Dining, Arts & Entertainment

Ready set go, go, go!  It is officially holiday time.  The warm fall breezes are sweeping right though all of us in Santa Clarita.  The smell of the turkey and pumpkin pies are already consuming all of our thoughts.  The families all gather to enjoy a wonderful meal on that magical fourth Thursday of November of each year.  We always know that we must use “Mom’s” perfect stuffing recipe, cousin Alice always does the potatoes and lumpy gravy, aunt Sue’s cranberry jello, grandma always does her time tradition ambrosia salad, and uncle Mike cuts the turkey with precision each year. 

The Top 10 Reasons You Should Support J.R.’s Comedy Club!

1. Where else can you get Pie in your face Comedy?  We are located inside Marie Callendar’s
2. We have been bringing world-class comedy entertainment to Santa Clarita for 13 years.

Blend an eclectic array of unique gourmet, tantalizing and exotic drinks and you’ve got the recipe for the perfect place to be…MIXERS Restaurant & Lounge. Nestled in the heart of the Santa Clarita Valley, this chic and modern restaurant and lounge offers a dining experience unlike any other.   Silver Screen classics are projected onto the walls to bring the room to life, while music, both abstract and vibrant set the mood.  The lighting is focused and intimate, and inviting for their unique culinary design.  “We wanted to create a dining experience that is exceptionally pleasing to all of the senses,” states owners Louise Castaldo and Chris Davis.  

Introduce your kids to a healthy and fun art form known as dance. Learning the art of dance will improve their self-confidence in every thing they do while keeping them in shape and will contribute to a healthier lifestyle. 

Celebrity Tribute, Zonta’s largest fundraiser of the year, will honor James Hicken, President of The Bank of Santa Clarita.  “The Loan Ranger” rides again on Friday, November 4, at the Odyssey Restaurant in Granada Hills.  Call Zonta at 661-252-9351 for event reservations and enjoy the Celebrity Tribute evening of fun!
Santa makes house calls!  Make your plans for the upcoming holidays!  Zonta’s Rent-A-Santa program is a great way to add that something special to the holiday season! 

As a child I often dreamt of waking up Christmas morning and finding our house and neighborhood blanketed with snow.  Although I knew it was a long shot I still ran to the window to check.  Oh well, I guess the presents from Santa would have to do.  Yes, unfortunately we live in snow challenged city.  However, that may be a good thing. Imagine having to wake up extra early to shovel snow off the driveway in order to drive to work, the store, or to drop the kids off at school.  But then again, there is something magical about snow.  The way a child’s eyes light up at its very sight.  Or the smile on their face that quickly follows.  Yes, there is something magical indeed about snow.  It’s something that brings out the inner child in all of us, yearning to throw a snowball at our neighbor.  Oh, what to do in a town without snow.

A must see!  This pre-Broadway musical Wartime Romance, A Time to Remember - will be presented at Santa Clarita Performing Arts Center on Saturday, April 28, 2012.  There will be two performances of this acclaimed patriotic production about a World War II (WWII) love story.  The afternoon matinee performance begins at 3 p.m. and ticket sale proceeds will benefit the Santa Clarita Valley Veterans Memorial Committee. 

Pho Sure represents the first truly authentic Vietnamese noodle restaurant in the Santa Clarita Valley without the typical four walls and bamboo décor.  Instead Pho Sure is surely the newest and freshest ethnic addition to the Santa Clarita landscape offering 24 different variations of the Vietnamese beef noodle soup, commonly known as Pho.
Upon entry, one immediately notices the modern and obvious difference in this restaurant.  The décor provides a soothing environment with soft metallic tones and round edges that gently conveys the warm essence of comfort.  

If you’ve been in a cocktail bar in the last decade, you have seen a cocktail made with egg whites.  As a bartender, I often get the same reactions from people, ranging from “is that safe?” or “does it taste good?”  Both being very curious statements since as a bartender, you wouldn’t want to serve a product that doesn’t taste good or would hurt your patron, both being bad for business.

Hello again, Comedy Fans!
We have an awesome month of October lined up for you.  We start out on September 30 and October 1 with one of our all time favorite headliners, Brian Sheil.  Brian does comedy, plays the guitar, does impressions, and hilarious characters.  He has done our New Year’s Eve Shows a couple of times and is a crowd favorite.  Also on the bill is the very funny Dan Grueter, who is also a headliner.

Dry ice has a history in America dating back to 1925 when Prest Air Devices out of Long Island City, New York made the first CO2 fire extinguisher.  Since then this unique property of frozen carbon dioxide has become useful in all sorts of applications.  The camper uses dry ice to keep their wet ice cold and avoid a soppy wet ice chest.  The hunter may use this 109 below zero product to freeze trophy game.  The auto enthusiast can use dry ice to remove dents and dings from their cherry ride.  Medical personnel preserve and ship biological samples with dry ice and even use it to remove warts and freckles.  And Martha Stewart wannabes (like me) use it to add the perfect touch to their eerie Halloween party!

The Santa Clarita gathering of the Los Angeles Opera League had their first meeting of the 2011-2012 opera season.  Participants enjoyed a potluck dinner with a Russian food theme to commemorate Tchaikovsky, the composer of the first opera - Eugene Onegin – which is based on Pushkin’s novel of the same name.
Anne Russell Sullivan, a former Metropolitan Opera singer and Tchaikovsky authority, presented clips from Ralph Finnes movie Eugene Onegin and scenes from various performances of the opera. 

Mixers hosts a Sunday Brunch!  Every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  We serve up a unique blend of breakfast favorites.  Now, the idea of a breakfast menu only one day a week can make some people a bit skeptical, but I am here to say, if I knew our brunch was going to turn out so phenomenal, I might have considered opening a breakfast joint instead.  Call it “Scramblers” instead of “Mixers”!

For someone who loves food as much as I do, the perfect vacation includes a walk through the streets of Palermo, Sicily.  This August I was lucky enough to spend some time at the famous Markets of Palermo—La Vucciria, Ballaro’, Capo and Borgo Vecchio. I started my trip off at La Vucciria, an open-air market that, being true to its name (Confusion in Sicilian), is riddled with the commotion of buyers and sellers making exchanges in loud, boisterous voices. 

Come and enjoy browsing on Saturday, November 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at our fabulous indoor market where the atmosphere is relaxing and the people are the friendliest.  Work up an appetite shopping and then visit our bake sale for all your favorite goodies.  Then shop some more! 

I would like to apologize to everyone who emailed me last month, wondering what happened to my column.  I went on a one month sabbatical, and I had some time to think about dating in general.  I also went on a few dates that, unfortunately, did not work out.
One day I just started reminiscing about the simpler times in my life.  You know back in our twenties and thirties.  It was nice thinking about the girls, and girlfriends I dated back then.  That was such an easy going time, going on dates that the girl had pretty much one criteria for dating.

D’Wilfri DanceArt and Entertainment School of Dance Has Something For Everyone  and That Includes You… No More Hesitation, Now is The Time! We offer private and group dance classes for all ages, adults, teens and children alike.  Learn social dancing so you can look great on the dance floor, prepare for competition to fulfill that competitive drive or prepare for a performance to show off all that hidden talent you know is there; whatever you choose, now is the time!

The Santa Clarita Emblem Club #459 is hosting a charity boutique and bake sale on Saturday, October 1, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Elks Lodge, 17766 Sierra Highway, Canyon Country.  This event benefits various charities in the Santa Clarita Valley.