Sage Room Agoura Osteria Bar & Grill at Lindero Country Club Opened November 12th

Sage Room Osteria Bar & Grill opened its doors at the Lindero Country Club, 5719 Lake Lindero Drive, Agoura Hills on Monday, November 12th. Sage Room offers up "country-style home Italian cooking with a twist, with menu items including pastas, small organic salads, entrees such as pollo saltinbocca (free range chicken breast), pale ale braised pork shank ossobuco, bistecca di manzo (black Angus prime New York steak) and other items. The lunch menu has panini, pastas, salads and more.

This is the second Sage Room location in the area. The original Sage Room Ristorante Italiano has operated at 28915 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu (at the corner of Kanan Dume Road and PCH) since December 1999. Owner Claudio Borin grew up in San Remo, Italy, moved to the United States, and opened his first restaurant in Malibu, "Tradinoi," in 1991.

Visit www.sageroomagoura.com or call 818.735.3530 to learn more.

Five Guys Burgers Opening at The Collection at Riverpark in Oxnard on November 15th

The 3rd Ventura County location of Five Guys is opening on Thursday, November 15th at The Collection at Riverpark, 2730 Portico Way, Oxnard. To get to The Collection at Riverpark, take the 101 west, exit on Oxnard Boulevard and turn right. Turn right again on Town Center Drive into this beautiful new retail center.

Five Guys was founded in 1986 in Arlington, Virginia and is known for grilling burgers made-to-order with freshly ground beef. Five Guys claims there are no freezers in their locations. Nothing is frozen (well, maybe except for their ice cubes).  Five Guys uses only peanut oil and claims their menu is completely trans-fat free.

There are now over 1,000 Five Guys locations across the country, including this Oxnard Location, Thousand Oaks (487 N. Moorpark Road) and Simi Valley (2650 Tapo Canyon Road).

Burgers are made to order and delicious at Five Guys. My only mistake here was not adding cheese!

We've been to the Five Guys in Thousand Oaks a number of times and I can vouch for the deliciousness of their burgers. Very fresh and very beefy. You custom order your burger any way you want with nearly 20 different toppings. My only "beef" so to speak is that I often order veggie burgers. Five Guys does not have a veggie burger, though you can order a "veggie sandwich" that consists of a bun and whatever veggie toppings and cheese you'd like.

Five Guys is also known for massive quantities of fries and I love their help yourself peanuts in a shell (thankfully I have zippo peanut allergies, yeah!). They also have tasty sound hot dogs that I have not yet tried. They keep their menu pretty simple at Five Guys.

Five Guys notes on its website www.fiveguys.com that they do not offer coupons or discounts, which to me is kind of refreshing. Enjoy your burgers!

Lemonade Restaurant in Westlake Village

Today was the Federal Veterans Day holiday as well as the grand opening of Lemonade at The Promenade at Westlake (at the former home of CPK ASAP). I just happened to be in the neighborhood so I was one of the lucky ones to try this brand new restaurant out!

This is the 10th Lemonade location, so they must be doing something right! I stepped inside the completely redesigned restaurant and was impressed by the visually appealing new stainless steel, white, gold and yellow toned theme. I arrived during the noon lunch hour and it quickly was buzzing and bustling. Kind of noisy in fact, but it was kind of fun. They retained the outdoor patio area and many took advantage of it.

I'm a pretty lean guy (and in fact I ran a full marathon yesterday) and I noticed the chairs seemed somewhat narrow, even for my skinny rear. Curious to hear others' observations about that.

Lemonade bills itself as fast-casual cafeteria style cafe serving up a diverse range of fresh, high-quality and innovative foods. Now that I've eaten there and seen what they have to offer, I agree with this description. The food was very fresh tasting and quite interesting. I tried the caprese sandwich and several of their "Marketplace" items, including diced sweet potato with pistachios and a "Char siu" chicken dish with pineapple, cashews and other interesting, healthy ingredients.

