NOM Tequila Grill Opened Last Fall at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach

NOM Tequila Grill opened last November at the Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach in the former home of C Street Restaurant. NOM features authentic Mexican fare from various regions south of the border, including favorite dishes from Guadalajara, Puebla, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Yucatan and central Mexico. Ingredients are farm fresh and locally sourced.

NOM is short for Norma Oficial Mexicana and is a stamp of authenticity for 100% Mexican agave tequila. The restaurant incorporates tequila into many of its dishes. It offers mixed cocktails and 17 different kinds of tequila from the bar. The ambiance is friendly yet casually upscale.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach, 450 East Harbor Blvd., Ventura. Learn more at nomtequilagrill.com or by calling 805-652-5151.

Tifa Chocolate & Gelato Opened Today at The Shoppes at Westlake Village

Update January 26, 2015: Tifa Westlake at 30760 Russell Ranch Road, Suite A, Westlake Village is now open to the public!

Originally posted July 30, 2014:

Tifa Chocolate & Gelato will be opening a location at The Shoppes at Westlake Village. Tifa serves up gelato, handmade chocolates, artisan chocolate bars, European drinking chocolate and espresso drinks at its current location at Whizin Market Square, 28888 Roadside Drive in Agoura Hills. That would make these locations about four miles apart, which is fine by me when chocolate is involved!

Watch for updates here or at shoppesatwestlakevillage.com.

Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que in Thousand Oaks Recently Closed its Doors

Conejo Valley Guide Facebook Page follower Kimberlea A pointed out tonight that, according to her hubby, the Thousand Oaks location of Famous Dave's Bar-B-Que (3980 Thousand Oaks Boulevard) recently closed its doors. This was confirmed by a phone call to the Simi Valley Town Center location, not to mention that lack of any mention of the Thousand Oaks location on the Famous Dave's website at www.famousdaves.com.

Those who enjoy their BBQ can still enjoy it at The Collection at RiverPark in Oxnard and the Simi Valley Town Center. UPDATE: I take that back…both of these locations have since closed and the nearest Famous Dave’s locations to Thousand Oaks are in Irvine and Rancho Cucamonga.

Pearl District Restaurant Opened in Westlake Village on Sunday, December 28th

Pearl District Restaurant opened in the Westlake Plaza at 983 S. Westlake Boulevard, #8, Westlake Village, adjacent to Sprouts, in late December. This was the former home of Fin's Seafood Grill, which closed last year.

The restaurant is named after an urban area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad yards that has been redeveloped and is now noted for art galleries, upscale businesses and residences.

Pearl District's menu, available on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pearldistrictrestaurant, includes entrees like grilled Scottish salmon with okinawa sweet potato puree, edaname, Asian mushroom vinaigrette, scallions and daikon sprouts, grilled prime filet mignon with truffle-chive yukon gold potato puree, grilled asparagus and crispy maui onions and southern fried chicken breast with garlic mashers, brussels sprouts, collard greens, double smoked bacon and green tomato jam. Sounds pretty good to me!

Mendocino Farms Sandwich Market Opening in Westlake Village on February 2nd

Mendocino Farms Sandwich Market is opening on Monday, February 2nd in The Westlake Plaza at 966 S. Westlake Boulevard. Hours of operation will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

Mendocino Farms is a gourmet sandwich shop that incorporates local produce in their sandwiches, salads and soups. The name of the eatery pays tribute to the county in Northern California known for its support of the Slow Food Movement and Sustainable Farming.

Their menu includes items like the Chicken MBT (shaved, roasted free range chicken breast, local Gioia fresh mozzarella, house marinated red peppers, basil pesto, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, Scarborough Farm’s greens on ciabatta), Modern Tuna Melt (all white albacore tuna with fresh herbs, farmhouse cheddar, vegenaise, housemade pickles, red onions, tomatoes, Scarborough Farm’s greens on panini grilled buckwheat) and Prosciutto & Free Range Chicken (Creminelli prosciutto & shaved, roasted free range chicken breast with local Gioia fresh mozzarella, crushed honey roasted almonds, basil pesto, balsamic vinegar, tomatoes on panini grilled ciabatta).

