The place is in a good location, close to a couple of major streets, the only downside is that the parking lot can get a little crowded during busy times, but you’ll usually find a spot in a minute or two.

You can find this location at 13041 Newport Ave, Tustin, CA 92780. Bronx Sandwich Co. has a few other locations throughout Orange County as well.

My favorites here are The Bronx Club, King of Queens, The Mobster, and the B.B.Q. Brisket (pictured above).

I’ve had other sandwiches and they’re all good, but these are my favorites. I have tried the salads as well, and they’re fine. But their strong offerings are the sandwiches for sure.

The fries are also delicious, I always get them well-done and they come out super crunchy. Definitely, a place to come back regularly.

This is my latest review in Google Maps, follow me there if you'd like.

The post Bronx Sandwich Company in Tustin – 2022 Review appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

We try to embody that message by meeting in person, over coffee or breakfast, sometimes brunch to talk shop. The first meetup took place at the Union Market Mission Viejo and we had a great turn out.

The latest one happened at A Market in Newport Beach and it was great. You should come out next time. Whether you're a realtor, an entrepreneur, an analyst looking to network and learn social networking.

Here's a short recap of some of the topics we covered.

Social Media Breakfast #2 Recap

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A couple of viewers and some people in Meetup have asked me why don't I get anything else besides pho when we go to our Dot Com Lunch.

But we actually try a lot of different places and dishes. Make sure you're part of the meetup if you want to join in our next meetup.

We've been to Happy Dining, and Mai Thai and a few others I haven't reviewed yet. Just join the meetup and we'll keep you posted of new events and locations. But in this day, I tried something besides the pho.

In this Dot Com Lunch video, we also talk a little bit about the minimum wage hike in California and generally just have a good meal.

My Review of the Crispy Noodles with Sea Food (Mì Xào Giòn)

This time around, I tried something besides Pho. This looked attractive and I don't recall having it in recent years. Maybe 4 or 5 years ago.

This dish is too mild for my taste, I had to add a dash of chili and a little bit more cilantro, but once I took care of that, the dish was perfect.

I would get this again if I was looking for a healthy light dish with bok choi and seafood.

And tiny little corns. It had some of those. That's a thing in some Vietnamese dishes, really.

It was nice eating some of the noodles while they were crispy and crunchy, but later on, some had been soaking in the sauce and gave them a nice bite but weren't crunchy anymore. I guess this is what you hope for with this dish.

That was a nice contrast. This dish is different. Good, but different. I'd recommend it to anybody that wants to try something new and wants to go with some seafood.

I think a couple pieces of shrimp would have made this a perfect dish, but I can't complain.

The post Pho Ba Co Review – Crispy Noodles With Seafood (Mì Xào Giòn) appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

This place was a total surprise for me. Marcie, one of my #ocfoodies friend said it was good, but I didn't expect it to be this good, I got caught up in the food so much I forgot to take pictures and b-roll.

I still managed to make a video so that's what is here today, check it out below the review.

My review of Mai Thai.

I was in a bit of a rush so I didn't get to take it all in. With that said, I thought this was the best Thai food I've had in a long time.

In my own personal best of the best restaurant battles, Mai Thai is a contender for the number one spot for Thai food in Orange County.

Someone asked me where the best Thai food is around here, and I had a tough time picking between Mai Thai and Vientiane Lao Thai in Westminster. I haven't reviewed Vientiane on the blog or video yet, but it's really good.

So it's a tough call, but we can also say that they are both #1 in their own style.

Mai Thai is traditionally Thai as far as I can tell, while Vientiane Lao Thai has a lot of Laos influence and may even be considered more Laos than Thai.

But if we start getting into that level of detail, we have to bring in the Malaysian influence and then the Chinese influence in Thai food, so for now, we'll leave it at that.

Plus you'll easily see and find out I have no idea what I'm talking about.  So there, both are number 1.

If you had asked me the same question, where is the best Thai food in Orange County? just a day before I tried Mai Thai, I would have known the answer right away.

Now I would have to really think about it, Mai Thai is up there, waiting for me to try a few more dishes before I declare it a winner.

Now back to Mai Thai's food.

Oh yeah, you'll find Mai Thai in Fountain Valley, two minutes from the Brookhurst exit off the 405 freeway.  (map link).

I ordered beef Panang curry and the Tom Kha Gai soup (coconut soup with chicken). I think that these are considered some of the most popular Thai dishes besides Pad Thai. Photos by @MarcieTaylor.

The curry was just pungent enough and not oversalted. It's easy to oversalt it but they nailed the flavor perfectly. I ordered it medium spicy, or "level 4-5" and it was hot but edible. Left just a tingle of spiciness on my lips.

The soup was outstanding and I'd go back for more in a heartbeat. Tangy and lemony, --I thought I was making up the word lemony, but apparently not. Grammarly says it's a word.-- with enough sweetness from the coconut milk and enough spiciness to keep you in check.

Another item that won my heart over was the little egg rolls. They came in the appetizer sampler dish, and they were just amazing.

I can't believe I'm raving about eggrolls, but they were delicious. The filling wasn't just mushy overcooked "stuff" and it had a perfectly seasoned garlic-infused medley of veggies and bean sprouts. I wanted more!

I will definitely be back for more soon. While I think that Thai Avenue has the best pad thai I've had, Mai Thai has the best overall Thai food I think so I recommend you definitely check it out.

Mai Thai in Fountain Valley

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So for our recent Dot Com Lunch and another foodie adventure, we headed to Happy Dining in Irvine.

Happy Dining serves Sichuan or Szechuan dry hot pot dishes. Dry hot pot is different than anything else.

It's not like the hot pot many people may be used to. It's prepared and served ready to eat instead of cooking it at the table and it doesn't have both. Hence the "dry" part of the name.

Check it out! As I made this video, I learned a few things about this dish and how it's made and all that. Happy Dining is next to Layer Bakery and Pho Ba Co, some of the other places where we go for our meetup.

The Sichuan dry hot pot food comes from an area in China called Sichuan, but some people say it or write it as Szechuan.

This is a very specific type of flavor and one of the key ingredients is Sichuan peppercorns or Sichuan pepper oil.

The peppercorns aren't peppercorns or peppers at all, but instead, Sichuan peppercorns consist of the pinkish-red dried outer husks of the prickly ash shrub.

The essence of the peppercorns will make your mouth tingle, or sometimes people describe the feeling as a pleasant numbness. It's really interesting, you should definitely try it if you haven't.

Chinese Hot Dry Pot at Happy Dining in Irvine

You can find Happy Dining on Facebook here, and on Yelp here.

My Review about Happy Dining.

This one is hard to review because it's so different than other styles of Asian food. And even harder when you take into account the Sichuan peppercorn oil.

The whole dish really hinges on that spiciness and the sensation that the Sichuan pepper brings to the table, no pun intended.

Overall, most of the dishes have the same seasoning so the main difference is the protein that you pick to go into your dish. You can select from options like beef tendon, pork ribs, chicken wings, lamb, catfish, and a few others.

