Happy Sunday! Y'all I am on a roll as this is my third consecutive week writing. Yes I am proud of myself. Yes I recognize that it is Sunday and I should written something sooner but... my week starts on Monday so I just managed to keep my streak alive. Look at me making positive progress.
Some of you may know but I love the city of Santa Ana. It is my goal to move there as I love all of the various shops, restaurants, bars and coffee shops. Downtown Santa Ana is extremely walkable and there is always something new to discover. That's exactly what I did on Friday so let's get into it ya!
Before I dive in, I need to apologize for the lack of pictures as I was just enjoying. I'll be going back so this will get updated. We started off by going to Hopper and Burr for their wine tasting. We were able to try four French wines, two whites and two reds from the Boujelie region. It was such a dope experience! For $30 each we got four generous pours and Patrick was so knowledgeable and passionate about each of the wines. We each had our favorites but agreed they were all good. In addition to the wines we tried two of their seasonal drinks: the Nico #3 and the Hull and Oak. The Nico #3 is a milk punch style coffee drink that was friggin delicious. The Hull and Oak was and espresso tonic style coffee drink. Both were very good. He also got their regular coffee which he had me try (he drinks his coffee plain) and I could actually taste the fruit notes in the coffee. Highly recommend Hopper and Burr.
Next on our impromptu tour de Santa Ana was McFadden's. McFadden's consists of several eateries, tiki bar and on the second level a barcade called Mission Control. We got their before the barcade opened so we got flavorful carne asada fries from Tacompadre. Sooo good especially with their black and green salsa. Once in Mission Control we got two beers on happy hour for just $11 and then played some old school video games and pinball machines. I learned I still suck at Guitar Hero but I beat him at Street Fighter and that is still the highlight of my weekend!
From there we got a slice of pizza from Loosies while listening to a mariachi band play. While at Loosies the cashier mentioned that her dad had a taco pop-up at the newly opened Club 616 so I am pretty sure you know where this is headed.
On the way to Club 616, we stopped in the newly opened The Collective where Coffee Muse is now located. They were closed but that space is made of different small businesses including some clothing. I have to return as there were were some shirts and dresses that were calling me! I did buy a gift for a friend.
Our last stop was Club 616. The signage outside means you can not miss it. It is a sexy inside with all of this red and some sexy art. They are a craft cocktail bar and they take great pride in their drinks. I originally ordered a mezcal cocktail and he ordered a whiskey cocktail but he liked mine more so I gladly switched. The only thing I didn't like about this place was remember that guy who asked me out only for some chick to pop up on our outing and he left me at the table? Well, unbeknownst to me he now works there. But the drinks are so good and the outside is so cute that I can ignore that fact (and him). Will definitely be back.
Don't be surprised if you see another Santa Ana post as I friggin love it! What cities do you love and why? Share with me! Next time, I will have more pictures!