the best orange county all-day date + food tour

Occasionally I put pants on and when I do it’s mainly on behalf of great food and pretty places. Lucky for me, our neighboring Orange County has an abundance of both. A little known fact about me is that I actually went to undergrad at UC Irvine and as such, am no stranger to this area though I haven’t been back in years. PS: Isn’t it bizarre to revisit places you lived a long time ago? It always feels like ghosts are lining every street and alley, waiting to hit you with forgotten memories!

This is the perfect afternoon into evening adventure for anyone traveling into Orange County by car, and looking for something special to do for an an all-day date, birthday celebration or just a bored Saturday afternoon. We started this adventure around 1pm and ended around 8pm. This by all means doesn’t cover everything Orange County has to offer. In fact, some of the best ethnic cuisine you’ll ever have can be found more inland, however, if you want to spend some time by the beach, this is the best itinerary!

17th Street in Costa Mesa

For the first leg of this journey, take the 73 and get off at Irvine Blvd., driving toward Costa Mesa past the Newport Bay Nature Preserves and perhaps watching an airplane or two do a “cowboy take off” from John Wayne over them. Fun fact: Taking off from John Wayne is a bit of a rollercoaster as the airlines abide by noise abatement procedures to apease the (really, really rich) people of Newport Beach. The flights often take off at 20 degree angles (compared to a normal 10-15) and then the pilots cut the engine power by 15% causing the plane to become eerily silent paired with a possible light lifting from your seat. I’ve done it before and it’s definitely an E Ticket ride.

The first stop is for some buttery (and I mean BUTTERY) garlic noodles with shrimp at Nguyen’s Kitchen, a new Vietnamese spot located in an unassuming strip mall on the corner of 17th and Irvine. The portions are hefty and since there will be a lot of grubbing going on today, I recommend sharing. Legend has it that the bahn mi and bulgogi short rib sandwich are really delish too. The noodles were full of flavor and came with this delicious chimichuri sauce on the side that I drenched it in. Definitely a great new addition to Costa Mesa since 2017!

Next up, we are going to get some sweets on. You’re going to do yourself a favor and head across the street to SusieCakes. Now, this past weekend I didn’t actually go to SusieCakes, only because we made a pretty rookie blunder and didn’t share a plate of noodles and started our food tour stuffed. However, SusieCakes is hands down one of my favorite bakeries, and while their cupcakes are perfect, I get super turned on when I see their full slices of cake on display. There’s something so much more enticing to me about a piece of thick cake sliced off that reminds you of what your 80 year-old grandma used to make when serving it up along with a hefty portion of food shaming was du jour (let’s keep the cake in 2018 but let the food shaming die kthxbye…) My favs are the tropical coconut cake, celebration cake and the carrot cake, but they are all incredible.

Next up, you can take a walk on the Aussie side and step into Pie-Not, which serves up Aussie style meat pies. Since I was stuffed, I got one to go and sadly, was too afraid to eat it late at night after it sat in my hot car all day, but I’ll be back to this spot. It’s been written up in LA Times and Thrillist and apparently, carries a famed Aussie guava soda that one must try before they die.

Right next to Pie-Not you’ll see the masses of street youths waiting for the famed Sidecar Doughnuts & Coffee and you will have found your final stop on the 17th Street circuit. I can see why so many people love this place; it dishes up plenty of hipster charm and extremely fresh, innovative doughnuts.

However, I’m gonna say it: this isn’t my doughnut. Because aside from one, and

only one exception (my favorite doughnut, which is a traditional, dense old-fashioned), I’m not a fan of cake doughnuts. And these babies are very dense and cake-like. That didn’t stop me from consuming one and a half of a Birthday Cake and Huckleberry. And fine, twist my arm: I would probably wait again in a 20-30 minute line for one because they are just so darned pretty too.

Newport Beach

Next up you’re going to drive down Newport Blvd. and soak up all the unmatched classic California surfer vibes that makes you want to listen to Beach Boys and getting bleached tips (or perhaps if you were like me as a kid, dousing your hair in lemon juice– did anyone else do that??). You’re going to want to digest some of the grub from 17th street, so I would recommend parking in the Balboa Municipal lot for an hour or two and doing something active on. I love to walk on the Balboa pier and if you’re lucky like I was this past weekend, you may even catch a small surfing competition. If there is a large swell I definitely recommend then taking a walk south along the beach to scope out all the fancy (and broey) people enjoying their multi-million dollar beach cottages.