At some point they even served bullfrog. I'm not sure why they took that off the menu, but it's no longer available.

During our visit, the service was terrific. We asked to be seated outside and that's rare, but they accommodated us without any problems.

There were only two downsides I found. One was that they don't have their lunch specials available on Saturdays when I went, the second was that the dishes have a lot of vegetables, but could use a little more meat in proportion.

On a 1-5 scale, this place deserves a high 3 or a 4. I would definitely recommend it if you like Sichuan dry hot pot or if you want to try something new.

The food comes out quickly and the chafing dish lighted gives the pot a bit of a sizzling for a few minutes. The food can definitely be spicy. I ordered "medium" and it was borderline too hot for me. I probably would have liked it a little bit milder but it was still delicious.

Try the mung bean soup also. It's really good and helps with cooling your mouth if it the food gets too spicy.

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Every time I go to it, it blows my expectations out of the water. Here's a quick announcement from one of the organizers of the event, Marcie Taylor from Surfcityfamily.com

Taste of HB attracts some of the best foods from Huntington Beach and surrounding areas. You'll find tons of restaurants, craft beer & liquor, as well as some other businesses.

My favorite non-food vendor from last year was Surf City Flags. I have a video about them coming up soon, by the way so watch for that.

The festival is going on its 19th consecutive year. It is put together for the benefit of the Children's library. The event is held from noon to 4 pm, with an exclusive VIP reception from 11am-12 noon.

You can get tickets on their website, or at the library and they're worth every penny. In full disclosure, I get to cover the event as media so I'm usually invited but the value you get from that single ticket is outstanding.

At the time of this writing, early bird pricing is available and should be until March 1st.

My previous coverage of the event is here, have a look. But I warn you, some of this will make you hungry.

Taste of Huntington Beach 2018

Taste of Huntington Beach 2016

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From the official Taste of Huntington Beach website:

Featuring delectable tastes from local restaurants and catering companies. Add in unlimited sips from your favorite wineries and breweries, along with live entertainment by The Ramsey Brothers Band for your listening and dancing enjoyment – and you have the perfect mix for a great day of food, fun, and friends!

All proceeds go to the Children's library of Huntington Beach.

Taste of Huntington Beach is a fun event. I think you should go to if you're in Southern California and especially in Huntington Beach and surrounding cities. I know people come all the way from Riverside County, Santa Barbara, and even San Diego.

It is a single day event. I wish it were a 2-day event, and I think many people feel the same way. The primary reason I wish it were two days is that you simply don't have the time or a big enough stomach to try everything. There's so much food!

Every time I go, I come out stuffed like if I had gone to an all you can eat buffet in Las Vegas after a 20 day fast.

I had a chance to talk to the organizer and one of the requirements is that each vendor that participates must have at least 2000 servings. If memory serves me right, there were over 50 food vendors last time so there is tons of food to go around.

As you'll see in the video, these aren't tiny samples either. Many servings are big enough to be considered appetizer size and in some cases, you get a huge portion. Not to mention, the tastings are unlimited so you can come back for seconds, thirds, or more.

Another fun thing about it is that they also serve alcohol. You'll find local wineries, breweries, and distilleries serving their best.

I highly recommend you check them out. I believe they still have their early bird tickets available right now. So go get some!

Taste of Huntington Beach will take place on April 28 from noon to 4:00 pm.

I also covered this before, here's another video for the Taste of Huntington Beach 2016.

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We often write reviews or make complaints when something bothers us or someone did us "wrong." To close out 2018, I decided to give a shoutout to someone at Starbucks that sometimes helps my day get started on a good note.

I even sent the commendation to the higher-ups at Starbucks telling them to give this guy a raise or something. They ended up talking to me on Twitter DM about it. I don't know what happened with that but hopefully something good.

Thanks for all the likes, views & comments. See you in 2019!

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I was a bit apprehensive about eating a pig's head at first, but after watching a recent video about The Recess Room from Food Insider, I thought it would be a good dish to try so four of us got together for an evening of indulgence.

I'll start the review as simply as I can and tell you that the whole experience was amazing, every dish we tried was fantastic and the star of the show, the pig's head was out of this world.

The Recess Room

The Recess Room self-describes their offerings as modern American tapas with homegrown ingredients from the onsite garden alongside 24 craft beers on tap with a strong emphasis on local breweries, a wine selection highlighting the California Coast, premium whiskeys, and handcrafted cocktails.

That's pretty accurate but, also humble. The Recess Room is located on Brookhurst, in an unlikely location more suitable for a fast food joint, or the neighborhood's dry cleaners.

No amount of description will express the feeling when get when you're in the place. When you first walk into the restaurant, it's similar to any hip spot in the Orange County area, but once you enter the main seating area near the bar, it all changes.

There is an inviting, soft glow pouring from the lighted bar and soft light fixtures alongside high tables. Beyond you'll find tables more suitable for a romantic dinner.

You imagine it should be in a fancy mall like Fashion Island or South Coast Plaza, but it is just in a small strip mall and actually a very underrated area. Close to the freeways and the beach, this location is easy to get to so you better make your way out there soon.

In simple words, it's a cool place. It has the comfort elements that a local neighborhood bar where you can hang out with your friends for a beer after work, but it also offers the sophistication needed to bring a date for dinner.

The food is on par with the decor and ambiance and it didn't disappoint. If I haven't made it clear yet, you have to go try The Recess Room.

Now, let's get into the food.

To start, we ordered Tom yum fries and popcorn shrimp, which I believe are only available during happy hour. The popcorn shrimp was sweet and scrumptious and as good as any that I've tried before.

The fries, on the other hand, were UH-MAzing.

I can't overstate this, these are probably the best non-traditional fries I've ever had, maybe the best fries ever. They're fries, you think, just fries, right? And they may be just fries, but they give the pig's head a run for its money and they were the best dish we tried besides the pig's head.

I hope they keep these on the menu forever. I would go back there just for the fries.

Talking to Victor Nguyen

I happen to know one of the owners so he came by to visit for a bit and brought along a slew of other appetizers that were just as good as the fries and popcorn. He also gave us a short interview, so you can see that in the video.

Victor also talked about the inspiration for the restaurant. It had been a long time dream of his and his childhood friends so they finally got together recently and opened up shop a couple years back.

They wanted the place to be a fun, inviting with a sprinkle of nostalgia back to the "good old days" of recess during school time.

This is reflected in the decor, the ceiling, for example, resembles a basketball court floor because they grew up playing ball, the food has traces of the comfort food they ate growing up and there are tons of board games up front that bring back childhood memories.

But back to the food

The smoked mushroom dish was unique, a medley of maitake, bunashimeji and oyster mushrooms mixed with lardo (a bit like pork salami/bacon) topped with crunchy almonds. A must for mushroom lovers.

We followed that with cheesy corn and a longaniza empanada, both of which were quite the elevated bar food.

