Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Ventura Opened on February 28th

Update May 2018: Dickey's Barbecue Pit Ventura has closed its doors after five years in business., joining the closure of Dickey's locations in Westlake Village and Simi Valley. 

---

Burgers, BBQ and Beer are all the rage these days throughout Ventura County it seems. Today in a random stop by the Ventura Dippin Dots store with my kids, I discovered the newest BBQ place in town, Dickey's Barbecue Pit. Dickey's opened on February 28th in the Victoria Plaza.

Travis Dickey opened the first Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Dallas, Texas in 1941. His sons took over in 1967 and expanded throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The company began franchising in 1994 and now they are all over the country.

According to their website, Dickey's serves up beef brisket, pulled pork, ham, polish sausage, turkey breast and chicken, with an extensive array of home-style sides from jalapeno beans to macaroni and cheese. Buttery rolls are served with every meal along with complimentary ice cream and dill pickles. We are known for our mouth-watering BBQ smothered in smoky sauce. Dickey's offers juicy pulled pork, tender ribs and brisket.

STOP THERE! Did I read, FREE ICE CREAM (with dine-in purchase)? And pickles? Sounds like a great place to bring a pregnant woman! But there's more...KIDS EAT FREE every Sunday (kids 12 and under, 1 free kid's meal for each paid adult meal of equal or greater value, dine-in only).

Well I walked over at 4pm and the line was going out the door! They must be doing something right here! Dickey's Barbecue Pit is located at 6100 Telegraph Road, Suite F, Ventura (this was previously Pizza Mizza, which closed in mid-2011). The Dickey's Ventura website is www.dickeys.com/locator/store.php?id=599 and phone is 805.212.4240.

Fit 2b Thai Restaurant in Thousand Oaks Recently Closed Its Doors

Many years ago I used to enjoy Olga's Kitchen, located at 593 N. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks, between Baja Fresh and El Pollo Loco. To my disappointment, Olga's closed, and subsquently Fit 2b Thai restaurant opened in its place.

My wife and kids enjoyed Fit 2b Thai. The food was ok to me but I just could never get over the use of the number 2 and b in place of "To Be" in the name of the place. Something unsettling about it to someone as obsessive over words as me (not that I'm God's gift to spelling or anything).

To be honest though, I'm a fan of pretty much any Thai food. So Fit 2b Thai was all right in my book.

But I digress. All this is a moot point now, because Fit 2b Thai closed its doors sometime apparently in the last part of December 2012 or very early 2013 time frame. Yes, the space is for lease again.

Olga's, are you reading this? There are no Olga's outside of Michigan and Illinois at the moment. Come back out here!

Farewell to Newbury Park and Agoura Hills Golden Spoon Locations

Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt has operated stores in five locations in recent years, including two in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Newbury Park and Agoura Hills, giving it significant presence among the 80 or so frozen yogurt, ice cream, gelato and other frozen treat establishments in Ventura County. With disappointment however we note that the Agoura Hills location on Kanan Road closed on January 1st and the Newbury Park location on Wendy Drive closed today, January 15th. Visit www.goldenspoon.com/golden-spoon-stores for other Golden Spoon locations.

Speaking of frozen yogurt in Newbury Park, Swirl Frozen Yogurt Bar at The Village at Dos Vientos Ranch is anticipated to open sometime soon.

Farewell Newbury Park Golden Spoon

Johnny Rockets in Agoura Hills Closed Its Doors on December 3, 2012

The Johnny Rockets (formerly) located at 5015 Cornell Road in Agoura Hills closed its doors on December 3, 2012. This is the second Johnny Rockets in the Conejo Valley to shut down during 2012, following closure of The Oaks Mall location early in the year.

This leaves us with a total of zero Conejo Valley Johnny Rockets. However, there are still two other local Johnny Rockets locations: at The Promenade section of the Camarillo Premium Outlets and the other at The Commons at Calabasas.

One thing to note for Johnny Rockets and movie fans is that both of these locations currently offer a "Movie and a Meal" deal. Buy a regular entree and drink and you can purchase a discounted movie ticket at the Edwards Camarillo Palace Stadium 12 and Edwards Calabasas Stadium 6 near each location. For example, at the Camarillo Johnny Rockets, they will sell you a movie ticket for $7.50, saving $3 off of a regular adult movie ticket of $10.50. At the Calabasas location, they currently sell movie tickets for $7.75, saving you nearly $5 off tickets normally priced up to $12.50.

Fiamme Restaurant in Thousand Oaks Closed Its Doors on December 11, 2012

Fiamme Restaurant, which was located at 3731 E Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks for the last 4 years, closed its doors on December 11, 2012. Fiamme, known for its very good Italian food and entertainment such as "Dueling Pianos" and live comedy, indicated it could not come to agreement with lease terms and has no plans to relocate at this time...but you never know what lies ahead.

Burger King in Thousand Oaks On Deck to Become Another McDonald's

Update 12/15/12: Hey look! The new McDonalds at the old Burger King location at Oakbrook Plaza in Thousand Oaks next to Taco Bell, is now open. Time for a late night junk food fix!

Original Post 6/14/12: Many Thousand Oaks residents are aware that the Burger King at 1908 Avenida de los Arboles has been closed for close to 6 months. There was a sign on the building indicating an application with the City of Thousand Oaks "to allow remodel of a fast food restaurant and deletion of parking spaces."

Aside from the oddness of "deleting of parking spaces" (which to geeks like me makes it sound like the parking spaces will be removed with a backspace key), I had assumed they were planning to just upgrade the existing Burger King.

But...nooooo...tipped off by a CVG Facebook Page follower, I asked the City planner as to the plans for this Burger King. I was informed that indeed, the plans are to convert this Burger King into a McDonald's!!

Time frame of this transition is not known, but we will stay abreast (as in Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips) of the situation.

The next closest Burger King locations are in Agoura on Roadside Drive (cross street Kanan), Simi Valley (2 locations) and Camarillo.

This McDonald's will be located less than 2 1/2 miles from the McDonald's on Moorpark Road at Janss and 5 miles from the location across from the Auto Mall on Thousand Oaks Boulevard.

On a geographically related note, nearby P&L Burgers, also located in Oakbrook Plaza, serves up some of the most delicous onion rings in town IMO. And the veggie burger I had there was quite tasty, something I cannot say about many veggie burger offerings out there. They are just a few doors away at 2000 Avenida de los Arboles. www.pandlburgers.com  P&L is a favorite among local accountants!

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...

Burger Express in Newbury Park Closed Its Doors on Tuesday, October 30th

UPDATE: Burger Express Fresh Mexican Grill is located at 3200 E. Los Angeles Avenue in Simi Valley. www.burgerexpressfreshmex.com

Burger Express at 2140 Newbury Road in Newbury Park closed its doors on Tuesday, October 30th, after serving the local community for nearly 15 years. The owners did indicate on the Burger Express Facebook page that they are looking for a new location in the area, but they can't say where or when at this point. Burger Express served some of the best breakfast burritos in town, according to my sources. Rumor (unconfirmed) has it that we could be seeing BBQ cuisine at this location in the future. We shall see. Hoping for the best for the Burger Express team and to see them elsewhere in town at some point soon.