Hans’ Homemade Ice Cream

Hans’ Homemade Ice Cream
440 S Anaheim Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92805
714-520-0445

Hans’ Homemade Ice Cream near the South Coast Plaza has been on my bucketlist of places to try since 2011.  But, since it is in the disgusting Orange County and their pretentious jerk people, I wasn't in a rush to get there.  When, I found out that they opened a location in the Anaheim Packing House, I rushed down there, since it is close by and Anaheim isn't as bad as going near the South Coast Plaza.

Originally, I had planned just to go to Hans' for ice cream.  But, it was near dinner time and I saw The Chippy Fish & Grill, so I had dinner there first and then stopped in for dessert!  When I left to go to my car, I saw a sign that said no pictures are allowed inside the Packing House!!  Really?  In this day and age of social media, a popular place doesn't want people taking pictures?  Give me a break! Who the hell is managing this facility?  On Yelp, Hans has 22 PAGES of pictures!!

Double scoop with pistachio almond and rocky road, $5.75.  I like chocolate and ice cream with almonds and pistachio.  I liked the fact that this ice cream had a ton of nuts in both flavors.  Not skimping on the nuts.  But, overall the ice cream is good, not great, certainly not worth a drive to Santa Ana.  I think Fosselman's is better and I'm not a huge fan of Fosselman's.

Service is good.

I'm glad I finally checked off Hans' from my bucketlist!  I don't need to waste my money or driving into the deplorable Orange County for this ice cream.

The Chippy Fish & Grill

The Chippy Fish & Grill
440 S Anaheim Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92805
714-603-7865

Located in the Packing House and across the complex from Umami Burger, is The Chippy Fish & Grill.  They are in the main Packing House, which is really a mall food court on steroids.  They are all kinds of food inside the Packing House.  It can be very busy and parking is a nightmare!

I originally went to the Packing House to go to Hans’ Homemade Ice Cream, so I didn't want to order a ton of food.  So, I only got a piece of fish and shrimp.  I skipped the fries!

Cod fish, $3.35 and jumbo shrimp, $1.99.  My tastes buds have evolved, so now I can tell if fried fish and shrimp, is frozen or made fresh.  Without a doubt this is from a frozen batch.  While the batter for the cod was light and there were a lot of cod, it was way too oily and greasy.  I'm guessing the frozen fish was placed into the oil before the oil was hot enough.  The jumbo shrimp was huge, frozen but for some reason not nearly as oily as the fish.  This was fine, and actually a good price for the size of the shrimp.

Service was OK.  The cashier knew his stuff.  There have been so many times when I've asked what kind of fish they used for the fish and chips, and the person had no clue.  That is bad training by the management.  When I got my food, the guy was ok, but he could have said sauces are over to the right.  Instead he just gave me my order.  I would think management would tell him to tell customers, many like me we are first timers, that the sauces are on the end of the counter. 

I wouldn't go back to The Chippy.  Frozen, greasy fish?  No thanks!

Umami Burger - Anaheim- Closed

Umami Burger
338 S Anaheim Blvd
Anaheim, CA 92805
714-991-8626

I recently found out about the Impossible Burger, a 100% plant based burger that is suppose to taste just like beef, and it bleeds too!  I guess after a ton of research and money spent to finding a plant based burger that tastes like meat, the Impossible people found that heme is the key ingredient for the burger.  In the back of my mind, I'm thinking this is engineered food, you know the GMO's that has every company putting Non GMO on their labels.  Something that came out of a science lab! 

Now, I'm not a fan of fake meats!  I'll try it but if I wanted to eat meat I would just eat meat.  I understand some restaurants are trying to attract people who maybe trying to eat healthy or if they are a vegetarian restaurant they will want to offer something to appeal to the meat eater in the group. 

I've tried the veggie burger made with mushrooms and edamame patty, at the Umami in Costa Mesa and it was terrible. I noticed that they have replaced that veggie burger with a falafel veggie burger. Umami burgers are not vegetarian or vegan.  They use a fish sauce in all their burgers, thus making it pescatarian.  I have heard they use that fish sauce in the ketchup, but I can't confirm that.  The bun contains eggs, which would prevent vegans from eating.  They do not have diary-free cheese. But, they can make a vegan Impossible Burger.

Impossible burger $16, two Impossible Burger patties, caramelized onions, American cheese, miso-mustard, house spread, dill pickles, lettuce, tomato.  The patties did taste a lot like beef, but there was a weird texture to the patty.  A bit chewy and even if I didn't know this was a plant-based burger before, the first bite would have told me it wasn't a meat burger.  It's ok, nothing great and I certainly don't think it's worth the price.