And as a bit of a prologue to the pig's head, we also got the fried chicken skins which were out of the ordinary. Crunchy and flavorful, they are served with homemade ranch and powdered with a flavor that seemed so familiar but we couldn't quite put our finger on it.

Turns out when we talked to Victor Nguyen, he said that they basically reversed engineered the flavoring that comes with Maruchan noodles, yeah those cup-o-noodles that are part of every college kid's coming of age. Another little touch to make this a heaven for nostalgic comfort food.

The Kurobuta Pig's Head

After a number of beers and a round of whiskey shots with Victor, the start of the show arrived. The Pig's Head. By the way, the videos show you our whole adventure so if this the review is TL;DR for you, hit play in the next video.

Priced at $58, The pig's head is not the most extravagant item on the menu, they also serve a $110 Tomahawk steak, but the pig's head is huge.

I know it seems obvious but the pictures and videos available don't really convey how large the butcher block and the half head really are.

As soon as it arrived, the whole surrounding area became filled with a rich and delicious aroma reminiscent of freshly cooked bacon, carnitas, and chicharron. I was lucky to have the first bite and it was for lack of a better word, amazing.

The head is prepared much like carnitas, confit style. I didn't really know what that meant until I started writing this review.

I just thought that was a fancy way of saying "deep-fried," but confit, in fact, means "cooked in its own fat" so basically the pig's head is cooked slow, deep-fried in pig's fat.

The cooking method yields a super crispy skin, while the inside is soft and tender. Once it's a little bit cool to the touch, you can just cut a piece off, or rather just kind of tear a piece off, then you can eat it by making a lettuce wrap of sorts, topped with pickled daikon and carrots and cilantro, then drizzle some of the tofu-kimchi aioli or sweet-and-spicy sauce served alongside.

I think that's technically ssam style, or at least inspired from bossam. The other way you can eat it is by using wrapping the pork in the roti bread that is served with it.

Of course, you can also just take a chunk and eat it straight up. No matter which way you decide to dig in, you'll love it. We all did.

If you want to have a try at this dish, make sure you call ahead. They suggest 48-hour notice so they don't run out. You'll see a few reviews on Yelp mentioning how they ran out of it during busy nights.

When you order the dish, after it's presented you have the option of diving in hands first like we did, or they can take it to the back and separate all the meat for you and bring it back ready to eat. You decide. Obviously, the first option is the most fun, but it can be messy.

We wrapped up the night with the Fluffernutter, another decadent dish that just buttoned up the night in perfect harmony. Needless to say, this is no a place where you come concerned about your caloric intake. You come here to enjoy great drinks and amazing food inspired from what can only be described as Southern California culture.

In Conclusion

I do have to say that this wouldn't be for the squeamish. If you aren't used to seeing the less used parts of the animal served or prepared, this is probably not for you. But if you have had lechon, whether Spanish, Hawaiian, Philipino or another style, and you liked it... then this will be right up your alley.

The whole experience was unique and even though you haven't seen The Recess Room written about too much in foodie blogs, or magazines, you will soon. I'm sure of it. It's only about two years old and it is most likely only going to grow in popularity over the next few years.

If the Pig's Head doesn't attract you, the large selection of whiskeys might, along with some really creative cocktails and craft beers on tap.

All in all, I give this place a five out of five.

I only had my phone with me and like I mentioned, the place is lit softly so it was dark. My photos aren't that great, so I borrowed some of the photos from my friend John, and you can see some of the dishes they serve after our photos, directly from their Instagram.

The Recess Room Photos

[envira-gallery id="51688"]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc86xVXlpM5/?taken-by=therecessroom

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcDNZDalVES/?taken-by=therecessroom

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The Hat has been around for 65 years and there's a reason for it. Their food is fresh, it's delicious and it will not break the bank.

On my way back from Affiliate Summit, I decided to stop with my friend just before heading home. I hadn't been there for a while but I'm glad I went.

My friend ordered the pastrami dip, and I ordered the pastrami cheeseburger and we got a small order of fries. One order of fries, even small is good enough for two people, so order with caution!

They have other stuff, like onion rings, chili burgers, hot dogs and other grilled goodness but I came for the pastrami burger.

The Pastrami dip is a whole bunch of their amazing beef pastrami stuffed into a french roll and before they serve it to you, they dip the top half in au jus.

Normally when you hear French dip or roast beef dip, you get the sandwich and you dip it yourself as you eat it. But not with the pastrami dip, by far the most popular item on the menu. You can, of course, get au jus on the side and do the traditional dip and bite routine. But just know that the pastrami dip comes pre-dipped.

Now, the burger is something else. Other places have pastrami burgers, I think even one of the big fast food chains introduced their own pastrami burger a few years ago. That one isn't bad, but it certainly can't compare to the one that The Hat makes.

All the food is made to order so it will take a few minutes to cook a burger, don't expect fast food speed, but it's still made fast enough to serve it quickly and satisfy your cravings.

I went to the Lake Forest location, but there are 11 locations total. You can check out their website for all the details.

The pastrami cheeseburger comes with one all-beef patty, cheese and a motherload of pastrami all sitting on lettuce and tomato and dressed in thousand island dressing wrapped up in a classic sesame seed burger bun. It's truly a mouthwatering combination.

I was too busy salivating for my food as I waited and then I basically devoured my burger and totally forgot to record a video, and I was tired. My buddy John did make a vlog, you can watch it below.

Hopefully, the vlog and images inspire you to try this fantastic burger joint, an iconic restaurant in Orange County. Hands down, this is the best pastrami burger in Orange County.

The post The Burger Review: The Hat, World Famous Pastrami Burger appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I headed out to Eisenhower Park in Orange with a group of friends to do a 5K walk. It's a shame that I used to run 5K just as a warm up when I was a teenager, but I guess our priorities change as we age.

I should walk more often and maybe I'll even get back into running. For now, let this be a reminder and a motivator to get in shape and do better today than we did yesterday!

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The blog has a monthly theme, and March's theme is "Green." You can read my first article there; it's titled You Need a Platform to Make the Green. So far it's well received, and I think it has the most shares out of any articles. It talks about the need to have a proper platform if you're an author.

The plan is to publish between four and eight blog posts each month over there to help authors and aspiring authors understand online marketing better and help them establish their online presence. I have always said it and will continue to say it; you need your own website!

Even my kids have their own domains and websites. They were established well before they were born; that's how important I think websites are.

Social media is great and a critical resource to help build an audience, and extend our reach, but ultimately a website is our own platform where we make the rules, we publish what we want, and we brand ourselves in the best possible way. In contrast, social media can be restrictive and rigid.

I hope to convey the idea that every author, aspiring or published should have their own blog or at least a website so they can start branding themselves and establishing age in their domain. Wish me luck!

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Sooo good. And if you're into spicy, try the crazy feta. It's a "secret" recipe for a spicy feta cheese you can add to your bowl or salad. I didn't realize that Mediterranean food could be spicy.

