Restaurants within 30 minutes of Fullerton?

Honda Ya is opening a branch in Fullerton very soon or may already have opened on Yorba Linda Blvd. and Placentia Ave (just east of 57's Yorba Linda Blvd. exit)

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

La Habra eats?

Second the suggestion on Chicken Box. Call at least 30 minutes in advance since it's cooked to order. The Monday special is a good dea (available any day for a small markup from Monday's rock bottom price). The Claro's suggestion is excellent as well for a quick sandwich or if you want to cook Italian. GBurger is also pretty good for burgers if you want something local. Lots of the other suggestions for Asian are right on if you don't mind driving for a little way.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Fullerton?

Ma's Chinese Islamic. Technically in Anaheim, but surrounded by Fullerton on three sides.

601 East Orangethorpe Avenue
Anaheim, CA 92801
(714) 446-9553

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Fullerton?

Les Amis for great Lebanese food. Check their Facebook page for their daily "cultural special."
http://www.facebook.com/LesAmisDTF

128 West Wilshire Avenue
Fullerton, CA 92832

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Lump Charcoal in OC

The Naked Whiz quote you used is referring to the RO USA origin, which they say is as good as BGE. It does not mean that all RO is comparable to BGE, which could be inferred from your use of the quote. I was providing context for anyone who really wants to know about good charcoal to purchase in OC, which was the point of the OP.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Lump Charcoal in OC

If you look carefully at the Naked Whiz database, it is important to differentiate RO by origin. USA and Argentina origin are good, Brazilian and Paraguayan origin have inferior performance. The comment you quote is referring to RO USA origin. Another good brand is Frontier (again check the bag for USA origin), available at most ACE Hardware. I have found that BBQ Galore brand doesn't compare to RO, BGE, or Frontier (all USA origin). I cook on a medium BGE, so cost is also less of a factor since they go so easy on fuel.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Where Can We Buy a Few Hundred Pounds of Hatch Chili Cheaply?

The price in Las Cruces right now for fresh Hatch green chile is about $20 per 30 lb. bag with roasting included. Walmart in Las Cruces has no limit at that price.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Where Can We Buy a Few Hundred Pounds of Hatch Chili Cheaply?

Hatch. Cheap is a relative term. Expect to pay around $1/pound without shipping.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

In Anaheim (closer to Placentia and Yorba Linda) for lunch

Perhaps aside from Wholesome Choice, none of these places are worth travelling for, IMHO. El Farolito is OK as is El Cantarito if you are in the mood for a big messy plate of TexMex. If you're driving to La Placita Santa Fe you might as well keep going down Chapman another half mile and hit Taqueria De Anda--not "the best" but the best in the area.

I have to differ on the recommendation for Blake's. I've been several times, and never been impressed with the quality of the barbecue. Very little smoke flavor, pretty dry, the sides have often been disgustingly greasy and/or off-tasting, all indicative of the depressing current barbecue situation around there.

For halfway decent diner food you could always go to Kimmie's on Orangethorpe in Placentia. If you're into breakfast the homemade sausage is good, and things are generally executed with competence. The service is usually quite good though.

If you want to drive a little you might be able to make it to Mattern's Sausage, grab a sandwich or two, and eat while driving. That would be worth the drive.

-----
El Farolito
201 S Bradford Ave, Placentia, CA 92870

Mattern Sausage & Meats
4327 E Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92869

Blake's Place
2905 E Miraloma Ave, Anaheim, CA

Taqueria De Anda
602 W Chapman Ave Ste A, Placentia, CA 92870

El Cantarito Restaurant
120 W Santa Fe Ave, Placentia, CA 92870

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Restaurants in Orange County that use locally grown food?

Il Garage in Stanton uses produce from its garden and also from the Fullerton Arboretum. Monkey Business Cafe in Fullerton also uses produce from the Fullerton Arboretum and herbs from its own raised beds and pots.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

hatch chiles ?

Depends on how long you anticipate keeping them in the plastic bag. The effect of heat/steam is dose dependent.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

hatch chiles ?

After they are roasted you would bring them home in a plastic garbage bag. They will continue to steam while being transported home. The skins will be easy to remove at that point and you can quickly peel and seed (if desired). Kept airtight they will store well in a cold freezer. We usually get enough to last the year (about 2 sacks, but being from NM we consume lots of green chile). You can talk to the folks at El Rey about buying a smaller quantity as well.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

hatch chiles ?

El Rey Farms brings in several truckloads a year. They have pickup at La Puente High School, where you can get them roasted. This is the closest to the NM taste and experience that you will find in southern California. Your timing is excellent since they start taking orders today. Their first truckload will be coming August 13 and their last on Sept 17.

http://www.elreyfarms.com/

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Late evening takeout near Hyatt Embarcadero

That's interesting because when we called to see how busy they were at 5PM they referred us immediately to OpenTable.

stuffed in San Francisco Bay Area

Late evening takeout near Hyatt Embarcadero

Thanks again for all of the information. We just returned from a fantastic trip. The first night our flight landed at 7:30 and we were at the Embarcadero BART station by 8:30. We dropped off our stuff in the hotel, and since everyone was very hungry we walked down to Sens.

