Picky Pagan #3: Pho Tay Bac in Brea, CA

In the past couple years, Pho has exploded as a popular food among carnivores. It used to be that you would have to go to an ethnic Vietnamese part of a major city to find a pho restaurant. Now there is there is practically one pho restaurant in every city, and sometimes a lot more. Being a fan myself, since I was young, I have always looked for a good pho restaurant in every new place I live in. Being picky in your selection pays off because, often, these restaurants will attempt to use cheap ingredients, powdered stock and poor cuts of meat. For a while, I lived in the Fullerton/Anaheim area of Orange County, which is right next to Westminister. Westminister is contains probably the largest population of Vietnamese in the Southern California area. Along with this comes great pho restaurants. However, sometimes I would not want to drive the 50 minute round trip down the 22. Eventually I started looking in to possible locations to satiate my pho lust in town. I quickly discovered that the majority of the spots in Fullerton were of pretty poor quality. To the north of Fullerton lies the city of Brea (not to be confused with La Brea in Los Angeles). On the border of the two towns there is a small shop situated in a tiny strip mall off of Imperial and Arrow Drive called Pho Tay Bac. They make their pho broth nightly from scratch, using real bones and fresh ingredients. All pho places put MSG in their pho, so the trick is to find the ones that rely more on quality ingredients than the flavor enhancer. Pho Tay Bac has been able to minimalize their use of this product. Their cuts of meat are always decent and their vegetables are always fresh. The staff is also very friendly and helpful. Their other food items are also very tasty. I suggest trying everything that catches your eye, their banh mi is pretty decent. It is not my favorite place (I'm partial to Pho Hoa in San Diego), but as far as Fullerton/Anaheim/Brea goes, its my choice. It is Korean owned though and some of the food could be considered to not be made in the authentic Vietnamese style. Nevertheless, you can always depend on a fresh, clean and tasty meal.

Rating: 4.4 broomsticks out of 5

YouTube Review: Aiden Gallway

While perusing various occult chat rooms, I stumbled upon a link to this Wiccan's YouTube channel. Through this channel, Aiden attempts to explain Wicca to beginners, outsiders and non-practitioners. If you have ever been curious about what Wiccans believe and practice, this is a good place to start. Aiden is young and comes off a little nervous in the first video, but his heart is definitely in the right place and he puts forth an honest and well researched opinion. If you think we worship the devil and run around hexing everyone we do not like, you should really take a look at Aiden's videos. You can find them here:


http://www.youtube.com/user/MrJakerz18?feature=mhee#p/u/3/LoVqfoREO04

October

October is my favorite month of the year. Obviously Samhain is always a good time, but there are many other reason for my affinity towards this time of the year. The weather is perfect in my opinion. It is just cold enough to wear your favorite sweater or jacket, but not so cold that you cannot stand being outside. (Granted it never really goes below 20 degrees in my neck of the woods.) The sunsets become way more spectacular, and the rain clears away the smog so the stars become a lot more visible at night. Camping during this time of the year is great because the heavy rains have not arrived yet, and its cold enough to set a roaring fire in your fire pit. The yellow and red leaves just seem to put my mind at ease. One of the best aspects, however, is that now I get to break out the heavy blankets and quilts for my bed. There is no more comforting feeling than a warm bed when its cold, except maybe a little apple cider and a book to go along with the warm bed.

The Picky Pagan #2: Yangtze Restaurant in Ontario, CA

I have recently moved to Ontario. The day of the move, my parents came to help me. After a long day of moving my existence in and out of the U-Haul style truck, my parents and I were famished. We asked my new land lady, who has been a long-term resident of Ontario, where we could find a good Chinese restaurant (this is the one style of non steak house restaurant that my parents and I consistently agree on). My land lady recommended Yangtze. She related to us that she had been patronizing this establishment for years and it was her family's favorite. With the local recommendation, and the location being a stone's throw away, we felt like we had we were presented with a good choice.

We arrived at about 8:30 p.m. It was a Friday evening and the parking lot/dining room was bare. Red flags started to shoot up in my brain immediately. They had an old cigarette vending machine (not operating) in the rear entrance, which gave the place a pretty nostalgic feeling. The decor seemed as though as it had been there since the 1920s, which I personally like. However, the vinyl on the booth was cracking which was kind of annoying. Our waitress visited us quickly. Seeing as how there was only one other table that was filled, the quick service was expected. Our waitress was getting on in years and told my parents she had been working there for decades. I ordered wonton soup as an appetizer, and my parents had no appetizers. The broth was definitely out of a can, and I am pretty sure the wontons had been bought out or made a week prior and frozen. It did not taste bad, just I could have made the same dish at home for cheaper. My family usually orders family style for entrees when it comes to Chinese. We ordered Kung Pao Beef, Chicken Lo Mein and Broccoli Beef. A pretty standard order for any Americans at a Chinese restaurant. I flirted with the idea of ordering a whole duck or some sea food, but I decided to try the staples and come back for the dangerous stuff another day if everything went okay. Unfortunately it did not. The food came in about 5 minutes, which told me it was microwaved or had been under a heat lamp since the afternoon. The Kung Pao Beef lacked any semblance of spice and tasted a little off. The Lo Mein was pretty slimy and the noodles were overly soggy. The only tolerable dish was the Broccoli Beef and this was due the fact that I love broccoli, frozen or fresh. I have never been one to really send stuff back unless it is undercooked or burnt, so I asked the waitress if they had some Sriracha or any type of chili sauce, she happily obliged and brought a crusty glass cup from the kitchen containing chili oil. I immediately realized why my Kung Pao Beef was off. The chili oil was rancid! I resigned to just finishing my steamed rice and letting my parents eat whatever they wanted to stomach. The one redeeming quality was the owner. He is the son of the man who opened the restaurant in the 1950s. He was extremely friendly and made a sincere effort to talk about the history of the place and converse with my parents, who are of the same age (early 60s), about his travels and their travels. About 15 minutes in to the conversation, after my parents had finished eating, I got an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I proceeded to rush the conversation and my parents out the door. When I we got back to my new residence, my parents and I said our good-byes, and I rushed to the bathroom.

Overall it is a shame that such a historic and unique place should be run so poorly. I can do nothing but give Yangtze a

.5 broomsticks out of 5.


The .5 is accredited due to the owner's friendliness.