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Brunch a Bunch Across OC!
OC's best brunches: The ethnic, the gorgeous views and the bottomless booze!
VIDEO:Click here to go behind the scenes of our cover photo shoot!
Meranda Carter
Ramos House Cafe
Meranda Carter
River's End Cafe
Location Info
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The Ritz-Carlton
1 Ritz-Carlton Way
Dana Point, CA 92629
Category: Hotels/Resorts
Region: Dana Point
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River's End Cafe
15 First St.
Seal Beach, CA 90740
Category: Restaurant > Caribbean
Region: Seal Beach
The Restaurant At the Tustin Ranch Golf Club
12442 Tustin Ranch Road
Tustin, CA 92782
Category: Restaurant >
Region: Tustin
Storytellers Cafe
1600 S. Disneyland Drive Anaheim, CA
Anaheim, CA 92802
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Anaheim
Rick's Atomic Cafe
3100 Airway Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Category: Restaurant > Cafe
Region: Costa Mesa
Irvine Certified Farmers' Market
Campus Drive and Bridge Road
Irvine, CA 92612
Category: Retail
Region: Irvine
Sugar Shack Cafe
213 1/2 Main St.
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Huntington Beach
Taqueria Zamora
3121 S. Main St.
Santa Ana, CA 92707
Category: Restaurant > Mexican
Region: Santa Ana
Amorelia Mexican Cafe
2200 Harbor Blvd., C110
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Category: Restaurant > Mexican
Region: Costa Mesa
King Lobster Palace
2045 N. Tustin St.
Orange, CA 92865
Category: Restaurant > Chinese
Region: Orange
Champion Food Co.
17090 Magnolia St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Category: Restaurant >
Region: Fountain Valley
Tacos El Chavito
301 E. Florida Ave.
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
Category: Restaurant > Mexican
Region: Huntington Beach
Tacos El Chavito
Morgan St.
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
Category: Restaurant > Mexican
Region: Huntington Beach
Kareem's Restaurant
1208 S. Brookhurst St.
Anaheim, CA 92804
Category: Restaurant > Middle Eastern
Region: Anaheim
Irvine China Garden
14825 Jeffrey Road
Irvine, CA 92618
Category: Restaurant > Chinese
Region: Irvine
Pho 86 Restaurant
14576 Brookhurst St.
Westminster, CA 92683
Category: Restaurant > Asian
Region: Westminster
Jang Mo Gip
9816 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Category: Restaurant > Vietnamese
Region: Garden Grove
Loreley Restaurant
1340 S. Sanderson Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92806
Category: Restaurant > German
Region: Out of Town
Plum's Café and Catering
369 E. 17th St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Category: Restaurant > Breakfast
Region: Costa Mesa
Break of Dawn Restaurant
24351 Avenida De La Carlota, Ste. N-6
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
Category: Restaurant > Breakfast
Region: Laguna Hills
Ramos House Cafe
31752 Los Rios St.
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: San Juan Capistrano
Taco Rosa
2632 San Miguel Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Category: Restaurant > Mexican
Region: Newport Beach
Nick's Laguna Beach
440 S. Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Category: Restaurant > American
Region: Laguna Beach
Old Vine Cafe
2937 Bristol St., Ste. A-102
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Category: Restaurant > Eclectic
Region: Costa Mesa
Details
SEE ALSO:
VIDEO: Go behind the scenes of our cover photo shoot with body painter and photographer Filippo ioco.
SLIDESHOW: More photos of our Bunch of Brunch!
VIDEO: Go behind the scenes of our cover photo shoot with body painter and photographer Filippo ioco.
SLIDESHOW: More photos of our Bunch of Brunch!
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See even more Remember that episode of The Simpsons in which Marge nearly has an affair with Jacques the French bowling instructor, and the lothario invites her to brunch, but Marge doesn't know what brunch is? "It's not quite breakfast, it's not quite lunch, but it comes with a slice of cantaloupe at the end," Jacques explains. "You don't get completely what you would at breakfast, but you get a good meal!"
