It was just for a birthday party. An 11-year-old’s birthday party – my reason for hopping on the freeway to Brea, a city I’d only heard of before, legends about its fantastical mall. There was a wait, yes. We were a party of a dozen so that was to be expected. But apart from us, there was a line outside, people waiting patiently alongside the window, behaving themselves within the constraints of the retractable bands. For ice cream? I wondered to myself. How good could this place be?
Once I stepped through the door, it was like walking into 1977, when I enjoyed my 5th birthday at a shined up little ice cream parlour at the Weberstown Mall (that’s in Stockton, if you don’t know). I love getting that warm, nostalgic feeling, especially when not expecting it. All I’d planned for was the rote version of “Happy Birthday” and a conventional restaurant plate. Instead, I got over-the-top desserts, clever takes on the birthday song, tasty entrees, and, of course, ICE CREAM!
Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour
Several Southern California Locations