Why OC, you ask?! A friend from 7th grade was coming to Anaheim from Ohio for a conference, and she had planned some time to just hang. I coordinated with a local friend also from 7th grade - the three of us met in the lunch line the first day of junior high - and we planned a trip. Let the fun begin!
First stop was Pee Wee's Famous Hot Dogs and Hamburgers in Huntington Beach. Who remembers my Cee-dee's Big Adventure, inspired by Pee-wee Herman? Yep, this meal was triggered by their name. However, once I saw the menu and selections, the name outfront was secondary.
Here you see my Chupacabra (what a name!) double bacon wrapped Polish hotdog buried under avocado, crema, queso fresco and pico de gallo, with sweet potato tater tots, and lavender limeade. Do I really need to explain the explosion of flavors?! DELISH!!
Fully powered-up, we head next to the Fullerton Arboretum for some walking in nature while the blood returned to our extremities. In addition to some ducks, a variety of cacti and succulents, and lots of botanicals, this is the coolest tree I've seen in ages: a Banyan (from India and Pakistan) that "forms aerial roots from branches to the ground" per the little placard. Can you say trippy upside-down tree?!
Next we head to Laguna Beach, hoping to score on some last-minute tickets to the Pageant of the Masters. It was sadly sold-out, so we decided to find a place for some beachfront dining. Yes, more food! At the Dana Point Harbor, we chowed on Jolly Roger's appetizer sampler with stuffed potato skins, hot wings, calamari, zucchini, onion rings, cheese quesadilla and garlic bread while further catching up on lots of years and lots of stories. After licking the platter, we head back to the hotel.
After a slumber party with more yacking and laughing way into the wee hours - just like when we were teens - we need some more food. Since Slater's 50/50 is close by (see post from last April), we knew our out-of-towner had to experience the build-your-own-burger trend taking over southern California. This time, I went with their predesigned Peanut Butter and Jellousy burger with bacon, peanut butter and strawberry jelly. (See Mo's Foggybottom Burger post from October, 2010 for some background.) YUM! What really caught my eye was the Bacon Brownie on the dessert menu, which you see pictured above. I'd been craving a REALLY GOOD brownie for several weeks, and this one totally met the challenge. With that, our conference attendee headed back to her hotel, and the LA-ers headed back to the other side of the Orange Curtain. But, the OC left its mark on all of us, and I think we'll be back!
Click here for Pee Wee's Web site.
Click here for the Arboretum's Web site.
Click here for Jolly Roger's Web site.
Click here for Slater's 50/50's Web site.
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