Doing Downtown the right way

BEST BUYS

Manager Jerry Cleland at Sakal says you’d be foolish to buy a

surfboard anywhere but Sakal Custom Surfboards. “Nowhere else can you

buy a board with this kind of guarantee,” he says. The guarantee is:

If you buy a new Sakal surfboard, you can use it for 14 days, and if

you don’t like it for any reason, return it and you’ll get a new

custom Sakal surfboard that fixes your problem at no extra charge.

All of the boards are hand-shaped by owner Ed Sakal and his son Ryan

Sakal.

“The boards are at a cheaper price,” Cleland says. “Most shops pay

someone to make their boards, and then mark them up to sell.”

Sakal also carries surf wear apparel that you won’t see in every

other surf shop.

“We stay fresher than most,” Cleland says. “We’re the last

hard-core surf shop on Main Street.”

Clothing lines available are Lust, Fox Racing, Ambiguous, Aaron

Chang and Counter Culture. Sakal has trimmed its line of skateboards

to just one brand, Sector Nine, “the No. 1 long board” Cleland says.

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday

and Sunday. 201 Main St. #A. (714) 536-0505. www.sakal surfboards.

com.

Here’s your Archie’s

Surf City Candy carries hard-to-find Archie’s Ice Cream that’s

specially packaged in pint-sized containers. Owner Ken Vasilik

switched from carrying Haagen-Dazs to Archie’s since it’s a premium

ice cream at a better price. A pint of Archie’s is $2.50, and a

12-ounce cup of Haagen-Dazs is $2.75. Archie’s has fresh strawberry,

rocky road, extreme chocolate, 1st class vanilla, cookies and cream

and praline and cream flavors. Surf City Candy specializes in a huge

selection of candies. 126 Main St. #102. (714) 374-1946.

www.surfcitycandy.com.

Beach scenes by locals

Pierside Gallery Fine Art is the place to find local artist’s

beach scenes, ranging from San Onofre to Seal Beach, and a mix of

serigraphs from select artists. All of the local artists, including

Susan Rios, Dan Johnson, Ron Peters and John Dean, have their work

produced using the “giclee” process. It’s a digital process where

microscopic droplets of ink on the canvas create the art. A giclee

takes roughly three hours per canvas to complete. Well-known artists

including Hessam, Leonard Wren, Sabzi, Michael Parkes, Suljakav,

Shvaiko, Pino and Cao Young are also featured in the gallery.

Pierside Gallery is popular with tourists and locals, and its Web

site is doing really well. 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10

a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 300 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite

107A. (714) 969-7979. www.piersidegallery.com.

Diane’s for juniors

Diane’s Beach Fever is a smaller version of the Diane’s a few

doors down on Main Street in Huntington Beach. It’s for juniors and

has 90% mix-and-match bikinis. It’s having a special -- buy a bikini

at regular price and get the second free of equal value or less.

There’s also a fall collection of sweat suits and separates. 10 a.m.

to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through

Friday; 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. 300

Pacific Coast Highway. (714) 536-1101. www.dianesswimwear.com.

Best breakfast in town

The Sugar Shack serves the best breakfast in Huntington Beach.

Surfers and locals love that it serves breakfast all day, seven days

a week. Well-known surfers Jesse Evans, Jay Larson, Brandon Tipton,

and Jeff Deffenbaugh are regulars who come in for the biscuits and

gravy on the weekends, and the pancakes, French toast, omelets,

breakfast burritos and combo plates served every day. It’s been

family owned and operated since 1967, and brothers Timmy and Ryan

Turner are now in charge. 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and

Thursday; 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday

through Sunday. 213 1/2 Main St. (714) 536-0355.

Seshell decor

California Seashell Company is a retail/wholesale shell shop that

has an extensive selection of shells, coral, ornaments, wind chimes

and unique gifts. Unlike its second location on Main Street in Seal

Beach that’s popular with tourists, this location in the Five Points

Plaza caters to locals who want sea-related home decor. The biggest

sellers are the natural blue sea stars and the keyhole sand dollars.

Other shells available are: tiger cowries, polished oysters, pink

urchins, pectin albacans and California white abalone. 10 a.m. to 7

p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. 18567 Main

St. (714) 596-3380.

* BEST BUYS Send information to Greer Wylder at

greerwylder@yahoo.com or 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627, or via

fax at (949) 646-4170.