Very Important Issues

Every couple has that subject where they just agree to disagree; the issue that can never be resolved. For some it’s politics. Others, religion. Others still might argue over their sports team loyalties, or whether they use a Mac or PC. Leonard and I don’t have those issues. Our political and religious views are similar enough, we use the electronics we can afford, and I’m the only sports fan in our household. No, our disagreement is a bit different than those.

Pizza.

Some of the issues we’ve managed to come to terms with. Sure he’d prefer meat pizza, and my all-time favorite is a simple extra cheese pizza, but we have a variety of toppings that we agree on. And if the price is right, we’re not above getting personalized pizzas and enjoying leftovers for a few days. But there’s one issue we cannot agree on, one area where neither of us will give in.

Who has the best pizza in Orange County?

Believe it or not, we manage to agree on quite a few aspects of this issue. We like the same style of pizza; served in a cardboard box, crust thicker than New York, but thinner than Chicago. We even agree on the city with the best pizza, down to the zip code. 92626. Some of you will know that zip code immediately, and will already be thinking of your favorite pizza in Costa Mesa. And some of you, particularly my family members, will agree with me.

Nick’s.

This was the pizza of my childhood. Back then it was a little hole in the wall, barely worth mentioning except for the fact that the pizza tasting a-freaking-mazing. I was a kid, I didn’t appreciate how good it was. Then I went back as an adult. Now it’s a “Restorante Italiano” with a full menu of Italian treats. I stick with the pizza.

On Friday night, Leonard and I split a mushroom and garlic pizza.

I don’t want to say goodbye to this pizza. I want it tonight. I want it this weekend. I want to kick myself for all the nights I deferred to Leonard, and allowed him to pick the pizzeria.

Like I said, we don’t disagree completely. I agree that his favorite pizza is delicious, and he quite enjoys Nick’s.

But seriously? Will San Francisco pizza compare?

It's sure going to be fun finding out!

(pictured below - our actual pizza from Friday night)

All Shook Up

Tonight I said goodbye to the books. Dropped them off with tears in my eyes. In an effort to improve my mood, Leonard and I decided to cross an item off of our Orange County Bucket List.

Parking isn't great in our neighborhood. I'm sure that after we move to the city, we'll look back on our situation fondly, but for now let's just say this. It stinks. The worst is every other Monday, or as I like to call them, Hell Monday. Street sweeping severely limits parking a reasonable distance to the apartment, and often we're forced to park nearly a mile away. Usually in the same spot, in front of a house that features a life sized Elvis statue.

Not too far from our apartment, there's a small strip of old town Garden Grove, maybe a dozen businesses in total. One of these is a restaurant that has a similar Elvis statue. Azteca Mexican Restaurant.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this certainly wasn't it. Elvis was everywhere. We sat in the booth under the Blue Hawaii poster (naturally). We watched Elvis movies, listened to Elvis music, and looked at Elvis pictures. Pictures covered not only the walls, but the ceiling above us.

After years and years of parking by one Elvis statue, and driving by the restaurant, it was nice to see what Azteca was all about. It was a destination worthy of the bucket list, and a must see for any Orange County Elvis fan.