This year's 6 to 6 event at the Orange County Fairgrounds seem to have less vendors both on the…read morefood side and on the product side. The plus side this time around is that they have a completely covered area to eat your food. Picnic benches are laid out with a full awning. Parking is still great. Prices have gone up for both the tickets and parking so be prepared to pay $15 for parking and $15 to get inside. Services dependent on what vendor you buy your food from some will accommodate the request and others will not. Of course if there's no accommodation to the customer, they've lost my business.

I've been to the 626 Night Markets in Arcadia, San Diego, and Costa Mesa. The 626 in Costa Mesa…read moreused to be my clear favorite out of the three. I liked that the weather was nicer in Costa Mesa than in Arcadia. I liked that there were more food vendors in Costa Mesa compared to the one in San Diego. Now, I'm not so sure if the Costa Mesa 626 is any better than the other two. I went there this past weekend and was disappointed with my experience. The weather was great as expected, BUT there weren't as many food vendors this year compared to the year before. It looked like an entire row of food vendors was missing. In their place were additional street vendors hawking crap that I don't need. Honestly, I expected more from the 626 given that the entrance fee was significantly more than in previous years ($18 per person). Anyway, I made the best of the situation by hitting up my favorite vendors including Pink Mango (their mango sticky rice is epic), Etoile Filante Patisserie (their macarons are both cute and delicious), and a place that sells tanghulu (candied fruits such as strawberries and grapes on skewers). Hopefully, the one in Arcadia in June will have more food vendors participating in the event. It's not going to be fun to go out there in the extreme heat, only to find out that the options are limited.

Orange Coast magazine and the Balboa Village Merchant Association sponsored the 2022 Balboa Craft…read moreBeer Festival! Hayley H., our awesome local community manager, was kind enough to score me two tickets to this really fun event. Down on the Balboa peninsula, the focus was on, yes, beer and Balboa. Most of the business tents were from that area and they had lots of beer, mixed in with seltzers, tasty hand foods and killer live music. Parking was actually easy and cheap in the public beach lot and they lucked out with perfect weather. 70 degrees is optimum outdoor drinking weather. They even had a booth offering suntan lotion samples for those exposed spots. Helmsman Alehouse had the best beer. Ashland had the best hard seltzer. Harborside had the best food for their aji nachos. They had jenga and corn hole games, high top tables and picnic benches to keep things spread out and enough shade mixed in to be comfy. Friendly staff and a great way to get a taste of the local community. Thanks, Hayley!

Was lucky enough to attend the Balboa Craft Beer Festival last weekend and was blown away by this…read moreevent! For starters I can't think of much better ways to spend a Saturday than tasting beers and seltzers, sampling food from local restaurants, and listening to amazing music all right next to the ocean. All of the vendors were local around the Orange County and LA area, and I feel like I was able to discover so many new beers and seltzers! All of the vendors were so kind and I loved being able to learn more about the story of each of the breweries. The sample sizes were also very generous, which I wasn't expecting especially since it was unlimited tastings! The food was also phenomenal as well. There was a great mix between sweet and savory items. Sanchos tacos were serving out carnitas tacos, and I think I had one of the best fried chicken sandwiches I've ever had from one of the vendors. It was hard to pace ourselves, as we hit a point where we felt we couldn't eat or drink anymore! There were plenty of tables and chairs though, so when we did need a break we could just listen to the band playing. I absolutely loved this event, and am already telling friends and family about it for next year! It was the perfect size in that it was busy, but you spent more time enjoying everything rather than standing in long lines. I'll definitely be back!

Best farmers market ever! Great music, lovely ambience, and super friendly service. You can sample…read moreeverything, and the fresh eggs, apples, and seasonal produce are unbeatable.

