Subject: Eating Out

• Traditions Offers Cheap, Hot, Delicious North Indian Cuisine

  July 23, 2009

• New Hotel And Restaurant/Bar Opening Soon in Long Beach

  ​The AVIA is set to open on Bay Street on either August 6 or 7. The fact that the date isn't yet set in stone hints that preparations are down to the wire, so we wish them well in putting the finishes touches to the property.We're intrigued about this new hotel and, in particular, its restaurant and bar, although there's not much information on it yet, other than the website and a brief press release, which states:"AVIA Kitchen will be a true cook's kitchen, where a hosted daily breakfast feat

  July 28, 2009

• "Waiter, There's Too Much Salt In My Food!" "Dangerous" Denny's Sued Over High Sodium Levels

  ​A class-action suit filed in New Jersey by longtime Denny's patron Nick DeBenedetto and backed by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) alleges that "Most meals at Denny's restaurants meals are dangerously high in salt, putting the chain's customers at greater risk of high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke."The CSPI claims that Denny's nutritional information should be available in its restaurants, not just online, and wants a judge to force Denny's to disclose

  July 30, 2009

• [Hole in the Wall] You Got Your Chimichurri On My Tacos!

  July 30, 2009

• Andrei's Braises Consciousness About Sustainable Dining

  July 30, 2009

• Note to All Restaurants: Stop the Sleight of Hand!

  ​Seriously, if you're going to advertise a deal outside, don't assume we've forgotten about it once we get inside. We are not goldfish!This happened on Sunday afternoon. Tempted to try newbie Brasserie Pascal at Fashion Island, we noticed the dealbreaker on a board in front of the entrance: filet mignon, halibut or coq au vin for $10.But once we were seated, we were given just the regular menu. No word of the bargains. Perhaps we'd made a mistake? Maybe they were only offered during the week,

  August 4, 2009

• Upscale Mexican (Finally) Done Right at SOL Cocina

  August 6, 2009

• Go Around the World In 50 States (or Cities, or Regions, or Styles, or Whatever)

  August 6, 2009

• Anaheim White House Pays Delicious Homage to Julia Child

  Brasserie Pascal isn't the only restaurant with a Julie & Julia culinary tie-in. The Anaheim White House is another contender, running a month-long promo featuring dishes from MtAoFC (if you have to ask what that is, you haven't read the book or seen the film). Available until the end of the month for lunch and dinner, the rotating French dishes have been selected by Executive Chef Eddie Meza and Executive Catering Chef Maurice Brazier, who occupies one of only 100 seats of the Académie Cul

  August 12, 2009

• 25 Degrees Delivers on the Burgers, Overpromises on the Bordello

  August 13, 2009

• O.C. Restaurant Week Coming: Now With Even More Restaurants!

  As we hinted at a few months earlier, the 2nd annual OC Restaurant Week will take place September 13-19.  And I've gotta say: This year's list is pretty darn impressive.  There are 117 participating restaurants so far.  Some are serious heavy hitters, like Stonehill Tavern. Others are brand spanking new hits like Watermarc.  And this, I heard, isn't even the final list. All on the roster will offer either $20, $30, or $40 3-course dinners, or $10, $15, or $203-course lun

  August 14, 2009

• [Hole in the Wall] Bring an Andean Appetite to Rollie's Bakery in Tustin

  August 20, 2009

• Flickr Photo of the Week!

  Flickr user Ben Dayhoe"Someday My Café Will Come"​This week's awesome Flickr Photo of the Week showing a before and after of Downtown Santa Ana is brought to us by user Ben Dayhoe (hee). Here's his photo description: "My first attempt at the "Looking into the Past" series. You are looking at the Northwest corner of 3rd and Main in Downtown Santa Ana, CA. Like many great historical structures in Santa Ana, the old cafe on the corner has been run into the ground and is now one of our many urban

  August 21, 2009

• Drink(s) of the Week: The Ricardo's $3 Menu

  ​Gustavo probably wouldn't have many kind things to say about the food at Ricardo's Place in San Juan Capistrano. It's one of those brightly-colored, family-friendly joints with big plates of just-ok-if-you-don't-know-any-better Mexican-American standards. For the record, I don't know any better, so it tastes pretty good to me. But forget about the food for a second, because the place has something better than bland burritos: cheap drinks.On each table, there's a card proclaiming, in classic M

  August 24, 2009

• Arizona's True Food Kitchen Coming To OC?

