Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Bob & Jeans - Tacos and Pool Hall

Rob Landin, an OCThen reader, asked if anyone remembers a favorite hangout of his in hills of east of Orange called, Bob & Jeans...

Do you remember an old hole in the wall small taco pool hall in East Orange on the corner of Chapman Ave. and Newport Ave.? It was called Bob & Jeans.

I am 44 years old now but I used to go there with my high school friend to have a good greasy taco and shoot pool. We rode our bikes down there. I still live in Orange but my friend moved away. I really miss that place. Do you have any pictures of it?

I will pay for them.

Thanks,
Rob L.
714-538-7738
If anyone remembers Bob & Jeans, click on "Post a Comment" below, and chime in.

45 comments:

  1. I also recall Bob & Jean's - as it was on the way to Saddleback Motocross Park, farther south on Santiago Canyon Road (Chapman Avenue). I will look, as I think I have some photos of both the inside and outside.

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  2. Ah I was watching the Food Network on Mike’s Chili Parlor in Seattle WA. I have been there great place but nothing compares to a Bob & Jean’s Chili Size. I remember the recipe went to a tavern on the corner of Chapman & Tustin Ave but that palace is long gone. I did have some shingles from the restraint when they tore it down but the memories remain. Sorry I don’t have any pictures.
    Todd L
    Vancouver Wa

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  3. Just 2 days ago I was asking if anyone remembered BoB & Jeans!
    I am 45 & also like one of your respondents, used to go there on the way home from Saddleback Park! Another place I loved was "The White Tortilla". It was closed down to widen Chapman Ave., though the ground layed vacant for years before the streetwork actually took place. Good old places, GOOD OLD TIMES!!
    Lisa D / Orange

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  4. Bob & Jeans was my favorite place when I was a kid. My mom, brother and I would go every weekend to get a chili size. We were really upset when they finally tore it down. I have looked for a long time but nothing compares.

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  5. I remember Bob & Jean's I used to go there as a kid. I lived at the ranch at Irvine Park. The people that i remember going there were luke mccluskey, debbie javarauckas, don stack, linda parham, don harris, ricky johanson and to many more to mention. this was a great place i will always remember it foundly.

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  6. I grew up in Modjeska Canyon. I was born in 1967. We use to stop by Bob and Jean's all the time. Actually the family story goes that when my Mom went into labor with me, she wanted to stop there on the way to the hospital in Santa Ana to have one last beer. One the way back from the hospital a few days later, we stopped there for her to "show me off".
    I recently came across an ad for Bob and Jeans in a canyon paper from 1971. If anyone wants a copy, send me an email and I will forward it on.

    John Howard
    jkhowards@cox.net

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  7. I grew up in Tustin, My brother and I would fight over western wear to wear to Bob and jean's: he would get the cowboy hat, and I would get the western shirt. My mom and dad woud take us there on Friday nights and we'd all order chili sizes and play some sort of bowling/shuffleboard game. I loved that place . . . .

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  8. The White Tortilla was really good and cheap. I miss it too.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, its my understanding that the white tortilla is going to reopen.

      I was having dinner the other night @ Morenos n noticed a banner, that said opening soon.

      As for Bob n Jeans, i luved that place. I learned how to shoot pool there.

      Delete
  9. Bob and Jean's was also one of the few places that had a hitching post... my sister and I used to visit the place on horseback. We were too young to drive, so horse was our ticket to independence (and great grub)

    John
    Arlington, VA

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  10. Great mid 70's memories of that place. I lived in Lemon Heights and remember always stopping at Bob & Jean's on the way to Saddleback to ride my Honda enduro. I can also remember riding there on a horse from Shady Canyon ranch. I wish I had some photos of those days, but I don't

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  11. Bob and Jeans...

    I was there alot! My friends worked there in the 70's. I lived off Foothill and Newport at the bottom of Lemon Heights and we always went there before heading out to the canyons to errr..umm.. star gaze LMAO!

    Best times of my life...