I haven't been here since COVID and was so happy to hear that it has been back in full force! Years…read moreago, my favorites were Mama Musubi, the fresh juice place, and the guy who sold pecan granola! The size of the rice balls at Mama Musubi shrank, but I understand why in this awful economy that doesn't do much for small businesses. They were still yummy. The fresh juice place is still there, and I love their red juice that includes beets! It went up from $5 to $8. I still had to get it because it's so good. The granola guy wasn't there, but there was a lady selling granola. Small bag for $12, but I still bought it, and it tastes good with my yogurt. The handmade bagels are good. I just won't buy too many because they are super dense. Eating half is like eating one regular bagel. The rosemary salt and blueberry ones were my favorite. But everything bagel had already sold out by the time I got to him which was before 11 AM! The star of the show is the Belgian style fries! They are so heavenly--I can't even. They are just...I'm going to be dreaming about them for a week. I'm so glad I got the medium instead of the small. I don't know what they do to them; I didn't read the sign, but man are they delicious. They come really cute in a cone-paper that looks like newspaper. I will get these every time. The macarons are tasty and super cute. Only $2.50 for a regular one and $3.50 for a decorative one. Very reasonable prices. The Italian ice was super tiny and cost $7. It was tasty, but I can't afford that price for such a tiny amount. It looked smaller than a kid size and super sweet. The girl working was super friendly and nice. The owner didn't even bother to say hello at all. Bizarre. I will be coming back to this farmers market when I can. The parking is atrociously horrendous, so be prepared for that. Bring your own bags or a rolling cart. You will find a lot of treasures. We didn't even go through the veggies and eggs. There's lots to see and sample. I need to go back to buy some pies. They sometimes charge a transaction fee for using a card, so bring cash.

Visiting Surf City Nights is one of my favorite Huntington Beach outings…read more This downtown farmers market happens every Tuesday. The street fills up with up unique businesses from all over Southern California. You'll find vendors selling products like sea moss, veggies, fresh tea, pet treats, baked goods, fruits and nuts, etc. There's also several food vendors on-site serving everything from dumplings to empanadas. It's hard not to spend all your money here! Some of my favorite items I've grabbed include the turmeric honey, the pistachio chai tea mix, and a variety of the dried fruit. Each of these items helps make my week more exciting while working from home. There's also a variety of live artists placed throughout the street. I've always been floored by the family-run rock band that plays 70s, 80s, and 90s tribute songs. Overall a great way to spend your Tuesday and stock up on some unique goodies for the week ahead!

I like their produce! Usually I buy vegetables which are large, reasonable, and last weeks in my…read morefridge compared to days in the grocery store! I grab a slider at Burt's, walk to the cinnamon almonds for dessert, and every so often buy the eggs. Say hi when you get the fruit.

Southern California produces some of the most gorgeous days for farmers markets and Laguna Beach…read moredoes not disappoint. I would say the only caveat is the parking there is a lot of street parking but if you don't get there super early, you will have to park away. We recommend either taking a wagon or your own shopping canvas bags. I always carry mine. They've got some of the best olive oil oils the best baked goods produce beyond compare such great produce really I just love it. It's a smaller type farmers market, but they have everything that you need. I found some of the yummiest granola's and of course West Coast olive oil is one of my favorites. They even have a homemade doggy treat person that makes yummy products for your pet I also love to hang fresh eucalyptus leaves in my shower and they have some of the fresh eucalyptus bunches. And of course, delicious mango honey.

Such a cute farmers market with so many great vendors! We got fresh picked strawberries for $5. We…read morealso stopped at the vegan guy at the front and bought hummus, garlic pita, and he gave us a free mushroom entree! So amazing. Highly recommend stopping by

