International Organic Treats Recently Opened at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks

January 2014 Update: International Organic Treats is no more. Their phone number is no longer in service and The Lakes customer service has no information about them. I'm not terribly surprised as I never saw any customers in there. :(

International Organic Treats has been open several months now at The Lakes at Thousand Oaks, in the space previously occupied by Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, next to California Pizza Kitchen. They offer organic coffee and teas, pastries, paninis, crepes, gourmet hot dogs, organic ice cream and more! Contact them at 805.449.0051.

Akio's Sushi Thousand Oaks Has Been Sold and is Now Called Crazy King Kong Sushi

Akio's Sushi, a Thousand Oaks favorite for decades located at Janss Marketplace, was recently sold and is now called Crazy King Kong Sushi. Yes, that's the name.

Their phone number is 805.496.7106. We've known for awhile that Akio Takahashi was in process of selling the restaurant. Best wishes to the new owners!

As of today, 10/18/12, there appears to be some 50% off coupons posted on Crazy King Kong Sushi's Yelp listing at www.yelp.com/biz/crazy-king-kong-sushi-thousand-oaks. Check it out!

Great Harvest Bread Co. - Newbury Park

2/25/19: The owners of Great Harvest have announced they will be closing their doors on Saturday, March 2, 2019.

Great Harvest Bread Co. in Newbury Park is a great place to go for fresh baked, delicious bread in the Conejo Valley.

The bread here is outstanding.  Always fresh.  You get there in the morning and there is a large selection of all sorts of breads, from their signature Honey Whole Wheat to the fancier breads that those, like me, with sweet tooths enjoy...we're talking pumpkin breads, banana breads, chocolate chip breads and the like.   There is a detailed menu of breads prepared daily at www.conejobread.com.

The people here are just incredibly nice and also very supportive of the local community.  I see them serving free bread samples at events all over town.  The owners are Jim and Lupe Costello.  They both left careers at large companies to open this awesome addition to our town.  They are extremely friendly.  Walk in and soon you will be offered fresh bread samples.

Great Harvest is extremely clean and you can see them baking the breads.  Everything is made from scratch.  No preservatives are used.  They even make their own whole wheat flour daily.  The bread stays fresh for up to 7 to 10 days, but you won't have to worry about that because in my household as  the bread is usually devoured within a day or two!

Independent bakeries are a dying breed as the large grocery stores and Costco's of the world have commoditized fresh baked goods.  You may pay a small premium for the moist, warm, mouth-watering breads at Great Harvest but it is well worth it.

Great Harvest also serves up sandwiches during lunchtime hours. I had just a basic chicken salad sandwich on whole grain bread and it was delicious.  Bread really "makes" the sandwich and since the bread here is so good, the entire sandwich is excellent, even down to the last few bites of bread.

Great Harvest Bread Co. is located at 2092-H Newbury Road, Newbury Park (Vons/Longs shopping center to the left of Vons) (805.376.0111) www.conejobread.com

Village Burgers Coming to Thousand Oaks

Update July 2013: Village Burgers has closed. That didn't last long. It is now Golden Dragon Chinese Restaurant.

Update 10/17/12: Conejo Valley foodie Scott B indicates Village Burgers is now open. Their phone is 805.379.8858.

Originally posted 7/19/12: In the space previously occupied by Yozen Frogurt at 2416 E. Thousand Oaks Boulevard, there is a large sign that says "Coming Soon! Village Burgers." Location is just west of Harold's House of Omelettes, which has been a Thousand Oaks fixture since 1961, three years prior to incorporation of Thousand Oaks as a city!

Yes, another burger joint coming to Thousand Oaks, following in the footsteps of Smashburger, Umami Burger, and Red Robin. No word yet on the menu and opening date. But stay tuned....and let us know if you hear anything!

16-Screen Century Theatres to Open at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard on Oct 26

In case you hadn't already noticed, there's a big new shopping center being built on the northeast side of the 101 freeway in Oxnard, between the Oxnard and Vineyard exits, called The Collection at RiverPark.

If you're a Target fan, the center already features a 150,000 sq ft state-of-the-art Target store that opened over a year ago in July 2011. I've been there with the kids and I can honestly say this is the nicest, coolest looking Target store I've ever been to. There's also covered parking, which kind of nice.

Shea Properties continues construction of The Collection at RiverPark and has announced a number of great new additions to our local shopping and dining scene!  Here's what is coming:

Century Theatres will be opening a brand new 16 screen location on Friday, October 26th (just in time for Halloween)! Two of the screens will use their new XD (Extreme Digital) technology that features a larger screen, up to 38' × 70' and improvements in audio and digital projection.

