This past week was my birthday week (we like to celebrate all week long in our family). We live in Huntington Beach, but we specifically wanted to try some new activities in Fountain Valley, so my wife and I planned out a little date. We started out at The Reptile Zoo, and then had dinner just up the street at The Recess Room. Both of these stops were absolutely AMAZING.

THE REPTILE MUSEUM

Admittedly, this place is a little more geared toward kids, but we still had a great time. When you first walk in there is in indoor pond filled with fish and turtles and a couple knee-high cages full of giant desert tortoises.

Once you go into the actual Zoo (which is indoors) there are entire walls of cages with all kinds of exotic reptiles. Giant Boas, Anacondas, and Iguanas just to name a few.

There are also open tanks with alligators and a large Monitor Lizard! Overall the reptile Zoo was a ton of fun, and it definitely exceeded our expectations.

THE RECESS ROOM

Just up the street from the Reptile Zoo is the Recess Room. This place blew me away!

According to the website this restaurant was started by a few high school buddies that grew up in Fountain Valley. They have a pretty wide selection of craft beer on tap with an emphasis on local breweries. There is also a wide selection of wines and whiskeys.

The food was downright incredible. My wife and I shared an order of muscles, a Pork Belly BLT, and a Hue Dip. Then, for Dessert we had the “Fluffer Nutter,” which is a deep fried sandwich filled with crunchy peanut butter, marshmallow, bananas, coconut shavings, and served with ice cream. It was all amazing and we savored every last bite. I recommend this place to anyone. We will definitely be coming back here again!