Just shows what little I know.

Really, go check it out. It's one of those BYO build your own restaurants so you'll get to pick every ingredient. How can you go wrong with that?

View on Instagram

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At the last minute, the kids ended up coming with me so we made the best of it and went to check out the place.

We went with the new OC Bloggers & Influencers Group, hosted by Sondra from Pretty fit foodie. If you have a social media presence or a blog in OC, you should check out the meetup. She also organized my visit to Chill at Long Beach, and the upcoming year seems like it will be fun.

The kids and I arrived earlier than we needed to, I thought it started at noon, so we had an hour to kill and we checked out other places around the small strip mall. This place, known as The Crossroads has grown up a lot in recent years, adding a lot of other great restaurants, like Stonefire Grill, Urban Plates, and Capital Noodles so I expected Cava Grill to be a good match to this new wave of awesome food.

Turns out the food at Cava is probably my new favorite out of the places I just mentioned. I loved it because it's BYO (build your own) style, in a fast casual setting, so it's really up to you to make what you like.

Unlike other BYO places I've tried, the ingredients are so fresh and well planned, that even if you don't know what you're doing, your plate will come out great.

If you're feeling like loading up on carbs, go with the grains, but if you want to stay in the lighter side then go with the greens. Or you can do a mix of both and go with the most popular choice of "grains and greens." Check out the video to see how the ordering works.

[envira-gallery id="48538"]

The food is Greek & Mediterranean inspired and there's a cool history about how the restaurant came to be on their website. So if you like things like hummus, lamb, tzatziki, then you should check it out.

But going to Cava is not just going out to eat, it's an experience. Cava Grill is not only a story of food, but of culture and friendship as well as a story of entrepreneurship and the pursuit American dream.

All food is sourced locally which is a big plus in my book, and the restaurant contributes to charitable organizations on a regular basis, isn't that nice? But at the end of the day, how does the food stack up? I thought it was amazing and I will definitely go back, with so many ingredients, the combinations you can try are literally, endless.

The full video is here, as well as photos. And tell me, doesn't it make you want to try it?

The post Healthy and Fun Lunch at Cava Grill in Irvine, Review & Experience appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Zion has these ready to go all the time in the hot shelves. Just like any food you get from the hot shelves at a supermarket, it isn't the best, but when you have a craving and don't want to go and sit at a restaurant and wait this is the next best thing. You can always count on Zion Market to have a fresh batch of these waiting for a craving tooth.

Zion also has a lot of other Asian foods and spices that my wife uses. She's Vietnamese, and the store is Korean but they carry a lot of the same spices and produce that are used in Vietnamese cuisine. They sometimes have young coconuts and if they have them at a good price, I'll pick some up since I have the Coco Jack at home to crack them open.

I really like this place so I thought I'd give you a quick glance into it. If you've never been to an Asian supermarket, you should. They're fun, they have interesting stuff and really great deals in some things like you'll see in the video.

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Turns out, it wasn't an aquarium but more of an educational center. Its official name is: Ocean Institute and it's in Dana Point, near the docks and below Chart House, a good restaurant you visit for the view more than the food.

Apparently we got lucky that we visited the Ocean Institute that day. Because it was really empty and we got an impromptu VIP tour.

If you are in Orange County or Southern California, I recommend you take a trip to this place to learn about the wild life in the ocean around this area. They have classes and tours planned for school trips and field trips, but as a member of the public, you can visit on the weekends and get access to some of the exhibits you'll see in the video.

On a side note, I should have made this video part of the Papidaddy channel, but I didn't want to miss my 90 day challenge that day so it made it into spot #7 for the 90 day video challenge. Enjoy!

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The Integrated Marketing Forum last year was all about mobile marketing I learned a lot of stuff. The most interesting thing about it is that many of the presentations that came up during the event were exact in predicting trends and digital marketing activity going on today.

The geolocation and geofencing stuff were the most interesting topics for me at the time, and now we have Snapchat and other apps leveraging geolocation and geofencing heavily. Beacons are hot, and all this stuff is just in the nascent stages.

Obviously, mobile first was important in 2015 and it's even more important now with social media sites and search engines favoring mobile websites over non-mobile websites.

The Integrated Marketing Forum is a must-attend event for any marketer looking to find out about the cutting edge techniques and technologies.

The topic of this year's Integrated Marketing Forum is Digital First

Just like last year's mobile focused sessions, these years sessions promise to educate you and enlighten you in the digital marketing space. This year's topic is Digital First.

It doesn't matter where you live, you have to make an effort to attend. But especially if you're in Southern California, Orange County and even in Northern California and surrounding areas. Get to this event.

Who's going to be at The Integrated Marketing Forum?

Oh, you know small companies that you probably never heard of with names like: Dollar Shave Club, Samsung, Adestra, Southwest Airlines, Google.

The price of attendance is negligible when you consider the value you'll get and the stature of the speakers.

Who should attend?

The event is for and by heads of companies, marketing managers and anybody in charge of business development and sales. In addition to learning from some of the big players in the digital marketing space, there are many opportunities to network with other attendees to share and discuss ideas.

If you're a social media manager, if you're in charge of sales, marketing campaigns, if you're an executive in sales, leadership, marketing and even operations, I suggest you attend. Clearly if you are the owner of the company you should be there.

How do you attend?

Just head over to their website and register. If you want to save some money, use the code NOTAGROUCH when you check out and you'll save $15.00.

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We had a chance to visit Taste of Huntington Beach 2016. We had a blast and it is the subject of today's vlog, we are now at vlog #12, so don't forget to subscribe for updates!

This is the second time for me, first time for Helen. I highly recommend you go to it next time if you can. Links and more information below.

Also, before you get into the video I wanted to give a shout-out to my friend Marcie for sponsoring this vlog. Marcie runs Surf City family, and if you're in Huntington Beach or want to learn more about this great city then you need to be following her blog for all things local.

Taste of Huntington Beach

The annual Taste of Huntington Beach showcases the best of HB’s culinary talents and the region’s top wineries and breweries. For one all-inclusive price, attendees enjoy unlimited samples and sips from some of the area’s finest establishments. All proceeds go to the Children’s Department of the HB Public Library.

The Taste features 50 restaurants, caterers and food exhibitors as well as a total of 50 wineries and breweries.
Water and nonalcoholic beverages are available at the Taste. We also have a variety of vendors promoting their products, a fantastic raffle and silent auction – plus live music for your listening and dancing pleasure.

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The place is called Capital Noodle Bar (Yelp) and it's part of the Capital Seafood Group. I was introduced to this years ago by my wife when I first tried dim sum. You can find it at The Crossroads in Irvine, where La Salsa used to be (I think).

Capital Noodle Bar is a fast casual Asian fusion restaurant. Prices range from $4.95 on the appetizers to about $13.00 for the file mignon cubes dish. I heard that is amazing, by the way.

