At Peña's, memorable marinated pork

Push open the screen door at Peña's Restaurant in Santa Ana and you'll find reclaimed relics of California's rancho past: rusted ranch equipment, hollowed-out gourds, a poster promising gold and glory from the pockets of Pancho Villa. Occasionally, a jukebox flips on unprovoked, pumping out the wheezy bellows of an accordion. Down a skinny stretch of the dining room that runs along the kitchen, saddles serve as retrofitted bar stools, bow-legged seats that help Peña's accommodate every eater.

By Miles Clements

December 3, 2008