Grub Guide
Tasty morsels from the county's best damn dining guide
TAQUERÍA EL GRANJENAL
Named after a Michoacán rancho that has sent thousands of its residents to Orange County, the colorful restaurant makes the best tacos in the county. They deviate from taco protocol by using full-sized corn tortillas and pile on chunks of your choice of grilled meat. The salsa is extraordinary, a dark-red lava extract whose burn factor is unknown outside Paricutín. 899 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa, (949) 645-4964. $
ZIPANGU
There are marvels here: the kabocha dumpling is baby lobster and pureed Japanese pumpkin in a balsamic glaze and garnished with some sort of flash-fried sage or mint. The New York steak, served as sushi-sized pieces in a tangy teriyaki sauce, is buttery and tender and perfectly done. And enough sushi is here to warrant a Greenpeace visit. 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, (714) 545-2800; www.zipanguoc.com. $$
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Merhaba Restaurant
2801 W. Ball Road
Anaheim, CA 92804
Category: Restaurant > African
Region: Anaheim
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BOUTIQUE SAMOA
1217 S. Western Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92804
Category: Restaurant > Polynesian
Region: Anaheim
Sarkis Pastry
2424 W. Ball Road
Anaheim, CA 92804
Category: Restaurant > Middle Eastern
Region: Anaheim
Thai Laos Market
1721 W. La Palma Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92801
Category: Restaurant > Grocery
Region: Anaheim
Trabuco Oaks Steak House
20782 Trabuco Oaks Drive
Coto De Caza, CA 92679
Category: Restaurant > Steakhouse
Region: Coto de Caza
Cafe Jardin at Sherman Gardens
2647 E. Coast Highway
Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
Category: Restaurant > French
Region: Corona Del Mar
Hi-Time Wine Cellars
250 Ogle St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Category: Restaurant > Wine Bar
Region: Costa Mesa
Super Corokke
675 Paularino Ave., Ste. C
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Category: Restaurant > Japanese
Region: Costa Mesa
Scott's Seafood Grill & Bar
3300 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Costa Mesa
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CYPRESS
CAFÉ HIRO
Café Hiro is a three-year-old Cypress eatery that has everything going for it except the design scheme, a setup that would only happen elsewhere if Goodwill decorated Denny's. But Hiro's exquisite entrées—a fantastic fusion of Japanese, Italian, French and American—ensures a steady stream of suitors; ridiculously cheap prices guarantee many rendezvous. And the ahi poke appetizer special—the buttery fish seared, warm and salty on the outside and chilled on the inside, wonderfully contrasting the accompanying field greens' snappiness—launches a thousand romances. 10509 Valley View St., Cypress, (714) 527-6090. $$
BEACH CITIES PIZZA
There's sweet spaghetti, wonderful breadsticks and a terrifying garlic sauce with thin, crispy strands of garlic that will actually numb your lips. But order yourself one of the gourmet pizzas—try the Newporter, a sweet mix of meaty prawns, juicy sun-dried tomatoes and a tangy pesto sauce glued onto a thin crust with a milky cheese. 34473 Golden Lantern, Dana Point, (949) 496-0606. $$
PUNJAB CUISINE OF INDIA
When tandoori-style cooking is done right, it's among the most delicious you can find, and you'll find no greater example of it in Orange County than at Punjab. It is solid, delicious and affordable. You'll get flavor flashbacks thinking about the lamb boti kebab masala. 18687 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley, (714) 963-6777. $$
RUBEN'S BAKERY
There are about a dozen coolers of pan dulce at Ruben's, each containing multiple trays holding a specific pan dulce genus, each genus boasting mucho diversity, and so forth. Stock up on empanadas, turnovers engorged with fillings and adorned with unique crusts. The camote empanada houses its sweet yam innards within a firm, buttery crust; the same crust also gives refuge to fillings of the lemon and cream variety. 438 S. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, (714) 992-0414. ¢
THAI RAMA
Making tempura is a delicate process, but when it's cooked right, it's better than Jesus. This quaint little restaurant offers a vegetable tempura—lacy, golden, spot-on perfect with fresh vegetables, cooked to a slight snap and coated in a batter so light it floats—that walks on water. 2500 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton, (714) 526-0777. $$
ZIING'S BISTRO BAR & RESTAURANT
Ziing's owners consulted a feng shui master during the design, and the results seem to vindicate their expenditure. This applies particularly to the miso-seared ahi, which is sliced and arrayed on a black plate with a red spoon of Shanghai sauce, mixed greens, a cube of wasabi and shiitake-ginger "chopsticks" that look like Vienna roll cookies. The ahi itself is exquisite. 209 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton, (714) 526-5777. $$
BÁNH MÌ CHE CALI
If you want to know what a thousand years of Chinese domination and a half-century of French colonization with dashes of Polynesian influence taste like, go for the bánh mì dac biet. Stuffed with pâté, pickled carrots and Chinese-style ham, this sandwich is the house specialty. 13838 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, (714) 534-6987.¢
CAPITAL SEAFOOD
The clam-and-ginger soup at Capital Seafood is amazing. Small, chewy clams in their shells combined with a delicious, spicy, clear ginger broth make one of the most interesting and flavorful seafood soups out there. 8851 Westminster Blvd., Garden Grove, (714) 892-4182; www.capitalseafoodrestaurant.com. $$
HANG A RI NOODLE HOUSE
The cult of gook soo at Hang A Ri Noodle House, a wood-paneled Korean restaurant in Garden Grove's Little Seoul district, might initially flummox your American palate—these buckwheat noodles are thin, slimy and pungent. But then you chopstick the noodles into your mouth—sluiced with chile, paired with fiery kimchi, supported by a fine complementary anchovy soup—and the frustrations of the evening vanish. 9916 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove, (714) 537-0100. $
LA VERANDA
Most of the Vietnamese dishes listed on La Veranda's colossal 14-page menu are unsullied by French influences—here, the colonization runs backward. Traditional French delicacies such as escargot, frog legs and coq au vin are accompanied by such Vietnamese side dishes as pickled daikon, nuoc mam (sweet fish sauce) and rice paper. The ensuing DIY combos result in plates that should earn La Veranda at least a four-star rating from the Michelin guide. 10131 Westminster Ave., Ste. 114, Garden Grove, (714) 539-3368. $
LOTUS CHINESE EATERY
Lotus is the county's second Chinese Muslim restaurant and it does a fine job of representing that cuisine's emphasis on meat, magazine-thick noodles and sesame breads large enough to double as Frisbees. Like almost every northern Chinese restaurant, Lotus trots out so-so egg rolls and egg-flower soup as appetizers, so it's better to start with chilled ox tripe. 16883 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach, (714) 848-4940. $$
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