Going Back In Time at Farrell's - CLOSED

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

799 The Shops at Mission Viejo

Mission Viejo, CA 92691

Ask anyone over the age of thirty about Farrell's and they instantly go back to the 70's and recall a great moment in their childhood. My memory, which is usually pretty good, is even hazy on my recollection of this ice cream parlour. I remember being at the Farrell's in Orange, for some kids birthday and all of the waiters running around with a stretcher of ice cream. I also remember the place just being loud and sirens going off all the time. So to relive this part of my childhood, Katie and I headed to the new Farrell's in Mission Viejo.

When you drive up to the back side of the mall, and see the building it certainly does flood your memory with visions of the past. Katie and I had about a thirty minute wait on a Wednesday night at 7:30. While we were waiting in line, we heard at least four stories of people's childhoods at the ice cream Mecca. It seems everyone wants to share their Farrell's memories. So, let's see if the present day is as good as the memories.

 

I do not ever remember eating any food here, and from the stories I have heard, most other people haven't either, no one ever mentions the food. So the food is all new to us. This is Katie's Grilled Chicken Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, and pesto dressing on a parmesan cheese roll. This sandwich was pretty good and a very good size for the $9.49 price tag. She ate half and was planning on taking the other half for lunch, but left the doggie bag at the table. Ugh. The waffle fries were good and I really liked the bread that this sandwich came on.

Here is my Talk of the Town Burger. It is your basic bacon cheese burger with fries. I liked that the burger came on an onion roll, and the fries were okay. Not the best burger by any means, but decent.

Now, here is what everyone remembers about Farrell's, the ice cream. No, we did not get the Zoo, we ended up with the Mt. Saint Helen. This three scoop sundae features scoops of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate, covered with caramel and hot fudge. They really did not have enough toppings on this one, but the ice cream was great. Probably some of the coldest ice cream I have ever had, and it was real creamy also. They even lit this sundae on fire.

A lot of places from back in the day, are not as you remember them. My elementary school seems so small now, when it used to seem so big. My favorite TV show was Happy Days, and even that is not as funny as I thought it was back then. But Farrell's is just what I remember, or what the new Farrell's helped me to remember. The candy shop, the red wallpaper, and the straw hats are all still there. Sure the food is just okay, and the service was mediocre, but everyone was having a good time, and that made up for it.

Out of five scoops, five being best to zero being worst, Farrell's gets 2.5 scoops.

For more information on Farrell's, there web site is here; http://www.farrellsusa.com/index.php