Grub Guide

Visit the rest of Orange County's best damn dining guide at ocweekly.com/food, where it says "Where to EatNow" on the right side of the screen. If there are any bugs with it, e-mail Gustavo at garellano@ocweekly.com with your complaints!

DINNER FOR TWO:

¢ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Less than $10!

$ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10-$20

$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20-$40

$$$ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¡Eres muy rico!

ANAHEIMCARAZ DULZURA
Most of Caraz Dulzura's menu traces its origins to China, even though the restaurant serves Peruvian cuisine. The arroz chaufa dishes are really glorified fried rice, here served with chunks of chicken or beef and with a bit more spice. The saltado platters, available as seafood or chicken, are soy-soaked stir-fries familiar to any lover of Cantonese food. And the long noodles called tallarín I've previously identified in this paper as a bastardized spaghetti? My bad—The New York Times revealed tallarín is really lo mein. 880 W. Lincoln Ave., Anaheim, (714) 808-8302. $ESPN ZONE
Their buffalo wings, considering the faux-everything atmosphere in Downtown Disney, are shockingly tasty. The 10-piece "Pound of Buffalo Wings" appetizer won't burn a hole in your stomach (sadly) and, at $9.99, is pricier than similar platters at other restaurants. Nevertheless, the steep cost is well worth it for the chicken's deliciously juicy (read: not formerly frozen or mass-produced) texture. Best of all, the accompanying ranch dip is wonderfully thick—a bonus for those weary of the runny ranch dressing that restaurants so frequently attempt to pass off as dip. 1545 S. Disneyland Dr., Anaheim, (714) 300-ESPN. $$LUIGI'S D'ITALIA
Besides the tried-and-true Italian classics (hey, that's a spicy meatball sub!), this mom-and-pop restaurant boasts one of OC's better selections of seafood. 801 S. State College, Anaheim, (714) 490-0990. $$WIN THAI CUISINE
You probably won't go to Win Thai for its cheesy Asian pop background music, but you should go for the deep sweat its notoriously spicy dishes stimulate. Win Thai offers more than 100 items, ranging from traditional rice dishes to more exotic fare such as the spicy green mussel salad. 1151 N. Euclid St., Ste. D, Anaheim, (714) 778-0940. $BREARENAISSANCE BISTRO
As the name probably suggests, Renaissance Bistro serves primarily northern Italian fare, but the menu is dotted with just enough unexpected items to suggest the chefs aren't unduly locked into convention. 955 E. Birch St., Brea, (714) 256-2233; www.renaissancebistro.com. $$BUENA PARKALOHA CHICKEN
The soy sauce-fueled sizzle of meat slapped upon a grill is a constant at Aloha Chicken—that and a powerful punch-in-the-palate scent, the collective odors of thousands of chicken lunches and acrid macaroni salads gobbled within the restaurant's tiny premises. The chicken/macaroni smell is about as showy as Aloha Chicken gets; the rest of the place is a paragon of the Spartan setup characterizing the best Hawaiian restaurants—Spam musubi, loco-moco, and don't forget the poi! 10488 Valley View Ave., Buena Park, (714) 826-6672. $CANYON CITIESIRVINE LAKE CAFE
When you get hungry in the backwaters of OC, turn that skiff around and motor over to this café. They offer supersatisfying breakfast burritos and always-fresh Farmers Bros. coffee that can be packed for boat or car. 4621 Santiago Canyon Rd., Silverado, (714) 649-9111. $

CORONA DEL MAR

GALLO'S ITALIAN DELI
The thirtysomething-year-old deli is little more than counters, chips and sodas—which is to say, it's the perfect beach shack restaurant, even if it's on PCH. Request the Gallo's combo; the server will no doubt reply (as he once did to me), "Are you sure about that?" When he grabs sausages and begins hacking off massive slices, you'll understand his skepticism—the sandwich is bigger than most house cats. 3900 E. Coast Hwy., Corona del Mar, (949) 675-7404. $

COSTA MESA

CAFÉ PASCAL
The creation of Pascal Olhats, whose Pascal Restaurant in Newport Beach is consistently rated among the best in the county, the café allows you to treat yourself to his signature light, Provençal fare at a fraction of the restaurant price. The prosciutto panini—a flattened baguette stuffed with the aforementioned as well as cheese and tomatoes—is an effeminate calzone. It's terrific. 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 751-4911. $

 

THE CLUBHOUSE
Since you can't afford to eat here anyway, skip the entrées and head straight for the toasted ravioli, a main-dish-worthy appetizer. Lightly toasted ravioli filled with ricotta and dusted with Parmesan and Romano cheeses ring a bowl of tasty marinara sauce. Order it alone with a glass of wine and a side salad, and you're dining in style and on the cheap. South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., Ste. 2802, Costa Mesa, (714) 708-2582. $$$

 

DORIA'S ORIGINAL HAUS OF PIZZA
A great pizza is a strapping saucer of bread covered with a heated blanket of gooey mozzarella, crispy shards of breaded eggplant, minced garlic and oil-marinated peppers. 1500 Adams Blvd., Costa Mesa, (714) 751-8777. $

 

MAGGIANO'S LITTLE ITALY
The choices for family dining are voluminous, and everything from the calamari to the lasagna to the shrimp—especially the shrimp—to the tiramisù is outstanding. The portions are huge, making us Americans the luckiest bunch of pigs this side of Charlotte's Web. 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 546-9550. $$

 

NATIVE FOODS
Screw the hippy-dippy milieu: Native Foods is about chow as welcoming for your senses as it is for your health. Sure, Native Food's mission statement—"a prosperous lifestyle in harmony with the balance of nature and its energy through the wonders of food"—might be as hopelessly New Age-y as the menu and environs. Unlike most vegan mavens, though, chef Tanya Petrovna doesn't ditch the flavor while thinking of invigorating ways to fool flesh fanatics or improve your aura. 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 751-2151; www.nativefoods.com. $