Grub Guide
A taste of Orange County's best damn dining guide
ZUBIES DRY DOCK
Zubies has yummy pizzas, sawdust on the ground and lots of TVs. Don't worry if food falls on the ground—you won't be able to find it even if you try. 9059 Adams Ave., Huntington Beach, (714) 963-6362. $$
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Gen Kai Japanese Restaurant
3344 E. Coast Highway
Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
Category: Restaurant > Japanese
Region: Corona Del Mar
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Boulangerie Pierre & Patisserie
14352 Brookhurst St.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
Category: Restaurant > Bakery
Region: Garden Grove
International Meats and Deli
10382 Stanford Ave., Ste. F
Garden Grove, CA 92840
Category: Restaurant > Deli
Region: Garden Grove
Clay Oven Cuisine Of India
15435 Jeffrey Road, Ste 116
Irvine, CA 92618
Category: Restaurant > Indian
Region: Irvine
Jj Bakery & Cafe
15333 Culver Drive
Irvine, CA 92604-3078
Category: Restaurant > Bakery
Region: Irvine
Taiko Japanese Restaurant
14775 Jeffrey Road
Irvine, CA 92618
Category: Restaurant > Japanese
Region: Irvine
Onami Sushi & Seafood Restaurant
24155 Laguna Hills Mall, Ste. 1301
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Category: Restaurant > Japanese
Region: Laguna Hills
Picayo
610 N. Pacific Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Category: Restaurant > French
Region: Laguna Beach
Royal Thai Cuisine
1750 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Category: Restaurant > Thai
Region: Laguna Beach
Zinc Cafe & Market
350 Ocean Ave.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Category: Restaurant > Eclectic
Region: Laguna Beach
Empanada Man
20761 Lake Forest Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Category: Restaurant > South American
Region: Lake Forest
Pittsburgh Chicken & Taters
3671 Katella Ave.
Rossmoor, CA 90720
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Los Alamitos
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CLAY OVEN
What makes the Clay Oven stand out is the way it uses the traditional tandoori tools to expand upon the cuisine. You can't find a better swordfish in Orange County. It's so tender that it flakes apart at the mere hint of a fork. 15435 Jeffrey Rd., Irvine, (949) 552-2851. $
J.J. BAKERY
Nearly every Irvine Chinatown visitor eventually waddles into this clean, well-lit bakery/boba shop, seeking a sugar capper to his day: bite-sized red-bean cookies, taro pastries, tart egg pudding and a bizarre bread slice that contains half a mango covered with cream cheese. But the main reason you should haunt J.J. Bakery is their prepackaged sandwiches, a sort of regal Hot Pocket that, at 90 cents, are the best lunch options since the three-tacos-for-a-buck special at Jack in the Box. 15333 Culver Dr., Ste. 660, Irvine, (949) 653-1566. $
TAIKO
Irvinites all agree on one thing and one thing only: the No. 10 combo, a tender, chewy, delectable calamari steak with teriyaki sauce and sashimi. Taiko's calamari is a delicate homage to the squid, one that I have many times failed to re-create.14775 Jeffrey Rd., Ste. K, Irvine, (949) 559-7190. $$
IMPERIAL BURGERS
Imperial Burgers serves many more things besides its Cheddar cheese-heavy pastrami burritos—its burgers, for instance, charbroiled marriages of meat, soft bun, sweet cheese and lettuce. Or standard breakfasts of pancakes, hash browns and sausage. And always sip on ultra-sweet Orange Bang whenever you find this increasingly rare beverage. Everything is good here, really. But La Habra is so far away, and the pastrami burrito is so good—why would you ever order anything else? 241 E. Imperial Hwy., La Habra, (714) 525-1611. $
ELLEN'S PINOY GRILLE
Ellen's attracts as many non-Filipinos as pinoys, perhaps because Ellen's offers a menu—a list of all 70 entrées, 10 of them available at any time in the always-steaming turo-turo buffet. The daing na bangus—milkfish stew marinated with garlic and cucumbers and cooked in a searing coconut-and-soy-sauce broth—is fabulous.7971 Valley View St., La Palma, (714) 522-8866. $
LAGUNA, LAGUNA, LAGUNA!
MADISON SQUARE & GARDEN CAFE
Topped with berry-infused butter, the ginger and lemon-perfumed ricotta pancakes are creamy and moist. Also, try the Shanghai chicken salad; it's a towering bed of gourmet greens, shredded carrots, rice, noodles, won tons and chicken. 320 N. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, (949) 494-0137. $
KOSHER BITE DELI
Orange County seems just too spick-and-span Christian to host a real New York-style Jewish deli, but try telling that to the folks at Kosher Bite in Laguna Hills, a cluttered room where the air conditioning is three ceiling fans on their last wobbly rotations, potato-and-barley soup is boiled daily, the Sabbath means rest and the menu—knishes, matzo ball, pastrami on rye—is as stubbornly Borscht Belt as Carl Reiner. 23595 Moulton Pkwy., Ste. H, Laguna Hills, (949) 770-1818. $
ONAMI SUSHI & SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
Here, you can partake of as much sushi as you want. You can gobble down transparent globules of ikura (salmon roe) like popcorn or tiny particles of masago (smelt egg) as if they're, well, tiny particles of masago. 24155 Laguna Hills Mall, Ste. 1300, Laguna Hills, (949) 768-0500. $$
PICAYO
This charming boutique French restaurant has a terrific appetizer—a sautéed foie gras served on a bed of spinach with a sherry vinegar sauce. Forget your misgivings about eating goose liver; this is a culinary petit mort. Your server will suggest a glass of sweet sauvignon blanc to accompany the foie gras, and even though this will bring your tab to more than $20 (and you still haven't ordered an entrée), you'll do it gladly. 610 N. Pacific Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, (949) 497-5051. $$$
ROYAL THAI
Feeling a cold coming? Phone Royal Thai and place an order for the po tak soup. It's a yummy clear chicken/seafood broth with New Zealand green mussels, scallops, calamari, shrimp and fresh green chiles. It'll make your eyes tear up and clear your head better than any over-the-counter sinus meds. And that's just smelling the stuff. 1750 S. Pacific Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, (949) 494-8424. $
ZINC CAFÉ
The lasagna is a great example of why meat or the absence of it is a non-issue at Zinc Café. A mixture of ricotta, ginger, shallots, garlic and spinach is lavished between the noodles making it rich and filling. Served on a soft bun with all the trimmings, the vegetarian Zinc burger imparts that certain meat-lust satisfaction that few meatless burgers do. 350 Ocean Ave., Laguna Beach, (949) 494-6302. $
EMPANADA MAN
Empanada Man prepares its steaming delicacy upon order, so it'll be a while before you can start debating whether to order a fourth or fifth one for the journey home. Chicken and beef empanadas are mini-stews of joy, the meats moist and accompanied by corn kernels in the former, hard-boiled egg slices in the latter. The spinach and potato selections are the edible equivalent of Argentina's gold-medal-winning Olympic soccer squad: rough, earthy, at first unimpressive but ultimately a winner. And the tangy dance the ricotta cheese empanada stomps upon your palate is worthy of a Gardel croon. 20761 Lake Forest Dr., Lake Forest, (949) 855-9257; www.empanadaman.com. ¢
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