This is part 2 of a 3-part series recounting my latest trip to California…
Monday, September 30
As usual, the Monday of the week I was in California was devoted mostly to the execution of the job that paid my way out for the week. I started off with a quick bite at one of my normal morning places, Corner Bakery. Located at the corner of Brea and Imperial Highway, I usually get a small breakfast and some coffee, then when I’m finished eating, I head outside with a second cup and smoke a small cigar. Not shocking, but very disappointing…I found that sometime in the past year, they had banned smoking altogether in the space shared by Corner Bakery, Starbucks, Nektar, and several other shops. Honestly…screw all of them…I’ve spent money with shops in that small orbit for a couple decades now, even after moving across the country I have spent money there 2 or 3 days during the week I’m there every year. I won’t be doing so anymore…I can find other places to eat that don’t allow smoking…and ones that didn’t take my right away from decades of allowing it. I’m recommending everyone avoid this group of businesses from now on.
After determining that smoking was not an option there anymore, I put the top down on the convertible and fired up a Davidoff 2000 while driving around a bit. I had to be at the Brea Gallery around 10 a.m. to work on color corrections for the annual Watercolor West gallery show. I do the page layout, typesetting, and color correction for the catalog every year and there is simply no better way to get the catalog colors as close to real life as possible than being there.
If you are a fan of fine art or watercolor painting…or if you just need to get some culture in your life…visit the Brea Gallery at 1 Civic Center Circle. The show is open Wednesday through Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m. from October 13 through December 15. You can find out more about Watercolor West on their website.
After a few hours of work at the gallery and back where I was staying, I was set to meet some of my friends at the 8 Eighty Eight Lounge in Fullerton. This is the shop formerly known as Red Cloud, which was one of the first cigar shops I frequented after I began smoking some 18 years and several months ago. Besides the humidor and small seating area out front, they also have a very spacious private club area with a wall of TVs, a fully-stocked bar, and plenty of seating areas in two large rooms. I met Dale, Vernon, Ray and Jim to watch as the Steelers got their first win of the season on Monday Night Football.
I had Firestone Walker 805, a blonde ale made in central California, and smoked the newest thing from My Father Cigars—La Promesa…it was really nice and I’m sure a full review will be seen here eventually—and a Davidoff Aniversario No. 2. Steelers won and I went home.
You can find out more about 8 Eight-Eight on their website.
Tuesday, October 1
This ended up being a somewhat pivotal day for me. The schedule for getting the proof of the catalog done had been accelerated, so I ended up finishing and uploading said proof by around 11:00 in the morning. I then packed up all my stuff in case I had to do some work while I was away from the house…and bugged out for the day.
I first made my annual pilgrimage to Slater’s 50/50. For the uninitiated, this place does a burger made of 50% ground angus beef, 50% ground bacon. It sounds great and tastes better. I have had the original (1/3 pound patty, pepper jack cheese, mashed avocado and a fried egg) and some kind of “ultimate bacon” thing (1/3 pound patty, bacon, and bacon cheese) in previous years, but this year I wanted to go for something that sounded entirely unappetizing to me in the past: Peanut Butter and Jealousy.
I started with a Who’s House?! Blonde Ale from Golden Road Brewing Company, a beer originally brewed for the L.A. Rams, then my burger arrived. It wasn’t the first time I’ve had peanut butter on a burger, but it was the first time I had jelly on one. The peanut butter sets up the savory quotient very well and actually goes excellent with the beef. The strawberry jam on the burger was interesting and provided a great sweet balance, but I think I would have opted for about half the amount they put on there. It was dripping out all over the place…I held over the plate and didn’t get any on my lap, but it was on my hands and arms, prompting a trip to the bathroom to clean up before I left. I did get to see a great poster on the bathroom wall, though…
Slater’s 50/50 has locations in 5 states. You can find out more about them on their website.
I headed next to Embassy Cigars in Anaheim Hills. I bought a couple things but settled in for an hour or so with an Avo West Regional from earlier this year. I have had the East Regional when it showed up at Burns, but I think the West was a little better, even with the torpedo tip. Interestingly someone else said they thought the East was better after having had the West first. I really need to get both and try them side-by-side.
There are two locations of Embassy Cigars, although I visited the one at 5773 E. Santa Ana Canyon Rd. Suite F in Anaheim Hills. You can also visit their website.
Next I headed to The Bruery, one of the local brewery taprooms that is open earlier than 4:00 p.m. They are associated with Terreux, which I visited later in the week, but Bruery specializes in experimental and barrel-aged beers, so I got a flight. I started with Frucht: Blackberry, a fruit sour from Terreux. It was probably my second-favorite version of Frucht, after Boysenberry. Ruekeller: Marzen was my Oktoberfest sampling of the day…and it was one of the best I’ve had in this category. Imperial Pretzel Necklace is a 9.7% ABV beer brewed with pretzels and salt and it was as tasty as it sounds. Cafe Cocoa was a stout brewed with ancho chilis, coffee beans, cinnamon, milk, sugar and vanilla; I wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t hit me as good as it sounded. I finished off with a Bakery: Coconut Macaroons, one in their bakery series, this one is an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels then with coconut and vanilla flavor added. It’s 12.2% ABV. I sipped these over the course of well over an hour so I wouldn’t be over the legal limit when I left.
Visit The Bruery online or just go there when you’re in Orange County: 717 Dunn Way, Placentia, CA.
My last stop for the day was Taps in Brea. Right across the street from the Corner Bakery and Starbucks that used to allow smoking in the common area, this restaurant is one of a dying breed, especially in California: they allow smoking in the outdoor area. Because of that fact, it has become a regular stop for me when I’m in town, as well as many of my friends who live there.
They are also a brewery, so I did another flight of beer, staring with American Cream, their Cream Ale, and followed by Werewolves Not Swearwolves (a new American IPA they recently made), and Black and Blue Baltic Stout (a barrel-aged stout finished with blueberries and black currants, weighing in at 14% ABV). I could have sworn there was another Oktoberfest/Marzen in the mix, as well, but I forgot to record it, so…I can only speak to those. I rather liked the Black and Blue, but the others were fairly interchangeable with other beers I’ve had in those categories from other breweries.
That evening I smoked another Davidoff (were you wondering how I got my nickname for this series?), the Master Blender Selection 10, gifted to me recently by a good friend. It was also fantastic…delicious, even!
And that was about it for those two days. Next time up, I’ll tackle all the beers I tracked down and cigars I smoked on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
You can find out more about the several SoCal locations of Taps on their website.
