My sincere apologies as I certainly didn’t mean to suggest that everyone in OC acts that way. But yes, stereotypically speaking, OC does have a reputation against masks or general safety measures taken against COVID.
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No offense taken at all! I certainly didn’t mean to single you out. I just think a lot of people don’t realize how deeply rooted some of this is in OC. At the same time, it’s home to some of the most non-white areas with deep Asian immigrant and native Mexican ties such as Garden Grove and Santa Ana. That dichotomy probably also leads to a lot of the racial tensions.
The converse of that overt racism I encountered was also one of my most welcoming experiences when I took my wife food exploring early in our dating life when she was very food sheltered. We wandered into a restaurant in Santa Ana where not a word of English was heard spoken and we were the only non Hispanics in the place. After the initial shock of “how the heck did you find us”, we were treated with a lot of warmth, especially when we explained we were trying to explore and learn more. They treated us wonderfully with a bunch of suggestions and answered our questions.
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No apologies needed. My post wasn’t aimed directly at you, and you’re absolutely right.
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I think we as Angelenos tend to look down our noses at OC as a cultural wasteland of mcmansions and USC car flags (gross, I know), but it’s certainly so much more diverse and interesting than we give it credit for (much as Los Angeles itself transformed over the last half-century or so). The first time I ever had Mexican-style elote as a kid was from a street vendor in Santa Ana. Jean-Paul’s Goodies in Laguna Beach was serving cafe au lait and great croissants with a scowl decades before hipster coffee shops proliferated across LA. Little Saigon is a stunning world unto itself on par with even LA’s celebrated Koreatown.
On the flip side, it’s the home of the Nixon library, and the type of folks who didn’t like Nixon because he was too liberal, and the type of folks who bus any homeless people who show up in their town up to Santa Ana. But those people don’t have a monopoly on power in the county anymore, and it’s changing more every day.
And I’ll tell you what, up here in tasteful, liberal Santa Monica I still see plenty of non-maskers (and mcmansions).
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My favorites were from them “Ummm… hopefully to a poke shop” and “Get ready to run.”
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What? POTUS must not know this, lol. Otherwise he’d be promoting them and every one of ‘em would be wearing them… problem solved.
I can see that. As someone who grew up in SGV area but went to UCI and lived down in OC for many years before moving back up to LA, I’ve certainly seen both sides of it. And jokingly or not so jokingly I’ve heard the disparaging comments from people in both counties. How LA is dirty, etc vs OC being a bunch of stepford units. One of my childhood friends growing up in SGV now lives in Irvine and proudly declares it the best city to live in, loves the whole master planned suburbia setting for his kids and why would anyone want to live anywhere else. Where as I’m happy to have found my way back “home” to LA and enjoy the diversity.
I’m old enough to remember discovering the Diedrich’s coffee on 17th in Costa Mesa and thinking, “how cool is this? great coffee, a place I can read and hang out in, why can’t I find this in more areas?”
Yup. Living on the westside, I’ve certainly encountered a lot non-maskers and genteel hypocritical liberal elites.
In the end, I’ve always felt the world is full of grays and nuance, rarely is an issue completely clear cut.
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Amen!
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I seem to recall Wally George getting a career boost by appearing on George Putnam’s broadcasts.
In DTLA, Brera / Sixth & Mill and Manuela are open for patio dining. The gnocchi at Brera are still the best in LA.
Just driving down Montana in Samo, a bunch of restaurants are building patios in their street parking places (must have gotten permission from the city?). Also when I got takeout from Rita’s Indian they had seats set up on the sidewalk.
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I 
The Onion! 
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It’s not too far from the truth. Glendale Galleria set up dining tables in the parking structure. Eeeeewww
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This reminds me of Carmageddon a few years back. The 405 was shut down and some people set up a table on the freeway.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/carmageddon-story-photo-trio-dining-212762
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MIMOSA ALERT
"At press time, Garcetti had placed the initiative on a temporary pause after a 10-car pileup caused widespread delays to brunch orders. "
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Got an e-mail from Dialogue today:
*We are pausing on the re-opening of Dialogue and introducing Tidbits, an outdoor restaurant serving Farmers Market-inspired small plates as well as a selection of our favorite wines and beers. The full Tidbits menu will also be available for pickup. *
Tidbits will open August 6th, Wednesdays through Saturdays, starting at 4 PM. The restaurant is located on the second floor patio of the Gallery Food Hall overlooking the 3rd Street Promenade.
Reservations open this Friday, July 31st at 10 AM. While reservations are highly encouraged, we will also be accepting walk-ins. Please email info@dialoguerestaurant.com with any questions. We hope to see you there!
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Uovo in Santa Monica has seating out front where cars used to park.
The MozzaPlex is now doing Chi Spacca Tuesday’s on the patio.
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