The Orange County Register will launch a redesigned website Monday morning, and the makeover includes some tweaks to our blogs — including mine.

We’ve been testing the new system for a few weeks, and I hope you like it.  It’s supposed to be easier to navigate and faster. Unfortunately, my original blog banner (shown above) goes away with the redesign.

I will miss it. Thank you Lisa Mertins (former OCR illustrator) for designing such a fun cartoon rendering for the Fast Food Maven, which debuted in August 2007. My plan is to save the “crown of fries” mug shot for future use.

Anyway, I just thought I’d give you guys a warning because all of our OCR blogs will change come Monday and I didn’t want anyone to be confused by the new look.

- Nancy aka Fast Food Maven

Post from: Fast Food Maven

Cancun replaced Contodo Mexican Grill in Orange, and is more than just a juice joint. In fact, jugos and agua frescas are just a small part of the fresh-Mex menu.  The restaurant serves tortas, salads, nachos, tacos, burritos, breakfast plates and sandwiches.

During our lunch, I found the service friendly, the place clean and the food surprisingly plentiful for the price.  Still, I made a bad move by ordering the $5.55 Mexicana — a torta stuffed with carne asada and chorizo. I love chorizo, but it was a bit too greasy and overpowering. I really couldn’t taste the carne asada at all.

Next time, I’ll try the regular carne asada torta.

And, yes, that means I will go back because I’d like to try a few more things on the menu, including the turkey torta. I also enjoyed the fresh fruit salad Christian ordered.  It was packed with freshly sliced bananas, strawberries and papaya and topped with granola and raisins.

It’s nice to see a new business here, and I wish Cancun all the best.But, I have to agree with Dan, who said after his meal: “I miss Contodo.”

Cancun operates eateries in Anaheim (2) and Santa Ana.

Freebie alert: Cancun Juice, 970 N. Tustin St., is giving away free taquitos (3) on Saturday (11/7) from noon to 4 p.m.  The restaurant is in the same shopping center as Albertsons.

More restaurant openings:

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• The Subway-Seattle’s Coffee experiment apparently went well.  Starbucks,  which owns Seattle’s Coffee, said Friday that it has struck a deal with the nation’s biggest sandwich chain to start serving the coffee in all Subways. By the end of the year, more than 9,000 Subway restaurants in the U.S. will offer Seattle’s Best Coffee, the chain said. The move comes a year after Starbucks said it would test serving the Seattle brand in 1,900 Subways.
• Blackmarket Bakery in Irvine is hosting its annual fall open house from 2-5 pm  Saturday (11/7). That means free samples from chef Rachel’s kitchen! Address: 17941 Sky Park Circle # E
  Irvine.
• Arby’s is hoping to boost sales with a revamped $1 menu. Executives for the chain, which merged last year with Wendy’s, said “they’ll make a newly developed $1 menu more widely available in hopes of improving performance at the chain.” (AP)
• Starbucks’ confusing rewards card system is expected to improve Dec. 26. The current two card programs, Starbucks Card Rewards and Starbucks Gold,  will merge after Christmas with no annual fee.  The consolidated programs will offer benefits including: a free birthday beverage when card is initially registered; perks such as free brewed refills after using the card five times; and a free tall drink with purchase of one pound of whole bean coffee. Rewards are based on the number of visits to the cafe.  So, the more you visit and use the card, the more rewards you get. (Read more: Reuters)


Roy Choi

• Villa Park graduate and Kogi BBQ executive chef Roy Choi is featured  in Chow.com this week, which documents the food industry’s top “new influencers” in world. Wow, pretty cool honor for this Orange County native. (Eater LA via Chow)
• Outback steakhouses are offering veterans and active duty military a free Bloomin’ Onion and beverage of choice (one non-alcoholic drink or one draft Anheuser Busch) on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Applebee’s, McCormick and & Schmick’s are also offering military deals. Read more at USA Today.
• Jamba Juice announced plans Friday to develop a line of trail mixes with Johnvince Foods that will be sold in smoothie shops and other retail outlets. The healthy trail mixes will debut in early 2010.

Post from: Fast Food Maven

About this time last year, when the economy first started to circle the bowl, my wife and I were entertaining her brother Ed and his wife at a very la-de-da San Diego restaurant. Ed is a high-rolling lawyer with a taste for pricey grape juice, and we had chosen this place partly because of its Rolls Royce of a wine list.

We arrived on a Saturday night at 8, prime time for such places, ­ but it was practically deserted. Looking over the wine list, my brother-in-law mulled the Merry Edwards Olivet Lane Pinot Noir — world class, our sommelier assured us, but pricey at $120 a bottle.

