Life at the Santiago Street Lofts

Goodbye AT&T DSL

2012-01-04T15:15:00.000-08:00

I remember back in 2006 when we first moved to the lofts, getting our Internet up and running was a top priority. From switching our billing addresses, setting up service appointments, and all of the other fun things that come along with moving, Internet was key in getting our new home up and running.

At the time, Adelphia Cable was the sole Cable Internet service provider and boy did they suck ass. From their customer service down to their network infrastructure, everything was terrible.

In the coming year, Adelphia ended up filing for bankruptcy and Time Warner took over servicing the neighborhood, but that transition was pretty rough for us as our Internet turned from terrible to just plain crap.

Fed up with our lousy Cable Internet, we signed up for AT&T "Elite" DSL at a promo rate of $20/mo for the first year, jumping to its standard rate of $35/mo the second year.

At first, we were getting pretty solid download speeds and all was good in the universe. But as time went on, things once again turned to crap.

Thinking it could be a wireless issue, I plugged my computer directly into the router, which did help a bit, but overall, didn't do much when it came to gaming on the Xbox/PS3 or worse, streaming Netflix movies.

A few weeks ago I was chatting with a neighbor and they were telling me how happy they were with their Cable Internet service from Time Warner after switching from AT&T U-verse. I looked up TW's prices online and found that their standard rates were not only cheaper than what I was paying with AT&T, but also allowed for more bandwidth.

Seeing that my AT&T DSL account wasn't on a contract and I wasn't getting anywhere near the download speeds I was paying for, I decided to give Time Warner Cable another shot, five years after first leaving them. The saddest part of all was when I called AT&T and told them I wanted to cancel, the thought of "business retention" never crossed the operator's mind!

Below is a screen capture of my previous AT&T DSL speeds and my new Time Warner Cable download speeds. From 1.33Mbps down to a whopping 25.21Mbps–it's a shame I've long outgrown my porno-downloading days.

As for pricing, get this–I'll be paying $180 LESS/year AND it looks like I qualify for a $100 cash card for telling them why I switched!

With Internet connection speeds this good I have no reason to not blog in 2012!

Back in the Saddle

2012-01-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

Remember me?
It's been a while hasn't it.

I made a promise to myself I'd come back to writing this year and to continue with this story.

Happy 2012 and see you soon!

Won't You Be My Neighbor?

2010-04-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

Santa Ana needs more gay people.
There, I said it.

Having grown up in San Diego, I've seen first hand how the (GLBT) community can refine once rough urban areas like Hillcrest and further expand its positive gentrification into surrounding neighborhoods such as Normal Heights and North Park into desirable pocket destinations.

Don't take my word for it–here's an exerpt on Gay Villages from Wikipedia (yeah I know, Wikipedia isn't de facto, but I strongly agree with what is written).

These neighborhoods are also often found in working-class parts of the city, or in the neglected fringe of a downtown area – communities which may have been upscale historically but became economically depressed and socially disorganized. In these cases, the establishment of a gay community may eventually turn these areas into desirable, upscale neighborhoods, a process known as gentrification – a phenomenon in which gays often play a pioneer role.

That first sentence in the above quote sure sounds like both the Lacy and French Park (are you listening Santa Ana/Related California) neighborhoods, wouldn't you say?

So...who's with me on giving the water tower a fresh coat of rainbow paint this weekend?

Back from the Dead

2010-04-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

"Downtown Orange County"–that definitely has a ring to it. But I often wonder if the folks who decided to paint that slogan on our beloved water tower have ever been to a real downtown.

Don't get me wrong, I love the current flavor and charm of what sits between 1st Street and Civic Center Drive, but come 7PM on a Monday night, the lights go out and the sidewalks are rolled up.

One of the main issues I feel that's stunting this area's development is that the Residential Zoning Code mandates that only Live-Work developments can be built in Downtown Santa Ana (though I've heard this might be changing soon).

A few years back, the Olson Company breathed new life into Downtown Santa Ana by building both the Main Street and the award-winning East Village Lofts. But for some reason (I've heard a few speculations why), they never got a chance to finish up the final phase of their project (to be named Sycamore Street Lofts) located on the corner of 3rd and Sycamore.

After years of being a vacant lot and one of Santa Ana's (many) under-utilized assets, City Ventures has stepped in and is picking up right where Olson left off.

I've always hoped that this 1/2-acre lot would be the catalyst for bigger and better things for Downtown Santa Ana (like making Memphis want to be open on Monday nights). I'm not sure what the original specs called for, but image ground floor (quality) retail with 3 stories of residential sitting on top–that would be the tits.

Check out the press release below that was forwarded to me by my good amigo:

City Ventures’ Latest Acquisition Will Add More Life to Santa Ana’s Artist Village

Continuing its pace of aggressive land acquisitions, City Ventures has purchased a fully-entitled, half-acre community in Santa Ana, Calif., where it will complete development on a much-anticipated collection of live/work artist lofts. City Ventures acquired the property – adjacent to the downtown artist village – from a New York-based capital management fund and is now working with the City of Santa Ana to complete the community. The purchase was an all-cash transaction.

Situated on the corner of North Sycamore Street and West 3rd Street, less than a mile from the City’s Metrolink train station, the neighborhood is planned for 16 homes, ranging from 1,227 to 2,134 square feet with one to three bedrooms. Homes – expected to be complete in 2011 – will have an estimated average price of $400,000.

City Ventures is independently financing the community’s acquisition and construction.

In addition to this parcel in Santa Ana, City Ventures currently holds more than 2,000 lots within 13 California urban, coastal counties with more than $1.0 billion in revenue potential. The company also owns or controls – land in cities including Pasadena, Newport Beach, Santa Barbara, Encinitas, Yorba Linda, and Claremont.

To meet our team and learn more about City Ventures, please visit our website at www.cityventures.com

Special thanks to my good buddy El Diablo Blanco for the heads up.

The New Hotspot–Downtown Santa Ana

2010-04-18T23:52:00.000-07:00

About a week and a half ago while dining at Memphis, I got a chance to catch up with one of Memphis' part-owner and my good buddy Dave Hastie.

Dave sat down at our table and pointed across the street to the roof of the Empire Building asking if we saw the new WiFi antenna.

"No–when did this happen?!" I asked.

"Just recently", he replied.
"We haven't made a public announcement yet."

Turns out that the free WiFi is provided by the Downtown Santa Ana Management District (a collective unit of participating Downtown Santa Ana business owners) and they're looking to expand all the way out to 4th Street and the Fiesta Marketplace.

How bitchin' is that?

I remember reading somewhere that mayoral candidate Al Amezcua wants to bring free public WiFi to Santa Ana should he be elected this November.

Way to go Downtown Santa Ana Management District for being one step ahead of the game.

Wanted: Good Ideas to Lay Great Tracks

2010-02-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

The first significant investment the City of Santa Ana would be implementing in our neighborhood is roughly three years out, but today and tomorrow, the project will need your input to make it a success.

The three or four of you who follow this blog already know that I back this idea and I sincerely believe that building a fixed-guideway system will improve all property values all along its path as well as serve as a tremendous asset to the “working class” resident.

With that being said, the City of Santa Ana will be hosting two listening sessions where they hope to gather community input to help make this project a success for everyone.

Please Join the Cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove for a Community Listening Session for the Proposed Fixed-Guideway Project.
Your opinion is important to us!

Two community listening sessions are being planned for the proposed Santa Ana and Garden Grove Fixed Guideway project.

The goal of the project is to provide residents, workers and visitors with a new east-west transit connection between the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center (SARTC), the Downtown District and Civic Center in Central Santa Ana, and Garden Grove.

Public input is important to the project’s development and we want to hear your thoughts and ideas. We have planned two community listening sessions, both are open to the public. Please attend the meeting most convenient for your schedule.

When and Where:
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center (Train Station)
Room - Main Lobby
1000 East Santa Ana Boulevard
Santa Ana, CA 92701
*Corner of Santa Ana Boulevard and Santiago Avenue

When and Where:
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Santa Ana City Hall - Community Development Conference Room
Second Floor, Room 209
20 Civic Center Plaza
Santa Ana, CA 92701
*Corner of Civic Center Drive and Ross Street
For more information, please call us at (866) 580-9455

Upon first hearing about the rail project several years ago, I tried to find specific examples of how a streetcar system was detrimental to its city or the surrounding neighborhoods and found only hearsay.

If anyone out there in the Blogosphere knows of an example, please send it my way.

And no, the monorail project proposed and developed by Lyle Lanley does not count.

"Y'know, a town with money is a little like the mule with a spinning wheel. No one knows how he got it and danged if he knows how to use it."

Fast Water, Slow Drains and Hitler's Revenge

2010-01-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Every time the sky opens up like it has these past few days, I flashback like a segment in LOST to my freshman year in college when I owned a 1990, 2-door Volkswagon Jetta (I know, total chick car).

Although it was a great alternative to walking to school, this car was a complete nightmare for this starving student. Not only did the car require some kind of major maintenance every other month keeping me in an eternal poor house, but this vehicle, appropriately nicknamed "Hitler's Revenge" by a good friend, leaked water like a sieve from Hell.

The worst part about the leaking water wasn't the fact that it destroyed a $160 Art History book, or my mid-term art project, no, it was the smell that matured from the floor just behind the driver's seat. I'd often warn people that asked me for a ride that my car had a very distinct aroma–equating it to a hot burlap sack of wet spoiled potatoes. Forget the air-fresheners, it only intensified my car's unique fragrance.

It's safe to say that because of "Hitler's Revenge", I will probably never, ever buy another Volkswagon for as long as I live.

Flash forward some 10+ years and I'm answering a phone call from a neighbor living at the lofts saying that the deluge has caused the gutter water to rise over the sidewalk and slowly creep through her front door.

Naturally, my first instinct is to call Public Works to see if they know of any sewer/gutter blockages. If not, then what are the public's options to help protect their property.

From a call I placed in to Public Works on Tuesday I learned two things: “All drains and gutters in Santa Ana drain slowly” (clogged with the dreams of so many who have tried to make Santa Ana a better place, perhaps?) and the City of Santa Ana offers up to 10 free sandbags to residents, 24 hours a day at a self-service station down at 215 South Center Street (92703).

View Larger Map

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I've attached a photo below that my good neighbor-friend took as he drove around the complex. All I can say is that I’ve lived here for roughly three and half years and I’ve never seen the water run this high, so this is definitely out of the norm.

Though this might seem like another dire situation where residents of Santa Ana are once again “assed-out” by the City, the flooding at this intersection will most likely need to be addressed when the City moves forward with their Go-Local Street Car plan…hopefully.

The Projection Project

2009-12-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

About this time last year, a few of us here at the lofts thought about projecting snowflakes on the buildings during the December '08 Art Walk. Unfortunately, the idea never got past a few rough concepts done in Flash, but hey, it was definitely worth trying.

Enter 2009 and two industry professionals; visual graphics guru Matik and mix-master of Free the Robots/The Crosby fame, Chris Alfaro. Together, along with the Downtown Santa Ana Management District comes a 3D projection project worthy of the pages of Gizmodo. Event info below from the Downtown OC (don't call it that) Life website:

Downtown Incorporated invites you to experience a visual journey through imagination, distorted perception, and holiday ambiance. Using unique animation modules and multiple high-powered projectors the facade of the historic Spurgeon Building will be illuminated in a spectacle of seasonal inspired extreme light and shadow morphing the existing architecture. Motion Graphics Presented by Matik Musical Accompaniments Produced by Chris Alfaro and The Definiens Project Projection performances continue Thursday – Saturday evenings from 7-9pm through December 27th.

What a great show, right? Which gets me thinking–if I can get my hands on an Epson Projector and a portable power supply, I just might have a Left 4 Dead/Modern Warfare art piece for an upcoming Art Walk!

Update: This post was partially published in the OC Register. An online version of the post can be seen here.

Off My Game

2009-11-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Last night shortly before 10:30PM, my "Tagger Spidey-Senses" were tingling so I popped my head outside to find two kids failing miserably trying to marker-tag a real estate sign just down the street. I guess these morons didn't realize that trying to vandalize a damp surface with a crappy marker gets you nowhere–frakin' rookies.

"HEY YOU F*CKING C*NTS! TAKE THAT SH*T SOMEWHERE ELSE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

The two wannabes nonchalantly glared back at me, looked at each other, then continued to walk West down Santa Ana Boulevard.

I considered chasing them down for some extra exercise (not to mention Christmas cash), but for some reason, I decided against it and just stood there.

What the hell Ben?! This is so unlike you? You didn't have the urge to give them a face full of mace?

Perhaps it was due to the fact that I was wearing flip-flops, or that I'm currently out of pepper spray, or maybe because I didn't see any additional damage around the neighborhood. Or perhaps it was the fact that my top-of-my-lungs shouting didn't stir one neighbor–causing a single light to be turned or a front door to be opened in curiosity.

Figuring I should at least call the cops to make sure these kiddies got home safely, I rushed back in to grab my cell phone (which I hadn't yet programmed SAPD as speed dial–idiot) and called SAPD dispatch.

Fumbling with my new phone, I hurried back out to the street only to find that the two hoodlums were nowhere in sight. Getting the dispatcher on the line only added more frustration to the situation as the dispatcher couldn't keep up with my well-paced and well-trained caller-to-dispatcher dialog.

"Hi, I've got two teenage taggers–both Hispanic males around 14-16 years old walking westbound down Santa Ana Boulevard, just passing Garfi....".

"WAIT WAIT WAIT–slow down sir", the dispatcher said.

"UGH! I should have just chased them down THEN called you" I said. I then began to walk down the Boulevard in hopes of seeing where these f*cktards went. As I passed Garfield Street I thought back to the last time I caught a tagger around here and that it took SAPD over thirty minutes to arrive.

It was only after wrapping up the phone call with SAPD did I realize that I had walked too far down the street without my usual post-10PM tagger-chasing accompaniments (pepper spray, Jesus Stick, etc).Even more frazzled, I gave up the search and headed back home.

