Santa Ana, California

Who knew there is a thriving craft beer scene in Santa Ana? We took a Saturday afternoon walk in Downtown Santa Ana and found some very cool spots to people watch and relax with a few cold ones. We also loved the Brussels sprouts chips with our beer at our first stop. Try the RoadTripFlavors version with the recipe below.

Mapping the Day

In the nearly 20 years that we have lived in Orange County, we have rarely thought of Santa Ana as a destination. Yes, a summons for jury duty every few years took us to the downtown courts. And long ago, we shopped in the old Fiesta Marketplace for a piñata for one of our themed parties. But things have changed. Highly acclaimed restaurants, craft breweries and art and cultural venues have moved into downtown. Print and online reviews are beckoning new customers. And a few Saturdays ago, we decided to give it a try.

Local Story

We started at Native Son Alehouse. An upstairs deck offers an elevated vantage point for viewing the thriving 4th Street scene. It just so happened that it was also opening day for new next door neighbors to the alehouse at the LGBT Cultural Center.

The Alehouse was teaming with great people watching along with craft beer options. We sat a a large communal style table, ordered some brew and took in the comfortable scene. We also ordered Brussels Sprouts chips and Jalapeño strips to go with our beer. Wow, the chips were awesome.

Next stop was lunch. Many of the trendy restaurants in the area open only for dinner. However, we found a good option at Chapter One: The Modern Local on North Broadway for sandwiches, salads and burgers. And, of course, we ordered more craft beer.

After lunch, we cruised back to 4th Street and continued to yet another craft brewery: The Good Beer Company. A generous five tastings for $10 gave us a chance to try some unique beers that stretched our beer experience. We also enjoyed a couple games of Jenga as we languished over ales, IPAs and stouts.

View from the Table

As we walked back to our car, we took notice of the restaurants that dot the area: Playground, North Left, Lola Gaspar and Little Sparrow. We will be back in the evening to give these culinary hot spots a try.

 

Brussels Sprouts Chips

[button link=”http://roadtripflavors.com/recipe/brussels-sprouts-chips/” type=”big” color=”green” newwindow=”yes”] RECIPE[/button]