One of the most interesting festivals I've been to yet. This review is probably best seen in…read morepictures, so you should check out the pics i posted of the festival! GATES OF ANATOLIA They built all the gates of Anatolia, and it was amazing to see characters from each era greeting you as well. Took a lot of pictures of the characters, and they are super nice. Food was amazing at the festival. LAHMAJOUN Love the lemon infused meats in their food. The round breaded ones were delicious. Came with a yogurt dip that I devoured. SOUPS: LENTIL and TARHANA[?] The green lentil soup was disappointing. Tasted grainy and the beans were not very well pureed. Much better in Turkey. The tarhana [sp?] was delicious. It was like a spicy minestrone, and we loved it. GYROS / SHAWARMA The line for this was super long but worth the wait. Meat was tender and flavorful. Comes with a plate with fresh veggies and onion salad. CHICKEN MEATBALLS Sandwich with two pieces of chicken meatballs. The meat was flavorful and delicious. They are from a restaurant here in Orange County. TURKISH RAVIOLI Too filling for me, but it was pretty good. Pasta isn't my thing, so I just wanted to try it. They use a cream sauce, and top it off with a red sauce on top. RICE PUDDING My favorite of all the things I had here. Simple rice pudding with cinnamon. BAKLAVA / PISTACHIO DESSERTS The dessert stations were great. The baklava was quite good and fresh. The prices are a bit steep, but we shared a combo of 4 pieces for $5. AYRAN Turkish yogurt drink. They had it coming out of the fountain so that was quite interesting. Didn't taste as good as in Turkey, but it was ok. Little too salty for me to finish the whole cup. STICKY ICE CREAM I regret not getting this. The line was INSANE and everyone was walking around with a cone. WHIRLING DERVISHES I really wanted to watch the performance, but they dragged on the performances for a good half hour, and I was freezing, so we left before the dervishes came out. Next year.

My friend sent me an invite to this festival and was pretty curious about it. I've always been…read moreinterested in other cultures and I figured this was a great way to see what Turkey's all about. The big draw was the different kinds of food available. Let's be honest, that's the real reason I went. So I could be a fatty and try all the things I saw on No Reservations. The festival itself was pretty cute in a corny way. Walking in, there were people dressed up in costumes welcoming us in. We went through Rome and Greece and a bunch of other places. They even had the Trojan Horse. A+ for really going the whole way with submerging visitors in the culture. They had replicas of other cities which were informative and educational. As for the Bazaar, I was extremely disappointed by it. It was very lackluster. From the website, they made it sound like it was going to a real Bazaar but it was just a few stands selling knick knacks. I wanted more variety to buy useless things. Isn't that what you go to a Bazaar for? They didn't have anything interesting that I wanted to buy. The coffee area was also a disappointment. It's a place for you to sit and hangout and drink coffee but they were just serving coffee and bottled drinks. If you're going to have a section like this, at least get a full barista and really make money off it. The food was the real winner. Thank God! I would've been uber disappointed if the food sucked too. They had lots of different stands selling everything from kabobs, sandwiches, pastries, small dishes, etc. I loved it! They had things I've never tried before like turkish ravioli, a yummy wrap filled with ground chicken and a tortilla filled with spinach and feta.

Baker Street Bash is the best! We all look forward to kicking off Summer at this festival. Packed…read morewith cool rides, lots of live music, great brews and bartenders at the beer garden, and best of all the food (provided by members of the parish and school) is all fresh made and awesome. They even have thai tea, blended mochas, and boba in the hot afternoon and fresh made funnel cakes for dessert each night!

This festival rocks! If you are looking for some local family friendly fun look no further. They…read morehave amazing food including authentic Mexican, Vietnamese, Filippino as well as burgers, dogs, grilled corn and funnel cakes. Rides are perfect and adult beverages available. Enjoy while listening to local live music. Costa Mesa Gem!