The thing that's eating me is why didn't I react like I normally do? Am I getting soft? Geezus, what's happening to me? Unprepared and non-reactive just isn't my style.

Or have I finally begun to succumb to the apathy that eventually plagues everyone in Santa Ana?

I mean, why risk my life when I haven't even beaten Modern Warfare 2 yet, right?

Man, when did I stop caring or even worse, when did I come to my senses? I'm hoping what happened last night was just a glitch in the Matrix and I'll be back on track in no time.

On a side note, can anyone recommend a decent-priced paintball gun with good distance?

Things to do in Santa Ana (Nov 09)

2009-11-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

Is it Patchwork season already? Say What--You don't know what Patchwork is? Tsk, tsk.

This Weekend:

Information below stolen from The Road Less Traveled Store's website.

PaTcHwOrK: 5-Santa Ana
November 15th (sun), 11AM-5PM
Our popular arts and crafts fair is making a holiday return. Over 80 vendors including music, food, DIY booths and lectures devoted to making things. Shop creative * buy local!

Check out this blog for information on current and previous Patchwork events.

Next Weekend:

Next weekend, the First Annual Santa Ana International Music Festival will be taking place in Downtown Santa Ana.

From the website:

Entertainment: various musical styles from all over the world, including world music, country, reggae, latin, african drumming, japanese, flamenco, persian, rock, hip hop, native american, colombian, brazilia and much more...

Where: Downtown Santa Ana 4th Street, Sycamore, Artist Village, Fiesta Marketplace, Yost Theater

When: Saturday November 21, 2009, Noon to 9:00 p.m

Sunday November 22, 2009, Noon to 8:00 p.m

Also, don't forget to stop by the Santiago Art District on Saturday, November 21st. Check out the website for more information and gallery openings.

Memphis Fo' Life!

2009-11-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

If I had to eat at one restaurant everyday for the rest of my life, it would have to be Memphis at the Santora in Downtown Santa Ana, though I'm not sure how that would ultimately affect my life expectancy.

Yet with a menu as delicious as this one, I'm often baffled as to why a restaurant as amazing as Santa Ana's very own Memphis can't stay open seven days a week. But then again, we are talking about Santa Ana, where absurdity happens on a daily basis.

For the last several months, the wife and I have been religiously patronizing Memphis on Wednesday nights, taking full advantage of their $10 barbecue specials.

Just recently, Memphis has kicked it up a notch by streamlining their menu and adding specials such as the hearty Bison Burger, fantastic Shrimp Tacos, and Mrs. Dayhoe's favorite Po’ Boy Sandwich. In addition, Memphis has added an amazing BBQ Combo plate to their repertoire.

According to Memphis' General Manager David Hastie, the new sleeker menu now allows for "more options in the moderate price range. Specialties will remain the same, but we plan to switch up the seasonal section 3 to 4 times a year so we can focus on locally grown and organic seasonal produce and fresh seafood."

Click on the menu graphic below to embiggen the new dinner menu, or scroll down for a downloadable option.

You can also check out Memphis' Brunch and Lunch menus on their refreshed website, or you can download a PDF version of Memphis' new Dinner Menu here.

Hopes and Fears

2009-08-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

After living in Santa Ana for over three years, it seems as if things are finally happening in the empty lots just West of the Santiago Lofts.

When I first told my friends and family I was moving to Santa Ana, they thought I was crazy. But to me, it made perfect sense because I believe in this city–what it is, what it was, and what it could be.

As of Monday night, the Related/Griffin team is now one step closer in becoming the master developer for these nearby lots. And after three years of watching other cities evolve while Santa Ana moved at a snail's pace, I am filled with hope with the thought of what could come to our city.

But at the same time, my hopes are equally met with trepidation and fears.

Allow me to share some of my hopes and fears:

I'm hopeful that what we build, retains the quality residents already living here while attracting new ones who are invested in this city, looking to build stronger communities.

I'm fearful that like everything else in Santa Ana, it will take too long to develop and we'll have once again missed our window of opportunity.

I'm hopeful that within these ~7 acres being developed, creative open spaces and green spaces; such as parks (ground and rooftop) gardens (community/rooftop) are implemented.

I'm fearful that the children of our neighborhoods are to continue playing in empty parking lots–such as those that do everyday at Garfield Elementary.

I'm hopeful the grand vision for the Station District is for a creative, urban renewal that activates our streets and would rival the revivals that took place in destinations such as University Heights (Park Blvd/Adams Ave) in San Diego and Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.

I'm fearful that the design cues will be taken from stale city of Irvine.

I'm hopeful that when finally implemented, the streetcar is a new avenue that brings commerce to Santa Ana.

I'm fearful the streetcar will just be another way to fabulous Garden Grove.

I'm hopeful that whatever ground floor retail & restaurants planned for these lots "fit"–having something for everyone.

I'm fearful that the driving force that thought it would be okay to:

Allowed Ware set up shop in Logan

Build stucco monstrosities in the middle of French Park

Not develop amenities in conjunction with the Santiago Lofts at the train depot parking lot

Have an El Pollo Loco as the only walkable restaurant to the world famous Bowers Museum (not including Tangata which is located adjacent to the museum)

is still behind the wheel of our city.

I'm hopeful in that Santa Ana will some day become a true destination city; where new circulation is brought to our streets–where places like Downtown, The Fiesta Marketplace, 4th Street, and the Station District (including the train depot) are ventured to by people all over Southern California.

Chimichurri

2009-08-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

I'm no expert in Argentinian food nor would I even know what authentic Argentinian food tastes like, but I sure know a delicious value when I sink my teeth into one.

Just like Mil Jugos (located one block uptown), Chimichurri is the embodiment of every delicious dream I had hoped my local Santa Ana would be when making the move to this city over three years ago.

In short, I moved to Santa Ana for fantastic hole-in-the-wall restaurants like this one.

The name Chimichurri comes from the green Argentinian meat sauce which is usually made from chopped parsley, minced garlic, vegetable oil or olive oil, white or red vinegar, and red pepper flakes, though there isn’t a definitive recipe from my research.

The decor of the restaurant is warm and festive, as is the man of the house who heads this family-run business. Diego, a soft-spoken Argentinian gentleman will graciously welcome you into his restaurant as if you were stepping foot into his own home–warmly referring to new customers as "friends" while addressing returning ones by their first name.

The menu is simple, yet ample with both Argentinian and Mexican items available for dine-in or to-go orders.

I decided to try the Choripanes sandwich; an Argentinian sausage snuggled nicely between two slices of Italian sandwich bread topped with cheese, lettuce and tomato.

At $4.50, this well-priced sandwich could easily fetch a steeper price if the City viewed Santa Ana's downtown as more than just a place to pay your parking tickets (or accrue new ones) and appear for jury duty.

Mrs. Dayhoe, the rebel that she is, ordered from the Mexican side of the menu choosing a $6 Torta Cubana consisting of ham, white cheese, breaded steak & marinated steak.

Flavor-wise, this sandwich was on a much milder level than the Choripanes, but was still very hearty.

The empanadas are golden, flakey and rich, as flavors are taken to a whole-nutha-level when topped with the house Chimichurri sauce. The pollo empanadas were quite tasty, but the carne ones were the pièce de résistance when topped with the house sauce.

And at a buck-fifty a pop, these empanadas are a terrific value, as you’ll soon find out how deceptively filling they truly are.

Chimichurri is located at 306 W. 4th street (Santa Ana’s someday Restaurant Row) and is open from 9AM-7PM Monday through Saturday.

*Update: Check out a real food critic's review of this place*

Notes from E3

2009-06-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

Life has been pretty busy these days–good, but busy (evident in my lack of blogging among other things [as if anyone really cares]). So today, I finally got a chance to have some good 'ol fashion geek fun as the wifey and I hopped on a train to L.A. for the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 for short.

Here are some of the highlights from today's trip:

Those were some giant Final Fantasy ads.

Didn't get a chance to see the upcoming game, but the Ecto-1 was a nice treat.

The Arkham Asylum game had a pretty sweet booth–
I have to say the game looked like the best Batman game to date.

Is Manny Pacquiao the first Filipino to be in a video game?
And no, Ewoks don't count.

Super Mario Bros. Wii was a 4-player blast, but I think it may break up some families and end a few friendships as other players can collide with you, hindering your attacks and jumps.

Left 4 Dead 2 (360) looked pretty solid, though I was surprised they went with such a saturated color palette being that the game takes place during the daytime.

God of War 3 looked amazing–probably the only reason to buy a PS3 next year.
The line to play the demo was intense!

Only geeks think tattoos like this are hardcore, so naturally I LOVED it.

The best part about today's trip was that we spent zero time behind the wheel–one of the great things about living so close to the train depot.

I can't wait until 2010 when the Metrolink will be running with later hours and more frequent stops. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to stay in downtown L.A. for dinner after next year's E3.

Things to do This Weekend in Santa Ana

2009-05-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

More than most work weeks, this is one I can't wait until it's over. Not because my work computer took a dump on me for a third time in less than 7 months (and yes, it's a PC), but because of the fact that there are so many great things to look forward to this weekend–all in Santa Ana!

First off, the Santiago Art District kicks it into full gear tomorrow night with what is expected to be one of the biggest Art Walks to date here at the Santiago Lofts. With the help of internet sensation Kogi Korean BBQ setting up shop, we're expecting some huge numbers and a fun new audience making a trek to scary 'ol Santa Ana.

Speaking of "Trek", anyone here see the movie yet? Did you catch the Tribble?

On Sunday, my good bud, fellow Lost fanatic and newly anointed Master Food Preserver Delilah Snell will be hosting the Patchwork Indie Arts and Crafts Festival at The Road Less Traveled/Harvey's/Craft Kitchen parking lots.

If you haven't been to a Patchwork event before, I'd highly recommend. First off, it's a free outdoor event less than 5 minutes from the lofts.

Second, if you're looking for some unique gifts or something that sings to your inner-artist, this is the place to find it. Just make sure to bring some pocket cash because I'm not sure if all the vendors will be set up for electronic purchases.

Peering outside my office window, I couldn't imagine a better weekend to support local artists and to just hang out in Santa Ana.

The Santiago Art District takes place tomorrow and every third Saturday of the month from 7-10PM-ish. Galleries at the Santiago Art District are located between Santiago and Poinsettia St, just off Santa Ana Boulevard/Civic Center Drive.

The Patchwork Indie Arts & Crafts Festival takes place this Sunday, May 17th from 11-5PM.

2202 North Main Street
Santa Ana, 92706

(Parking lot across Main Street near the 5 freeway entrance)

Geisha Meh

2009-04-16T01:57:00.000-07:00

So the three or four of you that follow this blog, you're probably wondering, where's the Geisha House review that was promised to us in your last post?

I have one word for you, Uninspired.

Since the dining experience, I really haven't been inspired enough to write about this restaurant until now. Perhaps it was the oversized Turkish coffee a neighbor so kindly shared with me this afternoon that's given me the extra juice to pump this one out after midnight (not to mention clean the house, do my laundry and organize my iTunes library). But I digress (though don't be surprised if I do it again).

Before heading out to Geisha House, I mentally outlined 4 categories I wanted to pay very close attention to for my amateur critique:

Parking, decor, ambiance, the "poopers"
Friendliness of the staff
The quality of sashimi, specialty dishes and house rolls
Value

Parking
Arriving just before eight o'clock, the wife and I were surprised to see the parking lot at City Place as full as it was on a Tuesday night. Nonetheless, we were still able to find parking without a problem, but like mi amigo Gustavo Arellano wrote, I don't think there will be a need for valet service anytime soon, but then again, we could be wrong. There's always a first time for everything.

Decor
The interior of the restaurant was quite hip–styled very similar to something you'd see in a restaurant in good 'ol downtown San Diego, San Francisco or Hollywood–dimly lit with a modern touch, but nothing any of you haven't seen before. Maybe it was the 3 horizontal ikea mirrors above the bar that in fact, lowered the bar.

Ambiance
The vibe was nice and everyone seemed happy to be there. I was surprised to see so many white and Asian folk in the mix–guess Newport Beach had already met their quota for the night so we got their overflow. I kid, I kid. Actually, I was very happy to see such a diverse crowd in Santa Ana.

We sat outside for dinner and it was quite nice–65 degrees it was, perfect for a dinner under the stars. But without any patio heaters, the scantily clad girls kept the ogling men inside with them. That is, with the exception of when they broke for a cigarette break near the entrance, unknowingly imposing their carcinogens into the patio area where we sat.

Smoking and sushi don't mix. Nuff said.

Poopers
I can't really say much for the poopers being that there really wasn't much to them. Tiny white boxes with sinks and toilets, illuminated by overly bright lights that pierce your fully dilated pupils after you fumble your way down a dimly lit hallway is what they were.

It was like going to the bathroom in club sans the dude working for tips as he hands you a towel while you wash your hands and eye his vast collection of cologne and various mints.

Staff
Nice and somewhat knowledgeable of the menu. I really can't be too critical of the latter being that the place had just opened up a few days prior. But there's never an excuse to not be nice to a customer whom you have just met. Luckily, neither was an issue.

Food
I believe this is everything we ordered that night:

Shishito Peppers
Tuna Tataki Sashimi with Ponzu
Albacore Carpaccio
Kanpachi Serrano

Rolls
Geisha House Sushi Rolls
Frightened Geisha
Geisha’s Vice
Surf and Turf

Sushi & Sashimi
Toro
Hawaiian Amberjack
Yellowtail
Octopus
Spanish Mackerel

Of all the dishes we powered down that night, for me, the one that stood out the most was the Kanpachi Serrano. Hawaiian Amberjack fish with Yuzu-Lemon Ponzu Sauce, but then again, you really can't go wrong with Ponzu, can you?

Everything else we ate that night was generic, bland, and lacking inspiration–even at the grand opening price of 50% off prices, I still felt overcharged when the bill came.

