#reelfun

The addresses:

Wild Goose: 436 E 17th St, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

The Cookie Plug: 1392 W 7th St Ste A, Upland, CA 91786

Reel Fun: 34551 Casitas Pl, Dana Point, CA 92629

Café Sevilla: 1870 Harbor Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

Eat Thai Cuisine, Inc: 25482 Marguerite Pkwy #102, Mission Viejo, CA 92692

The websites:

Wild Goose: https://goosebar.com/

The Cookie Plug: https://www.thecookieplug.com/

Reel Fun: https://danawharf.com/

Café Sevilla: https://www.cafesevilla.com/location/orange-country/

Eat Thai Cuisine, Inc: https://eatthaicuisine.com/32095

The ratings:

Wild Goose : 27/30 on the Depression Oatmeal Scale

Reel Fun: 26/30 on the Depression Oatmeal Scale

The Cookie Plug: 28/30 on the Depression Oatmeal Scale

Café Sevilla: 24/30 on the Depression Oatmeal Scale

Eat Thai Cuisine, Inc: 26/30 on the Depression Oatmeal Scale

 Ah, the week leading up to Superbowl weekend and beyond. I certainly kept myself busy over this stretch of time. I think on some level this was because I was trying to forget that Valentine’s Day was approaching but to also speed up the days between the present and when I was going to go see my brother. If I had to put a pin in an all-time low value, I’m fairly certain it fell during this week. All of that being said, though, there were definitely highlights, and I’m going to try to keep those front and center as much as possible.

So as far as my level of introversion/extroversion goes, I did some daring things this week. I went on a date that was better than expected, even if I wasn’t interested overall. I joined a meet-up group and took a leap of faith on meeting complete strangers at a jam-packed happy hour on a Wednesday night – which is how I found myself at the Wild Goose for only the second time in 7 years. I won’t spend much time discussing this, but I had an absolute blast and I can say for sure that I took at least 2 friends away from the experience as well as meeting a rather large group of older college alumni that welcomed me into their family.

After a couple of drinks I was ready to get my food and go home; I had waited sufficiently long to do this, and I was growing tired from my adventurous night. I grabbed a menu and ordered something unique that I had never seen before - the Cilantro Caprese Burger. If I could give this thing 11 out of 10 stars, I would. Their menu on their website describes it as a beef patty on a brioche bun with fried buffalo mozzarella, roasted tomatoes, chimichurri, and a garlic aioli. I was a little skeptical of the fried mozzarella at first, but holy hell did it deliver – it was such a nice accent to an already oddball burger. The crunch was not too overpowering for the squeaky bite hidden underneath, and again, the flavors weren’t overpowering like a freezer mozzarella stick or fried cheese curds. I’m pretty sure I finished the whole thing in 3 or 4 bites, and it was large. This place has a great atmosphere, too – along with serving their food to go, an online menu, and supporting doordash, you really can’t go wrong. It is a bar, at the end of the day, and it can get quite loud and rowdy. This is why I rated it as a 27/30 on the depression oatmeal scale for the most part. I might consider adding a star on to that once I get the chance to have more food, and trust me – I’m planning on doing it soon.

Somehow in the midst of this week, I also had to go file quitclaim paperwork on my condo with my ex. It was quite an awful experience, if not mostly because it was a sad ordeal for both of us. The week quickly turned around, however, and on Superbowl Sunday I found myself on the back end of a Superbowl party in Pomona and realizing there was no way I was driving back home to go to work. I had hiked that day and it was near 100 degrees – combined with the drinking I had been doing and all of the food I had consumed, I was toast. So, I decided to stay the night at my best friends house and we just kept watching post-game reviews. In the midst of all of this, however, I found myself craving something sweet, so I hopped on Doordash and found the cookie plug. If you’re a sweets person, you absolutely need to find one ASAP and order one of these sweet and gooey hockey pucks. I got a variety pack of 7 (it was nearly 30 dollars I believe) but was enough cookies to feed 5 or 6 people, and we all got to try a little bit of everything. I think my favorite one was either the fruity pebbles flavor or the purple velvet. Both were extremely creative, but the fruity pebbles cookie had a nice tang to it that I just couldn’t get enough of. In total, we got the OG (chocolate chip), the Bam Bam (fruity pebbles), the Purple Haze (purple velvet), the Snooperdoodle (Snickerdoodle), the Firecracker (s’mores), the Pink Elephant (strawberry cheesecake), and the Cookie Cookie Cream (cookies ‘n cream). I don’t think I’ve had another honest competitor for Crumbl in the cookie space for years, but this place definitely took the cake. Or cookie. Or whatever. IT WAS AMAZING. As what I think is the first dessert spot I’ve honestly rated as part of this blog, they rightfully earned 28/30 on the Depression Oatmeal scale and the extra 2 pounds I gained as a result. Did I mention you can get them on Doordash? YES. YES I DID.

I went fishing on Monday because I ended up calling out sick. The only reason this is getting honorable mentions is because boat food is life – seriously, when people ask me about what the best cheeseburger I’ve ever had is – I always say any that I can get on a boat. All of that being said, the Reel Fun cheeseburger is just ok by Dana Wharf standards – you need to get one from Greg or Mauricio. It’s the juiciest, saltiest, most delicious thing you can eat on the water.

I was later feeling the vibe from my success at the Wild Goose, so I decided to attend a single’s party being held at Café Sevilla in Costa Mesa. Sadly, I regret to inform you that while the food was excellent, the bartender twice provided me with a tequila soda – let me tell you something. When you’re expecting a vodka soda and you get tequila instead, it’s quite an unpleasant experience. While drinking and trying to mingle with others, I had an order of bacon wrapped dates – they were great. The perfect combination of sweet and savory (This is one of my favorite snacks anywhere I go). I realized I was uneasy, though, no matter what I did to try to feel at home. Too late, I realized that Café Sevilla was called something different once upon a time – and that this was in fact where I met someone that continues to cause me a lot of heartbreak and anguish. Once it clicked in my brain, I made a quick and unannounced exit and went home. Sadly, my social media was flooded with a video of reflections on being single and over a month later, I regret saying anything in my story.

On a positive note, I ordered Thai Food from Eat Thai Cuisine – specifically, I got a wild coconut pad thai. This was a doordash exclusive, and I don’t recall having seen a physical brick and mortar location for them – although I know one exists, because I found it. I had it delivered and it was really quite nice – I was looking for comfort food, and pad thai usually works quite well in filling this void. They provided plenty of utensils and such, and made my life easier as I let the night swallow me.