Additionally, you can "build your own" sandwiches and salads using a number of fresh ingredients.

About half the items on the menu can be ordered gluten-free on request.

Founded in 2005 by Mario Del Pero and Ellen Chen, Mendocino Farms aims to reconstruct fine dining entrees to the sandwich level and take classic regional sandwiches and give them a modern interpretation. The menu created by Chef Partner Judy Han features adventurous takes on traditional sandwiches like the Pork Belly Banh Mi with caramelized Kurabuta pork belly and the "Not So Fried" Chicken with fresh roasted free range chicken, fried crispies and finished with a house pickle-mustard slaw.

This is the 9th location of Mendocino Farms, which has seven Los Angeles County locations and one in Orange County. To learn more, visit www.mendocinofarms.com.

Incidentally, this is the former home of Jack's Deli, which closed its doors in November 2011. That said, this newly remodeled eatery looks nothing like the Jack's Deli that brings memories of yesteryear!

A trip down memory lane...Jack's Deli in 2011.

The Lab in Agoura Hills to Be Re-Opened as Twisted Oak Tavern in Late January

Update 1/26/15: Twisted Oak Tavern has been open this week with a "sneak peak" menu until its full menu is introduced sometime next month!

The Lab Brewing Company in Agoura Hills announced on December 20th that it was temporarily closing its doors for a remodel, new design and concept. Recently the owners announced that the name of their new gastropub and in-house brewery is the Twisted Oak Tavern.

They are anticipating a late January grand re-opening date and have posted photos on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TwistedOakTavern. They have relocated their beer tanks to a more visible location, installed 100 year barn wood on the walls and are replacing the booths.

Owners are calling the Twisted Oak Tavern a "fresh twist on a classic tavern. 30 beers on tap featuring our in-house brewery: LAB Brewing Co, cold brew coffee on-nitro and craft cocktails served with elevated pub cuisine."

The grand opening is indeed coming soon...they announced that blues singer and guitarist Preston Smith will lead off the live music schedule on Friday, February 6th at 10pm.

Located at 30105 Agoura Rd, Agoura Hills in the Agoura Hills Town Center, across the street from the Sheraton. Visit www.twistedoaktavern.pub or follow their Facebook page for updates.

The Lab originally opened on 11/1/11 after owners decided to change the previous concept...MOZ Buddha Lounge, which was closed on 5/14/11. Neat to see owners willing to change it up every few years to keep its customers on their toes!

Plata Taqueria & Cantina Opened This Week at Whizin's Center in Agoura Hills

Just by chance tonight I discovered that the new Plata Taqueria & Cantina at the Whizin's Mall Shopping Center in Agoura is open. This is the former location of The Latigo Kid, which moved last spring to the Agoura Meadows Shopping Center on Kanan.

The hostess told me the doors opened on Tuesday night. There was a decent sized crowd in there enjoying home-style Mexican food and margaritas. Had I known they were open, I would have tried it out! No Facebook page or website that I could find as of yet, but they do have a phone number 818.735.9982. Whizin's Square is located at 28914 Roadside Drive.

Luna's Mexican Tradition Opened a 2nd Oxnard Location on January 7th

Luna's Mexican Tradition has opened up a 2nd Oxnard location at Centennial Plaza, 221 W. 5th Street. Visit their Facebook Page for more information.

This particular location has a tradition of change. Last Fall it was briefly N'Awlinz 805 Grill, after operating from September 2013 to early June 2014 as N'Awlinz Bistro. Prior to that, White Rabbit Fusion Cafe had operated there from June 2012 to June 2013 and before that it was the Iron Horse Bar & Grill in 2011 and Tortuga Cafe in 2010. And prior to that it was Capriccio.