As an avid sushi (wannabe) connoisseur, I'm used to paying for quality mercury poisoning. The sashimi served at Geisha House just wasn't anything worth writing home about, but if I did, it would go something like this:

Dear Mom, We went to the new sushi restaurant in Santa Ana the other night, but it was just meh. How's Dad doing? Is there a pile of mail for me to pick up? Did you watch Lost last night? I know you're not a fan of the sci-fi direction it's taken, but you have to admit it's one of the best shows on television. I really liked the Star Wars references. So what do you think "lies in the shadow of the statue"?

So how does one get sashimi wrong in the first place–it's raw fish and nothing else, right? My guess is that they have a really bad buyer, or their fish is delivered without being tasted by a qualified expert.

Probably the worst item of the night was the Surf and Turf Roll (Lobster, Filet Mignon, Green Scallion, and Sweet Sesame Miso Sauce). It sounds good, but it was dry and bland, and had it arrived earlier in the precession, it would have severely impacted my gorging rhythm.

Value
The only value that night was the 50% off special, but like I said earlier, I still felt ripped off at those prices. It's definitely a cool place and a great fit for City Place, but Geisha House is as much of a sushi restaurant as P.F. Chang's is an authentic Chinese restaurant.

As bad as the food was, my biggest disappointment of the night was poorly designed menus. I mean seriously, who uses Arial Rounded on their menu and charges $15-$20 a dish?

Geisha House is great victory for businesses within the City Place lofts in that it will help draw in a new crowd, but as a quality sushi restaurant, there's much more room for improvement.

My recommendation, if you're planning on going big on sushi, check out Hamamori in the Crystal Court wing of South Coast Plaza (yes, mall sushi), or Sushi Murasaki on the south end of town.

Viva La Causa: This Saturday at the Yost Theatre

2009-04-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

This Saturday, April 4, Fiesta Marketplace and the Dolores Huerta Foundation present a free showing of Viva La Causa, starting at 6PM and running until 8PM.

Here's the skinny from the back of the flyer:

On a warm evening in 1965, hundreds of Mexican farm-workers packed into a church hall in the small farming town of Delano, California. A momentous decision lay before them–should they join a strike against California grape growers started 11 days prior by their Filipino counterparts?

Would this improve their appalling working conditions in the fields and help them earn enough to feed their families?

Viva La Causa tells the story of how the powerless stood up to the powerful and gained their victory, not by violence and weapons, but by their strong will.

I love a good story when people from different races come together for a greater cause.

The Yost Theatre is located at:
307 N. Spurgeon Street
Santa Ana, 92701

It's like a 10 minute walk from our place, no need to drive folks.

When the show is over, don't forget to check out the Downtown Santa Ana Art Walk.

Hollywood, Atlanta and now...Santa Ana???

2009-03-29T23:45:00.000-07:00

Last night as the wife and I were heading to Mother's Market at City Place, I was surprised to see people sitting on a normally unoccupied patio. And then I saw the sign: "Geisha House Now Open.

Hey, Geisha House is open! I said.

Whatever, she scoffed as we pulled into the driveway, coming to a never before seen sign at City Place reading: Valet Parking: $5.00.

See, the reason for my shock and the wife's doubt stems from our long-running theory that (part) owner Ashton Kutcher was pulling one last Punk on the citizens of Santa Ana.

Well, not really. We just know that so many restaurants have had such a difficult time opening up shop in Santa Ana, we figured this soon-to-be hot spot would eventually give up working with the often business-unfriendly Santa Ana and set up shop elsewhere, taking their pseudo-Spider-Man/Playstation 3 font with them.

After picking up our groceries at Mother's (including the tastiest (and only) $7 jar of pasta sauce I've ever had), I peered into the restaurant and was delighted to see such a highbrow venue in our own backyard. I knew there was another location in Hollywood, but I didn't think our little 'ol city would get the same treatment in decor.

"Man, and I thought being inside The Crosby on a Saturday night made me feel uncool(er)".

Though the staff seemed a little green being that it took a while for one of them to greet me, after doing so, she was very kind to humor my dumb questions.

When did you guys open?
Last night (Friday).

Were you busy?
Yeah, kinda. We're expecting it to pick up once the word gets out.

What time are you open 'til?
We stop seating at 10:30.

Are you open Sunday nights?
Yes, but not tomorrow.

Is Ashton here?
No. Go Away.

I'm kidding about the last one, but hey–we've got another restaurant in Santa Ana that's open on Sunday nights!

Long have I thought that a good sushi restaurant would do well in Downtown Santa Ana but hey, City Place will do for now.

As for the food–stay tuned as part two of this blog post continues later this week with a complete review of Geisha House's food, decor, prices and most important, the restrooms.

In the mean time, check out their menu.

Art Walk This Saturday (03/21)

2009-03-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Come rain or (moonlight) shine, the galleries at the Santiago Street Lofts come alive tomorrow night to host their monthly Art Walk event, The Santiago Art District.

I'm especially excited about a particular artist named Aaron Kraten showing tomorrow night at Curbside Gallery.

I met Aaron Kraten after February's art walk and immediately took a liking to him. Not only does he produce high quality and stylized works of art, but Aaron, much like yours truly has a penchant for all things video games.

What started off as a brief discussion about the arcade game Street Fighter turned into a two hour orgy of geekiness and nerdom–and I loved every minute of it.

With that said, stop on by tomorrow night and check out the galleries at the Santiago Art District–especially if you want to be schooled by Aaron Kraten in a conversation about video games.

(Early) St. Patty's Day Pub Crawl - 03/14

2009-03-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

Being that St. Patty's Day takes place on a Tuesday this month, we've decided to celebrate it a few days early on Saturday.

And what would St. Patrick's Day be without prizes?

Stop by any of the participating locations and pick up a fresh Pub Crawl card and a set of GREEN BEADS.

Then, keep an eye out for both "Mr. Pub Crawl" himself and Yelp as they will be out and about looking for Pub Crawlers wearing green beads.

We'll have games to play and prizes to win for Pub Crawlers wearing the beads and have at least two stamps on their Pub Crawl Cards.

Prizes include: Afro Samurai for the Xbox 360/PS3, Shirts, iTunes Gift Cards, Chipotle Gift Cards, Free Drinks, Shot Glasses and more!

Here are some of the specials this month:

Lola Gaspar
$10 special (choice of any taco plate and a sangria, margarita, or pint of beer)

Tommy Pastrami
$3 ku bombs
$2.50 domestics
Happy hour prices on our delicious food

Memphis
Yummy corned beef sliders and $3 Guinness specials

Bistro 400
Irish Food, Drinks Specials and a Live DJ Spinning House and Dancefloor Oddities!

Jason's Downtown Restaurant
$3 Bud Light Bottles, $4 Beers on tap and $5 Lucky Irishman Martinis! The Latin Jazz Syndicate will be performing from 7:00pm-10:00pm and DJ Volta will take over from 10:30pm-2:00am

www.santaanapubcrawl.com

Weekend Events (03/07-03/08)

2009-03-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

First Fridays. Fabulous Fun.
TGIFF. City Place retailers invite you to celebrate the first Friday of every month. Hosted from 7pm – 10pm, First Fridays are an evening for the whole family, complete with complementary appetizers, cocktails, live music, art exhibits, and plenty of great deals on one-of-a-kind buys from our eclectic collection of boutiques and shops.

Zoo Birthday
On March 7th and 8th, the Santa Ana Zoo at Prentice Park will celebrate 57 years of fun! There will be music, animal shows, and a huge model train exhibition by the Del Oro Pacific Model Train Club.

Grab a slice of the birthday cake and see Kids are Music, 5 4 U, and other great entertainment. New animals will be coming on exhibit for the occasion, so come out and check out your local Zoo and see what a long way it's come in the last 57 years.

Downtown Santa Ana Art Walk
Is always the first Saturday of every month. Come rain, shine, or holiday, the event will always take place between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Parking can be found in the 'Artists Village Parking Structure' at Third Street and Broadway. Walk through the galleries and studios, see a live performance or just hang out and enjoy the music. It is FREE and you always have a great time.

All information above is recirculated through various sources. I claim no ownership–feel free to pass it along.

Sloppy Sloping

2009-02-17T08:26:00.000-08:00

Over the long weekend, a neighbor and I headed up to the top of his building to see how the sloping roofs were holding up after the recent rain.

Neither of us are experts when it comes to roofs nor standing water, but what we saw couldn't have been good.

In the second photo from the top, we took a ruler and dropped it in at a random spot and the water was nearly 2 inches deep. Other spots looked deeper, but neither of us really wanted to get our shoes soaked.

The bottom two photos show that the sloping roof does indeed work–the problem is that the slope ends below the level of the drainage pipes on the façade.

Lennar backs our roofs with a ten year warranty, but just imagine the inconvenience should the roofs begin to leak. Dry wall repairs, mold inspections/remediation, damage to flooring, furniture or electronics are just a few things one would most likely deal with.

In the mean time, I would suggest to everyone to inspect their roofs (yeah, even though the CC&Rs restrict you from going to the roof, I think when it comes to inspecting for standing water the HOA can look the other way).

If you find that your roof does indeed suffer from poor drainage, bring a broom to the roof and sweep off any excess standing water through the drain.

Hopefully we can get Lennar to take another look at the roofs before they pack it up for good here at the Santiago Lofts and leave this potential headache to be dealt with at the homeowner's expense.

**Update**
I ran into Eddie the other day and he told me that Lennar is bringing the roofing contractor back out to fix all of the drainage issues.

And that folks, is why Lennar is one of the best home builders out there.

Shoulda Woulda Coulda

2009-02-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

First, read this article at the OC Register.

Doug Irving is one of the best reporters at the OC Register, not to mention a pretty nice and down-to-earth guy. But this article didn't sit too well with me, as well as several other individuals I spoke to about it.

Though, I wouldn't be too quick to blast Doug as he does bring up good points. Yeah, he does play up the “victim card” pretty nicely in this one but hold on, this is how I see it.

In recent years, the City seems to have developed an uncanny knack for missed opportunities, and I'm hoping that's the point Doug was trying to drive home; City, we're watching you this time.

Here are some key points from the article along with my thoughts:

The property owners made a nice profit from their dealings with the city–even the code enforcement-violating ones. I'm sorry if some of them have seller's remorse but let me be clear; if someone offered me a huge chunk of change for my loft, I'd sell it in a heartbeat and move downtown.
Calling your Ward a "slum" isn't the best choice of words, no matter how frustrated you are. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a slum as a densely populated usually urban area marked by crowding, dirty run-down housing, poverty, and social disorganization. This article seems to indicate that this definition could actually apply to what the Lacy neighborhood was prior to the City's intervention.
I wouldn't say nothing has come of the City's convoluted plan to improve the City. The Santiago Lofts were built as part of this plan and our being here has resulted in some pretty great things for the City so far (exhibit 1, exhibit 2, exhibit 3).
The City's plan of "buying up the crowded apartments and run-down homes that pocked the neighborhood, and replacing them with something newer, something better" does worry me. What exactly constitutes "newer and better"? More high-density apartments? No thank you. Let's not treat the people of Santa Ana like sardines please.
The City needs to adopt a plan and announce an end date to this project. Things are so much more exciting when you have one (that's also a Lost reference). Once the end date is in place, Santa Ana needs to take the ball and run up field for six for a change, instead of dancing side to side gaining zero, or even worse, negative yardage.
While I ask you to not crucify Mr. Irving for writing this article, I would like to present the fact that there is a severe dearth of positive articles written about Santa Ana in the Register; which is located less than a mile east of this so called "slum".

When and if the City does move forward with their plan, I hope they do it right. I hope whatever goes up in those lots (eh hem) causes drivers to slow down and be thankful they live/work in Santa Ana.

Giddy Like A School Girl

2009-02-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

Things always seem to take longer to come to fruition in Santa Ana–Chipotle is no exception. About 11 months ago, I posted this article about a new Chipotle coming to a nearby shopping center.

Well, the wait is almost over. This Friday, February 6th, Seventeenth Street becomes all the more delicious as Chipotle opens their doors to the public.

If Chipotle isn't your thang because you're one of those types who feel that Chipotle is blasphemous, don't fret–there will be other restaurants joining Chipotle at the Homeplace Center including Shabu, Wings, Hawaiian and more!

Street Lake at 6th and Mortimer

2009-01-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

Back in March of last year, a few friends and I began walking to The Gypsy Den for an early morning cup of coffee. On the way there, we stopped at the corner of 6th and Mortimer and took note of a street lake taking residence in this high-density residential neighborhood.

The next day we took the same route and lo and behold, the stagnant water was still there. "I think I found my new pet project", I said to my fellow caffeine whores.

Later that day, I headed back to take some pictures to send to Santa Ana Public Works when I encountered a gentleman by the name of Juan waiting for a bus just a few steps away from the street lake. Juan told me that he's lived in the neighborhood for over eight years and has yet to see a dry gutter.

Just then, he motioned me to turn around as a Mamacita was carefully pushing a stroller through the puddle, trying not to make too much of a splash. Juan was shaking his head in a sad, frustrated manner.

I thanked Juan for his time and told him that I'd be making some phone calls to get problem fixed.

"Thank you, and I wish you luck", Juan replied, as if he somehow knew that over the next few months, I'd be leaving several unreturned phone messages left on answering machines and operators down at Public Works.

Not until late in August did I finally have the wherewithal when placing a follow-up call to ask to speak directly with Jim Ross, the Executive Director down at Public Works.

At first, the operator seemed hesitant to connect me to him, but after briefly talking it up as if we had old business, the call was patched through.

When Jim Ross answered the call, I was immediately delighted with his "can do" attitude. It was a very refreshing experience and he assured me that he would have someone out the next day to survey the location.

Sure enough, Jim called me back the very next day and assured me that he'd have the pooling problem fixed by the end of the year.