I have to say at first I got a little vibe from the maitre'd. Maybe the disheveled hippie traveler family didn't quite fit Sens' image. But we were seated and after that the service was quite good, friendly and professional. The kids devoured the bread and I tried the accompanying hummus. It was very mild with strong sesame flavor. It did not seem especially authentic compared to hummus I've had in the Middle East, but was good. We split the sausage flatbread and the "mezze plate." The flatbread was tasty. The mezze plate was generally good. I liked the charcuterie, but it was nothing special. The duck confit had some strangely dried bits My kids split the tabil chicken. The chicken was cooked very well and had good flavor. I really liked the preserved lemon sauce. My wife had the manti, which she had not had before. We both thought that these were the best dish of the evening, with very good texture and balance of flavor. I chose the ribeye, simply because I had a meat hunger. It was reasonably well executed, tender and cooked to the requested temperature (a tiny hair above rare). So, we had a good meal, not especially memorable, but very relaxed, tasty, and enjoyable. Not wanting to drink too much after such a long day, I had a glass of house red. I slept like a baby and woke refreshed to have a marvelous morning at the Ferry Building.

A couple of nights later, we found ourselves at the hotel without dinner plans but looking for a quick and very early meal since we had evening plans. So we called Barbacco and although they were fully booked according to OpenTable, they found a four top that we could use as long as we vacated by 7 (this was just after 5). We walked the couple of blocks down there. We had the arancini, which were quite good. The contrast between the crunchy exterior and the succulent shortrib filling was interesting and the flavors of the shortribs was strong enough without overwhelming the dish. We also tried some of the salumi. I thought the mortadella was quite interesting. It was very soft, much softer than what one would have in Italy, but was seasoned very much like one would find there. Great pork flavor. For our mains, my kids shared the chicken thighs and a plate of plain noodles, my wife had the lasagna alla Bolognese, and I had the paccheri con ragu di maiale. With the parmigiano reggiano it was kind of a strange mix of northern/southern Italian, but it was quite good. I would have preferred some more herbal flavors to the ragu and maybe some heat. If I am fortunate enough to visit Barbacco again, I would defer to the lure of the lasagna. While it is quite a bit thicker than Italian lasagna, it was really excellent. The Bolognese had wonderful balance and the dish hung together in taste and texture. The chicken thighs was also a memorable dish. The chicken was of very high quality with good chicken flavor, wonderful garlic flavor surrounded each piece. We had a couple of glasses of their privately sources Sangiovese, which I would definitely order again. As an aside, it was fun to peruse the wine list (which was very well thought out) on the iPad at the table. My kids topped things off with some decent gelato and we left as a very happy bunch. If I lived in San Francisco I think Barbacco would be on my regular list of eateries.

Thanks again! You are all fortunate to live in such a great city (and a great food city)!

-----
Barbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

stuffed in San Francisco Bay Area

Late evening takeout near Hyatt Embarcadero

Sounds like another great option-thanks!

stuffed in San Francisco Bay Area

Late evening takeout near Hyatt Embarcadero

Many thanks to all of you for your thoughtful replies. We come into San Francisco a couple of times per year but usually stay between Nob Hill and Union Square and take the BART to the Powell line to get to our hotel. This time my conference is at the Hyatt, and with the BART station right there I think we will be OK taking the BART. It's exciting for the kids. I think we will get to the hotel 8:30-9.

I'm from Tuscany originally, so Perbacco sounds pretty good, although the menu is a little bit across the Italian map. In my hometown a popular dish is pappardelle al ragu di maiale, so the tagliolini dish is sort of the Piemonte version. I am sure we will truly savour the dish from Perbacco after our day of travel.

I will update next week after the trip.

-----
Perbacco
230 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111

stuffed in San Francisco Bay Area

Late evening takeout near Hyatt Embarcadero

We ( me, spouse, 12 & 8 year olds) will be getting to the Hyatt at the Embarcadero about 9PM on a weeknight, taking the BART from SFO. I expect that the kids will be tired from school in the morning followed by several hours of travel. I'd like to be able to get everyone settled in the hotel and then run out for some takeout nearby. We enjoy all sorts of food- burgers, sandwiches, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, various Mexican cuisines, barbecue, Italian- so any suggestions are most appreciated.

stuffed in San Francisco Bay Area

OC pizza freaks?

I'm a little late chiming in here but I agree with OCSteve---there's a big difference when John is present. After several pizzas worth of observation I decided it's because the pizzas are rushed when he isn't there. So, I've started ordering them well-done and I am once again pleased with Mammalucco's pies.