The sommelier saw us hesitate. “How does half price sound?” he asked. “Sold!” said the high-priced lawyer, slamming his menu shut in glee.

Thus we discovered one of the upsides of the Great Recession: you can haggle!

A colleague of ours was in a Pasadena restaurant the same night we struck our San Diego bargain and had a similar experience. She asked for a fancy Rhone red. This place had run out of it, but they didn’t want to lose a wine sale. They sold her a more expensive Rhone for the same price.

I’ve noticed other signs of tough times. Take Charlie Palmer at South Coast Plaza. Last year, their corkage fee (the price they charge to open wine that you bring in) was a hefty $30 per bottle. “The corkage fee is not designed to be a penalty for the diner and should not be viewed that way,” according to Wisegeek, my favorite source for offbeat information.

Now Charlie Palmer’s servers will open your wine for free. The same is true at another classy place nearby, Pinot Provence.

Let’s send a message to the restaurant industry:

- Don’t tolerate that 200-300% markup on the wine list. Haggle with them! Many places are desperate enough to strike a deal, especially on high-end wine that just isn’t moving.

- If you want to save money by bringing your own vino to the diner, call ahead and ask them about the corkage fee. If it seems steep, remind them that some of O.C.’s most expensive places don’t charge anymore to open a bottle of your own stuff.

Sorry, restaurant owners, but the days of gouging over wine are over.

Got your own stories or tips about ordering wine at restaurants? Let us know!

Contest: How many bottles are stored in the wine cellar at Charlie Palmer?

The first person to email Paul with the right answer (or come close) will get our last new set of sleek Coke bottles. (NOTE: Don’t even try to call Charlie for the answer. The restaurant has been told not to tell.)

Other Booze on a Budget stories:

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The Skyscraper

Tommy Pastrami, which has seven locations in Orange County, has a “towering” meal deal for two:  The Skyscraper.

The sandwich reminds me of the gargantuan pastrami sandwiches we ate at Carnegie Deli in New York.  The sandwich was so big, we were full after only a few bites. We ended up giving the leftovers to the homeless.

The Carnegie sandwich will run visitors $22 ($25  if you want to split it with a friend.)

The Skyscraper, by comparison, is a bargain.

For $12.95, you get a gigantic pastrami sandwich on a double baked Rye or French Roll, two 24 oz. fountain drinks and two pickles.  (Normally, this combo meal would cost $16.50). No splitting fee.

“Keep in mind that the 12 towering ounces of meat in the Skyscraper special is built for two people and is truly a great offer,” the Santa Ana-based deli chain said.

Also, you can select two meats (pastrami, corned beef, roast beef, brisket, turkey) of your choice or double up one meat.  The deal is valid through Dec. 15. at all participating Tommy Pastrami New York Delicatessen units.  (Locations)

Also new on the menu: The Sloppy T  — a flat bread sandwich stuffed with hot pastrami or corned beef .  ($3.50 for one, or two for $6.)

Tell us: Is the Skyscraper a great deal or too much food for two people?

Related stories:

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Chain Leader restaurant writer David Farkus reports on the survey, conducted by one of the firm’s restaurant analysts. Besides Starbucks and Chipotle, other chains that made the Top 10 Teen Favorite list include Olive Garden, Chili’s, McDonald’s, Cheesecake Factory and Irvine-based Taco Bell. (Note: 16 was average age of those in survey; see full results.)

While some of these choices make sense, I have to question the sanity of our youth.

Why would any teen enjoy a meal at an Olive Garden? Most restaurants are decorated like they’re stuck in the 1980s. I just don’t see iPod-clutching teenagers flocking to this Italian chain after a Friday night football game.

Sheryll Alexander, a freelance writer from Costa Mesa, gave me some insight. She said her daughter, Katya Zangeneh, 17, is  smitten with Olive Garden for three key reasons: endless servings of breadsticks,  soup and salad.

I can buy that.

“My teen just got home from school and quickly left for Souplantation. She also LOVES Olive Garden,” Sheryll said Wednesday afternoon.

In a text message, Katya — who attends Newport Harbor High School — said her other fave places to eat include Jan’s Health Bar in Huntington Beach, Tummy Stuffer in Costa Mesa and Pizza Bakery in Newport Beach.

Another survey surprise  — no frozen yogurt chains made the list. I wonder if there are just too many brands now, making it difficult for anyone to pick a standout?  By the way, a few froyo chains in O.C. have gone belly up. Is the froyo craze finally fading? (See my updated froyo map, or read my O.C. closure list for the latest details.)

Tell us: Does your teen agree with this list? Write in and let us know.

Related stories:

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Take a look at the grand opening scene:

Video by Jonathan Khamis, OCRegister.com

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