A Place I Live: Eating Between Slices

Earlier this month I found out that August is National Sandwich Month. Being that I love sandwiches I decided to share two of my favorite places to go for a good bite to eat and two new places. Where's your favorite place for a sandwich?

5^th Ave Bagelry

6010 Ball Road

Buena Park, CA 90620

714-952-1658

This place is more than just a bagel shop. They have breakfast sandwiches with egg and ham served on your choice of bagel, different cream cheeses, muffins, house coffee and freshly squeezed juice. What I love ordering for lunch is the turkey sandwich on their crispy roll. The sandwich is filled with turkey, tomato, red onion, cheese and  topped with jalapenos, which I usually skip. The roll is what makes this sandwich so great. Picture a French roll with a delicious flaky top.

You really can’t go wrong with what you try here. The selection of bagels is great and the service is fast and friendly. The earlier you arrive, the larger selection there will be. And if you are a fan of New York style bagels, this one’s for you.

Cortina’s Italian Market, Delicatessen and Pizzeria

2175 W. Orange Ave
Anaheim, CA 92804

Since the 1960s Cortina’s has been a staple restaurant in West Anaheim. Very few times can you enter the restaurant and find it empty. They have good pizza, a fantastic antipasto salad and one of my favorite tiramisu desserts. They have such great food all around that sometimes I forget all about their fantastic sandwiches.

I usually order the turkey breast sandwich, which includes tomatoes, lettuce, onions and mayo on a French roll. The French roll is pretty tasty and loaded with fresh ingredients, but what really does it for me is the shredded lettuce. Jeremy’s favorite is the Cortina’s Special which includes a handful of Italian favorites like salami, capicolla, mortadella and provolone cheese also on a French roll.
Order wisely! The 6 inch is huge!

 

Gypsy Den
211 W Center St Promenade
Anaheim, CA 92805

I have to admit that I had never been to the Gypsy Den before they opened in Anaheim. We made it over to the brand spankin’ new restaurant on their third day of business and loved it so much that we came back two days later.

I had the Waldorf chicken salad sandwich which is served on a nice and buttery croissant with huge chunks of chicken and halves of grapes in just the right amount of mayo. The menu did say that there would be chunks of apple in the mix but I didn’t taste any. I was still very pleased with my sandwich.

I am a big fan of sweet potato so I had to try their sweet potato salad which was pretty tasty. I can also recommend the Mediterranean appetizer and their crème brulee. They also serve some craft beers and wine. My sister recently came to the Gypsy Den for breakfast and really enjoyed it so I will be trying their breakfast soon. Oh and did I mention that their wait staff is super friendly and great at making a recommendation?

 

Bruxie: Gourmet Waffle Sandwiches

292 North Glassell Street

Orange, CA 92866

Yes, yes and yes. I want to try every single item on the menu. Why it took me so long to find this Mecca of sandwiches I don’t know. All of Bruxie’s sandwiches are served on Belgium style waffles. I’m sure you are thinking these are only sweet waffle sandwiches – nope! They do serve delicious sounding sweet sandwiches like a PB&J but they also serve meat sandwiches and they are so good.

Here’s what we tried: I had the waffle and fried chicken sandwich which has a honey glaze to it. It is served with coleslaw in the sandwich, but since I’m not a big fan of slaw, I opted for none. I did add the Vermont maple syrup to my meal for the full experience. Trust when I say that waffle cut fries dipped in maple syrup is serious business. Jeremy tried their special which was a Carolina BBQ pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw. It was served with sauce on the side too so you could get as messy as you wanted. I had a bite and it was pretty good. My brother in law joined us and tried the turkey club sandwich which was packed with cold cuts and veggies including avocado.

The boys shared "Irish Nachos," waffle cut fries topped with a homemade cheese sauce, sour cream, chives and pieces of bacon. To wash it all down we had their artisan made sodas: vanilla cream, root beer and cherry cola. My favorite was the root beer. Sadly we were too full to try their frozen custard, but don’t worry, we will.

 Linked up! Eat, Make, Grow, 30 Handmade Days, Living the Width

GIVEAWAY: Wood Magnet Fruit Basket (closed)

It's our birthday and we’ll give something away if we want to!

 

Today we celebrate our 1st year anniversary on Etsy and are celebrating with a giveaway! Lots of ways to win so let’s get started.

The winner will receive a Wood Magnet Fruit Basket that will include a strawberry, orange, apple, grape and lemon. The magnets are made from reclaimed Ficus branches that were cut, sanded and painted by hand. The strong rare earth magnets will hold your favorite photos, drawings or to do list. 

Inspiration: When I think of fruit magnets I think back to my grandmother’s refrigerator. Her fridge was always overloaded with magnets from vacation destinations, magnetic frames holding childhood photos, even ones depicting a garden. No matter what else was on the front of the fridge there was always fruit magnets. I searched through different cuts of branches to find those that best represented the fruit magnets from my childhood. Bright paint helped bring them to life!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linked up: Foy Update, Mercantile Muse

A Place I Live: A Wagon Ride and Fresh Fruits and Veggies

Lately Jeremy and I have been talking about our dream of one day owning and running an organic farm. We’ve discussed the types of animals that would live in the barn, the food we’d grow and how our dogs would really love running around lots of land. So we decided to spend last Sunday visiting a functioning organic farm.

We drove the thirty minutes or so to get to Tanaka Farm in Irvine without much traffic (if you aren’t from around here just know it’s something worth noting). The farm is family run by Farmer Tanaka who is a third generation farmer with 100 years of family farming experience. Driving onto the 30 acre farm we caught a glimpse of the produce stand, fields and tractor wagons. I was pretty excited for the tractor wagon ride.