Your first visit to Lemonade may be somewhat confusing as they have such a diverse array of choices. It truly is cafeteria style, where you can choose from at least a dozen Marketplace items, all of which looked really good, "Land & Sea" items like salmon, chicken and seared ahi tuna, tossed salads, sandwiches, fresh soups served with grilled rustic grain bread and really tempting array of desserts, including cupcakes (only $1 for a mini cupcake!), brownies/bars, cookies and macaroons.

Basically you order, pay, take a number and they bring your food to you. For some reason that didn't happen with me...I sat there at a table with my iced tea and a number and they called it out for me to retrieve. But 30 minutes later my friend received his chicken sandwich order at his table. That was the only "glitch" of my first experience.

I get a good feeling about this place. I like it. I think you will too. The pricing is not "cheap" but for the quality I think it is fair. To me this is a great place for a group of 4 to share a variety of items, particularly the Marketplace choices.

Visit lemonadela.com for more information or call 805.778.9100 for more information. I noticed the sign on the door indicates their hours are 11 a.m. to 9:05 p.m. The Promenade at Westlake is located at the southeast corner of Thousand Oaks and Westlake Boulevards.

CPK ASAP at The Promenade at Westlake is Closed; "Lemonade" Coming Soon

Update 11/12/12: Lemonade opened TODAY! Pretty neat place that lives up to the description below. More will be posted soon.

Original Post: 6/1/12: A surprised CVG Facebook follower filled me in today that the CPK ASAP at The Promenade at Westlake was closed! I was equally surprised and disappointed because this was a frequent quick-stop place for me and my kids. Sure enough, according to a voice message, CPK closed its doors last Sunday, May 27th.  BUMMER!

Then I found out that another new restaurant is coming to The Promenade sometime soon: Lemonade.

Lemonade offers seasonal, Southern California comfort foods. According to the Lemonade website:

The concept is best described as Seasonal Southern California Comfort Food in a fast-casual cafeteria setting. A comfortable place where locals and visitors enjoy a rotating daily spread of deliciousness: from ruggedly roasted Brussels sprouts to grain salads from around the world to stewed short ribs falling off the bone. Our dishes stress simple preparations with global taste, and are a perfect fit for today’s on-the-go lifestyle and perceptive palate.

Lemonade caters to people looking for a quick lunch or a healthy “grab and go” dinner for the family. The cafés have an emphasis on convenience and affordability, while serving the same fresh, high-quality, and innovative modern cuisine that the brand has become known for.

The food at Lemonade is as creative and diverse as the city’s inhabitants. Our marketplace salads, unique sandwiches, and slow-simmered stews taste as though every culture stirred a bit into the pot. For example, the skirt steak with grilled onions and piquillo peppers with its smoky depth, ping-pongs perfectly with our snappy salad of Chinese long beans, pluot plums, and scallion vinaigrette.

Currently there are Lemonade locations in 6 Los Angeles locations (Downtown, MOCA, Beverly, Venice, Brentwood and USC) and Pasadena, with 3 additional planned openings in Manhattan Beach, Thousand Oaks (Westlake Village) and LAX (Terminal 5).

I checked out one of their menus and it looks pretty reasonably priced, healthful and quite interesting, such as these $5.50 to $6 "Land and Sea" options at the Pasadena Lemonade.

Citrus poached salmon filet

Char Siu chicken lettuce cups

Avocado salmon louie

Seared ahi tuna, crushed orange-ginger ponzu

Curry chicken salad

Buttermilk chicken breast

Tomato, mozzarella and basil stack

Stay tuned...

New "Raw Bar" at Lobby Lounge at Four Seasons Westlake Village on Friday Nights

Lobby Lounge Gets Crackin’ with a New Raw Bar on Friday Nights at Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village. Chefs shuck and serve fresh oysters, shrimp, king crab legs and more on a Pacific-to-platter style menu.