October came and went, and November was flying by with no sign of progress. I was beginning to feel stood up. Then, one night as I was walking back from Monday Night Football down at Tommy Pastrami's, I noticed some orange cones that read "SAPW" set up around the lake. Later on that week, I headed down to the lake and snapped these photos below:

As the year came to a close, so did another one of my pet projects. Jim Ross down at Public Works did an amazing job and now this intersection is no longer a problem for those that walk, ride, or drive through this intersection.

And for once, I was actually glad to see my tax dollars being thrown down the gutter.

James G. Ross, Executive Director
20 Civic Center Plaza, M-21
Santa Ana, CA 92702
click for webpage

Emergency Repairs
714-647-3380

General Maintenance and Repairs
714-647-3380

Project Bid Information
714-647-5680

Public Works Information
714-647-5690

This Saturday: It Came From The 80's

2009-01-23T00:11:00.000-08:00

Their last show was Peglegs & Pistols–a pirate-themed art show, so you know they know how to have a good time!

Opening Night: January 24th (This Saturday)
7PM-12AM

Phantom Gallery
2736 East Chapman Avenue
Orange, CA 92869

Can We Bring This to Santa Ana?

2009-01-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

A Downtown Santa Ana Luchador/Luchadora Battle Royale would be so sweet.

Art Walk This Saturday (01/17)

2009-01-16T02:29:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night marks the third Saturday of the month and the first Art Walk of 2009, and what better way to enjoy the unseasonably warm nights we've been experiencing than to stop on by the Santiago Art District Art Walk.

As usual, the Art Walk kicks off around 7PM and runs late into the night. Who knows, maybe Mayor Pulido might show up this time, but don't hold your breath.

Hey, it's been a while since we've done a poll. See above:

Live Together, Die Alone

2009-01-15T17:21:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you have heard by now that Adams Iron, located on the Northwest corner of Santiago Street and Civic Center Drive caught on fire yesterday around 3:30PM.

Luckily, no one was hurt and once again, the Santa Ana Fire Department hunks did an amazing job of containing the fire before it could spread to any surrounding businesses, or worse, nearby residential units, including the Logan neighborhood or the lofts.

Even though someone's business burned down, and it looks as if the employees will be out of work at this location, there is one positive thing to mention and that is our community is well looked after.

Around 3:50PM yesterday, I received a phone call from a resident telling me about the fire, then a text message from one of Santa Ana's best political bloggers, then an email from one of our fantastic new residents who posted the incident on our community's Google Group, followed up with an instant message from another resident.

It's a good feeling knowing that there are so many residents here looking out for one another. Live Together, Die Alone–as Jack would say on Lost (which comes back in less than a week). Though, I wouldn't go as far as to say Die Alone–how about ...or find out your house burned down and no one knew you well enough to save your cats.

So if you own/live here and haven't met your neighbors yet, know that we've got a great little community here at the Santiago Street Lofts–with friends all around the city who want nothing more than to see our neighborhood blossom as we lay the building blocks for a grand entrance into the heart of Orange County.

Wags to Riches (01/09)

2009-01-12T11:15:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who visits this blog (even the blog trolls) and helps raise funds for Pet Pro Life–a fantastic dog rescue program operating every weekend out of the Petsmart in Fountain Valley.

Last weekend, we stopped in for a visit and dropped off another check for $120. Just look at all of those happy volunteers in the picture.

It seems as if every organization is looking for a "bailout" these days, but in this case, I know they'll be putting the money to good use.

Danny Maika–Music Worth Sharing

2009-01-05T17:10:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, a group of Santiago Loft residents stopped in for open mic night at the Vault located below the OC Pavilion/Ambrosia Restaurant.

After a decent amount of painful performances, Danny took the stage and wowed us all with his set and stage presence. I remember saying to the wife on the way home: "I'm sure glad we stuck around to hear that guy!"

Since that night, we've crossed paths with Danny on several occasions including an amazing performance at the Irvine Spectrum Mall on the day after Christmas, and most recently, just a few doors down while performing in a neighbor's first floor studio/workspace.

Aside from his fantastic voice, Danny just has a wonderful persona about him where you'd love nothing more than to see this guy make it.

Perhaps when the weather gets warmer and the Santiago Art District Art Walk picks up again, maybe we can get him to do a live show.

Until then, check out his website or his MySpace page for some soul-warming tunes.

Panic! At The Depot

2008-12-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon, some douchetard thought it would be funny to phone in a bomb threat at the adjacent Santa Ana Train Depot.

You can read the full story here, but let me ask you–what kind of piece of crap thinks a shenanigan like this is funny, especially around the holidays?

Douchetards, that's who.

The Santa Ana Pub Crawl ♥'s Yelp

2008-12-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night marks the last Pub Crawl for 2008 and my new friends at Yelp are helping me take it to a whole, nutha, level with prizes to be given out throughout the Crawl. If you haven't been on a Pub Crawl yet, attend this one. Below is a list of some of the specials for tomorrow night.

$2 beers and ½ price appetizers at Original Mike's
Awesome happy hour prices (until 9PM) at Memphis
$15 pitcher of beer and a giant plate of nachos (or a monster quesadilla) at The Gypsy Den
Sweet food and drink prices all night at Tommy Pastrami
$3.00 Bottled Mojitos, $5.00 Cosmos, $15.00 Pitchers of Spaten, Moretti, Heffeweissen, Flying Dog Pale Ale and $2.00 Tacos (Fish, Carne Asada & Enchilada) at Jason's Restaurant
Various Pub Crawl specials at Proof Bar
Half-priced shots at Bistro 400

For more information as to what Yelp is bringing to the event, click here.

Chalk Another One Up For The Speedway

2008-12-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

Another accident took place this morning on The Santa Ana Speedway shortly after 8:30AM. Luckily, it didn't look like anyone was injured in this accident.

I didn't notice it at the time, but after close examination of image, it looks as if both cars are the same make (Toyota), model (Corolla) AND color.

What are the odds of that?

AdSense Update (11/26/08)

2008-11-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

Stuck in the office today while everyone else remembered to schedule the day off, leaving you to man the fort? Why not click though a couple thousand ads on the Santiago Street Loft blog and help raise money for my furry friends down at Pet Pro Life.

As some of you may know, all funds collected from ads on this website go directly to this wonderful non-profit organization–the very same where the wife and I adopted our furry bundle of joy.

So if you have nothing to do on this day before we give thanks by stuffing our guts until we succumb to food coma, please click away!

Art Walk and soundDowntown–This Weekend in Santa Ana

2008-11-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

Once again, our little community will be putting on our monthly Art Walk this Saturday, drawing in people from all over to witness for themselves some of the wonderful things coming to Santa Ana, not to mention some pretty sweet local art.

One of the exhibits that I'm excited to check out is The Art of City Building II: Mixed-Income Housing & Transit Oriented Development, presented by Galeria Tufiño.

This exhibit takes a closer look at Santa Ana's current state of housing, and the enormous potential that can come to our city with responsible and creative development.

For more information regarding this exhibit, please check out this page on the Galeria Tufiño website.

More information about the Santiago Art District Art Walk is available here.

Another event that's catching a lot of buzz and will hopefully draw people into Santa Ana is soundDowntown (yes, that's how they chose to spell it).

Details from the website:
soundDowntown 2008 is a one-day music festival on Saturday, November 15, featuring a lineup of over 50 locally and nationally recognized bands, DJ's and performing artists at various venues throughout the Artist's Village of downtown Santa Ana.

soundDowntown runs from Saturday, November 15th starting at 2PM and wraps up Sunday the 16th at 2AM.

More information available here.

Patchwork Sunday (11/09)

2008-11-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

Today from 11AM-5PM, The Road Less Traveled Store is hosting Patchwork–a semiannual indie arts and crafts festival that showcases emerging crafters, delicious food (including one of my personal favorites Memphis), and local music.

From The Road Less Traveled website:
Come celebrate the best in locally produced, hand-made & creative goods at our bi-annual fair. Local foods, music, art and goods from over 60 vendors. DIY stations from Harveys & American Apparel. Join the hand-made movement!

You can read more about the Patchwork movement here.

Liberty For All

2008-11-07T11:49:00.000-08:00

Santiago Street Loft resident and galley owner Liberty Dickinson will be exhibiting this excellent rendering of our local gem restaurant La Chiquita at The Lucky Own Gallery located in the City Place Lofts tonight.

This piece is part of a collection by various artists called Santa Ana: The Urban Landscape.

Aside from the gallery opening, City Place is also hosting their First Friday tonight (my lovely, but often nerdy wife points out: tonight is one of those rare nights where a first Friday falls just before the second Saturday [Pub Crawl]).

Lucky Owl is located at 103 E. City Place Drive, Santa Ana, CA (across from Main Place shopping center).

First Friday and the gallery exhibit both start tonight at 7PM, and run until 10PM.

Vote for Lando Calrissian

2008-11-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

It always seems to come down to either a giant douche or a turd sandwich, doesn't it? Don't forget to vote today!

"For A Better Santa Ana"

2008-11-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

Six months ago I began a little pet project known as the Santa Ana Pub Crawl–A little sociological experiment designed to change the perception of Santa Ana in the eyes of those who have never stepped foot in our town, while at the same time, boosting restaurant sales from the hours of 5PM through 8PM. In essence, a self-funded public relations campaign for the city of Santa Ana and free advertising for the downtown restaurants.

And what better way to lure people into Santa Ana than to offer food and drinks at great prices on a Saturday? When I approached each of the participating businesses with idea of a Pub Crawl, I only asked three things of them:

1. Offer drink/food specials one Saturday a month

2. Distribute, stamp and collect the Pub Crawl Cards

3. Contribute a prize to make the event more exciting

Over the next several Pub Crawls, someone in our "Crawl Group" would run into someone who has never set foot in Santa Ana's downtown. After saying how much fun they are having, they usually follow up with something to the likes of "Wow, I never knew Santa Ana was this cool" or "This is nothing like what I thought Santa Ana was like".

Mission accomplished. Well, kinda. No matter how many good things people like myself try to do for this city, the OC Register still sits in our backyard spewing fuel for brown hatred and ignorant stereotypes, but I digress.

Last week, I decided to extend the experiment and tie it into The Broken Window Theory. In the spirit of the election season, I created a handful of signs reading "Ben Dayhoe: For A Better Santa" with the Pub Crawl URL listed below the tagline. Under the cover of darkness, we set out to stake them around town (example below).

With the help of two awesome neighbors, we successfully "politically vandalized" the city of Santa Ana in an effort to promote the Pub Crawl to residents of Santa Ana, and maybe get a laugh or two (bonus points for offending).
What I found to be interesting was that the signs that I placed adjacent to official candidate and proposition signs remained untouched (with the exception of the sign we placed on the SW corner of Sycamore and Main that was mysteriously removed and replaced with yet another "Michele Martinez for Mayor"), and the signs that were placed on Broadway and E. Seventeenth Street where no other campaign signs resided were quickly removed.

Does the removal of my signs prove the Broken Window Theory? Not at all (but it does make me wonder how much "political graffiti" will remain post-November 4th). But I did notice that once political signs were removed, they were very slow to come back in that very same location.

David Hastie, the General Manager down at Memphis thinks that someone may have actually stolen my some of my signs. He told me in an email last week that people were actually running out into the center median and to take pictures with my signs. How rad is that?

Stolen or not, I'm very flattered. In my six+ years as a professional designer, NO ONE has ever taken a picture with anything I've created, let alone stolen my work. I say awesome–awesome to the max!

This Wednesday, I'm hoping to meet with the Downtown Business Council in hopes to receive funding to further promote the Pub Crawls. It's been a fun and humbling experience for me and I hope that the Pub Crawl continues to grow, chipping away at the stigma that's associated with our great city of Santa Ana.

The next Pub Crawl is this Saturday, November 8th. I hope you'll join me for a drink.

One last note, I'd like to thank my neighbors Dallas, Chris and Krissy for letting me "politicize" your front yards, as well as "Lando" and "El Diablo Blanco" for helping plant the signs.

www.santaanapubcrawl.com

Happy Halloween (2008)

2008-10-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

Today marks our third Halloween at the Santiago Street Lofts and I'm hoping to break our record of the two trick-or-treaters that came to our door last year.

Our first year here back in 2006, my wife and I waited patiently downstairs as the night went by without a single trick-or-treater. Still to this day, my wife and I are trying to work off the weight we gained from all of the leftover candy from that night.

I've always seen Halloween as one of the best holidays of the year. It's a day where people can showcase their creativity, kids get to stay out late collecting candy (or pennies which always sucked), and a man can walk outside in the middle of the day dressed in full drag and the mailman wants to take a photo with him.

So if you're hunting for a good haunting later tonight, look no further than Downtown Santa Ana as Bistro 400, Tommy Pastrami, Memphis and Proof Bar will each be hosting unique Halloween parties.

Maybe I'll see you there :)

I leave you with theses videos in the spirit of the holiday.

This one's also fun, though I'm not sure it's a good idea to try this in Santa Ana ;)

Happy Halloween!

Hello to you Suzanne Broughton and Family!

2008-10-21T22:55:00.000-07:00

Thank you for putting together this awesome clip :)

Original post here.

Art Walk This Saturday (10/18)

2008-10-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night marks the third Saturday of the month, which means it's Art Walk time at the Santiago Street Lofts!

In recent months, I've noticed a rise in elected city officials attending the Art Walks which means we're on their radar. Though, the true measure of our success will be whether or not we can get them to come back in December.

If you missed last month's Art Walk, check out some photos I snapped here.

Making It Really "Work"

2008-10-15T17:48:00.000-07:00

Live, Work, Play.

That was one of the marketing slogans that original sold me on the Santiago Street Lofts.

Three years later, I Live here, I (sometimes) Work here, and if you're a reader of this blog, you sure as hell know I Play here.

The "Live, Work, Play" slogan dreams big for this community, but has still yet to be fully realized. With the Renaissance Plan on the back burner until election season is over, and any developments that were headed our way postponed until the next real estate cycle, I figured in the mean time, the Work element was something that could use some fine tuning.

