The Whole Nine Yards
When Krispy Kreme opened the doors to its first West Coast shop last year, it gave people another reason to visit La Habra. This northernmost Orange County city has great sites that number more than a baker’s dozen, some of which are mentioned here.
Wearable Art
The delights of Doris Knape’s shop are textural, not tasty. They are the fruits of the 14 looms bunched at the center of the Fiber Arts School and Gallery (1301-L S. Beach Blvd., [562] 902-8796).
Handmade garments and wall-hangings offered for sale drape in the window and along the gallery walls. If it can be weaved, crocheted, marbled, batiked, dyed, knitted or tatted, chances are Knape has it--and can teach novices how to make one like it.
The fiber arts have been a passion for Knape since her mother first showed her a book filled with fabric and lace that served as a guidebook to family quilting and crocheting patterns.
“All I could do was look at it,” Knape said, “because it didn’t tell me what to do.”
So she got a pen, a notebook and a crochet hook, sat down with her mom and began chronicling a family history via the fiber arts. She’s been studying the subject’s seemingly infinite variations ever since.
When Cal State Fullerton stopped offering many fiber arts classes in the mid-’90s, Knape sought to fill the void by opening a school, first in a friend’s three-car garage and then in August in her La Habra retail space.
She and her faculty of seven offer classes such as “From Sheep to Shawl,” which features hands-on instruction in spinning and weaving wool. Another class highlights Romanian point lace.
In another class, Jeananne Coop teaches students how to turn handmade fabric into an ethnic jacket. An example hangs on one wall of the gallery, a creation Knape patterned after a Danish bog coat she says is the oldest constructed garment found. It features marbled fabric of emerald green and royal blue offset by crocheted lace “that was the first kind my mom ever taught me to make,” Knape said.
Other items in the gallery range from Lorraine Christensen works of surface design on silk framed as impressionistic art ($400) to silk camisoles and chiffon scarves (both $39).
Knape said she gets a flow of shoppers who discover her one-of-a-kind items in an usual way: “Some of my best commissions come from people seeing what I’m wearing and saying, ‘Make me something just like that.’ ”
The gallery is open 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Youth Movement
The Children’s Museum at La Habra beckons youngsters even before they get close to its doors. Out front, a topiary stegosaurus points them to a courtyard path with dinosaur footprints and a nest of eggs that appear ready to hatch. It’s an appropriate introduction to a museum that playfully engages young minds without sending them into sensory overload.
The museum (301 S. Euclid St., [562] 905-9693) is housed in a 1923 building that was a railroad station, which enhances its charm, especially because tours of an adjacent 1942 caboose are offered hourly. When it opened in 1977, the museum was the first of its kind in California. Others have followed, but La Habra’s remains one of the best.
An expansion in 1989 increased the size to 12,500 square feet, which is enough space for adventures in science, history, the arts and plain old everyday fun. The exhibits are delightfully unsophisticated, with common items such as an orange highway cone and a black tire rim helping kids learn about the laws of physics.
Every experience is hands-on, as evidenced by the stuffed and mounted animals in the section on North American wildlife. Several have had so many hands on them that their fur has been rubbed away. A wolf now has a removable tongue.
Among the most popular sections of the museum are the toddler play area, complete with tree house, castle and bridge, and the child-size stage, which features props, costumes, scenery, scripts and even a working microphone. As if these young thespians couldn’t already play to the back row.
An exhibit called “Passport to Mount Olympus,” which runs through June 11, introduces visitors to the drama, architecture, history and geography of ancient Greece. A chariot, a mock Trojan horse and a balancing Pegasus highlight the show, although on a recent weekday, the exhibit was closed for repairs. Call ahead to check if the area is open.
The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $4; children younger than 2 are free.
A Taste of the Past
The menu at Cafe El Cholo offers a history lesson. Consider the Sonora-style enchilada, which was first served at the other El Cholo, the one in Los Angeles, in 1927. It still comes the same way--with chicken simmered in a tomato, onion and cilantro broth and cheese, topped with olives and a fried egg ($8.95).
“Our enchilada sauce has never changed,” said Susan Smoot, the manager. It’s been 37 years since the Salisbury family opened the La Habra El Cholo (840 E. Whittier Blvd., [562] 691-4618) in a converted two-bedroom house. At first it only offered takeout. Now it seats 250.
“We’ve become part of people’s family history,” Smoot said. “We have third- and fourth-generation guests who started coming here as children. They remember our history better than some of the people who work here.”
They come back for the crab meat enchilada ($11.75), the tostada compuesta ($7.95) and the burrito Dorado ($8.85). The last of these joins the combination plates on El Cholo’s rollback menu, offered Monday through Wednesday for $6.95.
Two more things that keep regulars happy: the green corn tamales, which are available June through October (“We ship them to people in Florida and Chicago,” Smoot said), and the margaritas, which are available throughout the year, but you can only take them as far as the patio.
“Our margarita recipe,” Smoot said, “is a closely guarded secret.” Ah, if only blenders could talk.
IF YOU GO
* Getting there
Take the Orange Freeway north to Imperial Highway or Lambert Road and go west to La Habra.
* Fiesta
The city will celebrate its 75th anniversary tonight with a gala dinner-dance at the La Habra Community Center (101 W. La Habra Blvd., [562] 905-9708). Mexican food will be available. Mariachis and dancers will perform. Tickets are $50 and are available at the event, which begins at 5:30.
* Dining options
For the ambience of an English pub, try the Cat and the Custard Cup (800 E. Whittier Blvd., [714] 992-6496), which shares a parking lot with Cafe El Cholo. For Italian cuisine, check out Villa Agnese (2429 W. Whittier Blvd., [562] 691-2868).
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
1. Cafe El Cholo
840 E. Whittier Blvd.
(562) 691-4618
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sun.-Thurs.; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
2. Children’s Museum of La Habra
301 S. Euclid St.
(562) 905-9693
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat.; 1-5 p.m. Sun.
3. Fiber Arts School and Gallery
1301 S. Beach Blvd.
(562) 902-8796
Hours: 12:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon. and Sat.; 9:30-4:30 Tues through Fri.
