Tranquil Tea Lounge

“Yes, yes, step right in! Good to see you. Now, what’s ailing you? Is it a young lady’s heart you desire? Or maybe it is luck you crave? Perhaps you’d like to sleep less and work more? I have a potion for every ailment and an elixir for every wish. All you have to do is choose one by sight and smell, only!”

Choose wisely.

Tranquil Tea Lounge in Fullerton boasts an entire wall of colorful, scentiful, loose-leaf teas. That’s fun. Flavors ranging from Mardi Gras to blueberry muffin. Grab some blindfolds and you have yourself a party game!

Selecting your tea is the most fun part. After that, the experience has nowhere to go but down. Oh, wait, except for the tea pots and glasses, they’re adorable!

The eatery area is not very comfortable or private. Also, their use of Papyrus is frustrating.

But, picking out the tea is fu-u-un.

Food Trucks

I want the one with the mostest fruitests.

One day I’d like to see a movie version of a food fight escalate to the point where a food truck crashes through the wall - just a dream I have.

Food trucks are neat. I like them mostly because the portions are small enough to taste lots of different things. I think restaurants should allow me to choose several different entrees to have tastes of instead of having to commit to one. I’m indecisive.

Fullerton has a few food trucks hang out downtown on Tuesday nights from 5pm – 9pm.

Fun Fact: Not all trucks serve food.

My friend, Bert, and I investigated. (He’s somewhat of a food truck expert as this is the SECOND truck-based dining event he’s taken me to.)

We got there around 8:30pm and some of the trucks were closing up or had left.

We did get to have some herbivore fries at the OC Food Truck. And Bert got a lychee berry drinky thingy that was way delicious.

I was really looking forward to getting snacks at the Bakery Truck, but they closed up.

I will definitely go back – but earlier in the evening.

Oh, and FYI, if you’re into food trucks like Bert, he recommends the iPhone app: Truxmap. Pretty cool.

Westside Bar and Grill

I heart dive bars.

The Westside Bar and Grill describes itself as OC’s nicest Dive Bar. I have to agree.

Plus, there’s usually some form of entertainment. Comedy, Karaoke, or Bands.

My friend Crysta (you may remember her from such posts as ElecTRONica) and I went to see two of my friends, and former Cherry Spitz members, compete in a stand up comedy competition.

They, unfortunately, didn’t win. However, the winners did go on to perform at the Comedy Store in Hollywood. Good for you Westside: helping local comics.

There’s plenty of space in the bar, it’s always bumping, the food and drink is good, and the service is friendly.

Kevin Stevenson, last month's winner.

Westside Bar and Grill – you’re doing a great job.

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.

ElecTRONica

“Hi. I’m a market researcher for Disney. How do we get you, random Disneyland guest, into California Adventure?”

“Your park is lame. You need to make it like Vegas.”

“Ha, yeah, okay. Thanks for your time… D-Bag.”

Back at headquarters:

“Well minions? What did you learn from your 25 hours of polling guests today? Anyone? Did anyone here get to talk to a guest?”

“I did talk to ONE, sir. But it’s a really bad idea.”

“What is it? Make a 4^th Cinderella? Hey, that's a great idea!”

“No. He uh… He said we need to make California Adventure more like Vegas. Ha. Can you believe…”

“You. Are. Promoted.”

And that, boys and girls, is how ElecTRONica was born. You see what they did there? The ‘Tron’ bit is in CAPS.

Tron is a cult classic 80s film about people fighting computers, from the inside, that are trying to take over (Which I have come to understand from science fiction of the day, was a legitimate fear in the 80s).

As you know, Disney has recently released a modernized sequel: Tron Legacy. Here’s the thing, when studios know that a movie is going to well, not be good, they spend A TON of money on advertising. That way, when people find out the movie sucks, it’s too late, because the studio made back all its money on the opening weekend. I’m not saying the movie is ALL BAD, but there sure has been a lot of studio-generated hype for Tron. I remember seeing the first teaser trailer YEARS AGO.  And what about Tangled? That movie came out of the same studio around the same time. How come Tangled isn’t the theme of a Disneyland nightclub?

Anyway, the Tron nightclub in Disney’s California Adventure is actually a lot like the movie. In that, the special effects are awesome, but the content is lame.

Standing in the middle of the Hollywood portion of DCA when the Nightclub turns on is pretty neat. Bass shakes us to the core, screens all around us show abstract Trony stuff, the lights set the mood, and Tron gogo dancers lead us to the dace floor.

"Dance for me."

Then we head toward the main event, the dance floor – over by Muppets (That’s right, you too can get down next to Kurmit and the gang). The Dj is up in his cylindrical tower spinning tunes. Clearly, a lot of this is inspired by Daft Punk (Daft Punk did the music for Tron, this decision was awesome, but really unusual for Disney). Daft Punk and Disney sittin’ in a tree S-I-G-N-I-N-G an exclusive contract.

"No one can touch this."

Here’s the thing about the dance floor. It’s just out in the middle of this whole thing. And you’re meant to dance AROUND the Dj’s tower. The floor is set up so that all eyes are on whoever is brave enough to do the dancing at the moment. I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to dance I want to do it in a nice back corner.

Now, I don’t know if you know this, SoCal locals, but Disney has a thing for profit. I’m not saying I mind. Heck, I’ve had an annual pass every year for as long as I can remember ($329). But, Isn’t that enough? Do I really have to pay $15 for a 6oz cocktail? At least cough up a little more for quality booze. And don’t you dare play ignorant: “We’re Disney and we’re so wholesome that we don’t even know what alcohol is. How do we make a mojito? With battery acid?” There’s no way Mickey doesn’t appreciate a Whiskey Sour every now and again. I mean he has a lot on his plate. He puts up with international fame, running the most trusted and recognizable brand name of our day, and Minnie seems like a real piece of work. Maybe it’s different for mice, but that kind of stress would turn any human into an alcoholic.

"What does this game want from me?"

If you’re not into dancing in front of EVERYONE or spending a million dollars on bad mixed drinks, there’s FLYNN’S arcade. FLYNN’S is really cool. Old 80s videogames and 80s tunes blasting throughout. I really enjoy the scene in there. I couldn’t bring myself to actually pay for any of these games that I can play for free online, but my friend, Crysta, had a go at a couple and it was great fun.

After about half an hour of ElecTRONica, we gave up and went on Tower of Terror.

Now that's what I call fun!

Hotdog Cart

As I’ve been stuck in Fashion Island, Newport Beach, non-stop for the past month (working at my mom’s gift-wrapping store), I thought I’d provide you with insider knowledge on the only geek-friendly area in the mall.

The hotdog cart.

It may look like just a regular old hotdog cart, but, notice, it’s mere feet away from… THE APPLE STORE.

That’s right, if you find yourself forced into Fashion Island, you, too can make this your little slice of geekdom.

The hotdogs are actually phenomenal and incredibly reasonable. They’re maybe the only thing one can buy for less than a 5er in the entire mall. Plus, they have tofu dogs!

"We'll keep you entertained for a moment!"

Fashion Island used to have little carts all over the place. However, a few months ago, Nordstrom rolled into the mall and insisted the carts skedaddle. What a diva. The only cart permitted to remain? Hotdogs. Yeah.

A few stores up and you’ll discover a lovely koi pond.

There you go, a geek’s guide to Fashion Island.

Enjoy.