Service is ok.The hostess was nice, but when I walked in there were plenty of tables open but she went off to set up table and didn't come back for a few minutes.  Then a guy, who turned out to be my server, asked how many, and I was seated right away.  WTF was that hostess doing??  The server was nice, friendly, knowledgeable about the mean, and really helpful.  When I ordered the Impossible Burger, he told me it is not vegetarian or vegan.  Since, I'm pescatarian, I was fine with that.  But, many servers have no idea about the menu.  That's very poor training on the part of the management!  Have the chefs tell the servers what is in the dishes!  I don't care if the servers don't remember all the ingredients, and they need a "cheat sheet," just give me the damn correct information.

I only went to Umami to try the Impossible Burger.  I won't return to either Umami or give the Impossible Burger another try.

Pepz Pizza and Eatery

Pepz Pizza and Eatery
726 S State College Blvd
714-991-9900

I have known about Pepz Pizza and Eatery for a few years but never made an effort to give them a try, mostly because they are behind the Orange Curtain. But, I was in the mood for some broasted chicken and decided to give Pepz a try.

If the building for Pepz Pizza and Eatery looks familiar, it should, it used to be Zito's Pizza, which I reviewed in 2006.

Pepz Pizza and Eatery was started by two brothers and the name, Pepz, is a combination of pepperoni, pep, and pizza. There are six location, all behind the Orange Curtain. They have a pretty extensive menu, including pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salads, and broasted chicken.

A friend had a coupon for eight pieces of chicken, 3/4 lb of potatoes, and a medium one topping pizza for $26.12 with tax. Not a bad deal. So we got a half pepperoni and half sausage pizza.



The menu price of a one topping pizza is $12.49 + $1.25 per topping. The This was one of the best sausage pizzas I've had in a long time. Full of flavor, with good quality meats and spices the sausage was the highlight of this pizza. The crust was pretty good, a medium thickness, crust that held up to the large amount of cheese and toppings on the pizza.

The cheese was piled high and was gooey, a bit greasy, but overall pretty good.

The pepperoni was standard pepperoni. Nothing outstanding or bad about it.




Regular price for broasted chicken with 3/4 lb. of potatoes is $14.49. The chicken, I only had the breast piece, was dry on the inside. But, the skin was much different than skin from broasted chicken I've had before. It tasted more like regular deep fried chicken. I was looking forward to broasted chicken but I got either a bad example or regular fried chicken.

Service is good. The people there are nice and friendly.

I would go back to Pepz Pizza and Eatery for the sausage pizza, but I wouldn't order broasted chicken again.

Papa Hassan's Grill-Closed

Papa Hassan's Grill
882 S Brookhurst St
Anaheim
714-533-7338

Papa Hassan's used to be in Orange, near Chapman University. But, a fire destroyed the original location. The owners thought about rebuilding, but the university would to only extend to the lease for a few years, thus making rebuilding a bad business idea.

So about a year goes by and Papa Hassan's Grill opens up in Anaheim in late 2011, right next door to the Sizzler that was reviewed by The New Diner in 2009.

I never went to Papa Hassan's in Orange, but people who have told me Papa Hassan's Grill is a more casual place; you order at the counter and they bring the food to you.

The location is a bit different too. Right across the street is a strip club. The parking lot is very dark. The area won't make any postcards, any time soon.

The restaurant is fairly small and the many fans have made the trek down from Orange. The place was packed the night I ate here. There is seating for about 25 people.

I ordered the chicken kebob plate that included salad, rice, and pita bread, $11.95.



The salad was pretty standard, with iceberg and romaine lettuce, cucumbers, a slice of tomato, and pita chips. The lettuce wasn't that fresh, but it was ok. Nothing exciting or memorable about this salad.



The chicken kebob came with onions and green peppers. Though some parts were too charred, the chicken was moist and tender. But, it lack a lot of flavor, it was too bland. They needed to add more seasoning to the chicken. The portion size was good and the rice was cooked perfectly. But, overall I would have to say I wasn't impressed with the chicken.

Service was friendly, but kind understaffed. The person who took my order is the owner, I believe. He was trying to get orders out and take my order and wasn't doing a good job. I was waiting at the counter for about 5 minutes while he got the orders out. He should hire a cashier, who's many responsibility is to take orders. When I placed my order, I wanted to dine in but all the tables were taken. He left and went to the back. I had no idea what was happening, until he brought a table and chair out. That's great he got a table for me, but at least tell me what you're doing so you don't leave me hanging. My food came quickly, though I had to go up and ask for silverware.

Maybe the food has changed since moving from Orange, but I don't see the hype for Papa Hassan's. I won't return.