What Do You Do When THIS Is In Your Back Yard??

The answer to the question" What do you do when The Sweet 16 is in your back yard?" The answer is actually pretty simple. You go to your back yard and watch part of the best sporting event in America, March Madness. This year, one on the arenas hosting The Sweet 16 was the Honda Center, in Anaheim. The teams were San Diego State/U Conn, and Duke/Arizona. For any of you that did your office bracket, the excitement is 100 times greater with 17,000 people cheering their teams with abandon. By the way..for those of you with brackets, VCU just killed you,huh? And don't lie, unless you're from Richmond,VA, you know you didn't have VCU in that one pool that "counts".

Before I wrap this up, if you are ever going to go to the Honda Center and don't want to pay the $7,455 they want for parking, give me a call or email. We found free street parking withing a quarter mile.

Pat Palmer-Realtor/Broker Real Estate The Right Way Visit Our Website Here Looking For A Change? Click On Our Career Page Here

GOOD FOOD, GREAT PRICE-WaBa TERIYAKI

Every now and again, you stumble across a good place to eat. At lunch today, our office manager, Tony Sevilla ,and I did some stumbling in Rancho Cucamonga. We thought we were walking into a new sushi place, but found had we read all the way to the bottom of the sign, we would have found WaBa Teriyaki. Nowhere in that is sushi mentioned. When we stopped to think about it, that made sense because they don't serve sushi. Luckily, they do serve some mean teriyaki.




9670 Haven #104
Rancho Cucamonga,CA
909-945-3241

The restaurant was very clean, open with a lot of light, and both indoor/outdoor seating. Because it's located in the middle of a good sized professional center, people watching goes well with either a teriyaki bowl or plate.That's a good thing, because that's all they serve. No need for anything else either. It's THAT kind of good. Going with the adage"No one likes to eat in an empty restaurant", there were a LOT of happy people. The food is served quickly, it's low in fat, and more food that $5-$7 should ever allow.

The only drawback is if you aren't stumbling,and actually want to find the place. You won't see it off of either 4th Street or Haven. It's tucked around the back of the N.W. corner of that intersection.

IT'S NOT GOOD BBQ IF YOUR FINGERS DON'T STINK

Yesterday, while in Rancho Cucamonga, I broke two of my own Cardinal Rules (do Cardinals..or cardinals..actually eat BBQ) when it come to BBQ.

Rule #1: Always eat at a Mom & Pop Establishment that has years of actual smoke build up inside and out.
Rule #2: Said establishment should have one of the following in its name...Mama's, Auntie or Tiny's. A sub-rule is that Mama, Aunite or Tiny should actually be in the kitchen.

In a moment of temporary Memphis weakness, Tony (Forefront Real Estate's office manager) and I found ourselves at Dickey's BBQ yesterday.It's important to note that Dickey's is a chain joint, and Dickey was no where to be found.While the service was very good, the prices and the food weren't.

I had the chopped beef,Big BBQ Sandwich. Apparently the term "Big" has different meanings in different parts of the country. Typically, if the entire inside of the bun can be covered by two pickle slices, "Big" isn't the first thing that comes to mind. Luckily, the meat was dry and pretty close to tasteless. The added bonus was that the BBQ sauce was basically colored vinegar. How do I know, you ask? Because it kept coming back all afternoon. 'Sorry you asked, huh?

Tony had a beef plate combination. His comment when he was done was ' For $9, I should be more full". The entire bill was about $23 bucks. When we were done eating, we both noted the absence of need for two very crucial parts of any good BBQ...toothpicks or extra napkins. In fact,the only think I needed was some trail mix to satisfy my remaining hunger.

I'm off to find Mama or Tiny.

LOCAL CLAREMONT BUSINESS SUPPORTS CHS STUDENTS

Casa De Salsa-415 W. Foothill Blvd #321, Claremont,CA

I'd like to thank Casa De Salsa Restaurant for opening their doors to some of the Claremont H.S. Spanish student. I mean they literally opened their doors..before they even opened. A group (including my beautiful daughter) of Spanish students needed to film a video in Spanish. Casa De Salsa is within walking distance of Claremont H.S. The owners opened their doors yesterday a half hour before opening just so the kids could do their filming in the kitchen. They also allowed the kids to stay and re-shoot their video until 12:30.

Usually an effort like this would go largely unnoticed and under appreciated. This is one way to draw attention,and hopefully business, to a local business supporting their youth.

Thank you very much.

YOU WANT ME TO DO ...WHAT?

ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER-800 W. KATELLA, ANAHEIM,CA

Day 1 of the C.A.R. Expo was "technically amazing". Tech Tuesday leads off every California Assoc. of Realtors yearly expo,and this is the first I've seen. For those of us over the age of 30 (and how painfully reminded of that fact I was), real estate is a "hands on","kick the tires" kind of industry.

That way of thinking is no mas for the buyers/sellers of today, and certainly, the future. From company specific phone apps, to documents you can sign from that phone using just your finger tip, real estate is virtual, it's mobile, and it's amazing! As a buyer or seller, more information is available under your signing finger than was available to those of us in the industry not five years ago. Not only that, but you can choose what information you want, how you want to be notified its waiting for you, if you prefer it delivered to your computer, your phone, with a phone call or a text. Pretty soon I'm sure they'll be able to beam me down to you and personally deliver your news. I wonder how well freckles "beam".

