Other Places With Good Mariachi Music

While El Mariachi is the best, there are other places in Orange County where one can hear good mariachi music:

-- Tlaquepaque, 111 W. Santa Fe Ave., Placentia. Reservations recommended. (714) 528-8515.

Raul Davis opened the bakery and family restaurant here in 1963, and fruit pickers used to jam the place for breakfast before heading off to work in the surrounding orange groves. It is still open for breakfast every day at 6 a.m.--even though the orange groves are gone--and wondrous smells from the bakery waft down Santa Fe Avenue.

Since the Mariachi Uclatlan left six years ago to open its own restaurant, several groups have played here. The restaurant currently features the Mariachi Estrellas de America, a polished eight-piece band. The one-hour Friday lunchtime performances that got mariachi music off the ground in Orange County now stretch from noon to 3 p.m. The group also plays Friday and Saturday evenings and for Sunday brunch.

-- Moreno’s, 4328 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. Reservations recommended. (714) 639-2181.

The attraction at this restaurant, which is built partly in an abandoned, 100-year-old Quaker meeting house, is the outdoor patio where the Mariachi Jalisco plays under the shade of three magnificent California pepper trees at Sunday brunches and on warm summer evenings.

The band also plays indoors Friday and Saturday nights. The restaurant has two separate rooms, so ask to be seated in the Casa de Mariachi if you want to hear the band.

-- Pablito’s Casa del Mariachi, 1500 E. La Habra Blvd., La Habra. (213) 691-6888.

Pablo Sandoval and the Mariachi Guadalajara left Tlaquepaque about six months ago and took over this restaurant, which used to be Rocky’s. “It was always a dream of mine to own my own place,” said Pablo, who co-owns the restaurant with his brother Everardo. Unfortunately, the group seems to think it must engage in buffoonery and load up its repertoire with gimmicks to develop a following. The attempted humor--musicians pinching each other’s behinds, chorus line choreography--falls flat, and the musical arrangements and repertoire are average, at best. One can only hope that things get better here. The band plays weekend nights and during Sunday brunch.

Mariachis also can be heard in a number of smaller bars and restaurants in Orange County almost any night of the week. However, the groups that wander in and out of these establishments--playing al talon , or on their heels--are not paid by the house and charge a fixed fee, usually $5 to $8, per song. Some of the groups are slapped together to make a few bucks, and sound like it, while others have attained some professionalism. A hint: Listen to them play at someone else’s table before buying. If you don’t know any song titles, ask the group to play a couple of their best sones . Here is a selection of a few places worth trying:

-- La Costa Restaurant, 13571 Harbor Blvd., Garden Grove. (714) 636-0952.

This pleasant, family restaurant that specializes in seafood actually features a house band some nights. Mariachis who play by the song usually begin showing up here looking for clients in the late afternoon, earlier on Fridays.

-- La Costa Restaurant, 930 S. Main St., Santa Ana. (714) 542-9463.

Mariachis usually play at this small, unassuming seafood restaurant from about 7 until 10 p.m. Sometimes the groups, which include trios and norteno bands--they’re the ones with an accordion--are almost as numerous as the patrons.

-- Casa Blanca Restaurant, 323 N. Sycamore St., Santa Ana. (714) 541-3864.

The location isn’t great--a part of downtown Santa Ana that is largely deserted at night--but the food is pretty good.

-- Los Vacitos Cafe, 223 W. Chapman Ave., Orange. (714) 771-0170.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez says he hated to go into this bar alone when he was an Orange policeman several years ago, but the place has quieted down and a huge bouncer is quick to remove patrons who get overly unruly. Los Vacitos is no place to take Grandma for a nightcap, but it is colorful, the pool players are good, and, on a good night, the mariachis really cook.

A few nightclubs, such as La Chiquita and Mexico de Noche in Anaheim, occasionally feature mariachis. The local Spanish-language papers--Miniondas, Azteca News and Rumores--carry ads and listings from these establishments.