Good Times Had by 150-Plus at KCRW/OC Weekly Happy Hour at Mesa!

The Seabirds Truck's Raya Belna with her prize--Avanti Cafe hot sauces!

Photo by Ed Carrasco

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Were you there with me, Dave, Anne Marie and KCRW-FM 89.9 Good Food host Evan Kleiman at our happy hour last Thursday at Mesa in Costa Mesa? No? What's wrong with you? You missed out on Mesa's hip vibe, a great fall sangria and sliders by the Mesa crew, and a spectacular carnitas taco that journo-to-the-1-Percent Kedric Francis magically made appear before me. And, of course, the giveaways. Special thanks to the guys at the Burnt Truck, TAPS, Fleming's, Merely Sweets and Mr. Hot Bunz for gift certificates and Avanti Cafe and Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen for hot sauces. And for those whose names I forgot--I'll go eat at your place soon!

But the best giveaway, by far, was from the venerable Wahoo's.

It gave away T-shirts and hats, of course, but instead of a gift certificate, the Wahoo's guys gave us . . . watches. These weren't rinky-dink things, but rather heavy, beautifully made watches with the Wahoo's logo tastefully on the face. Now that I think of it, I should've put mine up on eBay . . . but that wouldn't be fair to ustedes who attended.

A big thanks to Mesa and everyone who attended. And for those of you who didn't? The next Good Food/OC Weekly Happy Hour will be in Long Beach in March--but before that, there'll be another food event we're working on. Details to come on both . . .