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When I first went I tried the Hainan Chicken and it was really good. Can't really compare it to the Hainan Chicken from Belacan Grill, but it was really good anyway. My wife ordered the Assorted Seafood Noodles $10.95 and by all accounts it was delicious.

On the second time around, I went with John and ordered something besides noodles... again. You would think that I would try a noodle dish since the place is called Capital Noodle Bar, right? Well, no.

Todays #selfie with Roselyn (sp?). Cheers!

A photo posted by Oscar Gonzalez (@notagrouch) on Feb 1, 2016 at 1:22pm PST

I felt like chicken so I ordered the Lemongrass Roasted Chicken, $11.95.  And I loved it. It was crispy but not overcooked and came with pickled vegetables, rice and a fried egg to top the rice. John went for the Canton Style Roast Duck $10.95 and he said it was great.

Claire was with me so I shared some of my rice with her and ordered the Grilled Beef Skewers $5.95. The meat was packed with flavor and it was so tender it felt like it was melting in your mouth. They were perfectI would go back just to order a whole plate of those.

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She offered to buy me lunch so I thought, why not? I help a friend and I get a free lunch.

This is not why I help people, but it is a nice perk, especially when people want to pick my brain but don't want to or can't hire me.

I thought about where to go and finally decided on a place that had been on my list for some time. It is called Taco Maria and if you had not guessed by now, it is Mexican food.

But this is not your typical Mexican food. Some people say it's the best food in Orange County, Mexican or otherwise.

This is high-end Mexican cuisine. I can only think of one other place that I've tried that would be in the same class, Red O in Newport Beach.

The flavors were authentic but new at the same time, it's hard to explain but the use of seasoning reminded me of my grandma and the amazing food I had growing up in Mexico.

At the same time, everything was new and exciting.

The Agua Chile, their version of ceviche had the tangy limey flavor and salty crunch that ceviche should have but also introduced unique ingredients like squid ink to give it an unforgettable twist. It was just spicy enough to make you say oooooh, that's nice!

When we finished it, I asked the server to leave the remaining sauce and I enjoyed it by the spoonful throughout the rest of the meal. It was that good.

To drink, I had the agua de jamaica, which is a traditional agua fresca, made with the hibiscus flower. That was too little, but I enjoyed it up to the last sip.

We went on a Tuesday so naturally, the menu was based on Tacos. The old #TacoTuesday thing was made new again.

We ended up trying the steak tacos with tocino (bacon), chile con mole, fish, and vegetarian. Every single bite was as flavorful and satisfying as the first one and I was left wanting more.

Keep in mind, these are not your mama's tacos.

Many people will scoff at the idea of paying $18 for a pair of tacos, but once you try these you will likely forget that this might be ounce per ounce one of the most expensive Mexican meals you can find in Orange County.

The only downsides to Taco Maria are the location and the limited seating. I personally loathe the OC Mix, it reeks of smugness and pretentiousness, with some places offering undeservingly expensive items like a $5.00 cookie, a $24,000 sofa, or a $6.00 8 ounce cup of coffee that takes 20 minutes to make.

But just for Taco Maria, I'll go back there, I'll put up with the crowded parking and even wait 30 to 45 minutes for a taco.

If you decide to visit I recommend you make reservations (dinner & brunch only), or go for lunch before 11:40 or after 1:30 if you don't want to wait.

Leave the little ones and the big crowds at home too, this place is best enjoyed when you can fully take in the experience and share it with a small group of 3 to 4 people, but make sure everyone is there or else you will not be seated.

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Recently they held their launch party at ROC and I was invited along with about 100 other people. The food was great and drinks were themed to match the three colors they are launching with.

Motormood plans on making the roads a happier place by giving all vehicles a way to say thanks to other drivers.

How do they plan on doing this? With a little device that flashes a smiley face after you cut someone off. You can now drive like a maniac and keep people from giving you the finger or going on full road rage mode by just flashing them a smiley face.

Kinda like when you chat with someone and you say something that they're not going to like... All you need to do is add an emoticon right?

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But seriously, I think it's a fun project and the product is good. Motormood's launch party focused on their Kickstarter campaign which is live and so far has attracted over $50,000 in funds. That's just over one third of their total $130,500 goal.

I rarely back Kickstarter projects but I pledged some cash for this one because I know the team and I think the cause is noble. The jury is still out on whether they'll achieve their goal, but with 27 days to go they have a pretty good chance. Will you help?

Check out their pitch video and see what you think

Motormood on Kickstarter

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Eureka Building is home to Eureka Hub and Eureka Events. They are a co-working and event space in Irvine and they (Eureka Events) host events like this all the time. This was my first time attending one of the Eureka events and I had a blast. The food was great, the companies there were pretty awesome. Some were very innovative and inspiring. I also made some great connections.

I met Alex Sewell and Kina De Santis from Motormood along with other great entrepreneurs. In fact Alex Sewell will be a speaker at our next event.

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But officially, Google's Bradley Horowitz confirmed that Google+ is getting a re-organization. But what does that mean?

An article from CNN has some useless info about it:

Pichai didn't give a timeline for when Google+ will be rebranded. A spokesman for Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Can we just all agree to stop expecting any kind of candor from Google? And why should we? They'll tell us when they're ready, even if it means letting users find better things to use elsewhere. Rebranded and broken up sound very vague.

Google+ is going to be broken up into Photos, Hangouts and Streams.

So what does that mean for us, the Google+ users? who knows. But I do know that this just reinforces my view on social media. Social media is great, but you can't count on it as a reliable means of longevity for your business, hobby or even personal communications.

You have to always own your online real estate. Get your website going and use that as your place to share what you have to say with the world. Yes, post on Facebook, yes, post on Google+, yes, post to Instagram, but remember, you are always at the mercy of their decisions. Get your own website for less than a Starbucks cup of coffee, you could use one of my hosts, like Inmotion or Siteground.

Why is Google Doing this?

Well, Google+ hasn't exactly been an active social media space. It has a bad user interface and despite having billions of profiles, only a small tiny percentage of those profiles are users. I found a great post by Edward Morbius that breaks down the numbers:

Only about half of those, 3% of active profiles, are not YouTube posts.

That is, 0.2% - 0.3% of all G+ profiles, about 4-6 million users, have made public post in 2015. That's 244,000 users posting daily.

More than "hundreds", but not by all that much.

This doesn't include non-public posts or comments, but its' a pretty clear indication of the level of activity on G+.

photo credit:

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I'm talking about Free Lunch Friday. I've told you about it on my blog before and if you're in Orange County I have probably invited to come too.

This friday we are rebooting Free Lunch Friday Orange County and I think you should make your way over to the RSVP and join me. It's going to be fun. We have a great speaker coming to share an amazing story.

I hope you can make it. Here's a quick video about it. But more importantly, go RSVP right now, we cap at 100 people and we are filling up quickly.

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Over time I've learned to appreciate coffee a little more and I now drink it straight black sometimes. I also developed a taste for better coffee. I have tried an espresso and cappuccino in Rome (nothing out of this world). I have tried colombian, costa rican, african and even cat poop coffee. I recon most people don't know good coffee, and like beer and wine, each person's palette is different.