In November 2012, they plan to open Kabuki Japanese Restaurant, Panera Bread, Menchie's Frozen Yogurt, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Color Me Mine (do it yourself pottery painting studio) and Massage Envy Spa.

In the spring of 2013 they anticipate the opening of REI Store, (outdoor gear and clothing), a Whole Foods Market and a Starbucks.

For more information and updates, visit shoppingthecollection.com.

Brendan's Irish Pub to Open Newbury Park Location This Summer

UPDATE 1/2/20: Brendan’s announced today that it has closed its doors.

Brendan's Newbury Park opened on 10/8/12. You will be impressed. Authentic Irish decor, 2 pool tables, 3 dartboards, lots of tables, booths, beverages and good food. The Temple Bar section of Dublin is featured on the wall art below. Hard not to like this place! Visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/brendansnewbury.

Update 8/27/12: No specific date indicated by Brendan's but it seems we're really close to the grand opening.

Originally posted 4/8/12: The popular Brendan's Irish Pub & Restaurant has announced that it will be opening a third location this summer in Newbury Park where Eric's Restaurant currently resides (495 N. Ventu Park Road at the Palm Garden Hotel). The grand opening is anticipated in the latter part of summer 2012 (Brendan's implies July is a realistic time frame in a recent Facebook post).

Wow! I'm impressed at Brendan's growth! Brendan's Newbury Park will be located just 9 miles from the Camarillo location and 9 miles from the Agoura Hills location.

Visit the Brendan's Newbury Park Facebook page at www.facebook.com/brendansnewbury for updates.

Beer continues to be on a growth spurt in Ventura County.

Eric's will continue to be open for dinner and drinks in the meantime! Call the hotel at 805.716.4200 or Eric's directly at 805.716.4100.

Presto Pasta is My Kids' Favorite Pasta Place

Hands down, Presto Pasta is my 4 and 6 year old boys' FAVORITE place to eat.  Literally they ASK to go there.  This may be hard to believe, with McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell and all the other fast food places offering up toys with their meals, but it's true!  And I'm very happy about it! Why?

1. Not just the kids love the food there!  I do too!  I love the simplicity of the menu...pick a pasta, pick a sauce, pick an "add-in" and pick a size.  And we've never gone wrong with the food at Presto Pasta!
2. The quality of the food at Presto Pasta is very consistent.  I usually order tortellini with tomato meat sauce and by golly, it tastes good every single time I eat it!  For another $3 or so I get a combo meal with a salad and drink.  Of course we're not talking fancy here, so don't expect a gourmet fancy meal. But this is the place to come for a quality, budget meal out.
3. The kids usually order rigatoni with butter and parmesan and again, the quality is always solid and they enjoy it.  The combo kids meal costs less than $5 and comes with pasta, bread, drink and a cookie!
4. Presto Pasta is always clean, the staff always smiles and service is quick.  We order, sit down and I attempt to entertain the restless troops, and thankfully within 5 minutes we usually have our food.  Suddenly it gets really quiet at the table (trust me, this is a very rare event)!

I can feed my family a healthy, enjoyable meal from Presto Pasta for only $20 to $25.  Gotta love that!

Angel Hair Pomodoro. Not fancy but hits the spot. Chunks o' garlic abound, so be careful!

Visit the Presto Pasta website at www.prestopasta.com. Ventura County locations are at 1025 Broadbeck Road, Newbury Park (805.498.7737), 5722 Telephone Road, Ventura (805.658.2898) and 1701 Daily Drive, Camarillo (805.445.7737).  Camarillo location also has drive-thru!

Newbury Park Farmers' Market is Not Huge But Gets the Job Done

Update February 2016: The Newbury Park Farmers' Market has closed.

Update 9/27/12: Yes indeedy, the Newbury Park Farmers' Market is now located in the Newbury Park Library parking lot, adjaced to The Alamo.

UPDATE 9/24/12: I've been told that the Newbury Park farmers' market will be relocating to the Newbury Park Library parking lot (Borchard Road and Michael Drive) beginning September 29, 2012

Originally posted 12/7/10: The Newbury Park Farmers' Marketis WAS located at the corner of Teller Road and Hillcrest Drive, in the formerly Loehmann's, but now I shall call PetSmart, plaza. This is a small, no-nonsense FM that has enough selection to make it a worthwhile stop on Saturday mornings between 8 am and 2 pm. You'll find fruits, veggies and usually tamales, pastries/desserts, jewelry, flowers, other foods and miscellaneous stuff, as well as live music. And there ya have it.

For several dozen farmers' markets and other fresh produce providers througout Ventura County and surrounding areas CLICK THIS LINK.