As someone who runs a part-time business out of their store front, I've witnessed firsthand how difficult it is to do so. On several occasions, my clients were unable to find a suitable parking space nearby. With gas prices on the rise, even the parking lot at the train depot can be packed with increased ridership. Also, it doesn't help that the city of Santa Ana previously designated ALL parking around the Santiago Street Lofts as No Parking/Stopping.

Currently, the city is looking the other direction and not enforcing the No Parking on Poinsettia Street until construction is completed here at the lofts. But once the construction crew is out at the end of the year, the plan was to make that entire block No Parking/Stopping.

And why are there so many streets designated “No Parking/Stopping” around the lofts? For years, the Logan neighborhood has battled irresponsible overflow parking from some of the neighboring businesses, which prompted the city to act with their usual kill a fly with a shotgun method by restricting parking on entire blocks.

While this method has prevented trash and tow trucks from taking up residence on nearby public streets, it has also put a stranglehold on many who've decided to run a business from within their unit.

This dilemma prompted me back in January (2008) to approach the city of Santa Ana with a plan to install parking meters around the Santiago Street Lofts–allowing guests and clients easy access during normal business hours to the businesses residing in the lofts. These meters would only be enforced Monday through Friday, 9AM-6PM.

After speaking with countless individuals and getting the runaround several times over, I called Scott Kutner of the Community Development Agency for Santa Ana and he was able to put me in touch with Frank Orellana, a Senior Engineer with the city of Santa Ana's Public Works department. Frank had just recently been assigned to identify options to improve on-street parking in our area due to upcoming developments with the Santa Ana Street Car plan.

Though we're currently not in an area that allows (is zoned) for metered parking, Frank and I worked out a plan that will now allow non-metered 1-hour parking in the green areas, indicated in the graphic below. This 1-hour rule will be in effect Monday through Friday from 9AM-6PM.

But why metered/1- hour parking at all you ask? That's a great question. The plan is to prevent long-term parking on the loft-side of the street from adjacent businesses, as well as overflow from the depot parking lot–a problem that has crept into our own "visitor parking" stalls here at the lofts. The goal is to create circulation, and not stunt businesses. Not to mention, preventing any future issues with abandoned cars near the lofts.

If things go well, Frank said there’s a good possibility that the 1-hour limit can be increased to a maximum of two hours. The ultimate goal of this pet project is achieve metered parking around the lofts, but with the city of Santa Ana, it's always baby steps. But hey, it's a start.

The debate on whether or not parking should be allowed on Civic Center Drive (loft side) is still going on being that the "Go-Local" streetcar scheduled for completion in a few years would just end up taking any allotted spaces away from that side of the street.

In the mean time, these added parking spaces should help out not only the daytime businesses that are blossoming in our community, but nighttime activities including our monthly Art Walk, which, by the way, is this Saturday.

Santa Ana Pub Crawl-This Saturday! (10/11)

2008-10-09T16:30:00.000-07:00

Someone once told me that during rough economic times, alcohol sales go through the roof. If that's true, then this Saturday's Pub Crawl should be off the hook.

Last month Original Mike's and Tommy Pastrami joined The Crawl and took care of guests with amazing specials. Seriously, it's worth the "trek" to Original Mike's–trust me.

Don't forget to fill out a Crawler Card for a chance at some seriously sweet prizes–like $50 gift cards and more!

For more information about the Pub Crawl, visit the website!

Here We Go Again

2008-10-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

Almost ten months ago to the day, this exact window was etched by one of Santa Ana's "scratchitti artists". Today, this window once again became the target our newest enemy.

Being that our Association has taken a lax position on glass etching removal, and the city of Santa Ana offers no solutions by way of removal assistance, this problem will only continue to get worse.

There is fine line where graffiti could be considered art, but this recent act of vandalism holds no artistic merit and pisses me off.

During next month's Association meeting, I'm going to move that our Association give homeowners the option of replacing the window pane within three days, or to have the Association pay for someone to buff out the glass–a solution that yields questionable results, but at least removes the eyesore.

Art Walk Photos: 09/20/08

2008-09-24T02:28:00.000-07:00

Art from the HiveArt from the Hive (street view)

Candid Art

Curbside Gallery

J. Lewis Gallery

Liberty Fine Arts

Salu Gallery

Sipho's Gallery

Galeria Tufiño

Strong Island Designs

Planting a Seed in Hopes of a Tree

2008-09-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

Every Monday night, friends, family and neighbors gather at Tommy Pastrami on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Ana to celebrate the end of another Monday while enjoying the last football game of the week.

As I was chaining my bike to a puny birch tree, one that was just recently planted out front of Tommy Pastrami blocking their $8,000 sign, I wondered if the city of Santa Ana would ever install bike racks, or if myself and other bikers will forever be chaining our bikes up to fences, light posts and trees.

It was that moment that I remembered reading about the Bike Tree–a solar powered, medium capacity bike rack that safely stores bicycles above ground, protected from the elements and away from those looking for a “free ride”.

From Treehugger.com: Rather than hitching your bike to a post at street level, swipe a smart card, enter your PIN, and your cycle is taken up the “trunk” of the tree to a dome that protects it from thieves and the elements. The tree’s footprint is minimal, which helps keep space open for pedestrians (and the dome shields them from rain, too).

In a recent conversation I had with Mayor Pulido, he stated that he wants Santa Ana to keep looking for ways to be a Greener City. If that were truly the case, one would think that bike racks would be a good start; Bike Trees an even better one.

David Hastie, the general manager of Memphis Café and fellow biker once told me that Santa Ana did indeed at one time have bike racks throughout the downtown, but being constant targets of graffiti, not to mention bicycle thefts, prompted the city to remove them all together. “A typical solution of the city by throwing the baby out with the bathwater”, he stated.

David has lobbied the city to allow him to install a single bike rack in front of Memphis, and has even offered to have the restaurant pay for it. No word yet on whether or not the city will permit this crazy idea.

In my humble opinion, the Bike Tree coupled with Thomas Gordon’s notion of bringing bike sharing to our town would be a bold statement about our town to the rest of the county, and could truly set the pace for a greener, more pedestrian/biker-friendly and multi-transit Santa Ana.

Check out the Bike Tree in action below.

Pub Crawl and Fiestas Patrias This Weekend

2008-09-11T02:29:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you have a comfortable pair of walking shoes for the fun-filled packed weekend Santa Ana has in store for you.

First off, we've got the monthly Pub Crawl taking place this Saturday, September 13th starting at 5PM. Since last month's Pub Crawl, we've added the swankiest joint in Santa Ana, Tommy Pastrami, not to mention Original Mike's asked to join the party this past week. That makes 8 locations to hit before you complete your crawl, and a chance at some really sweet prizes–good luck suckas!

Also this weekend, Santa Ana celebrates Fiestas Patrias–a festival celebrating the Independence Day of Mexico (as well as other Latin American countries). The festival will take place on Flower Street, between Civic Center Drive and Santa Ana Blvd, in front of Santa Ana Stadium.

On a final note, those of you looking to get a double-dose of booze on Saturday, sorry to say, but you won't find any at the Patrias Festival (I'm bummed too).

MNF-09/08/08

2008-09-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

Can Minnesota's Adrian Peterson be as explosive this season as he was last season?

Will Aaron Rodgers be able to fill the void of a Favre-less Packer squad?

Denver or Oakland–which AFC West team will suck less this season?

Join me tonight in downtown Santa Ana's best place for Monday Night Football: Tommy Pastrami | 410 W. 4th Street | Santa Ana, 92701

Kickoff at 4 and 7:15PM.

Full 2008 NFL Schedule here.

The Santa Ana Speedway

2008-08-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

The speed limit on Santa Ana Boulevard is a clearly posted 35mph, but rarely do those that drive on it observe it. I personally think it should be lowered to 25mph, and for good reason.

Over the past two years, I’ve seen a good amount of traffic accidents occurring within 100 yards of my front door. I attribute these frequent incidents to two things:

Most people don’t know how to drive
Drivers see the Boulevard as a Speedway

With that said, another accident occurred on East Santa Ana Boulevard yesterday around 6:30PM–this one involving a teenage kid on a bike and an OCTA bus.

This accident marks roughly the fifth accident that I’ve seen since on the “raceway” since July of this year, and it was probably the most nerve rattling one I’ve seen in a while. There’s no sound, doesn’t matter what language you speak, like the sound of a mother screaming out “Mi Niño, Mi Niño" (my boy, my boy)!

(And though some of you may think that I’m a sadistic ghoul for taking photos at accident scenes, these photographs will be instrumental in convincing city engineers, police, traffic departments and council members that steps will need to be taken to facilitate a reduction in speed on Santa Ana Boulevard. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.)

A few months back after this accident, I put a call into SAPD requesting an officer to sit out on Poinsettia Street and do nothing but write tickets in an effort to control the speeds that go unchecked in our neighborhood.

No response.

In addition, a recent request to speak with a city engineer about many of my traffic and parking concerns around the Santiago Street Lofts continues to go unanswered. Go figure.

Hopefully, an upcoming pow-wow with our most-elusive mayor will yield better results–it is an election year after all.

So just how fast are these commuters driving down Santa Ana Boulevard? Well, according to my very affordable and quite accurate Hot Wheels radar gun, a decent amount of the drivers are obeying the speed limit, but the majority of people I've tracked using this gun were driving an average of 40mph, but some have exceeded that number by an additional 20mph!

Just this morning, I stepped out to grab some readings during the off-peak hours. The slowest speed I captured was 39mph as these drivers darted west into the high-density neighborhood that borders the Speedway.

Even now as I write this post, commuters are making their mad dash from downtown as the mass exodus of Santa Ana begins.

It’s only a matter of time until one of these drivers ends up crashing through my front door.

"..you need to pump your brakes and drive slow homie".

Hope

2008-08-19T03:35:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about living on Santa Ana Boulevard is the convenience of being able to spark a conversation with any of the many pedestrians that pass through here daily.

People who’ve lived in this area of Santa Ana are happy to see something as nice as our lofts finally come to their neighborhood. Joggers and dog walkers are popping up everywhere and it's great!

Having spoken with several high school students that transverse these sidewalks (upwards of ten times a school week), these lofts represent what these students could achieve should they choose to continue on their paths for higher education–in other words, these lofts represent hope.

In a city touting an “Education First” motto, but only supporting a painfully low 56% graduation rate among high school students (source: Civic for Civic Innovation), hope is something this town and these students desperately need.

And what of the 56% of students that do graduate from high school and move on to pursue a four-year degree? Do you think that Santa Ana has what it takes to retain these educated individuals once college is done?

No. They end up moving to real cities with real downtowns such as Los Angeles, San Diego or Long Beach.

The remaining 44% of students who don’t graduate from high school statistically end up in low-wage jobs, with very few options or ways out of this city.

Having spoken with a friend that once worked at Latino Health Access, 8 out of 10 teenage females will get pregnant in the city of Santa Ana.

As a good friend put it, Santa Ana has created a wonderful system of dependency.

Growing up, I didn’t have much, but I did see a lot of wonderful things happening in downtown San Diego that aspired me to continue on with my education.

Though the Broadway One tower (terrible website design) is riddled with controversy and shenanigans, I welcome that development in that it too brings hope. Once built, the tower will not only bring in new faces to Santa Ana, but also large corporations that could help retain the educated students who would normally make an exodus from this town.

Currently, downtown Santa Ana does not allow standard (R2) residential living. As stated in the Renaissance Plan, this restriction would be lifted offering new living options to current residents and outsiders seeking the urban lifestyle.

Anyone who knows me personally has probably heard my rant as to how important this zoning change is to this city. With such limiting restrictions on residential developments, our downtown currently operates as a dismal 10-hour downtown when it could easily be an 18-hour downtown full of restaurants, activities and a wondrous nightlife.

Employment opportunities will blossom from every corner. Restaurants such as Memphis, Jason’s and Tommy Pastrami could support a full 7-day schedule with the influx of hungry urbanites. County workers that normally stampede out of the city come five o'clock now have a reason to hang out and spend some time and money in our fabulous downtown. The increased foot traffic would create a better sense of security for those who before, would never step foot in Santa Ana, and now would do anything to be here.

August Art Walk

2008-08-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Last month we had a great turnout for our July art walk. Local restaurants Bistro 400 and Jason's Downtown Restaurant pitched in with much some needed refreshments and treats for our guests.

This Saturday, August 16th brings yet another art walk full of good times and then some.

Even with the help of the downtown restaurants, it's hard to predict how busy art walk nights will be. In recent months, our community has worked extra hard as a unified team to promote this monthly event. Why? Because we can't wait for the city to bring the fun–just ask the downtown loft residents who've been here 5 years and counting.

And though the success of our art walk is due to many factors like our residents, I'd like to take the time to thank some of the websites that helped get us on the map:

OC Now
The OC Art Blog
The City of Santa Ana Calendar
The French Park Website
Yelp (thanks Brian!) - taco lady does rock

Who's Up For Another Round?

2008-08-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Looking at the stack of completed Crawler Cards from last month's Pub Crawl is a great sign of its success. People from all over came to experience what Downtown Orange County has to offer and they loved it.

All of the participating locations ran fantastic food and drink specials throughout the night, though I feel that The Gypsy Den had the best deal–a plate of nachos and a pitcher of Sierra Nevada for $15–Yum!

That's why it shouldn't be a surprise that this Saturday, August 9th (starting at 5PM), we'll be doing it once again!

Jim Kendrick, owner of Rags has also gotten into the Pub Crawl mood by offering all Crawlers 10% off purchases $10 or more (excluding cigarettes). Why not pick something up that night that you can read during your recovery on Sunday?

Visit the Santa Ana Pub Crawl website for more information, or visit the gallery of photos from last month's event to see what you missed.

Thank you to Jason Nguyen and Julie Shen for those hilarious photos.

Time for Some Campaignin'

2008-07-28T23:22:00.000-07:00

Though it's only a mayoral race, I think a Santa Ana version of Time for Some Campaignin' would be an instant classic.