  ​I heard a rumor that the fledgling chain, which debuted in Phoenix last year, was planning on opening a second restaurant in Orange County. I checked with Debbie Porter, VP of Marketing for Fox Restaurant Concepts (FRC), who confirms that they are indeed looking at OC locations right now, although "nothing is final."A partnership between FRC (founded by restaurateur Sam Fox) and author and skincare guru Dr Andrew Weil, True Food Kitchen serves "globally inspired cuisine that nourishes the min

  August 26, 2009

• Dueling Dishes: Thai Green Shrimp Curry

  For this week's challenge I picked two local Thai joints, both of which have two locations. The first contender: Urban Thai, in Aliso Viejo's Town Center mall (the other branch is in Corona). The menu has all the usual suspects, but it's the beer selection that intrigued me, as it included two types I'd never seen before on any drinks list, anywhere: James Boag from Tasmania and Hinano from Tahiti. ​As for the green shrimp curry, it arrived, still bubbling, in a deep white dish. The sauce

  August 27, 2009

• Haven Gastropub in Orange Opening This Friday, September 4

  ​We've been following the progress of this new venture, and can confirm that it's set to open to the public this Friday. Edwin tipped me off about the launch date, so he gets credit for that, as do his foodie friends who tipped him off, DanGarion and Jay Ruiz.Located in Old Towne Orange, Haven will be "a modern kitchen that prides itself on producing farm-to-table-fresh European old world fare that far transcends typical pub grub." Good, because typical pub grub in England was until recently q

  August 31, 2009

• Mouthwatering Demos at South Coast Plaza For OC Restaurant Week

  ​A dozen of the county's top chefs, all from restaurants participating in Orange County Restaurant Week, will be showcasing their skills at Bloomingdale's Home Store from September 5 to 19. Sadly, due to health codes, no sampling is allowed (boo, hiss!), but you can at least get to see the culinary wizards in action, and there'll be book signings and gift card giveaways. The full rundown after the jump.

  September 1, 2009

• Japonaise Bakery Closed; It's Back To Cream Pan and Cream Pan Alone

  Edwin Goei​Fellow OC food bloggers Julian Hsu and Melissa clued me in to a recent development in Old Town Tustin. Japonaise Bakery & Cafe, which was what beloved hole-in-the-wall bakery Cream Pan expanded and grew up into February of last year, has now folded, ceding its space to a planned noodle shop (which is actually good news, in my opinion).

  September 4, 2009

• K'Ya Anaheim Redoes Its Menu. Now Called K'Ya Street Fare.

  Jonathan Ho​Not more than a few weeks ago, after a co-worker asked about restaurants in the Disneyland area, I recommended K'Ya, highlighting their Bistro menu, which featured items such as a hanger steak with mashed potato and sauteed veggies for around $10. I checked their website to confirm that it was still in effect and it was.

  September 9, 2009

• Reminder: OC Restaurant Week Starts Sunday, Plus Demos at Bloomie's On Now!

  ​Oh, yes, it's time to take advantage of the county's best restaurants. In a good way, of course. From September 13 to 19 inclusive, more than 100 of them, from Ambrosia to Zov's, are participating in OC Restaurant Week by offering bargain lunch and/or dinner prix fixes, from as little as $10.Some deal are more generous than others, natch, but full details are on the official website, so you can plan ahead (advance bookings are recommended).

  September 10, 2009

• Laguna Beach's French 75 Rises Above Its Confusing Corporate Past

  September 10, 2009

• Thank You Little F****er: How Not to Treat Your Customers

  ​As we all know, we should never lose our cool with wait staff, lest they wee in our soup. But that's not all we have to worry about now.In a wonderful example of British hospitality, waiters at Cactus Joe's, a newly opened Mexican restaurant in Halifax, Yorkshire (gee, that sounds authentic), showed what they thought of a two-year-old diner, who had apparently dared to whine about slow service and poor food (a budding Stick a Fork In It blogger, if ever there were one!)The parents of little M

  September 16, 2009

• Newport Beach Restaurant Weeks Coming!

