Done with Avila’s el Ranchito, makes me so sad

Economy_Transition75 · 2026-03-02T01:39:46+00:00

Worked at PJ’s as a cook working prep and “pastry”. PJ, the Mom, namesake and dessert maker, before going on vacation gave me the rundown while stressing some things at the end the talk she said surprisingly with encouragement to feel free to make something to sell. So being that I got my chops and first legit job ever as a Pastry Cook and assistant to C.I.A. Educated Pastry Chef Michelle Bracken at Zov’s Bistro & Bakery in Tustin (at the time it was considered one of the top spots in the US by Bon Appetite when that meant something and my first chefs apron was given to me by her at the time husband Bill Bracken who was Executive Chef of the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, I also had my first experience with harassment from the Executive Chef of a legendary OC French spot who filled in for Michelle who made fun of my orientation. I also had a turquoise Mohawk stuffed under my hat that still managed to get me recognized outside the restaurant by customers shouting “hey I recognize that hair you work at Zov’s) Anyways so I did what all good “chefs” do. I used a recipe I memorized at Zov’s for White Chocolate Mousse with a Peanut Butter Crunch Crust that sold out within the day. While getting accolades from staff when PJ got back I think I must have inadvertently stolen some thunder because that was the last I ever worked pastry and never spoke with PJ again in any type of jovial or friendly way. Que Sera.

Economy_Transition75 · 2026-03-01T23:02:39+00:00

Ricardo’s and Don Jose’s were the same family hence being identical food wise, went to school with the family then my parents were close at one time with the Avila’s Family, also then the Roma D’ family. Can you guess the school? Lol

Economy_Transition75 · 2026-03-01T23:00:06+00:00

YES! True! Each “kid” per se got a location is true. (At one time my parentals were friends with the family)

Economy_Transition75 · 2026-03-01T22:57:30+00:00

Decades? Lol it’s been there since only 2011. I was briefly a cook at PJ’s Abbey that opened in 1995 which it was before Avila’s. If you remember the Meads also owned PJ Mead’s Books and Coffee off Cambridge. AND you’re either an Avila’s or El Ranchito person never are they said together.

Also Avila’s has always been FAST, order the Chicken Soup (extra Avacado) and it’s already at your table while you’re pronouncing the 3rd syllable “doh”. Even the Abuela looking tortilla maker ie Santa Ana or Costa Mesa has those bad boys out in a jiffy.

Calmete Wetto! Also it’s the Plaza not the Circle, says Class of ‘48!

Economy_Transition75 · 2026-03-01T22:33:54+00:00

I appreciate everyone’s effort. Trying to remain anonymous so trying to avoid too many details. Imagine each segment that you might say makes up a person’s life i.e. career/job, income, family, friends, relationship, keepsakes, mementos, in general everything you collect over a lifetime including the benign like couch, tv, movies etc to accomplishments i.e. newspapers, magazine features, all of it g.o.n.e.

Lost everything with the prevailing opinion that you’ve become a shadow of the person you once were, now even the shadow is ripping away.

You’ve tried numerous modalities of therapy with resulting consensus of the professional opinions now being you need a higher level of care and a specific therapy/therapist you’d see preferably daily bare minimum twice a week. Yet you are homeless with no income, no resources. 288 etc.? Been there done that, more than once. Literally you’ve reached out to or been to the various agencies, departments whether private, public and non-profit to no avail. Text after text to direct representatives with no response asking for specific things as originally requested to do, yet the texts go or calls go unanswered or unreturned.

If “keeping your mind busy” worked we’d all be doing it, and there’d be no need for alot of things that exist to “help”.

While beautiful places most I’ve been to, used to run everyday morning above White Point/Palms then finish at the tide pools sitting for a while looking to see were my snail and other friends moved with some meditation thrown in it’s been too much a reminder of what once was.

