Mandarin Bistro to Open in Newbury Park at the Old Pick Up Stix Location

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9/12/11 Update: Mandarin Bistro will be open for business on Monday, September 19th.

Cool menu - get to see what you're ordering! :>

Original post 7/11/11: Thanks to a tip from fellow Facebooker Kimberly G, I've discovered that what used to be Pick Up Stix at 501 S. Reino Road in Newbury Park will soon be Mandarin Bistro. I have no additional information at this point but it looks like it will be opening soon.

Hopefully there will be good as I'm always hungry for Chinese food, and I'm always hungry soon after eating Chinese food. But that's another story.

But I digress. I wonder why they call it a bistro. Bistro is a French word that according to Webster's Dictionary means "small, unpretentious restaurant." Well OK, I guess this location is small and pretentious, so that works.

On a separate but kind of related note, CB Richard Ellis is marketing space 501-D in that plaza, 3 doors down, between the cleaners and the Hallmark store. That would be Pure Beauty. They say the 2,540 sq ft space will be available in October 2011 at $2.45 per sq ft, including fixtures, plus $.40 for triple net.

Here's where Mandarin Bistro will be located

Fallen Sign at Wendy Drive and Potrero Road in Newbury Park

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There's a popular trailhead to Sycamore Canyon/Rancho Sierra Vista at the corner of Wendy and Potrero Roads in Newbury Park. This morning you'd only know that by looking down and finding this sign on the ground. No visible clues as to how this happened. Something/somebody knocked it over during the last 24 hours. Kind of a bummer to see.

For more local hiking and trails in the Conejo Valley and surrounding areas, CLICK HERE.

Ruby's Shake Shack at the Malibu Pier "Under Transition"

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UPDATE: Ruby's never made a return. It became the Malibu Farm Cafe.

It had been awhile since I ate at Ruby's Shake Shack on the Malibu Pier and as I walked down the pier toward the diner today it surprised me how uncrowded it was. Sure enough, the place was empty. At 5 p.m. on a perfect summer Saturday.

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I asked the clerk across the way at the the Malibu Beach Supply Co. (which by the why has some pretty cool stuff for sale and rents fishing poles for just $5 an hour on weekends and has bait).

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And she said Ruby's has been closed since last September. The Ruby's Diner website indicates "Closed for the Winter Season and under transition. Reopening date is currently unavailable."

Stay tuned...

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New Fredrickson Family Early Childhood Center at Cal Lutheran to be Dedicated on March 25th

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CLU to dedicate Child Development Center
Facility has children’s kitchen, outdoor learning areas

A dedication for the new $2 million Fredrickson Family Early Childhood Center at California Lutheran University will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, March 25.

Children from the center will perform and donors will be honored during the ceremony, which is open to the public. Afterward, people can take self-guided tours.

The 4,738-foot facility provides more than double the space of the renovated house where the center had been located. It has an infant room and laundry, which will enable teachers to care for six babies in addition to the 50 toddlers and preschoolers they can currently serve. The kitchen has a child-sized island that will allow teachers to provide hands-on cooking and baking experiences for the chil

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The Santa Susana Cantina Has Been Closed Now For Over 4 Years

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On a recent trip to the Santa Susana Depot Museum and Model Railroad off of Kuehner Drive in Simi Valley, I came across the vacant Santa Susana Cantina. Living in the Conejo Valley, it is not often that I get out that direction, other than the rare occasion I need to take the 118 Freeway to the San Fernando Valley.

But it is definitely worth a periodic drive to explore this northeastern tip of Ventura County. Corriganville Park is also a worthwhile place to explore over there.

The Santa Susana Cantina closed its doors in October 2006 after 73 years in business. It's great to see history like this on display.

Yet Another New Farmers' Market - This One at Whizin's Mall in Agoura

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A LATE SPRING UPDATE: THANKS TO ANOTHER READER, I'VE BEEN INFORMED THAT THIS FARMERS' MARKET HAS BEEN CLOSED. :<

Thanks goes out to Diane at Diane, Pilates for providing the lead on a brand new Farmers' Market that opened today, Tuesday, December 7th, from 3 pm to 8 pm at the Whizin's Mall Shopping Center in Agoura.

And once again...for several dozen farmers' markets and other fresh produce providers througout Ventura County and surrounding areas CLICK THIS LINK.

Now what is it about the word Pilates. I read it and in my mind it pronounce it "PIE-LATES" but I know good and well that it is actually pronounced "PI-LAW-TEASE" but when I say it that way I can't help but think POTTIES. Is it just me or what? In any cases, Pilates, named after Germany-born Joseph Pilates, has become quite popular. Here are 19 other places to go for Pilates around Ventura County.