NEWS: Scott Ian's Food Coma: Orange Curtain

CULTURE: Scott Ian's Food Coma: Orange Curtain

There aren’t many things that can get me to drive south of LA down to Orange County, California. Those of us snobs that live in the city call it driving behind the Orange Curtain. I’m not dissing OC from a place of ignorance, either; I lived in Huntington Beach for eight years. I escaped in 1998 and I’ve never been back. No offense to HB, it’s just not this city boy’s style.

So what got me down there last weekend?

My band Anthrax was opening for Iron Maiden two nights at Irvine Meadows, now corporately named Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. It was an insane weekend of metal. Over 30,000 metal maniacs losing their minds for us, and of course Maiden. It really brought me back to the late '80s and early '90s when we toured the world many times with the kings of metal. I’ve gotta give it up to the OC, San Diego county, Inland Empire and LA freaks. The shows more than made up for having to stay in the vortex that is known as The Block in Orange.

The Block is one of these pre-fab outdoor shopping malls with an edge! This ain’t your daddy’s outdoor mall. It’s a one-stop shop for all your No Fear and Oakley needs. I will say, on the positive side, the Vans skate park is sick and I can’t even imagine having something like that down the street from my house when I was a kid.

We were staying at the Doubletree Hotel there (free cookies!) and food wise we were at the mercy of the hotel kitchen or the Block's fine food establishments. When we got back to the hotel at 11:30 PM after the Friday night show, the room service was already closed. Luckily a bunch of my poker buddies that flew in for the show were staying at the Doubletree as well and they picked up fifteen double-doubles from In-N-Out on their way back from the concert. If you’re not familiar with the west coast's finest burgers, In-N-Out are the shit. And at 1:00 AM hungry, drunk and basking in the post-show glory they were a lifesaver. I know people will argue ‘til the end of time over the best burger, everyone has their favorite. I will state as fact that as far as chains go, In-N-Out crushes everything in its path like Cthulhu.

The next day a bunch of us headed over to the Block to check out the culinary offerings.

The first place we saw was a brewery/restaurant called Alcatraz Brewing Co. My hopes of it being a restaurant based on the early '80s band with Yngwie Malmsteen were quickly dashed by its jail themed exterior. I should’ve known by the one Z in Alcatraz as well. Damn!

I’ll never understand a jail themed restaurant. Who wants to eat in jail? Does jail scream good eatin’? How do these places get backing? Who pitches that?

Alcatraz idea guy: We’ll build a place that looks like a jail and it will be fun for the whole family!

Guy with too much money: Sold in the room!!!

I refuse to make a tossed salad joke.

We skipped the Jailery and walked around in the too-bright heat surrounded by Quizno’s and Krispy Kreme and Johnny Rocket’s and Cinnabon and Carl’s Jr. etc, etc. At this point I was nauseous from the heat and from getting accosted by some teenage sales girls at the Hot Topic-esque store asking me if I was “the singer.” What kind of question is that? Not are you the singer of [insert any band name here]? Just, “are you the singer?”

Our attempt at finding something to eat was a failure and I decided I would just wait and eat at the venue as the catering was pretty good.
Luck was with me again because when I got to the venue it turns out that my friend Gary Notley who is a professional BBQ chef (his company is called Notley Que) brought enough pulled pork for a small army. The Metal Gods were looking out for me!! BBQ and Metal, a match made in Hell.
Sadly after the show Saturday night we didn’t get another In-N-Out delivery so we just drank. And drank. And drank and sang Maiden songs ‘til the sun came up.

Up the Irons!!

Scott

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Damn man, I wish you were opening for Maiden here in Cleveland this week! Or wait, are you?

In 'N Out.

The greatest burger chain on the fucking planet.

Period.

In 'N Out are good... true... but come on.

FATBURGER!!!

On the char... In N out can't touch that with a 10' stick.

as a former OC resident myself, i must say the food options down there have always been poor. but damn, an Alcatraz Brewing Co? i bet it had a menu full of ridiculous jail-themed meals to go with the decor...