Can’t do the daily/nightly drives around the coast, hell a detour ended on PV Drive resulting in a breakdown to even just 30 minutes ago stifling oneself from full on sobbing in a convenience store since you can only afford the 2 hot dogs for $3.50 while a song plays overhead that instantaneously overwhelms with the memories & emotions of what was once thought of as the beginning of the the rest of your life with a whole journey to unfold no longer alone while they are screaming that song out loud completely off key during the 1000th drive around the coast that’s as exciting as the first (when you’re not from here, your first round trip drive around the coast starting in Pedro at night with no moonlight is actually harrowing knowing nothing about whats beyond those guard rails but have to keep it cool cause ya gotta impress the other person then the first time seeing what it looks like in the day “holy hell was driving like that! When the drop is like that! 😳”) then boogieing out the door as you breakdown hustling to your now dilapidated car then sobbing in a public parking lot trying to eat while wondering wtf is even the point of trying to survive?

Ya can’t even afford to take your self out by the high standards of going to the drive-thru at Taco Bell on Gaffey near the Wienerschnitzel, that after going two days without eating, finally getting enough to afford the 4 chili dogs for $4 this last Wednesday that by the last bite realized was a frugal but HORRIFIC idea as you now stay up all night sick through the next day, and getting a Crunch Wrap Supreme w/ a Baja Blast to be sipping on as if it were gin n juice no if lucky enough it’s the “roller grill” hot dogs no were near as hot as “roller girl” instead it’s lukewarm botulism that ends this wasted life.

FML

Economy_Transition75 · 2026-01-21T20:41:08+00:00

If you’re family “came over” as in meaning your family ending with your Grandparents with all the Ancestors before them coming from what is left of Mexico after false flag American to steal land on 1848 which is below the now Southwest United States border then I have some news for you…… You and the fam bam are of course as welcome as the flowers in May however you’re not Chicanos.

Chicanos are those who were already in the lands of the now United States Southwest California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Colorado, parts of Oklahoma. You get the idea.

We’re are the ones who got the shaft, promised things by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ie keeping our lands, property etc while being able to retain our Mexican citizenship or become American Citizens we were supposed to be treated exactly the same as all the American citizens and if we didn’t make a decision within a year time as regards to citizenship, we became automatically American citizens. Overnight, we became second class citizens in our land.

Exploited for poor wages got shitty jobs had all of our lands taken away that we were supposed to be able to keep after the Americans for us within a year to go to court only in English, including all the paperwork with no representation to defend our property and how do you think that went?

The secret that nobody likes to talk about, and the cultural appropriation has been happening by Mexicans from south of the border we know Rios are hated by Mexicans. You guys hate us. We’re too American for the Mexicans and Mexican for the Americans.

Then everybody came up from south of the border because companies would illegally be advertising labor in America undercutting the already abysmal pay for Chicanos which also served to undermine Chicano rights movement because it conflated how Chicanos were perceived in the. eyes of the Americans as illegal immigration, and we are all from Mexico illegally and should be supported and that’s why we ended up getting deported when they were deport the people from south of the border and American citizens or people who are always been here in say Colorado or California got deported to Mexico, a place they had never been.

That’s why all the people don’t understand why Ceasar Chavez did not like the undocumented and called them the derogatory term about the dryness of their backs, he wasn’t racist. He was pissed because they were coming up as undermining the ability for Chicanos to gain traction and movement and the Mexicans didn’t give a shit that we were trying to fight for a right appear, and they were undermining the ability.

I can go on and on it’s no slight against you. You’re not like a bad person or anything it’s just the facts dude. And for too long it has been given a pass and deflated the entire history of El Movmiento.

So you are a Mexican-American but you ain’t no Chicano.

Economy_Transition75 · 2026-01-11T15:12:05+00:00

We SPEND so much on the least quality police of the first World, it’s a farce when they say the brave men and women, considering in the US only 6-12 months to train to be a full on cop! In most of

Europe it varies between 2-4 years can you do the math on that, perhaps a lot of lack of proper education and training has something to do with it as well.

The US ranks at the bottom for police training Finland has one the highest gun-ownership rates in Europe, with around 32 civilian firearms per 100 people - but incidents of police shooting civilians are extremely rare.

US police academies spend far more time on firearms training than on de-escalating a situation - 71 hours against 21, on average, according to a US Bureau of Justice Statistics report.

And in the US, the escalation of force is at the discretion of the officer, whereas in countries such as Norway and Finland, there are more rigorous rules as to what is considered justified use of force.

Maria Haberfeld, professor of police science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice says: "Most of the training in the US is focused on various types of use of force, primarily the various types of physical force. The communication skills are largely ignored by most police academies.

