The Mouse Eats Well

Shamelessly lifted from an e-newsletter I get, because as a family of foodies I love that the Mouse offers food beyond corn dogs and cotton candy.


Disneyland® Resort Restaurants Win 15 Southern California Restaurant Writers Awards

Disneyland® Resort restaurants won 15 awards at the 2008-2009 Southern California Restaurant Writers Awards Banquet last month at the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. A highlight for Resort restaurants was the recognition of Alex Flores and Francisco Origel, sous chefs at the perennially popular Napa Rose in Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel® & Spa, as co-winners of the “Sous Chef of the Year.”
Napa Rose and Steakhouse 55 won the highest honors, the Golden Bacchus Wine Award and a Golden Sceptre (Five Star) award in the continental and American categories, respectively. Napa Rose showcases California wine country cuisine with menu options that change seasonally and at Steakhouse 55 guests experience classic and delectable American fare, while enjoying the feel of vintage Hollywood through the restaurant’s retro décor.
The Southern California Restaurant Writers, Inc. has operated for 35 years as a nonprofit seeking to improve the quality of restaurants in the region. Award winners are chosen from Santa Barbara south to the Mexican border. Awards are published for the general knowledge of diners living in or visiting the area.
The 15 awards were distributed among 12 restaurants – seven in Disneyland® Resort hotels, two in Disneyland® Park, two in the Downtown Disney® District and one in Disney’s California Adventure® Park.

Sick and Twisted Goes on Sale

http://www.ieweekly.com/cms/story/detail/ryan_chorbagian_exhibit/2235/

Anaheim Colony's own Ryan Chorbagian has long been a favorite character of mine, a creative soul who can turn on the charm instantly, usually to get out of a jam caused by his creativity. I would love Ryan even if he wasn't the product of the world's coolest parents. But now the chronically underemployed man-ling has found a way to get that creativity to pay off. Ryan has turned his passion for scavenging really cool old stuff into what appears to be highly marketable art. We knew he had it in him, glad to see he has found his voice in the art world. Ry has always had an amazing eye for balance and texture, etc. so I expect to be pulling out my checkbook for some of his pieces at the show, currently running here:
Fill Box at Bunny Gunner, 266 W. Second St., Pomona, (909) 868-2808; www.bunnygunner.com. Open Tues.–Sat., 10AM–7PM. Thru May 2. Free

In other Chorbagian news, Ryan is hosting what Mom PJ has called one "Big-Assed Garage Sale". I'll let her explain it:
THIS FRIDAY & SATURDAY COLONY ARTIST, RYAN CHORBAGIAN IS ACTUALLY GETTING RID OF SOME CRAP. I HAVE GONE THROUGH IT AND ALREADY HAVE MORE THAN I EVER WANTED. ALL SALES ARE FINAL AND WILL HELP WITH HIS RELOCATION TO CHICAGO IN AUGUST. HE IS ACCEPTING VISITORS AT 421 N. PINE STREET FROM 7AM-4PM. SOME THINGS I HAVE SEEN ARE TONS OF CLOTHES, OLD CASEMENT WINDOWS, DISNEY STUFF (SOME UNOPENED), RANDOM TOYS, YARD TOOLS, (VINTAGE HAND TOOLS,) VINTAGE LADIES COATS, MID-CENTURY END TABLES, YADA YADA.COME ON BY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Ryan, we will miss you and your very special way of seeing Anaheim. Good luck in Chicago. Try not to break anything.

Saying Goodbye When We Just Said Hello

This location is Fullerton, but the story is all Anaheim. The corner of Lemon and Orangethorpe has become the site of a memorial to the 3 young people killed by what appears to be a drunk driver. Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was celebrating his new career in Major League Baseball, after flying his parents in to see him pitch 6 scoreless innings in his Season debut. Nick's girlfriend, Courtney Stewart, was driving, and friends Henry Pearson and John Wilhite were passengers. At the corner of Lemon and Orangethorpe, Andrew Gallo, a 22 year old driving on a suspended license for prior drunk driving convictions, hit the car the young people were in, while apparently drunk yet again. 3 of those people are dead, and Wilhite, a ball player at CSUF, has just been taken off the critical list, so hopefully he will make it. 3 young lives taken by the stupidity of one person. This is one of those "screaming at the sky asking God what he is doing" moments. The Angels postponed the game scheduled for the evening the group died, and held a moment of silence during the next game. Note to the press: Could you maybe just call them "the Angels"? I know Arte won the right to call them the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but frankly it is just beyond stupid.

Hobby City at WAND

2 items, entirely unrelated.

The West Anaheim Neighborhood Development Committee (WAND) will hold a meeting at 6:30 pm this Wednesday, to discuss Police and Code Enforcement activity. Special guests are Allan and Yvonne Ansdell, owners of Hobby City, with an update on how they hope to bring back the tourist attraction! The meeting is at the West Anaheim Youth Center, 320 S. Beach Blvd.

Not an Anaheim item, but related to historic preservation, so it caught my attention. The folks in Hawaii hope to put Barack Obama's grandmother's high-rise rental apartment on the National Register, as the birthplace/childhood home of the President. Interesting spin: the National Register folks might actually demand proof that Barack Obama was in fact born in Hawaii, in order to complete that listing. Just saying is all......