But one thing that I find consistent with coffee drinkers that know their coffee is their appreciation for cold brewed coffee. I didn't know much about cold brewed coffee until about four or five years ago where I saw a blogpost teaching you how to make cold brewed coffee in your hotel room when you're traveling.

Check out the video too:

I have been trying different cold brewed concoctions ever since and most of the commercially available products aren't that great. But let me tell you about the one that I found to be nearly perfect.

It's called Diesel Brew and it's made here in Orange County. In fact it's my friend's company and after hearing all these good things about it for about a year and a half I got my hands on a few bottles of this keep me up till dawn concoction.

I expected it to be a bit rough and I was ready to add sugar to it, but to my pleasant surprise it was so smooth, it doesn't need anything. It also isn't concentrate which is nice because you open it up and it's ready to drink, no mixing, no diluting, no mess.

The bottle is also pretty cool, the bottle is a can shaped into a beer bottle but this won't get you drunk. It has a bit of a novelty just because of the awesome bottling.

I also want to commend Loren the owner for doing this. Diesel Brew is his baby, a labor of love between him and his brother. It has grown from a couple of cases every once in a while to complete distribution throughout Southern California. And like all good entrepreneurs, Loren does it all to make sure things are running smoothly. You know I love entrepreneurship. I think everyone should try it and if you have a good idea and don't like to work for "the man" or don't want to be tied to an office or 9 to 5 job then starting a business is the best way to do it.

Loren's doing it and let me tell you, he's kicking ass. At any given day, you'll find loren delivering cases of coffee to all the different places that carry this amazing drink. And if you aren't in southern California, a quick call or visit to the Diesel Brew website will set you up with a case.

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Fast forward to today and you'll see gourmet burger joints popping up all over the place. McDonalds, Burger King and other icons of burgerdom are vanishing in exhange for higher quality and even hipster spots. Unfortunately, like most fads and trends, most of these new places are just fancy names dressed with fancy ideas but poor execution.

But when you find a good burger joint, it's like finding gold.

Such is the case with Peter's Gourmade in Tustin. I went to it a couple years back for the first time because someone told me I should try their greek fries and burgers. They were good and the burger was good too but for whatever reason I never reviewed them. So this is my turn to review this up and coming spot.

I went back recently before my trip to Hawaii to have lunch with my buddy Loren from Diesel Brew, Loren's a local guy but when he told me he had never tried this place, we stopped debating where we should eat,  this was it. I asked him after lunch if he had liked it and he said it was a great burger.

Peter's Gourmade has expanded, but something that remains true is their menu and quality. I was pleasantly reminded of how good their burgers are. I have to admit that I prefer my burger a little more seasoned but I'm picky to a fault. In a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate their burger at a high 7.

I ordered The Hermanator ($7.50)which is described in their menu as follows: All-Beef angus patty served on a toasted potato bun with bacon, pepper jack cheese, chipotle mayo, jalapeños, and lettuce. I went with this because I wanted their spiciest option. Unfortunately, this is not spicy enough for me. It was well made, and had a bit of a kick, and the flavor is great but if you're expecting something that will kick you hard, they will have to kick it up a notch.

I added a fried egg on top ($1.00) and it ended up looking like the picture below. Forgive the lackluster picture but I got so carried away chatting with my buddy that I started eating this before I took a picture so I had to re-wrap it and put it back for a shot that didn't show a big piece of the burger missing.

And it looks like this:

The hermanator name comes from the head chef and as I've been told, his name is Herman so it makes perfect sense. The price tip toes on the high end for a burger like this, but the quality of the meat and the made-to-order service would fetch closer to $10 at most other locations in Orange County so it's perfectly reasonable. Adding fries, the egg and a drink put our lunch at a little over $24 for two people. Not bad!

I'm not a huge fan of the shredded lettuce approach, but it works fine in this case, I also wish the yolk on the egg hadn't been throughly cooked; you always want a little runny yolk if you get an egg on your burger. I must admit that Red Robbin's Royal Burger turned me onto the whole egg on top thing and they always do it perfectly, but I can't judge this burger based on this minor flaw because it doesn't normally come with the egg.

I love their new redecorated and expanded location. It feels fresh and well kept and comfortable. The location isn't new, they just took over the shop next door but now they almost doubled their seating capacity so even when you come for lunch at rush hour, you'll have a good chance of getting a seat. We arrived just before the lunch rush and by the time we were finished with our food, the line was out the door and around the corner. All these people can't be wrong so if you want a good burger for a great value then go check them out.

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You'll find Peter's Gourmade easily off the 55 freeway at the McFadden exit. Don't let the surrounding area discourage you, this is a gem you find in a rough spot.  I am almost sarcastic when I say rough spot; I mean, it is south Tustin which is not bad at all if you compare it to a rough spot in South LA. I recommend you beat the rush so you can find a parking spot. When it comes to the location, this is their weakness, there is only a small parking lot that is shared with another half-dozen businesses so it can be tough to find a spot.

Rumor has it that they are looking to expand and if my wishes came true they'd open up a location in Irvine or Irvine/Costa Mesa border because that's where I want to go when I eat so I can meet up with my friends and colleagues. And we all love a good burger.

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You should try to make it tone of the events. I know it's tough to get up and be there by 9am on Saturdays, but if you are involved in social media, or digital marketing or if you want to become involved with this, then you must attend this meeting.

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He's a pretty cool guy and a true artist. He has a vision and I'm always impressed with his work. I also appreciate his leadership in the art scene in Orange County.  So I'm excited to share with you Micah's new venture and one you will NOT want to miss.

On the Kersh Modern website, Kersh talks about his experience and the roots of all this, he says:

Kersh Modern is a combination of farmhouse soul, industrial loft grit and clean minimal style of mid-century modern design. We up cycle cast off wood steel and found objects from the old world to create furniture elements and art that will inspire your modern world.

Why don't you check out what Micah has said about his upcoming Kersh Modern Furniture grand opening event happening on February 26.

Kersh Modern is an environmentally and socially conscious business that focuses on creating furniture and art from reclaimed wood, found objects and recycled materials. Our designs are generally rustic industrial modern with mid-century modern influences. We also provide custom builds for business and home furnishing that will fit individual style and budget.

Come and lay your eyes on the latest furniture projects we have been working on and enjoy a complementary drink with us.

This project has been a labor of love that has slowly developed over the years and now we are excited to share our hard work with friends, family and anyone who loves art, design and craftsmanship. Even though you may not be local to this area please join us here (click for Facebook event) on this invite and help us spread the good news.

We are also offering a unique opportunity for you to be one of the first Kersh Modern clients to order custom piece of furniture that will be built and displayed at the Kersh Modern grand opening.

For those of you that do not live local to the Southern California area, we can flat pack *select furniture designs anywhere in the US from our facility.