  ​No, that's not a typo--there's not one but two Newport Beach Restaurant Weeks to look forward to. The first runs from October 16 to 22, the second one will be in January. As much as I hate planning that far ahead, I'm prepared to make an exception when it comes to food!Expect mainly three-course lunch and dinner deals from as little as $10, and although the website doesn't yet name names, it does say there will be around 100 venues participating. Woo-hoo! We'll update this post with more info

  September 19, 2009

• Vietnamese Cajun Crawfish With Funnel Cake for Dessert: Thank You, Q Restaurant

  September 24, 2009

• An Encyclopedic Beer Selection, Killer Burger Redeem the Uneven Debut of Haven Gastropub

  October 1, 2009

• Notes From A Grubfest At South Coast Plaza

  Mall restaurants aren't everyone's first choice when dining out, but South Coast Plaza is surely an exception? Not the fast-food joints and run-of-the-mill chains, of course, but the higher-end spaces. Name one other shopping center in the US that's home to a trifecta of the caliber of Hamamori, Charlie Palmer and Marché Moderne?On Friday and Saturday I took part in a two-day event that gathered a group of local (OC and LA) food bloggers and led us around the crème de la crème of SCP's eateri

  October 5, 2009

• The Secret Menu at May Garden Opens Up a Whole New World of Taiwanese Tastes

  October 8, 2009

• [BEST OF OC] El Mesero (the Waiter): Rick Jones

  October 8, 2009

• [BEST OF OC] El Francés (the Frenchman): Pascal Olhats

  October 8, 2009

• I've Revealed A Secret; Now It's Your Turn

  Edwin Goei​If you've picked up the latest edition of The Weekly -- which is, by the way, our annual, and might I say, awesome Best of OC Issue (okay, I'm done with the shameless plug) -- you might have noticed my review of May Garden's secret menu in the usual Food section. During a chat with head honcho Ted Kissell, he asked me, "Don't many/most Chinese restaurants have two menus, the Americanized one and the Chinese one?" I told him that, actually, I'm not sure. But for the most part,

  October 9, 2009

• Is There ANYTHING Salvageable from the Weekly's Best of OC Reader's Poll Food Winners?

  ​Fair is fair, folks. A couple of weeks ago, I blasted the Orange County Register's "Best of Orange County" for the horrible selections readers picked as the best representation of a culinary category (Peppino's as best Italian! Subway as best Sandwich! Daphne's as best Greek!). Our Best of OC issue is out this week, with Edwin and I taking responsibility for virtually all the picks. But one part that we completely wipe our hands of is our Reader's Poll, and I'll repeat the same point I made w

  October 9, 2009

• Commonwealth Lounge: Now Serving Live Music on Wednesdays

  ​When you think of the small bar scene clustered in the corner of Fullerton's "SoCo District" (south of Commonwealth) most can agree that it's the only section of downtown where live music truly exists. You've heard plenty about the stages at the Continental Room, Slidebar, Steamers, Stubriks and Santa Fe Cafe. But until now, Commonwealth Lounge hasn't fully committed to opening itself up to the idea of hosting local bands--even though they do host a kick ass jazz ensemble that few people real

  October 14, 2009

• Newport Beach Restaurant Week

  October 15, 2009

• Fora is a Hidden Gem on Naples' Restaurant Row

  October 15, 2009

• Take Note, Budding Moviemakers: Kimera Is Running An Ad-Making Contest

  ​The Irvine restaurant is already offering a movie-related tie-in (each diner purchasing a $20 two-course or $30 three-course Movie Night Menu gets a free film ticket, but you must book--and mention the deal--in advance).But this is different--something that will actually get people thinking. Although the challenge is tough--applicants have to come up with a "15-second, family friendly commercial that illustrates why Kimera is an Orange County landmark"--the prize is worth it for aspiring, er,

  September 29, 2009

• Is There ANYTHING Salvageable from the Reg's Best of Orange County Food Winners?

  I usually don't care for lolcats, but this one...​For 16 years, the Orange County Register's annual Best of Orange County has mystified county eaters with this simple question: are the paper's readers really that stupid and tasteless to continue calling the Olive Garden the best place in Orange County for Italian food?The answer this year: they're getting better, because the Olive Garden merely ranked number two. The somewhat edible Peppino's chain, according to the Reg, is the best Italian re

  September 23, 2009

• Five Great Egg Dishes

  Mmm...underdeveloped duck embryo...​Ate a simple scramble this morning at Monkey Business Cafe, which is getting ready to do something wonderful with persimmons. At $4.95 for four pieces of toast, a melon slice, and eggs mixed with cheddar cheese and green onions, quite the treat. Eating it, however, made me think of other wonderful local dishes derived from eggs. Such as:*Hollandaise sauce at Memphis at the Santora: I can only eat a little bit, so rich and yolk-y the sauce is. My chica, thoug

