Ventura CA Blog featuring unsolicited opinions and random observations
Freebirds World Burrito at Telephone and Victoria is doing a soft launch today (the official opening isn’t until Wednesday) and the first 250 people to show up between 11-1 and 5-7 today will get to test out the food in exchange for a $5 donation to Food Share. They’re doing it again tomorrow (Tuesday) for Schools on Wheels. Don’t miss out!
Source: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jun/11/the-joys-of-being-a-food-competition-judge/#ixzz1PB7UQEix
June 2011 is shaping up to be a packed month for me and my fellow beer and wine fans. If you think a good bottle of wine or a cold lager is as much a part of a day outdoors as the bright sunshine, then check out some of these great events happening in our own back yard this month:
June 5: 11th Annual Casa Pacifica Food & Wine Festival
June 8 – 12: Surf Brewery’s Grand Opening Week in Ventura
June 10: Australian Wine Dinner at Brooks in Ventura
June 11: Santa Barbara Zoo Brew. We went last year and it was really crowded but still a lot of fun. Eat something beforehand though because food is very limited and lines are long.
June 12: Ojai Wine Festival
June 17 – 18: Second Annual Salute! Finely Crafted Beer and Food Festival in Ojai
June 25: Santa Barbara Wine Festival at the Museum of Natural History
Wow… my liver is going to need all of July to recover! Hope you can make it to at least one or two of these events and support our local purveyors of fine food, beer and wine.
If I missed any events please tell us about them by posting a comment. Thanks!
This may not be news, but I just noticed it yesterday. Scientology, The “church” of Tom Cruise, has an outlet here in Ventura and they’ve put up a new sign that covers the old Bob Hope Insurance sign on Telegraph. I really don’t care what path people choose to take, but I have a real problem with a self-help cult being touted as a religion in order to enjoy tax exempt status. And in my opinion that’s exactly what this “church” does. Even their own website describes their holy book, Dianetics, as the “all-time self help bestseller”. Maybe other self-help gurus like Tony Robbins and Deepak Chopra should take note! They’re probably paying millions in taxes that L. Ron Hubbard never had to pay.
I’m especially offended that they use the Christian cross symbol in their logo. They only do that to make themselves seem more like a true religion for tax purposes, when in fact they preach that Jesus and the entire story around him is fiction (source). To be clear, I’m not offended by someone believing Jesus was fiction. I’m offended by the hypocrisy of teaching that but then using a cross in your logo because the government you’re trying to avoid paying taxes to is largely run by Christians. Shameful.
If you’re truly seeking guidance and direction in this crazy world I empathize with you. But please don’t be so blinded by an easy solution that you end up joining a cult and giving them all your money. That’s not going to make you happier. Read the New Yorker article about Paul Haggis and his tribulations with this “church”. And given their recent antics, do you really think that Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley are pillars of happiness? Are they really the BEST three examples of success this group could come up with?
It appears that the Jersey Mike’s in downtown Ventura has shut its doors for good. Gone way too soon… it barely seemed to be up and running and then it’s gone. I’m starting to wonder if the parking meters may have had something to do with it, but I’m conflicted. I can see both sides:
“Parking meters are evil” side
“Parking meters had nothing to do with it” side
Which side do you lean towards? Does anyone know the real reason why Jersey Mike’s closed? In all likelihood it had nothing to do with the meters, but it isn’t nearly as fun to blame poor management or raised rents. =)
Bring your iPad to lunch if you’re going to be dining in downtown Ventura, because now you can soak up some free WiFi while you dine! The city rolled out its new free “Ventura Downtown WiFi” network this week and I’m pleased to say I’m using it right now to add this blog post and so far it’s working great. Kudos to the city for just opening the network up and not handing the contract over to T-Mobile or one of those other silly pay-per-hour companies. Take note LAX… if Burbank airport and the city of Ventura can do it why can’t you??
When I moved to Ventura in 2006 one of the things I liked most was how the downtown district had a good mix of old and new. Sure you could buy a $25 candle or modern table at Fusion Home, but then you walk outside and see the “Retarded Children’s Thrift Shop” across the street. Yin and Yang – It’s a great mix that’s hard to find in other cities. Well in 5 short years the thrift shop has been renamed, an Urban Outfitters has opened and the times they are a changin’ fast.
Except at Taqueria Vallarta. Step in here and you are transported to what I imagine Ventura must’ve been like 40 years ago. In fact I don’t think the sign out front has been painted since then, which is awesome. The food tastes great and there is no facade that what you’re eating is even remotely healthy. Not like at Chili’s where they put a whole wheat bun on a 2,000 calorie burger and try to convince you you’re eating well. There’s even some gloriously unhealthy choices here for vegetarians – I love their chile relleno burrito and it goes great with chips, salsa and a bottle of Mexican Coke with real sugar. So simple and so good.