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  12. Debbie Clark JavarauckasMarch 31, 2009 9:12 PM

    I will always remember Bob & Jeans,this was my favorit place and hung out there most of my pre teen and teen life.We all had horses at Irvine park,Luke,Ricky Johnson ,ladd Delcollo,Jennie Shepard,Lindy Stack,Melinda Madrid, Don Harris,Bob Harris,alot of us kids from the stables and me Debbie Javarauckas.Still freinds with some, the rest have lost touch from moving.This is where i played pool,had that ol juke box...and mamy memories...ill keep forever..oh and there Great chilli sizes that we went for!!!
    Debbie Javarauckas [Clark]
    Page,az

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  13. I also recall Bob & Jeans or as my beloved Dad loving called it "The Cowboy Joint". We use to go with him out to the dump (remember when it was out in the canyon) after hours of raking up avacado leaves (they had 5 tress) and what a treat it was to stop there and eat and play some pool. I miss my dad and our "special place". Glad to hear it was special for many others. :)

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  14. I grew up almost across the street from Bob & Jeans about hundred yards to the west, when Chapman was still two lanes and a country road. My father managed one of the last working Orange Groves in that area, now all expensive tract homes of course. Used to walk down Chapman to get there looking for soda pop bottles that had been tossed out of cars on the way, Jean would give us I think a nickel each for the deposit, then we would buy candy out of an old refrigerator in the back. They had a pinball machine right when you walked in, someone in the group figured out if you hit the glass just right you would get a free ball. Of course I tried it and cracked the glass, we all took off running back to my house but by the time we got there my dad was waiting to take us back, Bob had already called him. Always got two tacos and a orange nessbitt, didnt have to order jean would just start cooking them. They had the greatest hot sauce on the counter in syrup dispensers, anyone remember that. I also remember the juke box, I dont think it every played anything but CCR, till this day anytime I hear Down On the Corner or Lookin Out My Back Door im back.

    Craig Cook

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  15. My brother and I loved Bob & Jeans. My dad used to take us their after going to the dump or when we would go for a ride through the canyon. We used to call the place "Hunchback Chile", I don't remember who, but somebody in the kitchen had a hunchback. We used to love playing that bowling/shuffleboard game. It seems to me the Eagles were always playing on the jukebox. I also remember lots of dogs behind the place, maybe a kennel. It was a shame when they replaced it with a ranch market and shopping center.

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  16. My Family lived in Santa Ana and in the late 60's and early 70's, going to Bob & Jeans was a treat for me, my brother and sister. My parents would shove us kids in a booth, order tacos and orange sodas in the bottle for us, give us some coins to play the shuffleboard/bowling machine in the center of the tiny cafe part and also money for the jukebox. I would love to keep playing ROSE GARDEN by Lynn Anderson. My parents dissappeared in the room with the pool table. The last time I was there was in 1978. Nothing else like that kind of place is around here anymore. I would love to see and have some photos of the place.
    Anthony Reichardt
    Santa Ana, CA

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  17. I grew up in lemon heights in the 70's - 80's and Bob & Jeans was one of my favorite places. It was the jumping off point for sneaking into Pete's lake when it was private property. occassionally we'd fanagle a pitcher of beer, keep it discretely in the corner and play pool. whenever i smell chaparel anywhere, it reminds me of Bob & Jeans.

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  18. My name is Rob Landin. I posted the December question about does anyone have any pisture of Bob & jeans? I am in need of them still. Ik have none. someone sould have at least one. My friend i used to go bike rideing to the place was anmed Mike hansen. if any of you know of him. Please have him post his comment on this site so i can contact him. Please tell him i would like to contact him.

    Thanks,
    Rob L.
    Thanks,
    Rob L.

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    Replies
    1. Rob
      This is John Hanson. Shoot me an email to johnhanson714@aol.com and i'll give you Mike's number.

      Delete
  19. Rode my horse to Bob and Jeans for many years during the 70's with many of my friends with horses. Soo many memories, so much fun playing pool, listening to the juke box, ordering tacos, chili dogs and sodas. As a teenager it was freedom and independence to ride your horse there and Jean always treated us as adults. We always tied up to the hitching post, which I think the new shopping center saved. I miss those days, my friends and my horse Beau. Dyan

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  20. I too, loved Bob & Jeans, but for some reason I always called it "Last Chance" I'm now 38 and my dad used to take us there after going to the dump or after visiting family in the Foothills. I only remember eating burgers and always getting the original yellow bag w/ red lines of Lay's Chips. I too remember the shuffleboard game. I always played w/ it when no one was looking. I used to steal the blue pool cue and drop it into the toilet thinking it was ty di bowl...ha ha! I do have access to a sketch of what Bob & Jeans looked like. Any takers?
    edithbryan@gmail.com

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  21. I too use to ride my horse with my friends to Bob & Jeans. I remember the picnic tables in the back where everyone carved their names in the table top. I spent lots of time there and Jean actually let me behind the counter to make a few chili size orders. What a treat. I have a bottle opener my mother snagged when they closed the place down. I miss it and the fun, innocent times we had there.