Being that it is the end of summer we took the one hour watermelon tour which includes a wagon ride tour of the farm and a watermelon to take home. One of the first things we were taught is the difference between fruits and vegetables. Fruit have seeds inside while veggies don’t. Our tour guide pointed out that most of what we call veggies are actually fruits like cucumbers, avocados and of course tomatoes.

Since all of what is farmed is organic, it is safe to eat right when it is picked. That’s good stuff since we got to taste a total of 10 fruits and vegetables on our tour. First were carrots, cherry tomatoes and green beans; all very delicious. We ate super sweet corn which was everyone’s favorite tasting of the day.

Aside from seeing where these yummy veggies and fruits were being grown we saw the nursery and green house were their seedlings are kept for a few weeks before being planted in the fields. There were fruit trees up on a hill that included apples, oranges, bananas and some stone fruits like plum and apricot.

Our final destination on the farm was one of their tour amphitheatres – a tent with hay in the shade to sit on. Our tour guide cut up fresh yellow squash, zucchini and cucumber which were all crisp and delicious. Next we had Saticoy which I had never had before. It pretty much looks like a cantaloupe but is much sweeter. I’m not a big fan of cantaloupe but I did like the Saticoy very much.

Our last two tastings were the messiest yet the best! Don’t worry we got wipes to clean up after. First up was red watermelon which was very tasty. Watermelon is one of my favorite things to eat so I did help myself to two slices. After we got to try yellow watermelon which is another fruit I had never had. From the outside the watermelon looks pretty much the same as a red watermelon but once cut up the inside is bright yellow, almost the same color as a ripe pineapple. It is sweeter than a red watermelon but tastes a little bit like pumpkin. Sounds a little weird, right? But it was good!

After wandering through the watermelon fields we got to pick our watermelon to take home. Our tour guide let us in on a little secret – if you take the watermelon and slice it in half and then stick them in the freezer, the next day you will pretty much have the best shaved ice ever. I cannot wait to try this, because I do love watermelon and a good slushee.

As the tour came to an end we passed some cottonwood trees. Those are planted to attract natural polleners to the fields. Our tour guide also let us know about the Pumpkin Tours which start up in October which include awesome festivities like a pumpkin cannon, corn maze, petting zoo and more yummy veggies for the pickin’. There will also be a pumpkin contest. Don’t worry, I already gave my pumpkins a pep talk letting them know they will be entered, so they better make me proud!

Our last stop was the produce stand which offered freshly baked bread, sweet breads, strawberry jelly made at the farm and of course fruits and veggies. Tanaka Farms is also part of the Community Supported Agriculture program (CSA) and had their small boxes for sale. The CSA program delivers fresh produce from the farm to you via delivery or drop off locations.

Oh, and if you visit, be sure to go hungry! The fruit and veggie tastings were one of the best snacks we’ve had in a while.

Tanaka Farms

www.tanakafarms.com

5380 University Dr

Irvine, CA 92612

Bon Voyage with my Honey!

After the big day is over there is nothing like a vacation. I'm so glad that vintage style bathing suits are back in style for lounging by the pool or braving the waves. My grandma wears a vintage suit while in Varadero Beach, Cuba on her honeymoon. Jeremy and I adventured in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Where did you enjoy your honeymoon?

We really hope you've enjoyed our Vintage Wedding Week!

1960s Red American Tourister Case Set by The White Pepper; Orange Men's Swim Shorts by Time For Memories; 1960s Chevron Pattern Swimsuit by Lunch Lady Vintage; Airmail Stationary by Jet Set Vintage

1960s Green Nightgown by Old Archetype Vintage; Daniel Green Slippers by Aloof Newf Millinery; 1960s Men Pajama Set by Luna Junction

The Celebration

I have to confess that I do not remember my reception as vividly as I wish I did and am thankful for all of the photos our family took. It wasn’t that I over did it with the champagne, it was more of being overwhelmed by so many people celebrating Jeremy and my union. I remember delicious food, the blooper of starting the champagne toast when the champagne hadn’t been served yet, being too busy to eat pie until the party was winding down somewhere around midnight and a lot of dancing.

We kept it simple with our decorations; white tent, paper lanterns and flower arrangements made by my other grandmother with fern leaves and dahlias. We bought vintage plates and candle holders and glued them together to make simple, yet elegant cake plates for the pies we served instead of wedding cake.
What I do remember about the reception vividly is planning it. The moments of clarity at 2 in the morning when a DIY project starts to make sense or the hours spent searching for vendors. To think that just two years ago there were so little resources for vintage wedding planning. Even TheKnot has a vintage wedding section now.
I especially love all of the unique center pieces being used these days; things from stacks of books, tree branches, succulents to goldfish! Green Wedding Shoes has some pretty neat vintage wedding photos to check out.

Pink Depression Glass Tray by Vintage Retrievers; Porcelain Place Cards by Summer Holiday Vintage; Milk Glass Vases Set of 4 by The Beetles Knees; Crystal Glasses with Gold Trim Set of 4 by Mom's Antiques N Things

Lucite Candle Holders by The Livery Stable; Champagne Glasses with Silver Band by Tatter and Fray; Dessert Stand by Dirty Birdies Vintage; Crystal Place Cards by Cottageridge Vintage

Cobalt Blue Dessert Plate by Jen's Closet; Blue Glass Vase by Paper Jar; Blue Book Collection by Sorry Thank You 79; Blue Cordial Glasses by Moonstruck Cottage