Kathy Cervantes was working as a buyer for Nordstrom when her youngest child was born. When it came time for the baptism celebration, she hired a local taco cook to cater the event. “The presentation was nice, but the food was just OK,” she says. Underwhelmed with the catering, something clicked. 我可以这样做塞万提斯想. And I could do it better.
She started by making food for a friend’s graduation party. Her homemade flour tortillas were a hit, 不久之后, Cervantes had quit her job 和 invested in professional equipment. “The next thing I knew, we were catering parties on yachts 和 events at 迪斯尼乐园 和 加州冒险. We were just everywhere.“很快, 塞万提斯的丈夫, 艺术, left his job to support the business, 和 they started scouting spaces for a restaurant.
The Cervantes family now runs K&餐饮, as well as three successful 阿纳海姆 餐厅: 塞万提斯墨西哥, which focuses on traditional Jalisco dishes with a twist; K&一个咖啡馆, a breakfast 和 lunch spot with killer chilaquiles 和 deep-fried 法国 toast; 和 Cafe 26, 位于 阿纳海姆 Police Department to serve city employees.
“We love 阿纳海姆 because it’s a very tight-knit community,” says Cervantes. “Everybody knows everybody.” After creating a local restaurant dynasty 和 raising five children (now ages 16 through 30), there’s nowhere she’d rather call home. When friends 和 family visit the area, she encourages them to enjoy the laid-back, family-friendly SoCal lifestyle.
Cervantes’ perfect day in 阿纳海姆 might start with a breakfast burrito (“turkey sausage with veggies 和 egg whites”) at K&一个咖啡馆. She advises that no trip to 阿纳海姆 is complete without an afternoon at 迪斯尼乐园 Resort (“the happiest place on earth!”). 不要错过 Downtown Disney District, one of Cervantes’ favorite places to shop. “Anything you can imagine, it’s there,” she says. “There's even an interactive 乐高商店 so kids can sit there 和 build stuff.”
After the sun goes down, Cervantes likes to head to the 包装区, a former Sunkist citrus packing house that the city transformed into a culinary wonderl和. Cervantes’ food-hall favorites include the fried chicken s和wich at 甜美的鸟 和 the classic poutine topped with homemade cheese curds at 的克罗夫特.
She also enjoys an occasional nightcap at 盲兔, a speakeasy inside of the 包装区 that’s ”really cool inside—one of the chairs is a bathtub.” Cervantes recommends ending the evening with a spectacular show. You can drive up to the 阿纳海姆 Hills, although any high spot will do. (Cervantes favors the parking structure next to her restaurant). Every evening at 9 p.m. fireworks from 迪斯尼乐园 fill the sky with sparkling Mickey Mouses 和 bursting hearts.
五个最爱
Here are a few of Cervantes’ favorite places to go 和 things to do in 阿纳海姆.
最好的咖啡: “日本冈山Kobo is a little 日本 bakery 和 their coffee is so 好. I get the hazelnut latte with oat milk 和 the sunrise pastry. It’s kind of like pan dulce, but 日本 style. It’s like eating a cloud.”
独特的购物: “There’s a new eco-friendly store called 现在生态. They have all of these cute little containers to buy 和 you fill them up with any kind of skincare or cleaning products you need.”
镇上的夜晚: “Every three months, Downtown 阿纳海姆 hosts an 艺术爬. Different artists from the area come out 和 you can see people drawing 和 painting live. There’s music 和 swing dancing. 非常有趣.”
Satisfy a sweet tooth: “The House of Chimney Cakes 是必尝的. It’s a Hungarian pastry that cooks on a wooden spool so it turns into a cone. Then they roll it in cinnamon sugar (or whatever you want), fill it with ice cream, 和 top it with fun little toppings.”
当地的历史: “One of the original libraries in 阿纳海姆 is now also a museum called the 阿纳海姆 Heritage Center. It houses all of the history of 阿纳海姆—you will learn a lot about oranges!”
