Orange Flag Ceremony

Goodnight, Flag. Sleep well.

Papa Bear

Every Wednesday at 6pm in the center of the Orange Circle (AKA the Plaza (AAKA Chapman and Glassell)), Mark Wayland and his gang of military misfits say, "I love you" to America. How? They take down the flag in the center of town and give it all of its deserved pomp and circumstance - there is saluting, someone playing Taps, and the flag gets folded by like 20 guys into one of those little triangles you sometimes folded a piece of paper into to play football with in class.

The environment is filled with hats and t-shirts that say something cheeky about being a Marine. Plus about 40% of the people that come to this event are part of this Harley Davidson riding group called the Patriot Guard. They like to dress like they're in a scary motorcycle gang, but they're mostly ex-military grandpas.

"Then we use it play football, right?"

Before the main event, Mark stands in front of the group with special announcements. He will usually talk about someone who is over seas fighting, or is MIA, or list names of those that have been lost recently in the Iraq War. Then there's a moment of silence.

If you dig America, the military, or Taps, you would enjoy this half hour event in the Circle/Plaza.

Orange Farmer's Market

Okay, so no smoking and no terriers.

There's a new Farmers' Market (on Saturdays) in town so move over... other... farmers.

Okay, so there's not anything here that other Farmers' Markets don't have. Except if you get there early enough there may be free muffins and coffee! I heart 'free'.

Parking is easy and free.

Oh, and the cherries are AMAZING. There's a cherry guy. You'll know him when you see him. Buy the cherries. Buy ALL the cherries.

There are food trucks out front the market, too. In case you don't want to shop hungry, I guess.

Sometimes there are demos or movie screenings, so check the schedule if that's a thing you're into.

It's not particularly big or small. I like it because it's close to my house. The end.

Wine Robots

"Welcome, Friend."

Do you wish you had a robot butler, but one that WOULDN’T try to kill you all the time? I know, right? Mine, too!

I found 'em! There is a wine store in Orange, off of Tustin Ave, called the Wine Exchange. You know who lives there? ROBOT BUTLERS!!!

The sign is a lie.

Before you slam your computer closed (If you’re on a laptop. Don’t do that with a PC. Bad things will happen.) and jump into your car, I should clarify. They don’t so much as do things for you… as much as give you samples of wine. I mean, my robot butler’s only job is to bring me wine (it’s a lot of wine), but some people (confederates) expect more from their animatronic servants.

Anyway, you go into this store (which is basically what it would look like if your parents opened a bev-mo and decided shelves are too expensive) and ask the clerk for a card for the wine robots. You give the guy some money and he gives you a plastic card. Then, you go into the back of the store. There, you’ll find them. They’re all lined up and they have wine bottles in their tummies. You feed one the card, push a button, then he regurgitates 1, 2, or 4oz of the wine in his belly. IT’S SO COOL! 

The wine gets switched around almost daily and they have special themed wine tasting nights from time to time. But, they usually have a human do those (for now).

Care for some bread sticks?

In Germany, wine is produce.

The City of Orange Thursday Afternoon Farmers' Maket

“Yes, yes! Step right up and enjoy a sample of this tasty orange!”

“No, step up over here and taste THIS orange.”

“Hey, don’t listen to those guys, that’s poison. They want to kill you.”

“You, Ma’am, taste my berries!”

“Don’t listen to her, taste MY berries.” 

“No, taste THIS orange.”

“Did someone say ‘orange’? I have oranges!”

“They all are trying to kill you.”

“Look at these fruits, will you! MMMM… Tasty samples!”

“Taste my FREAKING oranges!”

“Why isn’t anyone tasting my berries? I feel bad about myself.”

“Shut up, Nancy. Miss, would you like a sample of my oranges?”

“It’s all poison!”

Farmers’ Market!

Nancy's Berries

The Thursday afternoon City of Orange Farmers’ Market is adorable. It takes place in a 200ft stretch of alleyway adjacent to old towne Orange. This allows space for about 10-12 stands. 2 of them are general fruit and vegetables, one is honey, one is mini bundt cakes, one is exclusively citrus, one is homemade bread, one is peanuts, one is flowers, one is bagged various snacks, and I don’t remember the rest.

