short and sweet.  There is a donut that is king of all donuts.  All other donuts bow down to this donut and pay homage.  This donut lives in an unsuspecting little donut shop in Thousand Oaks.  It is a magical land of donut-tty goodness.

Fresh Donuts – In the Trader Joe’s shopping center at the corner of Arboles and Moorpark Rd.

This place is not glamorous, it’s just a little shop on the corner next to PJ’s pub.  And that is fine by me.  I wasn’t even going to share this place with the general public, but the more I thought about it, the more apparent it became that I would be doing the world a disservice by keeping it to myself.

The donut that I always buy is the chocolate old fashioned.  This picture does not do it justice. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Filed under Thousand Oaks, Ventura County

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,