Poo and Starbucks

2008-07-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Coffee aside, the second most disgusting thing at Starbucks are their outdoor patio tables. Come to think of it, I have actually never seen anyone buying his or her coffee at the Starbucks on the corner of 4th and Broadway and bring it outside to drink–and for good reason.

On several occasions, I’ve noticed things that take place on the tables that have a way of making your upper lip uncontrollably snarl in disgust, revealing the top row of my teeth, and sometimes my gums.

Here’s my top 5 list of disgusting things happening (or not happening) on Starbuck's tables:

5. Kids in their teens putting their feet on the table as if it were a raised ottoman

4. People placing their small, dirty mangy-looking dogs on the table

3. The fact that I’ve never seen anyone clean those tables

2. A homeless guy that smelled like the walking dead sleeping at the table

1. A baby being changed with nothing between it and the table

Can anyone top my list?

Big July Art Walk

2008-07-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night kicks off the first event of our three-part summer art walk series: "Summer Groove".

There will be a live band jamming in the courtyard, DJs spinning on the streets, and drinks being served from our downtown friends Bistro 400.

Art Walk starts at 7PM. For more information, visit the newly updated (thanks Mrs. Dayhoe) Santiago Art District website for more information and links to the gallery websites.

Download our Summer Flyer here.

Sacré Bleu

2008-07-18T12:46:00.000-07:00

Did Lennar get a deal on blue paint or what?

Not that I have anything against the blue buildings, but seven buildings out of 20 total use the color blue in their palette. That's a little much if you ask me. Not to mention that blue and tan urban dwelling are about five years out of vogue.

A Lennar sales representative once told me that the blue and tan buildings were in fact the hardest ones to move. Hence, there were to be no more blue buildings in the final phases.

So what happens five to ten years down the road when a blue and tan homeowner tries to sell their unit? Hopefully there are enough interesting things sprouting up around the loft community in the next few years to help these future sellers.

Originally, this tan and blue building on the corner of Poinsettia Street and Santa Ana Boulevard was slated to be the Greenwich Village facade–the green and brick stone one. But I guess the interior furnishings weren't the only things Lennar cheapened out on.

Did Someone Say Pastrami?

2008-07-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

Tommy Pastrami on 4th Street in Downtown Santa Ana is now open for business!

Get some!

Association Meeting Thursday (07/17) @ 6PM

2008-07-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

When: July 17/6:00PM
Where: Santiago Street Loft Sales Office

Landscaping, lighting and window washing to be discussed.
I'm hoping that Lennar will make a graceful exit once they've completed the final phase with a courtesy window washing.

Can't make the meeting but have an issue with our Association?
Go ahead and leave a comment on this thread or the community Google Group and it will be addressed.

Santa Ana Pub Crawl - 07/12

2008-07-06T11:34:00.001-07:00

Didn't get enough partying in this 4th of July weekend? No worries. This Saturday starting at 5PM, the downtown restaurants and bars will be hosting the Santa Ana Pub Crawl.

Stop off at any of the participating locations and pick up a "Crawler Card" for a chance to win free prizes. All you need to do is visit all of the locations featured on the card that night and get it stamped by an employee. Once you've got all of the locations checked off on your card, turn it in (at any of the locations) and you’ll be entered into the raffle. That's it!

Visit the Pub Crawl website for more details and be sure to sign up on the mailing list for information updates.

Tommy Pastrami Opens Today Next Week

2008-06-30T03:11:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, the wife and I were very fortunate to get a sneak peak of the new Tommy Pastrami restaurant on 4th Street in Downtown Santa Ana as they hosted their soft-grand opening for invited guests, friends and family, though, we were neither.

On the night prior, we walked by the open doors of the restaurant as we were headed to Jason’s Downtown. There we saw the crew getting one of the several flat-screens ready for wall mounting. It really was amazing how much they got done in less than twenty-four hours (we honestly didn’t think that they’d be able to make today’s grand opening, let alone a soft one the next day).

Though you wouldn’t think that a joint with a menu consisting mainly of overstuffed sandwiches would be something to talk about, but this exciting addition to Santa Ana’s future restaurant row sports a very upscale décor; much like the neighboring Bistro 400 and Jason’s Downtown restaurants. If there's any place in Orange County that could be home to a New York-style deli, it's 4th street Santa Ana.

Food and drinks were on the house that night but I only got a chance to sample the regular pastrami sandwich and a small cup of chili. But from those few bites I can assure you that this place is going to be off the hook, much like the other new guys down at The Crosby.

The friendly staff was cool under the intense pressure of a loud house packed ass-to-ass as they made sure that all guests had a chance to cram their pie holes with the various free sandwiches being served that night.

With 6 wall-mounted flat screens located all over the restaurant, one can only ~~hope~~ pray that this restaurant is open on Sundays come football season (Go Chargers).

The hours for this Tommy Pastrami restaurant are listed here on their website, but I’ve heard that those times aren’t carved in stone as they will be feeling it out for the first couple of months (so go on weeknights folks).

Imagine–another restaurant in Downtown Santa Ana open late on a non-Friday weeknight? We might actually be earning that “Downtown Orange County” slogan that was just recently painted on the water tower.

Hazah!!

Tommy Pastrami New York Delicatessen
Downtown Santa Ana
410 W. 4th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92701

STORE HOURS (It's up to you Santa Ana if you want them to stay open later):
Monday - Thursday: 7am - 7pm
Friday: 7am - 10pm*
Saturday: 1pm - 10pm*
Sunday: ???

*If it's still busy, the doors stay open

2008 Sunset at the Zoo

2008-06-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

Passing on the goodness:

Pack up a picnic supper, a comfy chair, the kids, and a few friends to come out to the Santa Ana Zoo this summer for the annual "Sunset at the Zoo" Summer concert series. Enjoy a relaxed atmosphere in a lush park setting, listening to great jazz, looking at displays by artists from 2 local artist districts, checking out cool animals, enjoying coffee and sweets from Parties by Panache, or riding the Zoofari Express train around the Zoo.

This year, there will be 3 concerts: ~~June 8~~, June 29, and July 20 from 5:30 - 7:30.

June 8 features The Vega Band, jazz artists from the Santa Barbara Area. Featured at the Santa Barbara Jazz Festival, and also the Temecula and Camarillo Jazz Festivals, this talented band performs smooth jazz with a funky flair.

June 29, look for a great show from the Fabulous Peggie Perkins and her trio. Peggie was an opener for last year’s Salt Lake City Jazz Festival. In addition to the jazz and standards in her show, you’ll get a few surprises as she puts her style and spin on your favorite songs (Peggie is releasing her newest CD at the Coach House just a few days earlier, so this is a great opportunity to see her before she goes on tour).

July 20 features perennial favorite The Ron Kobayashi Trio. The Trio is one of our headliners every year, and we’re proud to bring the band back again this year. Featuring original contemporary jazz and amazing takes on standards, this trio performs in the finest Jazz establishments in Orange County.

In addition to a great concert, all “Sunset” shows include an art exhibition by local artists and the Orange County Gourd Society, displays and exhibits to help show you how to lower your carbon footprint, a kids area with crafts and fun, free train rides and desserts, animal encounters, and much more!

Come early for a bonus Blues concert on the front lawn with The Mighty Mojo Prophets on June 8 and July 20, and Mother Road on June 29, free with the price of regular zoo admission. The Blues shows start at 3:00, before the “Sunset” concerts.

Admission for the Sunset Concerts is only $10 ($5 for Zoo members)
The Blues concerts are free with your regular Zoo admission.
All proceeds go to help the Friends of the Santa Ana Zoo (a 501 c3 non-profit) support summer programs, animal care and enrichment, and new animals and exhibits.

Save the dates now, and plan to be there for all 3 great shows!

Get info on the "Sunsets at the Zoo" Summer concert series at www.myspace.com/jazzoo

For all other Santa Ana Zoo events see the website at www.santaanazoo.org
or call (714) 953-8555 ext. 4

Ooh! The Colors!

2008-06-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, this "peace" caught my eye as I was driving south in the car pool lane on the 55 freeway. To get a better look at the work, I had to pull off the freeway and backtrack being that it wasn't exactly facing the commuting traffic.

Graffiti of this caliber is rarely seen in Santa Ana. Luckily, I had my handy-dandy point-and-shoot cause I knew this one was a keeper.

The businesses along the 55 freeway are frequently subject to gawdawful "attempts" at graffiti art. The Pool Tables USA building alone (facing the southbound side of the 55 freeway) is often abused by graffiti of sub-par standards (at best), which are eventually painted over only to be a clean canvas for the next amateur waiting in the bushes.

Note: In the last two years, I've seen this building having been painted over several times. I wonder when the property owner will consider a wall-crawling vine to help reduce the all too frequent attacks and help cut back on his/her trips to the Home Depot paint department.

If the "KND" (Kings Never Die) signature on the top right looks/sounds familiar to you, then you probably remember the infamous "22 Tagger" who a few years back, terrorized CalTrans and the 22 freeway with his mark.

Now I'm not trying to justify whether or not this should be considered art (though I personally think it is), or whether "nicer" graffiti should be condoned, but rather wanted to share an interesting photo of true graffiti culture existing in Orange County.

I'm sure if this artist were to shift their talent onto a stretched canvas, they'd be able to make some serious money at our monthly Art Walk.

Get Gas, Get Tacos, Get Gas

2008-06-24T23:09:00.000-07:00

Get two free tacos at Jack in the Box when you bring in any gas receipt on Thursday, June 26th.
Find the nearest "Jack in the Crack" here.

Goodbye George Carlin

2008-06-23T02:12:00.000-07:00

Video NSFW. Watch at your own discretion.
Gotta love the First Amendment–unless you're the FCC.

June Art Walk

2008-06-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for something to do tonight, come stop by our Art Walk starting at 7PM–and don't forget that next month's Art Walk is going to be HUGE!

Mil Jugos

2008-06-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

One of Santa Ana’s best-kept secrets is tucked away on a one-way street that channels the five 0’clock mass exodus from the Ronald Regan Federal building.

Mil Jugos (translation: one thousand juices) is a colorful hole-in-the-wall restaurant owned by the friendly and always full of smiles Norah Briceño, seen pictured below (left) with her mother, Solange.

The vibrant walls are covered with various photos from Norah's hometown in Venezuela, as well as interesting handcrafted Venezuelan-style building façades.

As a rule of thumb when trying new restaurants, I always tell the server that it's our first visit. Not because I expect special treatment, but I like to get the back-story of the establishment while it buys me some extra time as I peruse the menu.

Luckily, our server just happened to be Norah and she sat right down with us at our table to help decipher the menu while sharing the story of the fruition of her dreams and the difficulties one faces when starting a restaurant in downtown Santa Ana.

Though the menu wasn't complicated, I did need a little handholding from Norah being that I've never eaten Venezuelan cuisine before. She seemed familiar with my cluelessness of Venezuelan dining as she proudly claimed to be "the only Venezuelan restaurant in town" (yeah, it even says that on her business card too).

After helping us pick out some of the restaurant favorites, she headed back into the kitchen where her mother immediately began preparing the forthcoming deliciousness.

First up were the Arepas–grilled cornbread stuffed with either chicken or seasoned meat. The size of an Arepa is hard to tell from these photos, but each one is about the size of a Jr. Whopper (my mouth was salivating as I Photoshopped these two photos together).

The cornbread was light and sweet with just the right amount of crispiness, adding texture to a mouthful of overflowing steamy goodness from either the seasoned meat or the flavorful chicken. The Arepas come out piping hot, but the amazing taste makes one a glutton for punishment as I couldn't resist to continue to chomp and chew away, burning the insides of my mouth rather waiting a few minutes for them to cool down.

Just as we finished up the Arepas, our Cachapas were being delivered to our table. What looks like a burned omelette is actually a folded sweet corn pancake stuffed with white cheese and seasoned meat.

Though it may look like breakfast, this bad boy could be served at anytime of the day, bringing me to my only complaint about this restaurant–the hours.

Mil Jugos is only open from 10AM-5PM Monday-Friday, and from 10:30AM-5PM on Saturday. Norah said that after 5PM, the downtown just seems to die giving her no reason to stay open, especially now in these tough economic times.

Hopefully, with my boys just around the corner at The Crosby "killin' it" on what should be a dead night like Mondays or Tuesdays, perhaps the nightlife will pick up downtown and we'll all soon have an opportunity to sear the insides of our mouths way after the street lights have come on.

Oh yeah, the juices were great, but that's kind of a given.

Mil Jugos
318 W. 5th Street
714 836-4601

Need more convincing you say? Check out these fine reads:
Yelp
OC Register
Washington Square Website

...and don't forget to check out The OC Weekly's review (like I did–sorry Gustavo ;)

The "One-Stop" Ticket

2008-06-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Whether you love him or hate him (or have no clue who he is), Don Cribb proposes the idea of a "One Stop" ticket between the Santa Ana and Orange stations in an article featured in the May/June 2008 edition of the Old Towne Orange Review.

The train depots in Orange and Santa Ana present exciting changes. Both areas are experiencing new residential loft development and new business and retail opportunities in these areas. Orange’s Depot Walk and Santa Ana’s Santiago Street Lofts have introduced fresh ideas and energy into established dynamics. In Orange, new loft development helps reinforce the importance of Chapman University’s growing role in the socio-economics of the area driven, in part, by its celebrated new film studio. The Orange Plaza is becoming a smaller version of “Westwood Village” near UCLA! In Santa Ana, the Santiago Street Lofts, one-hundred ten of them, with the launch of monthly art walks, have demonstrated the vitality and appeal of transient-oriented development and reinforces the role of the Downtown Artists Village as an urban interactive arts district. A new streetcar system is under review that would link the depot to the Artists Village, the Santa Ana public library and the Orange County Civic Center, where a new Court of Appeals is under construction.