The citrus guy at the end is VERY nice and his oranges are the BEST I’ve ever had. He grows them in Riverside and knows quite a bit about his fruits. He and his oranges are my favorites!

The Orange Whisperer

I wouldn’t say to make a special trip to this market because it is so small. I do, however, recommend that you visit it if you’re local or you happen to be looking for veggies on a Thursday afternoon between 2pm and 6pm.

Photo Credit - Bert Brown

Loving Hut

The evil vegan orders her lunch.

Once upon a time, a mommy and daddy yam-shrimp noticed how empty their yam-shrimp-house was and wanted very badly to have a baby. On a beautiful ocean day, their little yam-shrimp was born. They loved him very much and they named him Christopher. Christopher was the nicest yam-shrimp in his class. One day he was playing fin-ball in the yard when an evil vegan yam-shrimp-napped him. He screamed for the vegan not to hurt him. The vegan ignored Christopher. He cried as he accepted the inevitable – that he would never see his parents again. The vegan had a tasty lunch.

Wait a second. Yam-shrimps are made from yams! Christopher must be a shrimp-shrimp.

That means, when I go to the Loving Hut Restaurant in Orange, I won’t eat anyone’s son or daughter!

The Orange 'Chicken'

Located in the middle of a strip mall on Tustin, the Loving Hut is serving FANTASTIC 100% vegan cuisine. I mean, AMAZING. My favorite is the orange ‘chicken,’ but I haven’t disliked anything I’ve tried. I‘m a little wary of the philly cheese steak. How the heck do they make that vegan? I think maybe they use magic to make their ‘meat’ seem so meat-like.

I’m okay with eating magic: As long as I’m not eating Christopher.

Photo Credit - Bert Brown

Little John's

So, I’m a little bit afraid of guns.

It’s because of movies. When do you ever see a gun in a movie that doesn’t eventually shoot someone? Right? Therefore: Gun = get tense, someone be getting shot, Yo (as the character with the gun might say).

Yeah, this thing shot some Nazis.

BUT my dad found one of my grandpa’s WW2 guns. Wow. So we went to a gun store (obviously) to try and sell it. And, in true gun store style, the owner explained, “What you got there is an antique. You need to go see Little John.” Like we were suddenly transported into a video game. “Little John can tell you all about any gun – practically tell you the color of the shirt of the guy who last used it. Hehe…”

“Oh… okay. How do we find this… Little John.”

“He’ll find you.” No, I’m kidding. He gave us directions.

And the pliers are for, what? Retrieving bullets?

Walking into Little John’s Antique Arms is just like being a kid in a Nintendo store IF you’re a 19^th century pirate.

Seriously, if you’re a Civil War reenactor, a renaissance faire attender, a cowboy, or just a seriously creepy dude – go see Little John.

Little John stands 8 feet high, speaks with a lisp and is missing an arm. Sort of. In reality he IS very tall (taller than me, at least) and had his arm in a sling. The man is quite learned about antique guns. But to an outsider who didn't know there was SO much to know about weapons – watching Little John with this gun was like watching a psychic touch an article of clothing belonging to a missing child and then spew out a description of where he is. Magic.

They have auctions about every three months. I bet those are fun. My grandpa’s gun will be in the August auction.

C’mon… BIG MONEY!

Bruxie

Have you ever found yourself staring into your refrigerator at the contents of a fantastic sandwich only to remember that you’re out of bread? What do you do in that situation? Do you give up on the sandwich pipe-dream? HECK NO. You improvise. “Maybe I could use a tortilla instead of bread, or I could cut all the ingredients up and make a salad-y thing. Oh, do I have any frozen bagels?”

I believe the founders of Bruxie the restaurant were once in this very situation. You know what they use for bread on their sandwiches? WAFFLES!

The Bruxie Burger

Bruxie is, according to the website, “A new take on the authentic Belgium Waffle. The "Bruxie" is unlike any waffle offered: the Bruxie is light, crisp, yeasty and not sweet. It's street food that's perfect for breakfast, lunch, mid day snack as well as a dessert or late night treat.”

Boy, do they have that last part right. There is ALWAYS a line at this sandwich stand. Most line placeholders are Chapman Students, as the restaurant is directly across the street from the school. The quality of these treats, however, is not that of top ramen, mac & cheese, or any other college staple. These are GOURMET waffle sandwiches. For example, these are some of the ‘savory’ options: Prosciutto & Gruyere, Smoked Salmon & Dill Cream Cheese, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Goat Cheese. That last one is my favorite. 