That episode originally aired in 1994, and thank God brunch has evolved from those trendy, yuppie days into something all of us can enjoy come weekend. (The other great Simpsons brunch quote: Homer wins an award at his high-school reunion for the alumnus who has gained the most weight. When asked how he did it, Homer replies, "I discovered a meal between breakfast and brunch!") Orange County now has three distinct brunch experiences: the ethnic, the ones with gorgeous views, and those where the mimosas and Bloody Marys usually never end. And below are those with the best food (Las Brisas in Laguna Beach has the most legendary view in OC and stiff drinks, but the food? Let's be honest—meh). There is overlap between the three, of course, but hey: view this as an easy guide to decide where to eat comfortably with your mother, your love or your pals who don't freak out that English isn't the primary language. Enjoy!
BRUNCH WITH A VIEW
Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel
All these years later, even as its cost has risen from $50 just five years ago to today's $65 and gas prices have made a visit to Dana Point nearly impossible for most of Orange County, the Ritz-Carlton's Sunday champagne brunch remains the standard by which all OC brunches are compared. It's no longer the all-you-can-eat buffet-table excess of years past, but now held at the resort's excellent RAYA as a three-course special with endless bubbly. The stunning views remain, as does the Ritz's impeccable service, making even the most yeoman among us feel like one of the lords of Orange County—if only for an omelet. 1 Ritz-Carlton Dr., Dana Point, (949) 240-2000; www.ritzcarlton.com.
River's End Cafe
Here is perhaps the only place in Orange County outside San Clemente where brunch on the beach is affordable and delicious: patio dining alongside the mouth of the San Gabriel River, with families, beach bums and tourists alike sipping Bloody Marys and enjoying the restaurant's mix of Mexican (quesadillas, crunchy chilaquiles), American (omelets, puffy pancakes, sweet French toast) and Mexican-American (a greasy-good chorizo scramble, hefty breakfast burritos). Brunch like a Corona del Mar-er at Stanton prices. 15 First St., Seal Beach, (562) 431-5558; www.riversendcafe.com.
Bruxie
Belgian waffles just like you'd find in Belgium! In fact, you'll find two kinds of waffles at this buzzed-about place: the dense, sweet Liège-style waffle studded inside with crunchy pearls of sugar and the savory, light, Brussels-style kind that Bruxie uses to make its namesake sandwiches. What's the difference? American waffles use baking powder for lift, while waffles in Belgium rely also on yeast to give them an even airier, lighter and crisp texture. The unsweetened Brussels waffle makes a versatile vehicle for both savory and sweet sandwiches. Bruxie's regular menu features favorites such as the smoked salmon, cucumber and herbed cream cheese; the applewood-smoked bacon and Tillamook Cheddar sandwich; and the Belgian chocolate, graham cracker and toasted-marshmallow cream. But there's also a rotating menu of daily specials, which, on Saturdays, might make use of whatever ingredients the farmers bring to the Orange Home Grown market just two blocks away. And afterward, you can mosey through Old Towne Orange, the best post-brunch, non-coast stroll in the county. 292 N. Glassell St., Orange, (888) 927-8943; www.bruxie.com.
The Restaurant at Tustin Ranch Golf Club
If you've ever craved seafood and prime rib at 10 in the morning and relish flushing it down with bottomless mimosas, then the Restaurant a Tustin Ranch Golf Club just might be your mecca. A Sunday brunch here includes foods you'd expect (waffles and eggs from their own stations), as well as some you don't (sashimi and Korean chicken). As you gaze over the green, undulating hills of the course, you eat it all, drink yourself tipsy on the never-ending mimosas, for this, you realize, is the last hurrah for a weekend that'll be over in less than 24 hours. 12442 Tustin Ranch Rd., Tustin, (714) 734-2111; www.tustinranchgolf.com.
Storytellers Café at Disney Grand Californian Hotel
Disney did a lot of things wrong when it built that second theme park, mistakes it's trying very hard to correct now. But one thing it got right is the Storytellers Café, the Vegas-style buffet inside the Grand Californian Hotel, which doesn't surprise you so much as it fulfills your every Disney-fan expectations. What Disney lacks in kitchen panache, it makes up for it with consistency and efficiency. Costumed Disney characters frolic to delight your kids, and Mickey Mouse-head waffles dusted with powdered sugar are sized exactly to fit inside little hands. It all sets the right tone and gets you in the mood for a day at the park. 1600 S. Disneyland Dr., Anaheim, (714) 635-2300.
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