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  22. Ah... the chili! It was the best I've ever had. My buddy Bob Dorsey was the instigator of the famed Chili Size! Nothing better than a Size and a schooner of Coors! I too spent many hours playing the pinball machine and hiding in the corner of the pool room sneaking beers before I was of legal age. Does anyone remember the skid marks on the floor by the shuffleboard game? Listened to a lot of CCR there too. Lots of great memories. I'd give anything for Jeans chile recipe. Hopefully someone will post pics of that old joint. Like the 'Boathouse' in Santa Ana, Bob & Jean's was a huge favorite of mine.

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  23. SPENT ALOT OF TIME DRINKING BEER AND EATING CHILISIZES AT BOB AND JEANS. BEST CHILISIZE I'VE EVER HAD!!! THE LAST TIME I WAS THERE, THE POLICE FOUND ALOT OF DYNAMITE IN CRATES ACROSS THE STREET. EVACUATED THE PLACE, BUT WE MANAGED TO STAY AND KEEP DRINKING WATCHING ALL THE ACTIVITY (STUPID, HAD THE STUFF EXPLODED, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN HISTORY). I'LL NEVER FORGET BOB AND JEANS

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  24. Jan Padilla SweeneyNovember 08, 2009 2:52 PM

    We lived on Crawford Canyon in the 70s and used to go up the hill at least once a week with our kids for Chili Sizes. The best ever, as I can still see them arriving on the table with a mound of that finely grated cheddar on top - just waiting for a good dousing of tomato salsa and a cold beer! I've tried for years to duplicate that ultimate chili size, and think I have gotten very close, but sadly will never know. What a legacy one tiny little restaurant and two people can leave for so many! God Bless you Bob and Jean!

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  25. How funny. I was looking up BOb And Jeans on the web tonight, because my hubby and I were talking about how great the chili was. We were dating when we used to go there. We've been married 41 years so that tells you how long ago Bob and Jeans was there. Anyway we heard that Bob and Jeans Grandkids opened another Bob and Jeans somewhere around Brea or Yorba Linda,or Placentia. Was hoping it was true. I was looking for the location.Has anyone heard anything??

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  26. Me and my Orange HIgh buddies frequented Bob and Jeans for chili sizes and beer on tap in the mid seventies. We would shoot pool and play pinball. Probably a lot harder nowadays for teenagers to find places that don't check ID's.

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  27. I remember Bob and Jeans. We used to ride our horses there on Saturday mornings, around 1972. I was only about 10 years old. This was my first time in a bar. We'd tie our horses up outside and eat enchilads for lunch. It was like the wild west, pool tables, smokey air. One of the waitresses had a hunchback. We were really scared of her! Afterwards, we'd ride over to a nearby swimming hole with a great rope swing.

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  28. I remember going to Bob and Jean's with my family back in the 70's to eat chili and tacos there. My little brother and I would play shuffleboard all night while the adults sat and talked. I remember driving back up in the canyon to get to it; we lived down off of Irvine and Woodlawn near the old Sav-Ons and DK's Donuts. Those were great, fun times.

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  29. I remember going to Bob and Jeans. I was about 7 years old. My sister and I would run around and play while the adults would drink and play pool. I still remember the way it use to smell. Those were the good old days went our parents really didn't have to watch us and worry about strangers. Because everyone pretty much knew one another. We only lived in Modjeska Canyon so we went all the time. I'm 33 now and I tell my daughter who is 10 stories about this place. ;)

    Nicole C.

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  30. Best Chili Sizes ever!!!

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  31. Kathy (Kay Irby) AstonOctober 22, 2010 7:46 PM

    In the early 70s I rode my horse to Bob and Jeans as part of my ride almost daily. I lived on Brentwood Ave in Cowan heights, and rode the hills and canyons around there. I remember Shady Canyon Ranch, too! At Bob and Jeans I'd get a bottle of Delaware Punch. They had the #1 BEST grilled cheese and chili sizes I have ever found!!! Sometimes my poor dog would get scared by a car backfire and find her way inside to find me. Bob would tell me to get her out of there! LOL My very first pack of Marlboro Reds came out of his machine by the door. Broke my heart to find it gone when I returned to the area as a "grownup'. But then all the hills I loved were covered by houses too - nothing left that was recognisable.

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  32. To Debbie Clark Javarauckas: I'm sorry you knew Ladd Del Collo. I remember him talking about you after he moved from California to Las Vegas. It's a good thing you lost touch with the bastard: http://www.homefacts.com/offender-detail/NV310062/Ladd-Charles-Delcollo.html.