For those of you reading this that, like me, may be Realtors, the price of admission paid for itself in the first lecture. If you are also like me and don't particularly like spending your day in a seminars, go anyway. The amount of information available to you is invaluable.

Talk to you all soon..or maybe you prefer an email...or a text...perhaps a Facebook update is more to your liking. I can do that! If I can't, my 15 year old daughter can show me how.

THE BEST RESTAURANT YOU'LL NEVER FIND

VIVA MADRID-225 YALE AVE,CLAREMONT

If you are looking for a wonderful evening in a great restaurant...keep looking. Don't get me wrong, this is the place you want to go. You just need to FIND it. The first thing that will strike you about this tapas restaurant is that you can't see it from the street. It's kind of like a treasure hunt, with the meal being the treasure. So that you don't roam aimlessly around Downtown Claremont (unless you want to because it's a great place) here's a map and a hint:(Look for a walkway just south of Rhino Records)

When you find the walkway, just look for the line of people waiting to get in. If you arrive more that 30 minutes after opening, the line will surely be there. Viva Madrid is a small, funky place where the chairs don't match, and there's not a spot on the wall without something adorning it.So what is everyone waiting for...tapas!

What are tapas? These are tapas. Tapas are part of a meal made of of wonderful hor d'oeuvers. There are well over 50 on the menu, and one is as good as the next.Half the fun is trying things you have never heard of. If you really don't like it, it will only set you back a few bucks anyway.Personally, I love the seared dates wrapped in bacon, and the squid with chorizo. Then again, the paella is ridiculous, as is the shrimp in wine/garlic sauce. I'm not a drinker, but the sangria seems to flow freely as well.If you're married, take your spouse. If you're not, be careful.It's part of an evening where you may end up that way. A great meal and then a stroll through Downtown Claremont is a great way to start your weekend.

KOBE BRYANT, GRAUMAN’S CHINESE THEATER, OZZIE OSBORNE & A PICKLED TONGUE SANDWICH ON RYE

Only in L.A. are all the things in this blog title possible to see in one afternoon. Well, sort of. My daughter wanted to see some star’s homes, so yesterday we made a day of it. If you enjoy watching humanity on parade, Grauman’s Chinese Theater is absolutely the place to be.

We started out there by looking at the stars on The Walk of Fame. While a sidewalk marker of Julia Roberts may be eye catching, the real show revolves around the people at eye level. There were wanna’ be’s, might be’s, and those that just want to be seen. You can go a block west, to the Hollywood Wax Museum and see very large candles that look frighteningly like Kobe Bryant, Snoop Dog or a host of other stars.

If shopping is more your thing, The Hollywood & Highland Center is just on the east side of Grauman’s. Personally, I’ll keep an eye on the parade of humanity while my wife and daughter shop.
From there, it was off to the Hollywood Hills to the star’s homes. Through Google, we found a semi-reliable list of stars. If you want to drive by Ozzie Osborne’s front gate, you can. Ditto for Madonna. But really, it looked a lot more like a big, giant hedge row to me.
Whether most of these people still live in the homes is anyone’s guess. However, if you want to find yourself lost in some beautiful areas of Los Angeles, it’s the way to go.
After working up a serious hunger, we drove east to the Fairfax District, and home to Canter’s Deli. Canter’s is a very historic part of L.A. It’s famous for it’s patrons, food and, well, being Canter’s. Always wanting to try ethnic foods, I opted for the pickled tongue sandwich on rye. If you’re not Jewish, this might sound bad. I’m not, and it wasn’t. In fact, it was very good. My wife had pastrami, and my daughter had a lox sandwich.

All were tasty and the bread was bakery fresh. The one negative I would say was the price. Three sandwich lunches with waters and ice tea ran over $50. Given the number of other Jewish delis in L.A., I would probably opt for a different one next time.

DAY TRIP TP OAK GLEN

Other than being a real estate/ mortgage broker, if I had it to do all over again, I’d be a food and travel reporter. That way, I’d get paid to do two things I really enjoy. But since I’m not, I’ll just blog about it instead.
I took my family and some friends to Oak Glen yesterday for a day of apple picking and exploring. If you’re not familiar with Oak Glen, it is located in the lower mountains above Yucaipa. It’s an easy, scenic drive. On they way up, we came to a stop while a group of horse back riders crossed the road. That set the tone for a wonderful day. We started out at Riley Farms. The Rileys own several different apple related businesses on Oak Glen Road. This stop was a family run, working apple farm. When we arrived, we were given all the apple pickin’ supplies we needed. These consisted of bags and an apple picking basket. From there, we were free to explore the grounds. What I found most interesting is that the Rileys live in a log home on the premises. The family and staff could not have been more friendly or helpful. Along with various kinds of apples, there are also several blue berry and black berry patches. You may want to bring gardening gloves if you are going to pick these. The only drawbacks we found were the berries had been pretty well picked over, and the apples were still quite small. But given the amount of fun we had, it was all worth it.

From there, we ate at Apple Annie’s in Oak Glen. Like everywhere in Oak Glen this time of year, it pays to get there early. The line starts forming about 11:00. Apple Annie’s is famous for their fried chicken, and it didn’t disappoint. The restaurant is located in Oak Tree Village. There are several shops, vendors, and most importantly…. the petting zoo. For $2, and an additional $1 for a cup of corn feed, we got to pet baby pigs, feed goats, sheep and emus. Once again, I was reminded what good, family fun is all about.
If you make the trip, let me know what you think.