Loco for Tacos

Laguna Beach, CA

August 26, 2006

Although just six miles south of Corona Del Mar, Laguna Beach offers a completely different scene. This active town and tourist destination is also a well known artist community. Laguna showcases various artistic festivities throughout the year including the summer long Festival of the Arts, staged in a six-acre canyon park near the ocean. A tradition since 1932, more than 140 juried artists exhibit and sell every medium imaginalable.

During this arts festival Pageant of the Masters is one of the hottest tickets in town. Performed in an outdoor amphitheater with an orchestra it’s ninety minutes of "living pictures" - where artists are faithful to re-creations of classical and contemporary works with real people posing to look exactly like their counterparts in the original pieces.

Since we weren't able to nab tickets (they sell out six months in advance), we navigated among the crowds and strolled among the unique galleries (our favorite was Xanadu where everythign from vases, flowers, paintbrushes and exotic animals are carved out of tropical wood and painted), boutiques, and local eateries. Both Tom and I had been there before (me with my Mum last year) so were able to show each other our favorites finds. However, together we discovered Taco Loco, a great hole-in-the wall taco stand. This is not your average taco stand! All of the tables out front--and the Paul Frank stools (a Newport Beach artist) inside--are filled with just-off-the-beach surfers, just-woken-up stoners, and in-the-know locals. The dreadlocked counter guy might interrupt your ordering to sing along with the radio, but he'll be right back with a smile to ask if you want hot salsa on your mahi mahi, spicy lobster, mushroom, tofu, blackened potato, or blackened calamari tacos. Yup! healthy, weird, and delicious.

We walked off our lunch along part of the seven mile beach that makes this OC (Ocean County to those as clueless as I was) paradise worthy of its own TV series. We particularly enjoyed watching the local dudes and dudettes shooting a couple rounds of hoops.