Next up fighting the good fight for urban homesteaders: These guys

Back in 2011, I wrote a series of articles about a battle between advocates of urban farming and the Dervaes family of Pasadena. The Dervaeses have received international attention for turning their home into an farming wonderland, but the family at the time was going after anyone and everyone who was using the terms "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading," which has been widely used since the 1970s but that the Dervaeses had trademarked with the feds. Farmers markets, authors, and jes' plain folks who used "urban homestead" and "urban homesteading" quickly found their Facebook pages taken down due to allegations of copyright infringements, got cease-and-desist letters, and feared more from the Dervaes.

But yesterday in California federal court, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter gave opponents of the Dervaes a partial victory when he cancelled the trademark for "urban homesteading," saying it was too generic a term to deserve protection.

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http://pokedotlove.com/a>

Poke fun.

Yes, Poke Dot is yet another poke joint. Yes, it's like Pokinometry. Yes, it has the usual selection of small, medium, and large sizes that comes with 2, 3, or 5 scoops of fish. Yes, rice, brown rice, salad mix, chips or a wrap as choices for the base. Yes, cucumber, onion, avocado, and crab mix are free; as are the so-called "toppings" of green onion, masago, seaweed flakes, ginger, wasabi, and sesame seeds. Yes, there are a variety of sauces to dress your protein choices of salmon, ahi, yellowtail, shrimp, octopus, scallop, and spicy tuna, including a house-blend in various levels of burn.

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Photo by The Mexican

Here's to the newspaper industry!

Another year, another good meeting with the boss at the Fairmont Newport Beach, a spot with great drinks that I can only afford when the jefe pays the bill. The hooch this time? The Italian Scotsman, which is curiously listed under the bar's Manhattan collection.

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Photo by William Vo

Worth the wait?

I'm in a line at a strip mall in Costa Mesa for the Halal Guys--the first West Coast branch of the beloved New York City food cart--and the closer I inch toward the door, the more intense the smell gets. The aroma of chicken thighs sizzling on the flattop griddle is intoxicating. I rolled into the parking lot about an hour earlier, at 10:15 a.m., thinking I'd surely be the first person. I was wrong. Even though it was still 45 minutes before the place opened, there were already 15 people when I got here, milling around the entrance. That was when a guy with a crew cut and a deck of cards in his hand decided it was time to form a formal queue.

"When more people start coming, it'll be easier if we're already in a line," he told the group. We nodded and self-organized by order of arrival. Mr. Crew Cut, having done his duty in instituting order, continued his card game with a friend and waited in his place with the rest of us.

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A photo posted by Hopdoddy Burger Bar (@hopdoddy) on Nov 2, 2015 at 10:00am PST

Hopdoddy Burger Bar is originally from Texas, established in 2010 in Austin. Since then it has grown to four more locations in the Lone Star state. Now it's expanding to other territories including Arizona, Colorado, and right here in our neck of the woods. In recent months Hopdoddys have opened in El Segundo and Playa Vista.

Now one has opened in Newport Beach's Fashion Island, just around the corner from the Tesla store, near Macy's.

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Photos by Brian Feinzimer

Chick fodder.

The minute I walked into OPM Restaurant & Lounge and was led into the room by a curvy hostess in a tight dress, I noticed something peculiar with the crowd: women outnumbered men about 20 to 1. They were all dressed-up, made-up and toasting one another with skinny glasses. Most were in their twenties, sitting in groups of six or more. I suspect there were at least two bachelorette parties present. OPM was the kind of place that would be conducive to that, as well as birthdays.

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Edwin Goei

Don't call it a pizza.

There are so many iterations of the post-Pieology pizza joint these days, it's hard to tell them apart. But the new Al Amir in Irvine is immediately distinguishable from the rest. First of all, its dining room is sparse, looking as though the contractors stopped mid-job. And second, while it serves what can be thought of pizzas--since they're round, slid in an oven, has toppings, and a thin crust--they are not pizzas; they're sphihas. What's a sphiha? The Lebanese term for fresh-baked flat bread topped with all manner of delicious things like zaatar (an herb mixture with thyme) and soujouk (sausage).

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Anne Marie Panoringan

Soon!

Back in July, Eater LA reported the first US location of Buddy Chicken was being built in Santa Anita Mall. Well, it's November and we're still waiting. In the meantime, The Block Outlets at Orange are hiring management for their first Orange County outpost.

Founded in China, Buddy Jipai (as they're also referred to) is a boneless, heart-shaped chicken breast that's flattened, marinated, battered and deep fried to a delicious state. These seven-ounce beauties are mass produced throughout 500 franchised storefronts at a rate of 40,000 cluckers daily. Damn impressive for a trio of unemployed baking tools salesmen from Taiwan with no actual restaurant experience.

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Photo by Brian Feinzimer

Inspired

I never quite know what to expect from part two of our interview. One thing's for sure: there's usually one great story to tell. And that's how we're leading the second installment of Chef Kim's interrogation.

Spencer began the conversation yesterday. Catch up over here. Then check out his shrimp story below.

What's your favorite childhood memory?
I would have to say the first and last time I had the best shrimp ever. It was in the countryside in Korea, where my dad's work with the Korean Army had us stay overnight in tents. A few of the soldiers woke me up late night after everyone went to sleep to catch some shrimp. We ran up and down the ice cold stream screaming like crazy people just to catch some shrimp. But, it was so worth it at the end. We ate shrimp raw and also cooked over a gas torch. No words can describe the sweetness or flavor of those shrimp other than the fact that it was the best shrimp I've ever had.

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A photo posted by THE MELT (@themelt) on Oct 12, 2015 at 11:12am PDT

The Irvine Spectrum outpost of The Melt--a San Francisco-based grilled cheese chain founded by Silicon Valley types and James Beard recipient Michael Mina--was the first in OC. Now a second has opened in the Tustin side of The Marketplace.

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