What happens when these two depots better relate? New residents at Santiago Street Lofts soon discover that they have few restaurants and retail amenities nearby, even though Downtown Santa Ana has new cafes such as The Crosby at 4th & Broadway, an ultra-cool and tasty music cafe, and a stylish small development called “Art House,” a residential/professional address next to Chiarini Marble and Stone on Washington, as an example of new ideas moving into established, older areas. This said, it doesn’t take long for new buyers to recognize that a five-minute drive up Grand Avenue onto Glassell can lead to Gabbi’s, one of the best regional Mexican restaurants, or to a wealth of other good cafes and quality retail opportunities - in Orange!

The Orange and Santa Ana Depots have one important and unique feature they share; proximity! A special “One-Stop” ticket, created to encourage residents near either location to move easily back and forth by rail for educational, artistic or business benefit, would enable others to look at rail transportation more seriously in their daily lives. It means they could leave many cars at home!

Santa Ana is set to acquire county land near its depot. There have been discussions regarding more art, educational and residential development, near the depot. The first Artists Village boundaries included the Santa Ana depot and some land south of the depot reads “Artists Village influence” in terms of future development, to make use of light industrial properties.

Much as has been done in Orange. The two depots help to offer positive transportation consideration while discouraging automobile use. The more cars that enter Old Towne Orange and begin to congest the area, the less appealing the area becomes. No one wants to lessen the charm and attraction of Historic Old Towne Orange.

At a time when fuel costs are ever high and pollutants are becoming increasingly regulated, more MetroLink use could help ease vehicular demands! Much mutual benefit could be realized between two important Orange County cities with so much to share! They share a community college district, public school district boundaries and have city boundaries that move back and forth irregularly through neighborhoods and retail and office addresses. Both cities share so much! This relationship could become even more important when transportation opportunities become more important and are shared, too, to help preserve quality of life and ensure sustainable growth and maybe add a bit more interest and fun!

Don Cribb served on the Santa Ana planning commission for eight years, is currently sitting on the Environmental and Transportation Advisory Committee and is the President of the Santa Ana Council of Arts & Culture.

Would a "One-Stop" ticket encourage you to visit our neighbors to the north more frequently? If you haven’t been to Gabbi’s, my growing gut and I highly recommend.

Are there Any Depot Walk residents out there? Would this ticket encourage you to visit sunny, sometimes scary Santa Ana?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

MGS4

2008-06-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

Look what arrived in the mail yesterday.
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Goodbye social life :)

Santa Ana Propaganda

2008-06-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

You would never think that the Santa Ana featured in this clip is the same Santa Ana you read about in the OC Register. It’s amazing what good stock footage, editing using quick cuts, and super-saturating the footage can do for your city. Still, there's nowhere else in Orange County I'd rather live than here in Santa Ana.

Zapfino is arguably the worst typeface–EVER.

$105.46

2008-06-06T00:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all of the wonderful blog readers out there for helping me raise the first of many checks to be delivered to Pet Pro Life–the organization where I adopted my wonderful and loving doggie back in October of 2006.

By spending time on this blog, clicking on ads, or even buying something featured in one of the ads, you have helped raise this money to support a fantastic non-profit organization dedicated to helping furry friends find new homes.

Currently, animal shelters and rescue programs all across the nation are under great financial strain due to so many homeowners losing their homes and being forced to give up their pets in these tough economic times–as seen in this video featured on CNN.com.

Every penny counts and I couldn't have done it without you.
You guys ROCK–Happy Friday!

Save $25 at Lucky Owl Tonight

2008-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

Passing on the goodness:

Come Join Us for our First Fridays event, this Friday June 6th from 7-10 pm, featuring Black and White Photography by Michal Pfeil. He will be showing and selling new work from his black and white architecture series. With a special performance from Violinist, Mathias Chaidez.

Lucky Owl will also be releasing it's latest Summer Line of tank tops. Be the first to purchase these HOT tank tops.

Stop by the City Place sales office to receive a $25.00 gift certificate for that night only. (while supplies last)

We look forward to seeing you!

Lucky Owl
714-558-9695

The 2008 Tustin Chili Cook-Off

2008-05-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

If you're a glutton for punishment (both receiving and giving) like I am, then chili should rank as one of your top dishes. Lucky for you and me (and unlucky for the folks standing behind you), our day is near.

The Tustin Street Fair and Chili Cookoff will take to the streets of Old Town Tustin on June 1, 2008 - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. This 24th annual event features the Chili Cookoff, craft booths, non-profit food vendors, entertainment, kids carnival, music and much more. Admission is free.

Here's some random YouTube footage of last year's event and what to expect this year.

Now where are my chili boots?

The Anomaly

2008-05-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

On a brick wall facing an abandoned home just west of the Santiago Street Lofts is where I first spotted this rare find several months ago.

Normally, this abandoned lot is highly inaccessible to foot traffic due to multiple layers of chain link fences. But with the "mini-circus" that came to town during Cinco de Mayo weekend and used an empty adjacent lot for vehicle storage, I had one less fence to jump and was able to snap this photo.

Oh my goodness! Did someone actually take the time to plan a mini-mural in Santa Ana? Bravo!

This piece is an anomaly for the city of Santa Ana being that it is a strong departure from the mundane chicken scratch that can be seen all over town. Granted, it doesn't hold a candle to the work done in Los Angeles, or even Vancouver for that matter, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

Strangers in a Strange Land

2008-05-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

I’m a huge fan of mass transportation when I’m not in Southern California, so when my good friend/neighbor suggested we take a Sunday day trip to Los Angeles via the Metrolink, the wannabe New Yorker inside of me jumped for joy.

Even though downtown Los Angeles is only 35 miles away from the Santiago Lofts; I personally can count the times I’ve been there on one hand.

Perhaps it’s been the dreaded (potential) 2-hour crawl up the 5 freeway that makes me turn the other way and drive to my hometown of sunny San Diego.

But, with a train station in our backyard, and gas prices running at an all time high, it would be foolish to not take advantage of the Metrolink.

A weekend roundtrip ticket to Union Station and back runs you $11.50. Being that most cars average around 25mpg, not to mention the reduced stress of not having to drive on California’s dangerous cell phone-plagued freeways, this price is a steal.

Our trip began with the 10:49AM train departing the Santa Ana station–which if you don’t know, is a Nerf football’s throw from the loft sales office on Santiago Street.

The hour-long trip passed quickly and in no time our train arrived on time at Union Station at 11:50AM. From there we stopped for lunch at Philippe’s for some delicious sandwiches (you can read Elmo Monster’s wonderful review of the restaurant/adventure here) just a few minutes walk from the train depot.

Are you taking notes here City of Santa Ana?

After lunch, we headed back to Union Station and took the Red Line Subway (free with the Metrolink ticket, though no one ever stopped to check us) to 7th Street and walked a few blocks until we arrived at the South Park Flea Market.

Unfortunately, the flea market was just a small showing of vendors so what we thought would be an all-day event ended up being thirty minutes, at most.

So we headed back to the 7th Street Station where we reversed course and took the Red Line back to Union Station where we walked across the street to check out historic Olvera Street.

The piazza had live music that packed in many spectators and the street (cart) vendors were out in full force. It seemed like this was business as usual and weekend events held at Olvera Street are wonderful tourist traps–something our own Fiesta Marketplace could learn a lot from.

After some quick shopping, the Santiago gang ventured up Cesar E Chavez Avenue where we eventually found ourselves in Chinatown.

Our group ventured into the middle building pictured above to pick up some delicious "snackies" while escaping the 90-degree weather.

Afterward, we decided it was time to head back to Union Station where we caught the 4:30PM train back home, arriving promptly in Santa Ana at 5:20PM.

The simplicity, comfort and convenience or the Metrolink is one of those luxuries I’m hoping to take advantage of more often. Though I don’t think I’ll ever be able to 100% do away with my car in California, it’s definitely a goal worth trying.

California’s car-culture has a tendency to make us forget that some of life’s best adventures aren’t always the destination, but the journey itself.

If you're thinking of planning a car-free weekend trip, check out the Metrolink schedule here.

May Art Walk

2008-05-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night marks the third Saturday of the month and you know what that means–The Santiago Art District Art Walk!

Visit the Santiago Art District website for more information and links to the gallery websites.

Photo of Studio 904 courtesy of Costea Photography.

Trash Talk

2008-05-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

Many residents struggle to fit their two 96-gallon trash/recycling bins into their garages here at the Santiago Street Lofts. Although Association rules state that the bins need to be stored within the garage on non-trash pick-up days, for one reason or another, some folks just can't make space for the two large bins.

If by trash day your 96-gallon bin is only half way full, you might want to consider downsizing to a 64 or 32 35-gallon receptacle.

To do so, contact Waste Management of Orange County's customer service at (714) 558-7761. On trash day, your bins will be swapped out for your chosen size.

Holiday Schedule
Waste collection does not occur on the following days:

• New Year's Day
• Memorial Day
• 4th of July
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Our normal trash collection day is Friday, but during the week of the listed holidays, collection is on Saturday (unless the holiday falls on a Saturday).

Trash (maroon) Bin
Items that can be placed in trash containers:

• Disposable diapers
• Drinking glasses
• Pet-soiled paper
• Window glass
• Pet waste
• Auto glass
• Soiled/greasy paper plates or pizza boxes
• Mirrors
• Napkins
• Paint cans (empty)
• Waxed and coated paper
• Oil cans (empty)
• Aluminum foil
• Rubber/latex items
• Microwave dinner trays
• Plastic bags (grocery or dry cleaner)
• Butter tubs
• Taggers
• Potting containers
• Clothing
• Styrofoam
• Foam padding
• Toys
• Carpeting
• Steel items
• Ceramics
• Palm fronds

Recycling (gray) Bin
Items that can be placed in recycling containers:

• Glass bottles/jars (all colors)
• Cardboard
• Mixed papers
• Junk mail/magazines
• Newspapers
• Plastic bottles/jars (CRV# 1 & 2)
• Plastic milk containers
• Metal cans
• Plastic beverage bottles (CRV# 1-7)
• Frozen food boxes
• Cereal boxes (with plastic liner removed)
• Empty paper towel and bath tissue rolls

Items that should NOT be placed in recycling containers:

• Paper towels and tissues
• Plates and napkins
• Styrofoam
• Plastic/paper cups
• Aluminum foil
• Pizza boxes
• Cardboard milk containers

For more information, download this flyer or visit the Waste Management website here.

Other Events This Weekend

2008-05-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

May 2nd
Gustavo Arellano on Friday, May 2 will be in Santa Ana at Librería Martinez starting at 7PM to sign "Ask a Mexican!"—a series of essays dealing with misconceptions and myths about Mexican immigrants.

1110 N. Main St., Santa Ana
(714) 973-7900

May 3rd/4th
Cinco de Mayo Festivities
I haven't found anything online detailing the weekend event, but during my morning downtown coffee run, workers were blocking off several streets and were setting up vendor canopies on 4th street.

May 3rd
Downtown Santa Ana Artwalk
Orange County's hippest new neighborhood invites you to stroll down the four blocks of the 2nd Street Promenade from Broadway Avenue to Spurgeon Street on the First Saturday of EVERY month from 7:00pm - 10:00pm. Admission is FREE.

May 4th
The Bowers Museum
FREE DAYS FOR SANTA ANA RESIDENTS
Courtesy of the Lockhart Family and a generous donation in the memory of Dorothy Goerl, the Bowers Museum is pleased to offer free admission to Santa Ana residents, with proof of residency (e.g., driver's license, utility bill, etc), on the first Sunday and third Tuesdays of every month.

2002 N. Main St, Santa Ana, CA 92706
(714) 567-3600

There is no reason to get in your car this weekend–unless you're watching Iron Man.

Indie Arts & Crafts Festival (05/04)

2008-05-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

This Sunday, from 11AM-5PM, The Road Less Traveled Store is hosting Patchwork–a semiannual indie arts and crafts festival that showcases emerging crafters, delicious food and local music.

From The Road Less Traveled website:
Grab a one-of-a-kind handbag from Harveys while dining on the local fairs from OC's best eateries and shopping from over 50 independent artists. Raffles, music, art seminars and the most unique in the County's creativity. Buy Local & Shop Creative!

Items you might be interested include: home goods, clothing, paper goods, accessories and affordable art.

Be sure to say "Hi" to Delilah Snell while you are there–she's so nice.

City Place Event Tonight

2008-05-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight and every first Friday of the month, business owners at City Place host an event where you can enjoy food, music and special events from 7-10 pm.

If you haven't yet been to City Place, first Fridays are a great time to check it out.

Epic Art Show @ Prime Urban (04/26)

2008-04-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I'll bitch and complain about Santa Ana's water, but our water difficulties here are nothing in comparison to that of other countries.

Tomorrow night from 8PM until midnight, Prime Urban will be hosting an art show event where all proceeds will be donated to E.P.I.C–a non-profit organization working to help construct a well in Tanzania to provide clean water for over 7,000 people.

The event will feature both exhibits and live painting by ACTVST Artvarks: Justin Bauer, Meredith Ambruso, Sean Woolsey, as well as others. Music provided by DJ Matter.

$10 cover at the door. All ages are welcome.

This event is sponsored by: Ketel One Vodka, Red Bull, Prime Urban, ACTVST, E.P.I.C, TOMS Shoes, Instrumental Agency.

This event is within stumbling distance from the Santiago Street Lofts. No need to drive.

Prime Urban is located at 511 Santa Ana Boulevard, 92701.

4/20 Sunday in Review

2008-04-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

An accident victim.

The other car after the driver abandoned it and bailed on foot. Don't worry, he didn't get far.
And of course, what Sunday would be complete without the obligatory BBQ–now with movie!
Stop lying to yourself. You want to live here. Santa Ana rocks.

April Art Walk

2008-04-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 19th will be the largest art walk to date here at the Santiago Street Lofts with at least 17 galleries open to the public starting at 7PM.

Visit the Santiago Art District website for more information and links to the gallery websites.

