This weekend was the perfect excuse for a food scoot! Food and drinks are always my favorite way to have a good time. I started off at Wasa, a great sushi restaurant at the Irvine Spectrum, and tried some of their specialty tasters, which included nigiri style sushi pieces with assorted fish and garnishes. Front and center was their seared salmon topped with colored daikon and green onions.
Next up was a visit to the Anaheim Packing House. I was so happy to get to come here and experience it for real! I absolutely love the interior decor of this place. There is a perfect mix of straight lines and softness where industrial and floral elements work together. There are skylights lining the roof and everything is so lively and bright. Live bands perform during the day, making it even more happy of a place. It's great to get together with friends here and relax over some awesome food and drinks.
There are so many different restaurants at the packing house that it is hard to know where to start! I was able to try a pretty good variety of street food here, including banh mi sandwiches and spring rolls from Sawleaf Cafe, tri-tip from Georgia's and fish & chips from Chippy. The banh mi was probably my favorite, though everything was so good! The Hammer Workshop & Bar has really talented mixologists, one of which being some guy with a cool mustache who gave me a neat ghost peppery version of a spicy Bloody Mary.
The BEST part of the Anaheim Packing House is the secret speakeasy called the Blind Rabbit. Everything about it is awesome, down to the entrance and exit. The inside is dimmed and cozy, and the bartenders there are amazing as well. My friends and I had a few rounds of all kinds of different drinks.
The mule on the left was infused with muddled jalapeños, and perfectly balanced so that the spiciness was apparent, yet not overpowering. The third drink from the left was called a Gin Ramos Fizz, which was a fruity cocktail with a sour foam topping. It was interesting because it was recommended to use a spoon to eat the foam while drinking the cocktail below it. The bartender said it had something to do with that particular drink's long history.
More drinks!!! The two most memorable were definitely the Dirty Pickle Martini and the Bacon Old Fashioned. How these bartenders come up with these crazy flavor combinations is beyond me. It was a really fun and unique experience.