Dear OC Killers: Can You Stop Murdering People Outside Great Mexican Restaurants?

Courtesy of Santa Ana Police Department

Surveillance footage from El Chile Picante...get the Michoacán-style enchiladas!

Last week, SanTana Police Department officials released video stills of two men harassing another man whom police say they'd go on to murder just outside El Chile Picante. And for the umpteenth time, I threw up my fists and screamed in frustration.

See, Orange County killers have this nasty habit of murdering people just outside Mexican restaurants. And not just any ol' place, but some of the better spots in Orange County. El Chile Picante, in particular, is a fine Michoacán-style place that I reviewed in 2009--and it's now the fifth place I've reviewed where someone ate at before getting murdered.

Um, OC killers: can ustedes stop doing that?

To wit:

*In 2011, two men were stabbed to death outside Albatros in Lake Forest, which just happens to have the best California burrito north of San Diego.

*That same year, two men were shot to death outside Taquería Zamora in SanTana, which just happens to be my go-to Mexican restaurant for meetings.

*A month before that murder, someone got killed in the parking lot of Taquería Tapatía, which just happens to have the best 2 a.m. burrito in Orange County that's not Albatros' California burrito.

*In 2010, a man got killed inside Panadería La Chapina, one of the few Guatemalan eateries left in Orange County. Yeah, Guatemalan isn't Mexican, but roll with me here...

We don't believe in murder of any kind 'round here, of course, but why do these pendejos have to kill outside the best spots, thereby scaring people away? Then again, Albatros and Taquería Zamora are as packed as they've always been, proving that people are more than willing to brave possible murders and inevitable fights for some good Mexican food. Story of its life, alas...

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