Don’t forget to stop by Sundaze Gallery and check out the craftiness of loft resident Mike Paxton. Mike finds neglected secondhand furniture and fully restores it to a glorious mid-century modern look.

These pictures don’t do his work justice.

04/17 Association Meeting

2008-04-17T00:16:00.000-07:00

In case you missed the notice in your last HOA statement, there's an association meeting tonight at 6PM in the loft sales office.

UPDATE: Meeting Notes

Parking
The abuse of guest parking was addressed.
Painting the curb to read "Visitor Only" is the first step to deter residents from using those spots.

The next step (if needed) will be to tow vehicles as stated by Lester Tucker (OBAMF) of Lennar.

Landscaping
Although during the last meeting it was stated that Villa Park was "out", they've shown some improvement and OBAMF is willing to give them another 60 days.
Villa Park will also be spraying the bamboo trees for those little fruit flies(?) that invade your house when you open your windows.

I asked if the gardeners can let the bamboo and wall-climbing vines grow a little and not butcher them like a Marine's haircut when they do trim them--
(Gary from Villa Park told me this morning that they keep the bamboo short being that it was a requirement by the fire dept. and the vines short cause his guys can't reach if they get too tall...hmm).

Signs and Banners
The SSL banner on DiRienzo's building and the one missing in front of 704 Santiago are to be repaired/replaced immediately as stated by OBAMF.

Stucco and Paint Damage
The red building facing Civic Center Dr. has had stucco damage for quite some time now.
Eddie "The Man" Cano should be looking into this soon.

I believe that covers the gist of it.

911 on Brown Street

2008-04-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday around 7:30PM, the problematic 911 Brown Street property caught on fire from the inside. This unit and others like it are frequently shelters for the homeless or often serve as hangouts for the crackheads.

In my early blogging days, I took a walk with Ray Lirette with the city of Santa Ana in hopes of getting more insight about these vacant lots. As I recall, Ray stated that the acquisition of this unit in particular was a tricky one being that it is locked up in a trust, and the rightful homeowners are most likely deceased.
Too bad the fire department arrived in a matter of seconds to put out the blaze. I'm sure that many of the Lacy residents were like me, hoping that the firemen would just let this unit burn down to the ground.

The Shape of Things to Come

2008-04-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight as I walked down Santa Ana Boulevard to pick up a few delicious pounds of carne asada at Northgate Market, a gleeful vision of what's to come danced through my mind.

With Lennar rapidly finishing the final development of the Santiago Street Lofts, bigger and better developments will soon follow. Our community is successful and thriving, and it will be only a matter of time when the ball starts to roll on other neighboring projects.

Passing the Prime Urban office off Santa Ana Boulevard, I thought about two upcoming and exciting developments that these way cool and down-to-earth guys have in the works in this area.

Minter Court, a unique bungalow-style development consisting of 10 newly constructed town homes designed around central courtyards should most likely break ground later this year. If you haven't been inside the Prime Urban office, I highly suggest stopping by. You'll quickly become a believer in their work as soon as you step through their doors (they have a hypno-ray hidden somewhere behind all that brick).

The second project, although a bit further out should get all residents of and near the Santiago Street Lofts excited. The Depot Project is looking to feature anywhere from 12-16 ground-level retail shops/restaurants/cafes with 4-5 stories of new (residential) neighbors living along Santiago Street.

You know as soon as this project is underway, I'll be on the phone with Chipotle headquarters trying to get them to fill one of those retail pads.

In recent weeks, the OC Register has reported that the city of Santa Ana is moving forward with their plan to develop streetcars running from the Santa Ana Train Depot though out the downtown and ending in Garden Grove.

Although I personally love walking and biking through town, the thought of taking a streetcar home after a nice meal downtown does hold a very strong appeal.

I for one am all aboard with the streetcar plan and think it’s a fantastic and exciting idea to help reboot Santa Ana–I just hope that by the time the project is finally completed, I'll still be ways away from qualifying for the senior discount.

So for now, while we may have to put up with the “random feces” or the occasional tag on our complex from one of the local kiddies, things are looking to turn around dramatically in the next couple of years–and it’s that potential that makes living in this area all the worthwhile.

Crapfiti

2008-04-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend as I was walking the dog around the south side units, I passed through this alley that separates two street-facing buildings.

Walking past the first bamboo planter, I was shocked to see that someone had once again used our community as a public restroom. What's even worse is that culprit squatted against the unit, and as they squeezed out the runny deuce, it created a cascade that scuttled down the stucco.

Taggers take note: If you want to leave your mark and get the attention of everyone, don't do it with markers, etchers or paint, do it with feces.

For some reason, this alley seems to attract the weirdos. In my less than two years of living here, I've: removed graffiti from these service doors numerous times, seen several homeless people sleep between the planters, caught teenage kids smoking weed, asked mothers to not tell their kids it is okay to pee in the alley as they take a break from walking home, and of course, been screamed at by the Poo Lady twice in this very alley.

Never a dull day in the city of Santa Ana.

Got a strong stomach? Click on the image -><- to see the work of the "Ass Bandit".

Amtrak Deal: Buy One Ticket, Get One Free

2008-04-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Amtrak is celebrating the first annual National Train Day with six weeks of festivities culminating on Saturday, May 10, 2008. What better way to celebrate riding the rails than than with a trip with a friend on Amtrak on National Train Day? With this limited time Buy One, Get One Free sale, you can buy a full fare adult ticket and get a free companion ticket valid for travel to any of over 500 Amtrak destinations. But hurry, this one day sale is valid for sale on April 4th only.

Click here for the deal.

...and Museum?

2008-04-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

The other day while riding my bike through the city, I came across this awesome sign down by the Santa Ana Jail. I'd imagine it's an either/or trip to that office.

A good friend of mine put it best: "You have two ends of the spectrum colliding: the dredges of society and the things worth keeping.

Inmate: "What took you so long man!?"

Bailer: "Well...see, they kind of had this museum at the bail bonds office and we sorta lost track of time."

The 2008 Downtown Mixer (04/03)

2008-03-30T21:46:00.000-07:00

Delilah Snell, owner of the eco-friendly Road Less Traveled Store, and Board Chair of the the Downtown Santa Ana Business Council asked me to pass along this invite to residents and friends of the Santiago Street Lofts.

This is an invitation to the Downtown Santa Ana Business and Neighborhood Mixer. Come and meet the many people who make Santa Ana a great place to live and work. Bring information about your business to share and sample delectable appetizers from Jason's Downtown Restaurant and Wine Cellar complimentary of the Downtown Santa Ana Business Council.

see upcoming branding and marketing images for the area

interactive website launching

receive a copy of the area's new map for visitors

view a list of 2008/09 events

share your thoughts with business owners, community leaders and residents

When: April 3rd from 5-8pm

Where: Jason's Downtown, 416 West 4th Street (across from the Ronald Regan Courthouse)

Who: you and others that you know, please pass this along!

Contact: Delilah Snell, 714.836.8727 for more information.

Saturday Night at Jason's Downtown (03/29)

2008-03-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Last month, Dustin White and the Jeff Jones Trio packed the house at Jason's Downtown Restaurant like never before and tomorrow night, they're looking to do it again.

With the evening weather warming up, a table outdoors with a seat right next to a patio heater could be the perfect compliment to the good eats and swanky tunes.

For table reservations at Jason’s Downtown, call (714) 347-1122.

The Crosby Opens April 1st!

2008-03-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

There are many things to look forward to being a homeowner in Santa Ana as the city begins to pick up the broken pieces of a once golden metropolis.

Downtown Santa Ana's potential for a renewed greatness will soon be one step closer with the opening of The Crosby on April 1st.

What is The Crosby you ask?

The Crosby is a combination restaurant/bar/bookstore/lounge that owners Marc Yamaoka, Phil Nisco and Chris Alfaro describe as a "Haven of Creativity", and just happens to be open until 2AM.

The wife and I were ecstatic when we were given a sneak peek of their shop and were delighted when we got a chance to check out their unique sound system consisting of multiple 80's-styled boom boxes.

Who would have known that 14+ boom boxes linked together could sound so good?

What's even better is that these down-to-earth guys are oozing with creativity. I highly suggest you check out their work on iTunes by clicking here or by searching under "Free the Robots" in iTunes.

Let's just hope this isn't a cruel April Fools' joke.

Here, you can read a great OC Weekly article about the hoops the masterminds behind The Crosby had to jump through with the city of Santa Ana, and you can also check out their mySpace page here.

Muerte en el Agua

2008-03-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

I inherited my father's curly hair and my mother's thumb–green thumb that is. She could pretty much resuscitate any dying plant or drop any random seed in a pot of soil and within a few weeks, we'd be looking for a permanent place of residence for the fresh sprout in the backyard.

Before moving to the Santiago Street Lofts, I had a small collection of potted plants. Some of them were store bought and others were grown from seeds that I bought at Home Depot. All of which were flourishing with basic maintenance and water straight from the tap.

Unfortunately, the move to Santa Ana ended up costing me the lives of many of my dear and longtime (plant) friends. I'm not sure whether it's the hardness of the water, the chlorine, or whatever mysterious funk seen in this video, but the water in Santa Ana has been deadly to my plants.

The only plants to have survived were my water "lucky" bamboos (insert pun).

After reading up at various sites and consulting with Poison Ivy herself (my Mom), the best option for growing healthy houseplants in Santa Ana would be to switch to distilled water. Turns out that hard water contains minerals that can be very harsh on houseplants.

Another option if you don't want to go distilled is to fill your watering container and let it sit for a minimum of 36 hours. By this time, the chlorine should have dissipated and be a little safer for your babies.

If you go the way of a water softener, remember that this water contains heavy concentrations of salts. The salts will hinder the growth of your plants, or even worse, pull a 187 on them.

Finally, when watering your plants, make sure the water is at room temperature. Very hot or very cold water can shock the roots and damage, or even kill your green friends.

Here is a great site about watering houseplants.

March Art Walk

2008-03-13T02:16:00.000-07:00

One of the coolest things about living here at the Santiago Street Lofts is the fact that there's usually one big party every month that which we now call the Art Walk at the Santiago Art District.

Here's a list of the galleries that I know are open this Saturday, March 15th:

Curbside Gallery
928 E. Santa Ana Blvd.

Salu Gallery
919 E. Santa Ana Blvd.

Gallery 675
675 Poinsettia St. (interior/south side)

J. Lewis Gallery
906 E. Santa Ana Blvd.

Art from the Hive
712 N. Santiago St.

J2 Photography
916 E. Santa Ana Blvd.

Omi Gallery (New!)
708 Santiago St.

Sundaze Gallery
667 Poinsettia St. (interior/south side)

A gallery directory can be downloaded here.

Ample (free) parking is conveniently located across the street at the Santa Ana Train Depot on the corner of Santa Ana Boulevard and Santiago Street.

If your gallery is open Saturday and you're not listed above, please let me know.

AdSense Update

2008-03-12T23:40:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I signed up for Google AdSense in hopes to raise donation money for Pet Pro Life—the loving and generous organization where my wife and I adopted our adorable fur ball of joy.

AdSense works by allowing Google to populate this blog with ads that relate to the subject matter; which so far seems to be Santa Ana foreclosures and various loft developments. It's up to me to make the ads unobtrusive and fit seamlessly into the layout.

Donation money is raised every time someone comes to this site or even better, when someone clicks on the ads. Payment trickles in a few cents at a time, but every little bit counts.

In one month, you the readers have raised $28.46 just by stopping by, clicking and commenting.

You guys seriously rock and I thank you.

Keep up the good work and I'll see about getting some better (sexier?) ads on this site :)

If you are looking to adopt a dog, please consider these wonderful organizations:

Pet Pro Life
Rover Rescue
Devil Dog Ranch

Party Poopers

2008-03-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, a very nice dog-owning couple renting at the Santiago Street Lofts moved out–with them went our mysterious problem of unpicked-up dog poop.

It was frustrating to see the blatant disregard for other dog owners and folks that walk around the community or sit in the community courtyard, only to be greeted by a steamy pile of mush, accompanied by a swarm of angry flies.

What irked me more was that even after multiple signs were posted in the common area by “yours truly”, the problem persisted; in fact, it got worse!

These renters, as nice as they were, were “bad renters” in my eyes. I say “bad” because they proved the generalization that says that renters just don’t give a crap.

When it comes down to it, the blame ultimately lies with the individual(s) who makes the decision to rent their place out in communities such as ours.

If you don’t want to take part in our kick-ass community, then please, rent your place out to someone who does.

Barbecue Season is Officially Here

2008-03-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

Whether you're a person that likes to cook, or someone who loves to eat, you’re in good company here at the Santiago Street Lofts.

This past weekend, a good amount of neighbors took advantage of the beautiful southern California weather and rang in the extra hour of daylight with a delicious barbecue.

The hit of the “Q” was definitely Dr. Jason’s Newcastle-marinated ribs. I have to say; I’ve never known a dentist that used barbecued ribs to get me to floss.

So, if you’re on the fence about moving here, then hopefully knowing that you’ll have some kickass neighbors will be the push that you’ve needed. If you live here and missed this Sunday’s barbecue event–don’t worry; there are plenty of barbecue days ahead of us.

A Sinking Ship?

2008-03-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

First, their sweet corner location goes up for sale, then their website is nowhere to be found, and today the OC Register reports that Urban West has backed out from the proposal that would have built over 400 condos and commercial space in the Parc Anaheim Project (which was later slated to become an RV Park.)

Of course, who could blame Urban West for not wanting to build an RV park—they're way too hip for a project of that caliber.

But is Urban West on their way out?

Sign Unveiling Ceremony at Chepa's Park

2008-03-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, March 8, city elected officials and community members will join the family of the late Mrs. Josephine “Chepa” Andrade during the sign unveiling ceremony for the recently renamed Logan Park.

Chepa's Park is located at 1009 N. Custer Street, just 1-2 minutes walking distance from the lofts within the historic Logan neighborhood.