I've been to enough similar events to have reasonable expectations and be disappointed by this…read moreevent. It was still fun, but improvements are needed to make this the great event it has the potential to be. There are so many things right about this event. It's in a unique and fun location (Tustin Hangar where they used to house blimps). There are dozens and dozens of vendors and room for even more. On paper, it sounds pretty perfect. In reality, the event space was incredibly dark and a significant portion of the lights were out for part of the night (music disappeared too, so probably a power issue). Mood lighting is great, but you shouldn't have to get your face right up to the bottles of wine or plates of food to figure out what is being offered. Some areas had better lighting than others, but they really need to get lighting everywhere. Tea light candles don't cut it. The other major issue was that so many vendors packed up and left before the first or second hour. So if you passed something earlier thinking you'd go back and try it later, too bad! Props to Fresh Brothers and Piadina for having food up until the end of the event. With an event this large, it's just not possible to do it all within an hour (at least not if you want to enjoy it), so it's terrible that some restaurants were gone before an hour had passed. If you are thinking of purchasing a ticket, let this serve as a warning so you will be prepared and not disappointed as I was. It's still a good event, but it has so much more potential.

Awesome event! They had tons of food and drinks and this was all inside of the Tustin Hangar. I've…read moreheard of the building several times but have never had the chance to actually go inside. It is my understanding that they used to house blimps inside of this building. Such a unique and interesting venue! I was very surprised with how organized this food festival actually was. I've been to a few food walks/festivals and they've always been so cluttered. They did an amazing job with organization. As soon as you enter they had several workers handing out wine glasses with the cutest Tustin Food and Wine logo on it. This would be your glass for most, if not all, of the tastings. Each vendor provided water for you to rinse out your glass with before a new taste. Most of the food was to the right side of the room and the alcohol to the left side of the room. Although it is titled a food and wine festival, they had such a wide variety of food and alcohol. They were serving everything from wine and beer to sake bombs and shots of bourbon. As for food vendors they had plenty of options. They were serving poke, clam chowder, indian food, and so much more. Expect to be full 15 minutes in. The only critique I truly have for this event is the lighting. I think they were going for a darker ambiance but it was very difficult to read the vendors signs or even see what they were serving. It was so hard to take any photos or videos. All in all, it was a great event. I could definitely see myself coming back next year. If you get a chance to go, come with an empty stomach and comfortable shoes.

This is a typical standup market that has some organic produce but not truly local and not all…read moreorganic. It's worth a stop and see if you can supplement your food with farm fresh from the four stands among the twenty that sell produce and eggs

It's both the biggest and the best farmers market. I've been to in Orange County…read more Your review needs to be at least 85 characters.

Had a wonderful time at Hana Field by Tanaka Farms with my family!…read more The strawberry picking was a lot of fun, and the strawberries were fresh, sweet, and delicious. My kids were so excited and loved eating strawberries right from the field. The flower fields were also beautiful, especially the lavender and sunflowers, making it a great place for family photos and a relaxing outdoor experience. The only downside was that the strawberry picking session was limited to 15 minutes. It felt a little rushed, especially for families with young children who like to take their time exploring and picking strawberries. We wished we had a few more minutes to enjoy the experience. Other than that, everything was well organized, and the staff was friendly. My kids had a fantastic time and were already asking to come back again. Overall, it's a fun family activity and a beautiful place to spend a few hours outdoors. Just be prepared to move quickly during the strawberry picking portion! Would definitely visit again for the flowers, family fun, and fresh strawberries! Free parking!

Spent a lovely afternoon with friends roaming through the flowers and strawberry fields of Hana…read moreField! I've always wanted to come up and visit the field since I saw it on Instagram, and when my friend said let's go, how could I not say no?! While my friend had won a giveaway to the field, we could confirm if you paid for the strawberry baskets and flowers, it was absolutely worth it all! I've never had strawberries this amazing. You were able to snack on strawberries in the field while you picked. You had about 15-20 min to pick and the fields are huge! We had so much fun walking through and choosing our own berries. I appreciate how knowledgeable the guide was since I do have my own garden at home and he gave me some great advice when I make the attempt to grow strawberries again. The lavender and flower fields are beautiful and we loved the options we were able to select what we wanted. The barn was so fun to go through, and my husband purchased feed cups and we had so much fun. Some of the animals are a little pushy, but no surprises. They were all so cute and nice to pet as well. The market was a great place to pick up some amazing souvenirs and locally made goodies! The sweet bread did not last very long at home and the jam is so good!