Chefs serve fresh seafood from the center of the Lobby Lounge, where heaping presentations of west and east coast oysters, jumbo white prawns, ceviche and king crab claws chill atop shaved ice. Guests can take a front row seat at the Raw Bar itself to oversee the chefs’ shucking abilities. The Raw Bar menu is also available from any seat in the restaurant.

The Raw Bar menu lets guests pick and choose from a la carte options, such as their choice of a half dozen or dozen oysters such as Kumamoto, Fanny Bay, or Malpeques. A ceviche duo teams a spicy Peruvian pink snapper variation with a halibut and rock shrimp ceviche verde. Jumbo white prawns and Alaskan king crab legs are available by the pound or half-pound. Can’t decide? Choose a combination platter from the “I Want it All” section of the restaurant menu.

The Raw Bar is offered exclusively on Friday nights from 5:30 to 9:30 pm in Westlake Village. The Lobby Lounge dinner menu is available in addition to the Raw Bar selections. Reservations are recommended by calling 818.575.3000.

Will the City of Camarillo be Seeing Its First Vietnamese Restaurant? (Actually 2nd!)

Update 11/8/12: Grand opening of Basil & Mint Vietnamese Pho Restaurant is Saturday, November 10th. Free soft drinks that day! Call 805.482.9993 for more information. Hours are 10:30 am to 9pm.

Update 10/9/12: Looks like we will soon be seeing the Basil & Mint Vietnamese Cafe at 350 North Lantana Street in Camarillo. This sign was seen there today.

Originally posted 7/18/12:

Quick Update: Reader Jason has pointed out that this would not be the "first" Vietnamese restaurant in Camarillo as there is Love Phò N' Mor in the Smart and Final Plaza in Camarillo at 341 Arneil Road. Their phone is 805.484.1881. Good stuff! (NOTE: I've subsequently been to Love Pho N' Mor numerous times and love it!)

Hmm, we shall see. But from the looks of this Public Notice of Application to Sell Alcoholic Beverages at 350 North Lantana Street in Camarillo (same plaza as Cronies, Peking Inn, Bobbies, Jersey Mikes) there appears to be a distinct possibility. I am not aware of any other Vietnamese restaurants in Camarillo proper.

The name on the notice is Basil & Mint Vietnamese Cafe. Already sounds pretty good to me.  Their license to sell on-site beer and wine is pending. Let's hope they are successful and open a new restaurant in this space previously occupied for many, many years by The Crab House, which closed its doors in 2009, followed for a short stint by Chevere.

The Stonehaus Coffeehouse and Wine Tasting Room at the Westlake Village Inn to Open Late Summer

Update 10/31/12: The Stonehaus opened on Thursday, November 1st.

Update 9/24/12: The Stonehaus will be opening "in just a few weeks time"

The beautiful Westlake Village Inn will soon be opening a new Tuscan-style coffeehouse and wine tasting room, The Stonehaus. The 2800 square foot stand-alone location, with a 760 square foot. private tasting room, is nestled within the Inn’s own vineyard and is expected to open sometime in September. In fact, they are currently accepting applications for baristas, wine stewards and other staff at www.westlakevillageinn.com/index.php/employment.

According to a press release from the Inn, The Stonehaus will be a "unique vibrant morning coffee house with the aroma of freshly baked croissants, breads and our privately labeled roasted coffees filling the air. As the morning transitions into late afternoon, the interior takes on a European winery feel that will be complimented with exterior brushed limestone pathways and patios. The warmth of an exterior stone fireplace and wood burning pizza oven will complement the authenticity of the experience. You will be able to sip our private label wine and enjoy the sound of our lime stone patio fountain or sit in the shade of ancient oak tree taking in the backdrop of our waterfall. The grounds will be landscaped with pathways that will meander through the vineyards and play host to weddings or special events."

Sounds pretty nice! For updates, visit www.the-stonehaus.com.

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!