The people at Taqueria Vallarta unapologetically cook great tasting food that’s probably not good for you, but if
you can’t exercise moderation well that’s your own fault. The staff here is too busy cranking out food to worry about tricking you into thinking it’s good for you. And it’s enjoyed by day laborers and businesspeople sitting side by side sharing the same big bottle of Tapatio. Perfection.
I’m discovering that there is quite a bit of controversy around Healthy Family Farms of Santa Paula. Not just about the raw milk issue that I totally support them on, but about allegations of fraud. I’ve been singing their praises for over a year now, and I’ve even been to the farm for one of their open house tours. The people there seem so earnest in what they do that I would have a hard time believing that they would just re-package commercial meat and eggs to meet the weekly demand. However a site called www.UnhealthyFamilyFarm.com has popped up and has some compelling photo evidence of fraud. Having been to the farm I actually recognize the areas where those photos were taken and can verify they’re on the farm. They also have a rap sheet on the owner that’s several pages long. I can’t verify that the evidence is real though. Does anyone have any more information about this?
You’ve probably heard a lot about “net neutrality” lately. It’s been in the news because the FCC has regulations that enforce net neutrality, and the Republican-controlled House recently voted to take away the funding so that it cannot be enforced. The net neutrality requirement basically says that all the traffic on the Internet should be treated equally. So basically an email from Barrack Obama will travel at the same speed as my email. It keeps “gatekeepers” from forming, who would seek to regulate the speed of different traffic in order to profit from it.
Who would want to do this? Large telecom providers. They say it’s not fair that they have to bear the burden of all the traffic on their networks without being able to control it. Sounds reasonable, right? Well so did “We’ll be greeted as liberators” and “You can’t tax the job creators” at first.
Telecom companies already profit hugely from the Internet (which was created by the government with public funds by the way). They make billions of dollars by charging for access and for bandwidth. What they want to do is make more money by charging for different “tiers”, so for instance content from a corporate site that can afford to pay a premium will travel faster than content that is from a smaller, less-funded source (like yours truly).
The Internet has become huge because it is the only reliable way to distribute independent content. A band who releases their own album can have their music downloaded just as fast as a band on a major corporate label. A few talented filmmakers can release a movie directly on the Internet and know it will stream just as quickly as a corporate studio film. Can you start to see why corporations don’t like Net Neutrality? It takes away their ability to control distribution and force us to watch the drivel that they decide we should be watching.
That is why we must fight for net neutrality. Without it we will restrict competition and limit options for the public. The Republican House is completely owned by corporate interests and are doing whatever they can to tear down net neutrality. The wildly ironic thing is that they label net neutrality as a “government takeover of the Internet”. The truth is that the government is keeping the Internet as a level playing field while the Republicans are marching forward with a corporate takeover of the Internet. And because of the Citizens United ruling by the conservative court, these telecom companies are able to donate unlimited funds to Republicans to get this passed.
For more information please watch this presentation by Al Franken at SXSW in Austin:
http://blog.alfranken.com/2011/03/15/theuptake-right-wing-telecoms-making-things-up-about-net-neutrality-says-sen-franken/
I love the food. I’ve been twice now and the pizzas are among the best in town, and a pretty good deal too at around $12. My favorite is the one with all the mushrooms and cheese… a masterpiece! I also liked the fruit-infused water. At first I was put off by the price ($3) but after the first drink I stopped complaining. There’s so much fruit in there that it’s practically an appetizer.
So here’s what I don’t like: Eating this great food in the small, white and very sterile restaurant. It’s rather like being in a doctor’s waiting room. The first time I drove to this restaurant was for dinner one night, and the garish light and whiteness spilling out of the front door was so uninviting that my friend and I kept driving. Thankfully I went back that weekend for lunch.
Hopefully they just haven’t decided how to decorate it yet so it’s a work in progress. Their wonderful food deserves to be served in a much more warm and inviting atmosphere! Until then I’ll grab my pizza to go.
Coincidence? Mississippi was just named in a Gallup poll as having more self-identified
conservatives than any other state. If it’s such a conservative mecca, could we maybe look at it as a microcosm of what America would look like if it were as conservative as Mississippi? I think so. It could also become reality as Mississippi governor Haley Barbour is actually considering a run for the White House.
I did a little digging about the great state of Mississippi and was frightened by what I found. Here are some fun facts about how Mississippi ranks among all 50 states (source: statemaster.com):
Way to go, conservatives! I could go on and on but you get the picture. Am I saying that conservative=fat=unhealthy=ignorant? Of course not. I just report… you decide…