-----
Mammalucco's
2500 E Imperial Hwy, Brea, CA 92821

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Locally raised beef or poultry?

Rainbow Ranch Farms has a poultry CSA and sellls beef shares (and sometimes pig shares). The poultry and beef are pastured and the beef is farm finished. http://www.rainbowranchfarms.com.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Native American "cuisine"

JM's is kind of a sad answer, sad in the sense that it essentializes the Native American experience into some nebulous past that cannot be recaptured, and so on. In what is now California alone there were 800 "tribes" at contact with hundreds of separate languages and traditions, including culinary traditions. There are many people in our southern California communities who blend these traditions into their daily lives, including in their cooking. Hopi people in Arizona and Pueblo people in New Mexico have maintained continuity of their language and traditions for around a thousand years in intact communities. If one travels to AZ or NM, there are many restaurants owned and operated by Native Americans. They don't all serve the same thing, nor do they necessarily serve pre-contact food. This doesn't make it less authentically Native American. Rather this is the food that some Native Americans, meaning the individuals designing the menu and preparing the food, consume. Just like food at "Italian" restaurants doesn't necessarily represent ancient Roman or Etruscan, or pre-Etruscan, cuisine but rather the food that the owner identifies as being "Italian," even if that represents a regional or micro-regional approach. Similarly, "Mexcian" restaurants might serve food that people eat in Oaxaca, the Yucatan, Sinaloa, DF, la frontera, or other areas of Mexico. Most likely it is not an exclusively pre-contact menu, although there are some restaurants in Mexico and a couple in the US doing wonderful things exploring pre-contact cuisine.

I second the suggestion of attending a powwow. The OP can interact with some folks interested in sharing the cuisine and other aspects of Native American cultures.as a lived experience that's just as diverse as that of other cultural groiups..

stuffed in General Chowhounding Topics

Best farmers market near Brea?

What a shame...

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Sustainable Meat?

You may be interested in Kelley Beef http://www.rainbowranchfarms.com/KelleyBeef.html

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Smoky, Meaty, Tender Barbecue (or, The Mouth-Watering Beef Brisket, Spare Ribs and Pulled Pork of Bludso's BBQ) [Review] w/ Pics!

Agreed. Jaybee's pulled pork sandwich is unparalleled when they have their act together. It takes a certain kind of dedication to keep going back when it's so hit and miss. But well worth it when it hits...

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

ISO high quality, free range chicken in OC....

Some of the highest quality poultry around is available from Rainbow Ranch Farms http://www.rainbowranchfarms.com/. They have a CSA so that you get periodic deliveries. It's an option that works well for me. They also offer pastured beef shares and will raise a pig for you of simllarly high quality.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Best farmers market near Brea?

I second the recommendation for Schaner Farm! In addition to the fresh 'duce, he usually has firewood.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Best farmers market near Brea?

There is nothing close that will be anything like the ones you mention. Fullerton has a Thursday night street fair that's a real fun time--see reference to beer garden above--but is not a huge selection of farmers' goods. However there are a couple of excellent vendors there. Brea Tuesday night market is even smaller.

There is a Wednesday morning certified farmers' market at Independence Park (shared space with the Janet Evans Swim Complex) in Fullerton. Sometimes this market can be good. I also like the Wednesday morning market in Old Town Tustin. There are some good vendors there and also it's just down the street from Cream Pan. Also, the Jack Newe's Farmers' Market at Mt. SAC college in Walnut is good. Otherwise the Irvine Saturday morning market isn't all that far (57 to the 5 to the 55 to the 73).

On a somewhat alternative note, South Coast Farms CSA drops off at the Fullerton Arboretum every other Wednesday afternoon. http://www.southcoastfarms.com/csa.htm

-----
Cream Pan
602 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92780

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Pizzeria Ortica updates?

I agree. P. Ortica is probably the best example of a proper Neapolitan style pizza you will find in OC. That doesn't mean it will appeal to everyone or fulfill everyone's search image of pizza. This isn't an issue unique to this restaurant or style, as shown by the endless NYC-Chicago pizza debates, and let's not talk barbecue, pastrami, bagels, or "Mexican" food. Highly regional "authentic" cuisine has been trendy in the restaurant industry for a few years and is becoming more prevalent in SoCal. Witness the various northern versus southern Thai places, regional Chinese, regional Mexican, etc. This is region-specific pizza, for better or worse.

stuffed in Los Angeles Area

Great Artisan Bakery in OC?

Good bread in the French style is available at Cream Pan in Tustin and at Pascal Épicerie (http://pascalnpb.com/pascal_epicerie_menu.htm) in Newport Beach.

-----
Cream Pan
602 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92780

stuffed in Los Angeles Area