Anaheim Marketplace - Originally Published 2011

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen.  Behold history in the making.  For the first time ever, a jumbo-sized photo here in the pages of Animated Meat! 

Why the extravagance now in these lean times?  It is for illustrative purposes.  Animated Meat, a highly regarded peer-edited scientific journal wishes to put before you a hypothesis and the evidence.  The hypothesis?  You can get anything you would ever want at the Anaheim Marketplace.

The evidence?  Read that sign, ladies and gentlemen.  Translated, it says “Free weddings on February 13th, both religious and civil”.  Think of that as irrefutable fact in the fossil record.  Something with the magnitude of the Piltdown Man’s remains.

Yes, you can get a wedding here, along with a whole lot of other things.  God only knows what this place was before it became the Anaheim Marketplace, but it’s huge.  So huge there is even a soccer field.  Really.  Drive around the back of the place and you’ll see it.

There’s plenty of food to be had here, everything from the grab and go variety to the sit and savor.  I opted for a chicken mole plate along with a Mexican Coca-Cola.  Incase you don’t know, the Mexican kind uses real sugar as opposed to corn syrup.  Purists will tell you it tastes better.

Are you into the really scary brand of Catholicism?  The kind with bleeding Jesus statues?  The Anaheim Marketplace has your back.  Shop today and light candles tonight.

The Marketplace states that it has over three hundred vendors.   I would agree with that claim. The spaces are set up in a grid format, like a well-planned city.  It’s a lot of acreage if you intend to see all of it.  If you didn’t wear your comfy shoes, that’s okay.  There’s probably a store in here that can sell you a pair.

Are you dying to dress like Los Tigres Del Norte?  The Marketplace has everything you need to get fully equipped.  This particular store also sells men’s fur coats.  I would have included a photo as evidence, but I caught a nasty glare.  If you really want to see it, send me an email at theadjuser@mac.com and I’ll pass it along.

Yes, that sign does say “cassettes”.  Animated Meat can’t confirm that claim, but they do have plenty of Banda CD’s.

These toys all looked like a lot of fun.  Lots of guns and soldiers.  I’m sure that everything here poses a choking risk or will potentially put your eye out.

Futball?  Si!

There are no less that three tattoo shops within the Marketplace.

Rick's Atomic Cafe

Pretend for a moment that the Bible were rewritten for the twenty-first century.  While we’re pretending, pretend that I was in charge of writing the parables.  If I were writing parables, my theme song would be “2000 Man” by the Rolling Stones.

As I would sit and cobble away at parables, I would write one called “The Parable of Rick’s Atomic Café”.  It would be about a little, unassuming café in an office building in Costa Mesa.  Small and unflashly, though it may be, it would serve some of the finest bistro food in the land.  But it would only serve to those wise enough to look past exteriors and venture inside.

The proprietor would be a good and personable man.  He would personally come out from the kitchen to see if the mango chutney was too spicy.

But of course, the basis for my parable would be the real Rick’s Atomic Café.  Rick’s is a wonderful place where the food is as good as the location is unremarkable.  And yes, the owner did check to see if the chutney was too spicy.  See if they give you that kind of treatment at TGI Friday’s.

Tustin Brewing Company - Originally Published 2011

Pretend that you had a cool older brother.  Now, pretend that your cool older brother was a restaurant.  You know who he’d be?  He’d be the Tustin Brewing Company. 

You see, here’s the thing about cool older brothers.  Cool older brothers are all about the right now.  While the rest of the world gives you problems about crappy grades and your lack of direction, your cool older brother tells you now to worry about it.  He’s been there before you and he knows that it’s all going to work out.

It’s important to know about Geometry, but it’s also important to know that Mitch Cumstein was kicked out of college for night putting. 

Yup.  Older brothers are pretty cool.  In the time it takes to separate the stems and the seeds from a lid on a copy of Rumors, they’re sure to straighten out your perspective on the world.

Peters Gourmade Grill - Originally Published 2011

The other night I was in the parking lot of the Valero on McFadden.  I wasn’t there to get gasoline.  I was there to order dinner at Peter’s Gourmade Grill.

Suddenly, I had a sinking feeling.  Peter’s is bound for greatness.  It’s an undisputable fact.  He’s got so many factors going for him.  The food is great and the prices are reasonable.  According to the OC Weekly article that steered me here in the first place, he’s Courdon Bleu trained so he’s sure to hook the foodie crowd.  His little grill finds its home in a Valero gas station.

It’s only a matter of time before the Food Network finds out and sends Guy Fieri out to film an episode of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives.  After that happens, there’s going to be a line that wraps the block.  And rightfully so, because this place deserves it.  So, while I am waiting for the world to fall in love with Peter’s Gourmade Grill, my plan is to eat here as many times as I can.

Peter, you have something special going over there and you deserve all the success that’s sure to come to you.

In no particular order, the Grilled Chipotle Chicken Sandwich, the Greek Fries, and the Ooey Gooey Fries. 

D-Box - Originally Published 2010

In the 1950’s, the movie palaces of old faced a crisis.  A little invention called television gave folks an excuse to stay home for their entertainment instead of going to the picture show.  The solution?  Local movie theaters needed a gimmick to get people back out.  Movie studios flooded the marketplace with things like the Percepto, Smellovision, and of course, 3-D.

Fast forward a bit and everything old is new again.  With downloading, home theaters, and Blu-Ray, once again movie theaters face a crisis.  The obvious answer?  Trot out our old friend 3-D once again.  But keep an eye out, movie goers.  Cinema Fusion, our local theater has brought in a great gimmick called the D-Box Experience.

What is it?  It’s a 3-D movie with a moving seat.  The idea is to thrust the viewer into the experience.  We went and sampled the goods with a screening of Tron Legacy.  For an extra ten bucks, we were rocked and rolled through The Grid.