The nice thing about living in Southern California is that you are part of several Metropolises (sp) Los Angeles, The OC and San Diego. For food lovers there is no better time than when your local Restaurant Week comes.

Famed Master Bladesmith Bob Kramer will be visiting The OC on November 7. In colloboration with Sur La Table and Shun Knives, Bob Kramer will be at the new Sur La Table at South Coast Plaza to answer your cutlery questions and perform mini knife demonstrations.

Enjoy Halloween a week early at the Great Park with the Great Park Pumpkin Harvest on Saturday, October 24th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Kids under 12 can take home one free pumpkin while supplies last after enjoying a day full of spooky (but not scary!) activities.

It has been one year since I launched FoodieInDisguise.com and I couldn’t be happier! It was a very successful year

The makers of Hungry Jack and Food Network chef Adam Gertler encourage consumers to think outside the box with their pantry staples in the first-ever Hungry Jack Use Up the Box Recipe and Essay Contest.

During a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the first Rumbi Island Grill in California, the first 100 people in line will get a free meal card. There will also be a drawing for a free meal card for a year – proceeds to benefit the Saddleback Valley Educational Foundation.

It’s Back! OC’s Restaurant Week is the OC’s most Delicious food event, September 13th – 19th. More than 100 OC restaurants are ready to dish up amazing food at fantastic prices.

On Wednesday, September 9th, Pei Wei wants you to try their new Japanese Chile Beef Ramen dish. Bring in any store bought packaged ramen, like Top Ramen, and get 50% off your Pei Wei Ramen dish.

There is a new restaurant coming to Mission Viejo! Rumbi Island Grill has taken over the old Mustard’s Cafe space on Alicia Parkway in Mission Viejo.

Rick Bayless, you are a Top Chef Master!! Congratulations on your win and the donation of $100,000 to the Frontera Farmer Foundation.

So Top Chef Las Vegas could bring us a good season. There are some good chefs in the bunch. I’m keeping my eye on Kevin, Michael V, Michael I and Bryan. The bar has been raised and there is alot of money to be won in this season of Top Chef.

Special guests Jamie Lauren and Richard Sweeney from Bravo Television’s Top Chef, as well as incredible food from Los Angeles area restaurants will be on hand for this event for GLAAD…

Melissa’s new show is called $10 Dinners and premieres at 12:30pm this Sunday. Her promise in each episode? Feed four people with infinite possibilities for only $10.

Congratulations to Melissa D’Arabian – she is the Food Network’s Newest Star! A housewife and mother of four girls back in Keller, TX. She is the ultimate home cook with great camera ideas for home cooked meals and tips for every home cook.

The 2009 Celebrity Food Show is coming to the Anaheim Hilton August 8-9. Local and national food vendors, culinary students, celebrity food personalities and more will come together in the name of all things culinary!

In 1934 at the corner of 3rd & Fairfax in L.A., a dozen farmers parked their trucks on Gilmore field to sell fresh produce to local residents. The LA Farmers Market was born…

The OC Restaurant Association announced its second Orange County Restaurant Week to be held September 13-19, 2009.

Celebrating 50 years, Round Table Pizza is offering a medium one-topping pizza for only 50 cents when they purchase a large or extra-large specialty pizza at menu price

They’re finally here! It’s been a little over 2 months since we found out that The OC was going to be host to a new cupcake bakery. Frostings Cupcakes in Lake Forest will open on July 2.

There is a new collaborative food website out here that is featuring some of the best food bloggers – bringing together a star-studded group of contributors to this new concept…

Orange County will be EXTENDING their first ever Restaurant Week until Saturday, March 7 giving the opportunity for OC residents to take advantage of this event…

Orange County will be hosting their first ever Restaurant Week! Starting this Sunday, February 22, over 80 restaurants throughout Orange County will be offering Prix Fixe menus for $20, $30 or $40. Restuarant Week goes thru Saturday, February 28…

Looks like some places are offering free food or discounts if you hit the polls tomorrow. Vendors such as Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Pizza Hut, Ben & Jerry’s and the Daily Grill will be making the offers, hoping to get voters to the polls, but more importantly, into their restaurants…

The Food Network has been airing a new reality TV show these last few weeks. There are no contestants that get voted out of the kitchen or have to cook a gourmet meal in 10 minutes. There are no on-camera tests or judges to test your culinary knowledge…

A food blog is probably one of the last place you’d see a blog posting about voting. The upcoming election has many meausres, propositions beyond the Presidential Election…

If you are a true food adventurer, then you know that sometimes a little hole in the wall can be a find. Today we went to a little place in Santa Ana called Lindo Michoacan. It literally is hole in the wall but has authentic mexican food, all made by hand…

The Seafood Watch organization at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium has been putting out a guide of Endangered Fish species and recommendations for more sustainable seafood choices for the last several years. This year they will expand their guide with a new guide to include sustainable Sushi choices…

Today, I drove us to Quail Hill in Irvine. We decided we were going to the Chinese place next to Lucca’s Cafe and Market, Crystal Jade. During our meals at Lucca’s I always noticed the amount of people walking into Crystal Jade. Now it was our turn…

I love Dim Sum – there is no doubt about it. Tonight I decided I was going to attempt to make Shiu Mai, Pork Dumplings…

Today for lunch I tried another new place. My co-worker was feeling like KFC and in that same shopping center was Haute Links. HL’s slogan is “Sausage That’s Probably Healthier Than You Are”. They serve gourmet sausages that are made here in California. You can even buy fresh sausage that you can take home and cook yourself…

While perusing thru the Irvine Spectrum Directory last week to see where Sur La Table will be opening their newest store, I saw that The Veggie Grill, will be opening a location in the Spectrum…

I drove by the Irvine Spectrum on Saturday and took a couple of pictures of the new Sur La Table. As I posted earlier, the store is scheduled to open on November 14. The windows were still covered over as of this post update…

I was at lunch taking pictures today and was asked by the staff why I was taking photos. I explained that I was a food blogger and documenting my meal. I thought maybe it would be good to have a contact card to hand out. I came up with three designs. Which do you like?

So today for lunch, my boss Arshy and co-worker Hop went to a small Indian Market where they serve food as well. Another co-worker brought in their Canon EOS xTI D350 camera. This is a nice camera…

Carla Hall is one of the most fun, dynamic, people persons I know. Carla and I met when I worked at Sur La Table and she was one of my chefs and instructors. Carla really cares about food from all angles, from history, taste and presentation to how her guests react to her food…