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Hue Oi: Boiling Down to the Basics
By http://www.ocweekly.com/2013-04-25/food/hue-oi-restaurant-fountain-valley-little-saigon/
GREAT WALL MONGOLIAN BBQ
613 N. Euclid St.
Anaheim, CA 92801
Category: Restaurant > Chinese
Region: Anaheim
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8901-D Knott Ave.
Buena Park, CA 90620
Category: Restaurant > Indian
Region: Buena Park
2647 E. Coast Highway
Corona Del Mar, CA 92625
Category: Restaurant > French
Region: Corona Del Mar
1475 S. Coast Drive
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Category: Restaurant > Cafe
Region: Costa Mesa
1976 Newport Blvd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Category: Restaurant > Middle Eastern
Region: Costa Mesa
10557 Valley View St.
Cypress, CA 90630
Category: Restaurant > Thai
Region: Cypress
9430 Warner Ave.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Fountain Valley
600 S. Harbor Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92832
Category: Restaurant > Southwestern
Region: Fullerton
9562 Chapman Ave.
Garden Grove, CA 92841
Category: Restaurant > Middle Eastern
Region: Garden Grove
9916 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Category: Restaurant > Korean
Region: Garden Grove
11025 Westminster Ave.
Garden Grove, CA 92843
Category: Restaurant > Argentine
Region: Garden Grove
In a culinary tradition that varies little whether you're chopsticking through Mongolian BBQ in Ulan Bator or Utica, Great Wall differentiates itself by offering grub more fiery, more nuanced and a bit more bountiful than other charcuteries. Their daily lunch special is one of the most rewarding in the county—$4.50 for a bowl of Mongolian barbecue, along with a better-than-average egg roll, a thimble of fried rice that tastes vaguely Mexican and a small tureen of unctuous egg-flower soup. 1261 Harbor Blvd., Ste. A, La Habra, (714) 680-3569. ¢
A'ROMA RISTORANTE TRATTORIA
The restaurant has a modern décor in deep soothing colors, and the servers are attentive. Put yourself in the mood for the chicken-breast special, which is cooked to a golden tenderness and seasoned to a subtle richness. 30 Center Pointe Dr., Ste. 1, La Palma, (714) 523-3729. $
CASA OLAMENDI
Casa Olamendi is the sort of place in which you ask for a balcony seat for a sunny lunch or come later and watch the sun sink into the sea over the two T's: tamales and tequila. Tamales typically arrive on a combo plate, served without the husk, with good corn masa and delicious, tender chicken chunks covered with a little cheese. 1100 S. Coast Hwy., Ste. 202, Laguna Beach (949) 497-4148. $$
GOKO CAFE & DELI
Goko is one of the last remnants of the old Laguna Beach, the Laguna Beach of longhairs, coastal conservancy and a holistic lifestyle. Granola isn't an epithet here—it was the breakfast special. Goko also advertises breakfast burritos, beet-heavy salads and about 20 veggie takes on the pita sandwich from a couple of pastel-colored chalkboard menus that loom over the heads of customers. Great, healthy smoothies! 907 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, (949) 494-4880. $
SAVOURY'S
Located in La Casa del Camino Hotel in beautiful Laguna Beach, the restaurant is run by executive chef Brad Toles, captain of Team California in the International Culinary Olympics. He melds Asian and European cooking with a New Age flair. You can have your Brie and pad Thai here, and you'll like it. 1287 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach, (949) 376-9716; www.savourys.com. $$$
LAGUNA HILLS
PALACE BAKERY
Palace Bakery is the county's second shop to specialize in Persian desserts, a sweet-tooth tradition similar to Arabic pastries in their sumptuousness but exhibiting bolder flavors. Palace's baklava is sweeter than what they hawk in Anaheim's Little Arabia—splashed with more rose water and honey, the phyllo dough tougher and rolled around a dense almond filling so it resembles a miniature cigar. And every boxed purchase comes with a cool golden sticker! 24751 Alicia Pkwy., Ste. D, Laguna Hills, (949) 768-6252. ¢
THAI DINING
Start with their tom kah gai soup, a creamy, flavorful offering of the popular Thai chicken-coconut soup; then try the beef panang. It rates pretty high on the beef panang scale—and it'll make you sweat. 28051 Greenfield Dr., Ste. J, Laguna Niguel, (949) 643-5521. $
EL PARAÍSO
El Paraíso prepares sit-down platters: aromatic soups of chicken, beef or cow's foot with about four different squashes and potatoes; nicely grilled meats; and yucca sancochada, a golden and chewy version of the tuber doused with lemon. But no matter who's ordering what or working where, everyone who comes to El Paraíso forks through at least two chewy, sweet pupusas, the Salvadoran griddle cake that's the sole unifier of the fractious Central American nation. 25252 Jeronimo Rd., Ste. B, Lake Forest, (949) 770-2775. $
BABETTE'S FEAST
Babette's Feast is a boulangerie/patisserie par excellence, laying out a spread of delectable, mouth-watering delights that makes you thank heaven above for the gift of taste buds and these ungodly desserts. 4621 E. Second St., Long Beach, (562) 987-4536. $
THE BLUE CAFÉ
This music venue's food emphasizes fresh salads and semihealthy fare. The Blue Café salad—featuring grilled chicken, mango chunks, pepitas, blue cheese crumbles and apple slices—makes a meal that is fresh, filling and packed with your recommended daily amount of something or other. 210 N. Promenade, Long Beach, (562) 983-7111. $$
GREEN FIELD CHURRASCARIA
The phrase "food coma" was invented for the visceral carnality that clogs your pores at Green Field Churrascaria, which specializes in the terrifying meat onslaught known as churrascaria, or Brazilian barbecue. Churrascaria is pricey, but here's what you get: all-you-can-eat Brazilian sausage, tightly packed and burned to nirvana, like a non-sweet Chinese sausage; a chicken thigh, good but perhaps too dry; and beef loin, best ever, rare, but hot clear through. 5305 E. Pacific Coast Hwy., Long Beach, (562) 597-0906; www.greenfieldchurrascaria.com. $$
LOS ALAMITOS
PITTSBURGH CHICKEN & TATERS
Most Americans know the Steel City for its bankrupt hockey teams and bruising football squads, but this storefront restaurant with its goofy hen mascot (circa early Peanuts) makes broasted chicken. They pressure-cook the gals with the same relentless intensity the Steelers defense applies on third-and-15, producing meat that's plump and moist inside a fine gnarled skin. 3671 Katella Ave., Los Alamitos, (562) 594-0140. $
ALOHA BBQ
Hawaiian staples such as manapua (steamed pork buns) and boiling saimin noodles are fine at Aloha BBQ, along with a Korean-skewed side menu filled with bimimbap and complimentary kimchi. As great as those are, the most impressive meat meal is the spicy pork ribs. Most rib places content themselves with giving patrons a couple of twigs, but Aloha BBQ carts over four massive things that appear to have been torn from a hippo. 24000 Alicia Pkwy., Ste. 4, Mission Viejo, (949) 581-0976. $
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