Best of Shopping
A global marketplace on the streets of Orange County
Multi-Culti Shopping Adventure
For our money, nothing thrills like a stroll through the grocery stores and spice markets of Little Saigon. We fondly recall the day a few years ago when a clerk lost control of a live eel while bagging it for a customer. It slithered out into the aisle as customers guided their carts around it until one of the fishmongers stepped from a backroom with a cleaver and … thwack! Our companion deadpanned: “Now there’s something you won’t see at Ralphs.”
Wine Retailer
Craving a cab franc from Bordeaux? A tempranillo from Spain? Or maybe a muscat blanc from Hungary? You’ll likely find it in the vast and geographically organized wine selection that fills a 3,000-square-foot underground cellar at Hi-Time Wine Cellars. The shop carries more than 10,000 wines from abroad, as well as domestic varieties. 250 Ogle St., Costa Mesa. 949-650-8463. www.hitimewine.net.
Yarn Store
Satisfy your yarn craving at Suzoo’s Wool Works, a brick-and-click store that’s both online and in an industrial space in Costa Mesa. The store is crowded with thousands of lovely skeins—wool, cotton, bamboo, sock yarn, fun fur—in every possible color. You’ll likely leave carrying a pink or purple bag o’ fiber, fantasizing about the hand-knit wonders you’ll create. (And to think your fantasies once were about men!) Owner Susan Andreson invites customers to knit on the premises whenever the store ias open. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. 711 W. 17th St., Unit F9, Costa Mesa. 949-574-0005, or toll-free at 877-HKNKNIT. www.suzooswoolworks.com.
Tearoom and Shop
Tea and Sympathy in Costa Mesa has changed owners after 33 years, but the quality remains. Now under the attentive eye of Charlotte Scott, the tearoom offers Cadbury candies, shortbread cookies, and imported tea sets. And for those with a craving for a good, old-fashioned afternoon tea, look no further than the shop’s menu, which features scones, cakes, steak and kidney pie, and even English Devon cream. 369 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa. 949-645-4860. www.teansympathy.com.
Sex Shop
If you’ve always assumed sex shops were for porn zombies, it’s time to visit Condom Revolution, or ConRev, which, since 1993, has been reminding patrons that sex is OK. The flagship store is in Costa Mesa, with other locations in San Clemente and Huntington Beach. ConRev holds its head above the county’s other erotic shops because it’s a homegrown chain, and also because it offers something called a “Sex in a Bucket” gift package. 1777 Newport Blvd. #B, Costa Mesa, 949-646-1967; 17855 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, 714-843-6911; 401 S. El Camino
Art Supply Store
The 24,000-square-foot Sterling Art in Irvine is the go-to place for everything from lightboxes to Belgian linen canvas to DaVinci brushes to Bienfang paper. It’s been around since 1960. The added bonus is the store’s selection of toys, which according to its Web site includes everything from Slinkys to whoopee cushions to Jesus action figures. 18871 Teller Ave., Irvine. 949-553-0101. www.sterlingart.com. Real, Suite D, San Clemente. 949-366-9977.
www.conrev.com.
Beachy Antiques
Fifties beachy antiques don’t get any better than at Aloha Balboa. From chic to unique, Hawaiiana abounds, as does lots of rattan, art pottery, Bakelite, costume and estate jewelry, kitschy lamps, juke boxes, and lots of vintage linens. If you own a ’20s beach cottage or a mid-century home, this shop’s for you. 215 Marine Ave., Balboa Island, Newport Beach. 949-923-8107. www.alohabalboa.com.