Craft by Smoke and Fire: A Great BBQ Spot in Anaheim
As soon as we finished exploring The Getty, we hopped right in the car and headed for San Diego. It's a three-hour drive, so we were making good time, but the babies needed to eat, so we decided to stop in Anaheim for dinner. Actually, we were supposed to eat in LA, but the couple we were with spent over 30 minutes searching Google for a highly-rated place, and we ended up all the way in Anaheim. If we were in Korea, they would have gotten an earful, but since we're in the US, I just waited patiently, American style.
The place they spent 30 minutes looking for was a restaurant called Craft by Smoke and Fire, which specializes in BBQ. Since today was the last day of 2023, most places were closed, so we didn't have much of a choice but to come here anyway.
Parking is free for an hour and a half. The restaurant doesn't have its own dedicated parking lot; you just park on the street out front. In most American cities, people park on the street rather than in separate lots, and you always have to check the signs to see if it's free or paid and what the rates are.
Maybe because it was the end of the year, the place was packed, but everyone seemed very relaxed. It's a sports pub, so they had NFL games playing on the TVs, but hardly anyone was watching because they were all busy talking to each other. Americans sure love to talk, so the restaurant was definitely louder than places in Korea. There was a constant buzzing sound echoing through the room.
My friend handled the ordering, so I don't know exactly what we got, but we had tacos, a platter, broccoli, and some drinks. The prices were quite high, so I told them I would've been fine just eating ramen, but it seemed like they wanted to splurge a bit since it was the holidays and they had guests.
The taste wasn't much different from the BBQ joints I've been to in Itaewon (an international district in Seoul). The meat felt like it was melting in my mouth—maybe they slow-cooked it longer, or maybe the meat itself was just that tender. Unlike in Korea where tacos often use hard shells, these used a soft flatbread like naan. I know "naan" is the Indian term and there's probably a specific Mexican name for it, but I'm not sure what it is. It's not a fancy place, but given the somewhat high price point, the food is pretty good. It's definitely good enough to visit again. I'd say it's worth stopping by if you're visiting Disneyland in Anaheim, though I'm a bit cautious to fully recommend it since I haven't tried other restaurants in the area. We left about an 18% tip.
One unique thing was that since we had two kids with us, they gave them colored pencils and paper to draw and play with, and there was a separate kids' menu. Most American restaurants seem to operate this way, which I found fascinating every time I saw it.
After eating, we got back in the car to head to San Diego, but my jet lag really hit me. I was planning to sit in the front and chat a bit, but I completely passed out. They say traveling east is harder, and it's true—I had no issues going to Europe, but coming to the US, the time difference already has me in a daze.