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  33. Bob and Jeans, fishing at peters cyn lake , 4 wheeling all over saddle back, parties in Black Star Cyn at the sheriffs house, UFOs over Orange seen from the hills across from Orannge hill Resturant.

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  34. Oh, I have lots of good memories of Bob & Jeans when I was a kid.I used to go there all the time because my Dad, Tom Harding used to go there on a regular basis. My Mom, Lil Harding actually worked there for a while helping Jean and her daughter Pat serving beer and chili sizes. I remember the food was so good there. the tacos were different than anywhere else and the hot sauce was in those syrup dispensers. I Remember how they had toothpicks in the little glass tabasco like bottles? Nothing in the world has had a bigger impact on my life as did the jukebox that was in that place. Still to this day whenever I hear a song that was in that jukebox, It just sends me back to those good old days at Bob & Jeans. Some of the friends that used I used to hang out with there was Keith Howell, Mike and Cindy Langford, Billy and Ricky Edney,Roland Horton, Debbie Javaraukas, Bobby Lee Harris and a few others. I remember all the pick-nic tables that had everyones names carved in them and the walls near the restrooms had all the names written all over them too. I had my initials on there along with my girlfriends...R.H.+ S.P in a heart (Randy Harding + Sandra Piper). I remember the shuffle board machine, the flying helicopter machine, the boraxo hand soap in the restroom, the "raise flap in case of fire" joke sign, the "there IS a difference" matchbooks, the chocolate milk and pies in the refrigerator, all the stuff in the back room,`ol Walt Keller and his sons, Mike and Roger, the Deer antlers, incl. the baby ones. I remember so much stuff about that place. In a funny sort of way ,Bob & Jeans played a part of making me who I am today. It was a sad, sad day when I heard that the place got torn down. The building itself got torn down but all the memories are still standing. Randy Harding(Tom`s Radiator Service Orange,Ca.)

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    Replies
    1. I was wonderin' when someone would mention Walt Keller. Ole grumpy Walt. My friend Jerry Wilson's favorite saying to Walt would be " Smile Walt! ". He never would. I guess we still loved him though.

      P.S. If anyone has Jeans chili recipe, I'd sure love to get a copy of it.

      Lee at arc1@wi.rr.com

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  35. Sounds like we were all there at the same time! Fishing at Peter's lake (hoping to catch a few Blue Gills and not get caught). Watching races and riding BMX bikes at Saddleback Park, etc. I miss the Chili Size! RIP the 'good old' places.

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  36. Hi,thank you anonymouns,do i know you ?true he ended up to be a real bad person,that was a simple verision.!ladd delcolo...are you someone we knew at the stables?
    debbie clark [javarauckas}
    azdebbieandangelplus4make3@yahoo.com

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  37. Bob and Jeans had the best hamburgers only one dollar, kind of tasted like In out Out does today. We used to ride our horses their too. One day my friend and I rode to B&J's,and put our horses into the corral, The sign posted no Studs allowed. As we were eating lunch. Jean was yelling who stud is in the corral, we said our horses are the only ones out there, she said that black horse is trying to breed with that mare and studs are not allowed,get him out of there, needless to say I found out my horse was proud-cut. We also used to ride our horses to the water hole off of santiago canyon. Miss those days. The little old lady with the hump in her back was Jean, she was so sweet.

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  38. Bob and Jeans:
    The Hitchin Post outside would have a horse or two, a couple of harleys a cadillac and bicycles.
    Inside, Jean hard at work, Bob in the back. RC Colas and Chili Sizes. 25 cents would get you a position in line for a game of pool. Another 25 cents would play a tune from your table...God I miss those beautiful days living in Orange Park Acres...back before all the growth that destroyed the quiet and beauty.

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  39. For all you Bob and Jeans fans out there you can now check them out on Facebook @
    http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Bob-and-Jeans/230114213698940

    Hope you all enjoy the memories.

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  40. Always after a trip to the dump in my grandfathers 65 chevy PU (Old Gray), my dad would always take my sister, brother, and I to Bob and Jeans for taco's or a chili-size, and always a beer for him and my mom. Loved this place as a kid! My dad is now deceased and these were some of my favorite family memories going to Bob and Jeans!

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    ReplyDelete
  42. uh...why hasn't anyone posted any pictures of times gone by? Am I to believe nobody here has a picture of Bob and Jean's? Or Escape Country??

    ReplyDelete

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