January had its good and bad developments...

January had its good and bad developments for the folks at Wood Ranch Barbecue and Grill in Moorpark.

The bad: A restaurant safe, containing more than $10,000 in cash, was stolen Jan. 22 after the restaurant had closed for the evening.

The good: A lease was signed in early January, paving the way for a second Wood Ranch Barbecue, this one to be in the Whizins shopping center in Agoura Hills. The restaurant is due to open in early April.

“We’ve been looking at the spot for over a year,” said owner Eric Anders. “We’ll have the same menu, and we are really going to focus on the dinner house aspect. In fact, we won’t be open for lunch at the beginning.”

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Ojai will be getting a big publicity boost this weekend when the owner of The Ojai Cook, a line of citrus condiments and snacks, pushes some new products at the Fancy Food Show of the National Assn. for the Specialty Food Trade in San Diego.

For those unfamiliar with The Ojai Cook, the product line hit the gourmet food scene two years ago at this same trade show. It’s basic products are the Lemonaise (a mayonnaise with lemon), the Rouge Relish (a tomato-lemon relish), Citrus Mustard (a mix of whole grain mustard and orange marmalade) and Puckers (a sourdough cracker with lemon and pepper).

New to the line are Lemonaise with Garlic and Herbs, Lemonaise Light and Prickly Puckers, the sourdough cracker with salsa added.

“All the products are inspired by the Ojai Valley and by the citrus that grows there,” said Joan Baeder Vogle, owner The Ojai Cook and a part-time resident of Ojai for the past seven years. “I’ve always loved citrus, and here it was right in my back yard. I just thought there wasn’t enough citrus being creatively utilized in food.”

The Ojai Cook products are available at local shops, including Tottenham Court and Regal’s in Ojai. They are also available in gourmet food outlets throughout the country and abroad, including Williams-Sonoma in Japan and Macy’s in New York and San Francisco.