I've never had In 'N Out burgers, but from living in Colorado for four years, that's all my friends from Cali told me about. We'd hit a Carl's Jr. or a Wendy's or another nameless, faceless burger joint, and I'd hear "This just doesn't compare to In 'N Out."

Four years of hearing that from them has me curious, to say the least.

I saw that Iron Maiden show when they came up to washington. That was a great fucking show. Too bad you didn't open.

In and Out is pretty fucking good. I mean..fuck it's really damn good. I'm a big fan of Dick's as well.

C'mon guys. Bring on the Dick jokes, but only you Seattle-people know that one.

"In-N-Out crushes everything in its path like Cthulhu."

You mentioned Cthulu, therefor you are one of the coolest fuckers on the planet.

Cthulu For President, wht settle for the lesser evil.

Pulled pork is pretty godly. I will agree with you on that idea of a jail eatery. I would ask them for their finest pruno.

yum. or the tasty toilet merlot...

Back in '89 at the Providence Civic Center, You and Maiden were my first concert. ^_^ I'm going to be seeing Maiden in a few weeks, it's a crying shame you gents won't be on the bill too. Great to know you guys are still playing together somewhere tho'. (If you did play the gig, I would insist you brought the Persistence of Time stage-prop clock with you. If we are going to relive the 80's, we might as well go all the way with it.)

You're wrong.

I came in here prepared to be disappointed that you weren't going to be talking about Taco Mesa. And I was.

You don't get good Mexican in the Pacific Northwest. Taco Mesa might be the only thing that could get me back to Orange County.

Uh...what?

I don't know where you're eating, although, up in Vantucky, I'll grant you, your choices are limited. If you get out of the city into the 'burbs - where the Mexicans live, with their hundreds-of-years-old family recipes served up in their hole-in-the-wall restaurants - it's the best, most authentic comida Mexicana you'll find this side of the border. Like, some straight outta' Abuelita's kitchen type shit. Incredible.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

I was there.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

I was so there. The new singer is exceptional.

I had my first In-N-Out burger Saturday morning after the first Irvine show. They are definitely superior to the Arches, Checkers and Wendy's.

I've never tasted an In 'n' Out burger, though my sister raved about them when she lived down in Phoenix.

I CAN tell you the worst burger I've had, though, from a national/regional chain:
Whataburger

More like Not-A-Burger! Greasy meat that disintegrated the bun after a small bite and a look of disappointment in my $5 investment.

I find the best burgers tend to come from Mom & Pop local-type establishments. Anyone who's traveled through the Tacoma WA area knows all about Frisko Freeze. Just south of there in Lakewood, where I live for the summer, is a new diner called "Breakfast At Tiffany's" that serves breakfast & lunch. Their Teriyaki Burger is hands-down the best I've had, and being able to grab it at 7AM after working a 12-hour nightshift only adds to the experience.

Were you actually going to recommend a place, or just brag about these mythical Northwest Mexicans?

Based on his comment, I'm not sure I believe he's had proper Mexican food.

damn i want a burger now

YES. Their salmon tacos=heaven.

I do love In-n-Out, for the record, but they always give me wicked heartburn.

In N Out = What McDonalds cheeseburgers should be.
Fatburger = What Burger King Whoppers should be.

It's all about asking for them on the char. Sweet pickle relish AND dill pickle chips, on the same bun.

To be fair though, I always get a turkey burger on the char... maybe that's why they're so much better then any other burger for sale?

I'm ashamed that no one from the Seattle area hasn't mentioned "Dick's". Good cheap burgers, greasy fries and killer shakes.

Someone did, and I'll agree they're good, but in a completely different way than In-N-Out.

You're not even talking about a real hamburger! The only answer other than In-N-Out that I might possibly accept is Tommy's, but I prefer their chili dogs.

I've eaten Dick's many times with fine members of this website.