Oak Glen in the Hills Behind Yucaipa

One month after harvest.

I picked up some apples from this place.  Because harvest was already a month past, they didn't have much variety.  Their Fuji apples were quite good--sweet, firm, with the taste of mountain air.  I knew you'd like that.  They had cider.  All of the shops up here have cider.  They have tarts too--apple and berry.  Didn't get one because they were just too damn big, like something you'd find at Claim Jumpers.  Generally small is better tasting.  Generally.  You might spot two pillars of smoke.  One at the center of those chairs and a second fire on the other side of that rear gable.  It's on that second fire where they grill the tri-tip.  That's right, tri-tip.  You put that word "tri-tip" in front of anything and it will sound good: tri-tip sandwich or tri-tip chili.  See.  And this little kitchen on the corner there had these two items on the menu, so I sampled.  The chili had at least three beans in it plus the tri-tip. Nothing to write home about.   On a cold morning, I could imagine that the chili would be fortifying and warming.  But there wasn't much flavor.  The tri-tip sandwich was tri-tip and bread.  But it tasted okay.  That, more than anything, filled me up.  Quite satisfying.  This place along with most vendors up here in Oak Glen have festivals and events throughout the year.  Spread throughout the year. Harvest time is the best time for the apples--October.  Harvest time ends on Thanksgiving, so anytime in November before that and October and September and you will find a fantastic variety of flavorful apples.

Los Rios has several vendors' stands.  This one is the most popular from what I can tell.  It opens at 10am but the kitchen doesn't start serving the chili and the tri-tip until 11:15am.  So if it's cold be sure to get yourself a cup of joe to keep yourself warm.