They also have sweet Bruxies: Nutella and banana

OH, and these guys MAKE their own soda: Delicious cane sugar sodas. Yum.

AND, despite this being an “order here” “pick up here” kind of place, the service is unbelievable. They really take hospitality to a new level. IE my friend wasn’t crazy about what he ordered. The owner (I’m guessing) INSISTED that he replace the sandwich.

Blythe Hill (photographer), Jordan Sabolick, Kc Wayland, and I left feeling happy and satisfied.

The Bruery in Orange

"Drink us..."

Snobs and yuppies have wine tasting. We get beer: another win for the geeks.

Very recently The Bruery opened in the circle in Orange. The sign has been up for months – teasing me. I finally got to visit last night.

First up, you’ll notice that “brewery” is spelled wrong. The Bruery is a play on a family name “Rue.” Mr. Rue started brewing beers in his garage during his fist year of med school (understandably) and changed his profession shortly there-after (understandably).

The Bruery is a small, Orange County based brewery, focusing on mostly Belgian and unusual styles of beer. This is their second store-front.

First impressions: The style of the shop is a little too elegant for what I expected from a small, unique, company. I wanted to see more of a man-cave and less of a Napa Wine Cellar. More fun and intrigue, please.

Wine barrels?

I felt a little confused when I walked in. I asked the guy at the front to tell me about the place and he did a great job. Then he directed me to the back of the shop to do tasting.

My face shuts off when tasting.

They have a bunch of different “tasting flights” and all of them are INCREDIBLY affordable: $3 - $8! They also offer several cheese plates to pair with the flights. I love doing tastes: It's like sending my mouth on a treasure hunt!

I wanted to try the Bruery beers more than anything else, so I asked for one of their flights.

SO GOOD!

I got 5 beers that ranged from almost clear to med-dark. I would have purchased 4 out of 5 of them. The last one, the darkest, was the most interesting. It was a holiday-flavored sweet brew. Nutmeg, Yams, cinnamon… Dang.

If you want to geek-out over some unique, independent, beers – visit The Bruery. Even if you’re not into supporting the little guy (what kind of monster are you?), they have a bunch of different, more main-stream options. I say, get there in the early evening with some fellow beer-lovers, spend $20 on 4 flights, and send your tasters on an adventure.

Boba: The Quest for Perfection (Lollicup, Orange)

It’s been a few years since I quit my addiction to Boba drinks. I think it’s time to start it back up.

If you don’t know what boba is, firstly, what kind of geek are you? Secondly, it’s tapioca. You know the little chewy balls in tapioca pudding? That’s the tapioca. Bobas are larger, slightly sweet, black balls (yeah, I know) that the Taiwanese started throwing into their tea.

 A few years ago boba shops started popping up all over the place (but mostly in Irvine). The two chains I’m most familiar with are Tapioca Express and Lollicup.

The idea behind Boba Shops is to provide, not only a delectable variety of milk and bubble teas, bobas with a balanced chewy consistency, and affordable prices, but to create a geek-friendly hang out zone. This usually consists of been bag chairs, couches and free wifi.

I am now officially kicking off my hunt for the best boba shop in OC!

First up: Lollicup in Orange. 

It's time to buy a new menu board.

This shop was a mess. Papers were taped up everywhere announcing different sales or new products. The kitchen looked in shambles. The menu board had new prices taped on top of old ones and some things crossed out. A 1999 Christina Aguilera concert was on the flat screen (someone asked if it could be changed, it couldn’t be). There were old cups and snacks from guests long-gone that were still out. The store is also really narrow and doesn’t provide a comfortable lounge area. Plus, there was only one dude working when, clearly, there needed to be at least two. Orders were pilling up on him.

"I'm unimpressive."

The quality of the tea was so-so. My chocolate snow bubble (like a slushy) was pretty icy. The bobas were over-cooked, and thus, slimy.

The location does offer free wifi. The state of the place might have been because of someone calling out sick. And, this was my first boba drink in a long time.

I give Lollicup in Orange 1/5 bobas.