Is the holiday season already weighing down on you? Stop at one of these local venues for a drink with friends to help rekindle some holiday cheer.

Beer and Wine Tasting, 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 12, at Mutt Lynch’s, Newport Beach. Featuring tastings courtesy of Deschutes Brewery and Beringer Winery. Appetizers will also be available.

Pizza & Pinot Wednesdays, 4-8 p.m. every Wednesday, at Palm Terrace Restaurant and Lounge in The Island Hotel, Newport Beach. Four specialty pizzas and choice of six Pinot Noirs.

Champagne Tasting, 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, at Bacchus Secret Cellar, Irvine. Sample Moet and Chandon champagnes to pick the best bubbly to toast to the New Year.

Wine Tastings, 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13, at WineStyles, Irvine. Sample various wines and appetizers.

Singles Night Wine Tasting, 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, at WineStyles, Irvine. Mingle with other singles and taste a flight of seven new wines.

Wine & Jazz, 8-11 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, at CasaVino Wine Bar, Long Beach. Wine tasting and live Jazz music by The Steve Harris Jazz Collective.

This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Ruby’s Diner and to celebrate, Ruby’s is rolling back to the original 1982 menu prices for one day only, Friday, Dec. 7 at the original Ruby’s location at the Balboa Pier in Newport Beach.

Shakes will only be $1.60 (all flavors available); an original Ruby Burger will only be $2.15.

The celebration will also include live music by the Stompy Jones Band and a swing dancing demonstration from 4-7 p.m. The first 100 people to stop by the diner on Dec. 7 will receive a Ruby’s Diner 25th Anniversary commemorative pin.

The specially priced menu will be served from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. and take out will be available from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

- KELLI SKYE

So the local economy is supposedly tanking, companies are downsizing … and yet, life is GOOD when you can spend an afternoon sipping wine and tasting great cheeses of all shapes, textures, flavors and colors.

On Sunday, I checked out the final day of the first annual American Cheesemaker Awards gathering, a literal nirvana for foodies at the Fairmont Hotel in Newport Beach.

Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 15-18, the epicurean event brought together top local and national chefs, taste experts and purveyors, and 25 cheesemakers from California, Idaho, Indiana, New York, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin showing off their excellent artisanal cheeses.

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What would Halloween be without giant bowls and bags of candy?! Whether you’re a costume wearin’ kid hitting the streets to Trick-or-Treat or a parent, anxiously waiting for your child to return home with that giant haul of treats - there’s definitely candy that scores on the “yummy” side and ones that tend to fall into the “gross” category.

We’re letting YOU decide this year’s Best and Worst Halloween candy.

Vote within the categories below or add your own to the list.

The results will appear in the Life, Etc. section of the Orange County Register on Monday, Oct. 29 and online at www.squeezeoc.com.

For 12 days you voted for your favorites in Music, Nightlife, Shopping, Recreation/ Leisure. Find the winners by clicking here.

And just for fun, we at SqueezeOC compiled our Top 2 Dubious Distinction Awards:

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What is more decadently comforting than gooey cheese and/or chocolate fondue?!

I was reminded of this at the opening party this week for the new Melting Pot restaurant in Brea, the third Orange County location (Irvine and San Clemente are the other sites).

I’ve always loved the traditional Swiss cheese fondue at Melting Pot (Grùyere and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses blended with white wine, garlic, lemon and even a bit o’ nutmeg), but at this party, I was introduced to the Wisconsin Trio ( Fontina, Butterkäse and Buttermilk Bleu stirred up with white wine, scallions and a hint of sherry). Yeah, sure, you betcha - I’m a sworn cheesehead after tasting that luscious blend.

But when it comes to the chocolates, I can’t pick a favorite. All of them are blissful - the raspberry dark chocolate, the silky white chocolate swirled with Disaronno Amaretto, the Cookies ‘n CreamMarshmallow Dream … with big, fat strawberries to dunk in them.

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Beard Papa ’s, the Japanese cream puff chain that ignited a frenzy in LA when it opened last year, has opened its first O.C. store at MainPlace Mall’s food court in Santa Ana.

The store opened Aug. 10. For its first week, Beard Papa’s will give free limited edition thermoses to the first 50 people who buy a dozen cream puffs each day. Customers who buy a 6-piece box will also get a Beard Papa’s key chain. There will also be a chance to win one of seven $100 gift cards (1 drawing per day).

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The latest outpost of a small BBQ chain called Joey’s Smokin’ B-B-Q opened Monday at the Tustin Market Place. It’s where Crescent City used to be, next to where Tower Records used to be. (Um, is that too many “used tos”? OK, Joey’s is next to Jamba Juice in a strip of restaurants named “Palm Cafes.”

The SqueezeOC office got takeout today and tried the baby back ribs - half rack with a Kansas City-style sweet sauce, half rack with more vinegary, Carolina-style “wet” sauce - as well as the grilled tri tip sandwich, BBQ pulled chicken sandwich, and various sides.

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First, there was mochi, the traditional glutinous rice cake from Japan. Then mochi went kid-friendly with mochi ice cream. Now, there’s mochilato, mochi stuffed with gelato. Los Angeles mochi giant Mikawaya plans to open 200-plus mochilato stores to sell its new products. The first franchise has opened in Irvine.

Mochilato
14310 Culver Drive, Suite E, Irvine
(949) 559-1116
10 a.m.-midnight daily. Credit cards accepted. Free wi-fi.

(Pictured here: peaches and cream in front, hazelnut chocolate behind. Sorry, the hazelnut one is a little dented. I had put my fork to it and was just about to cut it when I remembered to take a photo.) Read the rest of this entry »

I was shocked when I opened my fifth bacon packet to find Carlton Farms Dry Cured Canadian Style Bacon. Canadian bacon - it’s practically ham! I was disappointed, but cheered up a bit when I thought maybe it would be a pleasant change from the previous greasy bacons.

Carlton Farms is located in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range. Info from accompanying literature:

“Their Canadian bacon comes from the boneless center cut pork loin (”regular” bacon is made from the pork belly). They dry cure the loin with a mixture of salt and sugar for fifteen days and then smoke it over alder and hickory hardwood chips for at least eight hours.”

“Carlton’s Canadian bacon is packed unsliced. John Duyn says that “if you can cut a cube of butter, you can cut a piece of Canadian bacon!”

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