Micah Kersh
Owner - Chief Designer
714-493-9430

Amy Lambertson
Co-Owner - Sales and Marketing
714-477-3911

661 Poinsettia St
Santa Ana, Ca 92701
www.kershmodern.com

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The Irvine farmer's market has been around for a long time now and if you want to meet some of the region's best food producers, farmers then you should visit this.

avocado-oil-seller avocado-oil grapes terranium lemmon-irvine

The vendors as much as I know...

• Spring Hill - delicious cheese. I tried them all! - http://www.springhillcheese.com/
• Awesome Terrariums $15 to $50 - No website found, but they are pretty cool!
• Arnett Farms - http://www.arnettfarms.com/
• Papidaddy. (me) http://papidaddy.com/
• Anita Lau (Mad Hungry Woman) http://madhungrywoman.com/. I ran into my friend Anita, foodie extraordinaire.
• Avocado Oil. Amazing! starts at $15.00 for 1/2 liter. You can use Avocado oil like olive oil or any other cooking oil. It's healthy and stands really hot temperatures before it burns.
• Baba Food. Awesome we bought three things. Khalid will take you on an amazing hummus tasting tour.

You can find the new location here:

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When I think about it, I'm lucky to be around all these companies. Small and big and everything in between, you'll find it in Irvine. But Powercrunch is more than just a company.

Powercrunch makes protein enriched foods. Things like protein bars, protein shakes and protein powders to name a few. These are the kind of products you don't usually buy, but you should. Why? Because if you're like most Americans, you are probably not consuming enough protein or enough protein that can be processed by your body.

You should listen (in the video below) to Kevin, the founder of Powercrunch explain this a little better. I understand how proteins work and why they're so important. This understanding is why I've been able to lose about 40 pounds in the past few months, but I'm not the right person to explain it to you.

I had a chance to listen to Kevin, the founder of Powercrunch talk about BNRG, proteins and the history behind Powercrunch. The story is fascinating and I can relate to it as a parent.

I must admit, It wasn't Kevin's night, he seemed a little bit tense having all these bloggers and social media folks around, he even forgot his balls. #Truestory, but his talk is excellent.

Kevin told us the story of how he had to have a better protein than the one that was out there at the time. This happened back when I was two years old, in 1982. Now, 32 years later, Kevin is still working on bringing the best possible protein available.

Why did he have to develop this protein? Well, I'll let you watch the video for that, but if you're a parent I know you'll relate.

So that's Powercrunch. That's what they do and why they're here. I know protein is very important and many people completely misunderstand it, so take some time today and learn about it.

As for me, I'm hitting the sack. Part of doing all we can to #stopdiabetes is getting a good amount of sleep, staying active and having a healthy diet. I've done two out of those today, so it's time to get some sleep now.

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The video clip is about the Pageant of The Masters, one of the focal events during the Festival of the Arts.

This year's Festival of the Arts will not disappoint. make sure you get tickets for the events you want, it gets crowded.

This is from last years and I may have more of these coming. I'm also going to show you some of this year's event as it gets closer.

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We talked about email marketing and how Aweber helps you achieve great results. There are three main tips I covered as well as some insights from John Chow. We also took a little bit of time to do Q&A and really enjoyed the time hanging out and learning from each other.

At the very last minute before starting, we decided to fire up a Google Hangout on Air so the recording of that video is shown below. Paradise Perks, the coffee shop where we hosted this didn't have the best internet connection to stream this live so the video is a little fuzzy. But you can listen to the whole conversation in the form of a podcast.

[powerpress]

We also briefly talked about a few apps that integrate with Aweber beautifully:

• Gravity Forms - Integrate sophisticated and beautiful forms with Aweber and WordPress
• Optinmonster - Dramatically (up to 600%) increase your opt-in rates on your WordPress Website.
• Leadpages - Easily create beautiful landing pages that integrate seamlessly with Aweber.

Aweber Tips, and discussion Hangouts On Air

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Startups, entrepreneurs and every other member of this thriving ecosystem is welcome. Just RSVP (it's free), soon. Spots are limited and we usually fill up. RSVP here.

You would have heard of Vanesa Rey by now, I've mentioned her on my blog before, and she's one of my most successful clients. She's said before that I inspire and mentor her, but in reality, I'm inspired by her every day.

This particular event is bound to be a huge success because it features Vanesa, our first ever female speaker. Her topic will be: LESSONS FOR ENTREPRENEURS FROM HOLLYWOOD's RED CARPET.

She will share what she learned in her previous life as a Hollywood motion picture publicist and how she applied these lessons to the successful launch of her tech fashion brand, Vanesa Rey.

You can RSVP for Free Lunch Friday here. And you can find out more about Vanesa at vanesarey.com

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Let's see, they have the model S which starts around 62,000 and can go upwards of $96,000 with the top of the line S model and most upgrades. I think is pretty cool. 0 - 60 in 4.2 and a range of about 265 miles, that's a pretty nice ride that's also good for the environment. New models like the X are coming out and definitely will continue to come out in the forseeable future. It seems that the future has arrived. We probably would wish for a range comparable to a 300 - 400 mile ride, but it's not quite there yet. But just think of the possibilities. Soon.

Imagine, you drive couple hundred miles and you pull over to a station that removes your battery, and replaces it with a new fresh battery in a minute or so. You could be "charged up" and back on the road in just a couple minutes. Very much comparable to a traditional pit stop when you're doing a little road trip, for example, Orange County to Las Vegas.

You can also charge them at home or as a last resort, with a normal plug outlet if I understand correctly.

Some people are concerned because of the fires that have happened recently, but if you look at each case, they were all caused by high-speed (unsafe) accidents. Authorities have deemed the cars safe and as of just a few days ago, they released their report concluding that no recall is needed. And you know what? if the German safety inspectors say it's safe, then I would trust them.

But enough about that. What I really like about it, is that it is electric, 100%. Silent and they just look cool. Check these out:

photo credit Tesla Motors

That production facility looks pristine, so nice and modern, and these guys are working really really hard. This is innovation. We all should be applauding their efforts.

Then there's this demo video i found of the Tesla Model S. They show off their 17inch display. You can open your roof up. Like, really, open it up. Not a little sunroof or moonroof. Active-air suspension for comfort and you can adjust the height for different conditions. Regenerative breaks, means that the breaks help charge your battery. The energy captured from you slowing down is converted into power for your battery for an additional way to save on the power usage. Let me just let the video do the talkin.

I tell you what. I don't quite want one right now, but I am guessing that their stock is quite undervalued right now. People are concerned with the fire stuff, but really I am sure this is going to bounce back up and go past 200, once the smart people that would buy and support a company like this realize that the fires are not a concern, this is going to shoot up.

What do you think about the Tesla car? Have you driven one? do you own one? tell me in the comments.