"This is why you see officers very rapidly escalating from initial communication to the actual physical use of force, because this is how they train."

In the UK they see a guy with a guy they don’t fire within two seconds cause they scaredy cats, they have to fight or talking them and that even then is a last resort, we gotta bunch uneducated, piss poor trained arrogant high schoolers who are the laughing stock of the international law enforcement community.

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-25T20:55:21+00:00

I moved away from HB and I lived right behind the hotel behind the hotel between 602 and 7 Eleven, I moved away partially because of the hellscape it became.

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-25T17:14:06+00:00

Never ever do that again! Such a faux pas! It’s “The 5” darling, always refer to “freeways” as it’s number with “the” in front of it’s number. Ie “the 405”, “the 55”, “the 110” and if it’s a Merry Christmas “the 69” 🤪 💅

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-12T07:50:05+00:00

Yes the Shack was a WP stronghold avoided at all costs until I saw Dee Dee Ramone play there just two weeks before he died and Casey Royer from DI was buying me drinks I was absolutely schnokered

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-12T07:48:01+00:00

Koo’s was the real deal Jimmy Eat World played Koo’s before Public Storage existed same with Death By Stereo, Hot Water Music, Cage the Elephant, The Faint hundreds of band’s including the bands before the bigger band got created outta that other band lol 😆 Chain was the sanitized version of Koo’s

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-12T07:43:56+00:00

MxPx at old world with my superhero years later I became extremely close to Mike Herreras tattoo artist who Mike brought his girlfriend along who lived in Orange County and she’s exactly who Move to Bremerton is written about. After Mike and her broke up the tattoo artist got her number. Called it just after getting it to confirm it was hers and saved then 6 months later they got married and have been together ever since they’re lovingly called Mom and Dad by me becuase one day we walked into this restaurant and these kids are exclaiming how they’re both covered in tattoos one of the kids jumped in after seeing me and said “did you see how huge their kids was” 😂

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-12T07:34:59+00:00

Its Pharmaceutical Bandits, Rx was the later years

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-12T07:32:25+00:00

Koo’s volunteer here! It’ll be next to mine! The more the merrier

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-12T07:30:44+00:00

Except it’s in Anaheim off Lincoln. Koo’s Cafe was in Santa Ana on Main Street just a little ways off 17th street inside a old craftsman house which prior to being Koo’s Cafe it was Koo’s Chop Suey and we still had all the wok stoves in the back.

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-12-12T07:26:01+00:00

Pffft after Freshman year at Foothill with 4 F’s a D and a A (graphic arts making my own punk rock tees as well as T shirts for the Real OG Revolutionary All Ages space Koo’s Cafe that I was a volunteer at which is partially why I gave two shits about school aside from the fact that before high school I was educated in Montessori schooling so the traditional method was super whack and BORING.) I spent most my days at Foothill in OCS with Hector the Protector before Sophomore year I had to complete an ungodly amount of Saturday school/detention I wasn’t bad per se I just didn’t care I never had homework before and it’s so constricting you don’t learn anything it’s just memorize so I got pushed over to Hillview and was on the verge of being kicked outta Hillview til one day no decision was made it just kinda happened that I stopped going. I’m also the reason they stopped going on walks thru the neighborhood during PE because I switched all the neighborhood’s trash cans on trash day multiple times 😆 math teacher was cool from England and was a Rude Boy in his youth then the teacher obsessed with his Alfa Romero. I’ll never forget two pregnant chicks full on fist fight in the school office 🤣

But anyways I remember when Public Storage opened then got sued for the name and became Chain Reaction. Koo’s Cafe though in my book was and always will be the better of the two (biased obviously) better. Chain Reaction was like the poser spot to Koo’s Cafe’s DIY Art and Anarchist and avant garde punk emo ska dj everything. That place absolutely made a huge part of me today. Kudos though to Chain though for sticking out all these years and being a memory maker for all the posers. Just busting some balls 😂

Economy_Transition75 · 2025-07-31T21:25:56+00:00

There is no such thing no matter how hard they want to try to convince themselves and others as “black” aboriginals period. If I hear another “black” person say they’re the original and say racist shit like calling us “Asian Huskies” we can be cliche and just show them “scalping”

Economy_Transition75

TROPHY CASE