  October 19, 2009

• Osteria Drago Slated To Open In Fashion Island Spring 2010

  Picture Courtesy of Drago Centro​More details are coming in about the planned Osteria Drago, an Italian eatery with a Naples-style wood burning pizza oven and family-style dining, by Celestino Drago who brought you Drago Centro in L.A. The target date is vague, sometime around spring, but it will be will be located adjacent to Nordstrom, which apparently is debuting at the same time. One thing is certain, Osteria Drago will be moderately big, occupying more than 3,700 square feet, not incl

  October 21, 2009

• New Inspection Placards Appearing in OC

  Orange County Health Care Agency​After the OC Register's exposé of the sanitation in OC's restaurants in 2008, the County Board of Supervisors empaneled a grand jury to examine how to improve food safety in OC eateries.The grand jury did its research and decided that the best way to avoid these "dining dangers" (ninjas at table 3!) was for OC to adopt the A-B-C letter grade system used in all of our surrounding counties.The Board of Supervisors decided in December not to move to a letter grad

  October 21, 2009

• [Hole in the Wall] Throw Pho Quang Trung's Chicken Pho Before Swine (Flu)

  October 22, 2009

• Another Restaurant Goes Global Tapas

  Flight Bistro​Susan Feniger, what hast thou wrought?After one-half of the Too Hot Tamales, of Border Grill fame, opened the nearly un-Googleable Street in Hollywood as a restaurant specializing in street foods from around the world, it seems like everyone has started jumping on the bandwagon.Edwin reported six weeks ago that K'Ya in Anaheim had changed from a normal restaurant to a global street-food place, with a lot of small plates arranged by country.Now Flight Bistro in Huntington Beach, u

  October 23, 2009

• Myung Dong Kal Guksu in Anaheim Is a Temple of Korean Hand-Cut Noodles

  October 29, 2009

• Dessert of the Week: Strawberry Shortcake at Cafe Zoolu

   When first entering Café Zoolu, don't be scared off by the neon pink sign or the cheetah-print chairs lining the bar, for you will soon come to appreciate these quirks. Although this restaurant may look like a cross between a Hawaiian tiki hut and an African jungle safari on acid, the place is packed and the food will keep you coming back.Tucked away in Laguna Beach, off of Pacific Coast Highway and across from an unsightly Circle K, Café Zoolu is best known for its seafood dishes, a

  October 29, 2009

• [Hole in the Wall] Translating Meals at Mami King in Buena Park

  November 5, 2009

• Life on the Veg: Veggie Stack at Memphis Soul Cafe

  Grace Le​ The biggest grievance vegetarians have while dining out is most likely going to be lack of selection. Most restaurants think they've got all their bases covered by keeping a few boxes of frozen garden patties in stock and a few salads on the menu. Upon first glance, Memphis Soul Cafe's menu seems to be the perfect example of such a cop out. That is, until you ask for the specials.

  November 11, 2009

• [Hole in the Wall] Middle Eastern Pizza at Forn Al Hara in Anaheim

  November 12, 2009

• Life on the Veg: Noorani Halal Tandoori in Garden Grove

  Dal Urad​Noorani's Halal Tandoori Restaurant is a hole-in-the-wall type establishment that is pretty easy to overlook, particularly amid the clusterfuck that is Little Saigon's urban design. If you do notice, chances are you'll experience a moment of severe disorientation when you realize you're looking at a Pakistani restaurant in... well, Little Saigon. It may look like a fish out of water, but since it has been located on the same block for about 20 years, it's most likely that the outgrowt

  November 18, 2009

• The Northern Chinese Fare at Asian Tapas Isn't Really Tapas, But It Is Delectable

  November 19, 2009

• Seva Cafe's Weekly Gift to Return Next Year

  Courtesy of BeTheCause.org Volunteer cheerfully serving his own vegan creation​ October saw the last (for now) in a series of inspiring experiments in altruism and mostly meatless dining. Operating under the motto "Living is Giving," Seva Cafe hosted a meaningful dining experience each Sunday from January through October after hours at Zephyr Cafe in downtown Long Beach. 

  November 19, 2009