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The goal of the workshop is this:

• Understand the Mindset of Successful Entrepreneurs
• Learn to Identify and Overcome your Fears
• Discover the Business Type that is Right for You
• Determine Which of Your Passions Could be a Business

The event will take place on Tuesday, November 12th and Thursday November 22th, 2013 at 6:30 pm

The location is: McKenna’s Tea Cottage 800 Electric Ave, Seal Beach, CA. (map)

Download PDF: Exploring Entrepreneurship Flyer

To RSVP

Go to

Or contact Cassandra Novak-Tobey (714) 987-8301

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I got a chance to meet some great new people, had great conversations and we really enjoyed each other's company over some wine and hors d'oeuvres.

I hope you can make the next event. We're planning the next 2 months and we will be announcing them all at our meetup page so join and stay tunned.

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The Habit is nice. Even though prices are comparable to fast food places... or even less expensive, the decor and ambiance is more upscale than your average fast food joint. They even use those buzzers like regular sit down restaurants to call you when your order is ready. That was a nice touch.

Staff was friendly and despite being in a long line I was in and out of there in about 10 minutes.

I ordered their double cheeseburger. With fries. Someone had mentioned that the patties were thin so it would be better if I got a double burger. Turns out, I thought the patties were thin like the patties for In n Out. I was really hungry so I ordered an additional patty. Making this a triple cheeseburger... Except they didn't put cheese on the third patty.

Side dishes at The Habit in #Irvine

A photo posted by Oscar Gonzalez (@notagrouch) on Apr 9, 2013 at 11:05am PDT

Just a few minutes later I was out the door with my order and an order for a friend, the original char burger with fries. My order was to go ao I headed back home to chow down.

The fact is that this is one of the best burgers I have had in a while. For this price and basically a fast food burger, The Habit's double char cheeseburger is hard to beat. I know I had an extra patty, and that just put my burger over the top. The patties are substantially bigger than In and Out's, and I really did not need to order a third patty, but it was good.

Maybe I am being a little bit unfair to my other beloved burger joints like In and Out because the flavor was totally different, but it just tasted really good. It reminded me of a really good home made burger.
The burgers normally come with lettuce, tomatoes, mayo. It was pretty perfect, but knowing me I had to get some of the sliced jalapeños and chilies they have as condiments. #Delish.

I will definitely be back soon. It was totally a great experience, tasty and at a terrific price. (I am blogging this from my phone so forgive my typos, but enjoy the pictures.)

The post The Habit Burger in Irvine appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

This time, Steve, William from Piety Project and my sister Ursula from travelingmango.com - Steve's two sites: MegatechNews and Futurelooks.

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We're starting off with small groups, and so far we've had two small meetups. I would like to extend an invitation for you to join. You can find the group called Smart and Social on meetup.com.

I've done one small webinar already as part of this new group. I used Google Hangouts, and last week I had my first Blogging group meeting. That was an introductory meeting and we've set the schedule for a six week program for the group. We start next thursday and this is an early group. 8:30 am.

I spend a lot of time training people on how to use websites, social media and technology in general. Most of the time I spend time one-on-one with people and although it is very valuable and I enjoy doing it, I think we could use a bit of a collective approach sometimes.

In about two weeks I'll be starting out another group that will meet at later times. If you are not into blogging, maybe you want to learn about social media? or just find some really cool tech meetups? Come join me for free at Smart and Social. And remember, live meetups are in the Orange County area, but you can join the group even if you're not in the area because we'll have virtual meetups using google hangouts, or Ustream or other methods so that anyone in the world can participate.

The plans are to have live and virtual events covering the following:

• Meetups to showcase or teach you about websites
• Meetups with WordPress hands-on workshops
• Guided 6 - 16 week business and technology program
• Accountability groups

The post Smart and Social, a new Meetup.com group in Orange County. appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

People talk about the delicious scrumptious burgers you can get here. They say "Five Guys' got nothing on these guys" "In and Out... in and what?" I've even heard people say "it's better than The Counter" Better than The Counter is almost impossible because The Counter makes YOUR favorite burger, but I digress...

My honest opinion about Umami Burger is that I don't get the buzz. I liked the burger, don't get me wrong. It was tasty and fulfilling. The crispy wafer was a nice gimmick.

But as I thought about it more and looked around the restaurant more I wondered. What else will I find in here? There are so many things going on with the dishes that it's hard to appreciate individual flavors or the carefully crafted food. It seems that my friend Anita also feels the same way about Umami Burger.

Let's just say that they didn't get a glowing review. She reserves high marks for the best of the best and Umami didn't quite get that.

I'd give it a 2.5 - 3 rating. Maybe more so in the lower end because of the price. And I don't know... they just tried too hard to impress. It seems to be working too, people are gobbling up the idea that,  ooooh ahhh they have "real" Coca-Cola.

Go to the local supermarket and you buy yourself a six-pack of that. What's the big deal? If you order a regular drink, apparently you get one refill, really? One refill? for a 10+ dollar burger.

Something I found very gimmicky was their plates. They're made out of banana leaves or something, maybe straw. The truth is that it seems ridiculous to pay for these plates.

I get it, they're recyclable but how much are these? And whatever happened to just regular dishes that you wash and stuff? It seems that a good washing system with water conservation put into the mix would be better for the environment and our pockets.

Overall, I'd go back for another lunch with friends or something but I don't know that I would go back to Umami burger.

The post The Burger Review: Umami Burger Costa Mesa location appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Here's a video about Boiling Crab food and one of my many visits to the place. This is the "big" location in Garden Grove.

Warning for sound! - One of my first videos, with terrible sound so be warned.

The post Boiling Crab, Eating messy and tasty cajun seafood in Orange County appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

But at the same time I'm also limited to just what I want to do and places I've been to. I tend to guide myself towards other similar places and maybe I'm missing out on something. When I joined foursquare I found that I would be able to see where other people are checking in. This has helped me find new restaurants, parks and places I didn't know existed. I thought that was pretty cool.

I have close to 1000 checkins now and I'm hoping to have 1000 checkins or more by February 15th. Besides the fun that I'm having in 4sq, I believe that foursquare is a very important tool that businesses can use. I'm having a lot of fun with it personally but there is a lot of benefit to having your face and your name be out there in the community that you serve or that you work for. It's all about how many people see your face and recognize you when they want to do business with you.

For example, if you are the owner of a store at a mall it is to your advantage to be the mayor there because when you're in the store, people will recognize you if they check into foursquare (don't forget to remind them with a sticker!). You can also offer a perk for checking in. A discount is a good incentive, but also, people like checking in when the Mayor is in the house, as they get extra points. So I don't see why a business wouldn't want to join foursquare.

I've set a small challenge for myself; to get up to 2000 chickens by the end of the summer. I think I can do that easily. I also want to become the mayor of 45 places. Currently I am the mayor of 11 places, and I try to check into every one of those at least a couple times a week, daily when I can.

I'm also discovering a lot of applications for foursquare besidse foursquare itself, I'll talk about those in another blogpost. So what are your thoughts on Foursquare?

The post Loving Foursquare, as I Rediscover Irvine, the City I Live in appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.