The Wedge, which is where you’ll find surfers congregating. Another activity if you’d rather not lay on the beach, is to rent bikes and ride along the Newport Balboa bike trail where you can people watch and can scope out the mix of fancy and broey people enjoying their beach homes.

When you’re ready to leave the beach proper you can walk or ride across Balboa and Bay Ave. to the Balboa Fun Zone where you’ll find a cute little arcade, a ferris wheel, some rides and a hidden gem called Balboa Bar-B-Que, where you can share a pulled pork sandwich and a corn dog and play a few rounds of your fav arcade games. There is also a store called T’s Toe Rings, and I mean… why would you not?

Balboa Island

When you’ve had your fill of the fun zone you’ll want to get back in your car and make your way out of the lot to Palm St., following the signs for the Balboa Ferry. The ferry is a very unique experience and if you’ve never sat in your car eating leftover doughnuts while it floats across the ocean, you have to do it once for a cheap thrill. The fare is $2 per driver and $1 each additional passenger and the total ride is under ten minutes, bringing you to our next stop: the quaint Balboa Island.

Balboa Island reminds me of something out of a movie with its miniature streets and houses. You’ll want to pray to the parking angel and try to get a spot on the main drag so that you can walk up and down Marine Ave. and take in all the little boutiques and eateries.

Back in my undergrad days, one of my favorite places to eat on the island was Picante Martin’s for their burritos and chicken soup. But above all, you’ll have to try the famed Balboa Bar and frozen banana from Sugar ‘N Spice, a treat that was made all the more popular via Arrested Development. (Being a very avid AD fan, I always geek out when I get a frozen banana because after all, “There’s always money in the banana stand.”)

Now don’t be fooled: there is another spot that appears to be similar and sounds slightly more homey called Dad’s Original, but the lines speak for themselves as well as the history of all of Dad’s Originals alleged shady copy-cat antics with Sugar ‘N Spice. Who knows the real story but one thing is certain: the feud is definitively fun and you may even overhear people discussing it in the line, which adds to the drama and folklore. I always opt for a Balboa Bar covered in dark chocolate and dipped in sprinkles. It’s decadent, creamy and a must. If you have a penchant for salt water taffy there’s also a little candy store where you can pick up a bag before heading back in the car to make your way down the coast.

Crystal Cove State Park + The Beachcomber Cafe

As soon as you drive south through Corona del Mar you’ll see the Los Trancos parking lot on the left of PCH where you can park and either wait for a paid shuttle or take a short downhill walk to The Beachcomber Cafe. Here, you can either wait for a table facing the beach, or do what I do and snag a first-come-first-serve seat at the bar along the side of the cafe. This spot is ridiculously cute, and there’s nothing quite like sitting at a quaint, hidden bar and restaurant on the sand during sunset at one of my favorite beaches in Southern California. Crystal Cove State Park was my beach. And I confess that I ditched many a class so that I could come here in all my introversion to bask in the sun and enjoy what is almost a completely empty beach on weekdays. During the weekend there will be a crowd, but nothing close to the kinds of crowds in West LA, and way more families.

You have a couple options here. First, you can sit at the bar and enjoy a huge Pimm’s Cup along with some tapas. I can attest for the brilliance of the artichoke here, although this time I tried out the ahi tacos, which were good. The Beachcomber validates for three hours, which is awesome and the shuttle itself costs a couple bucks each way (worth it for the uphill climb back up on a full stomach).

You can also walk up the stairs along the side of the cliff to the Crystal Cove Shake Shack, if you’re more in the mood for a shake and burger. Either way, it’s a lovely way to spend the sunset and round off the day.

This past Saturday however, I extended the tour by driving thirty minutes through Laguna Beach and taking the 133 to the Irvine Balloon. If you really want to impress a date, you can take them to The Orange County Great Park to ride a free carousel and tethered hot air balloon ride, taking in 360 degree views of the county. It’s safe, though a tad harrowing for someone like me who is mildly afraid of heights, and sadly, since I was experiencing some intense vertigo on Saturday, I backed out of riding up. However, it’s a lovely way to round out the evening. Note that the Irvine balloon closes in the afternoon and reopens at 7pm.

If you’re a young whipper snapper and don’t want the evening to end, then you can stop off at the Gypsy Den in Santa Ana on the way back up to Los Angeles, and if you’re hungry, catch some of the late-night taco fare in Santa Ana and perhaps, a free Disneyland fireworks from a nearby street if your timing is right!

All in all, I had an amazing day and highly recommend the route. Have you been to Orange County? What are some of your favorite spots?

xo

Elle