Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

On The Line: Scott Brandon of LinX, Part One

Scott Brandon is no stranger to the restaurant scene, but he will be making his Old Towne Orange debut next month, as LinX is ready to rock and roll. Scott made time to answer our burning questionnaire, and well, you've been warned. This chef interview is rated PG-13 for adult language.Your earliest ... More >>

Ennar Calasian Grill Puts Japan in Little Saigon

The new izakaya takes over Xanh Bistro's old space

New Yakitori Bar Opens In Costa Mesa

If you haven't heard, Hana No Ki, the old multi-purpose sushi and Japanese restaurant at the corner of Baker and Bear not far from the Mitsuwa Marketplace and South Coast Plaza, has folded. Now a new yakitori bar called Takaya Yakitori Izakaya has moved in. Expect all parts of a chicken to be s ... More >>

Diatribe With Dave: Q & A with Aron Habiger of The Crosby!

Every second and fourth Wednesday night of the month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau hosts Dinner with Dave at Memphis at the Santora, where he treats drinkers to a free meal and live music as the evening progresses. To remind ustedes of this great night, Dave treats us every W ... More >>

Sit Like a Shogun at Honda-Ya

The Tustin haunt brings its formidable brand and izakaya food to Fullerton

On the Line: Ryan Adams of Three Seventy Common Food Drink, Part One

When interviewing a chef at their establishment, there's always the possibility that we'll be interrupted by one of their staff and our meeting will be cut short. In the case of Ryan Adams, it was quite the contrary. He assured us that interruptions wouldn't occur in their private dining room (a.k.a ... More >>

10 Great Chicken Dishes in Orange County (and Long Beach)

There are lot of chicken dishes out there and I have only ten slots on this list. So I picked out my faves using my own unscientific criteria of what constitutes a chicken dish, ruling out others because chicken wasn't the star. What remains are dishes where I felt America's favorite poultry got top ... More >>

O.C.'s Second Honda-Ya Opens in Fullerton

Effectively there are already two Honda-Ya's in OC: the one in Tustin and the one in Fountain Valley. But the Fountain Valley location is technically called Kappo Honda. It's a sister restaurant, not a clone. It's also smaller and doesn't offer a lot of what the one in Tustin serves.

10 Great Japanese Restaurants in Orange County

​For this list of Japanese restaurants, we intentionally left out the sushi bars, because, well, we already did that list. We also shut out the ramen joints, teppanyakis, and yakinikus because, well, we still want to do those lists. But you can certainly have ramen and sushi, even a Californi ... More >>

Honda-Ya to Open In Fullerton

​Sharp-eyed Chowhound contributor and loyal SaFII reader OCSteve noticed that the old Sizzler on Yorba Linda Blvd. near the 57 in Fullerton is going to turn into a branch of the popular izakaya Honda-Ya. Honda-Ya's website confirms this and talks about a spring opening.

Five Ways to Celebrate Elvismas

​Christmas is a lame holiday celebrating the fake birthday of some guy who probably never even existed. And that's just one reason why it sucks, which is why January 8 is a way better day to get your party on.For those who don't know, January 8 is Elvis Presley's birthday. Depending on which camp ... More >>

On the Line: The Men of the Burnt Truck, Part One

Photo by Meranda Carter​When we suggested the guys behind local luxe lonchera the Burnt Truck split up the answers, it wasn't until after the fact we realized all three (Paul Cao, Phi Nguyen and Minh Pham) submitted answers to the entire questionnaire. So this week, we flex our keyboarding muscles ... More >>

Blink 182 at the Honda Center Last Saturday Night

Christopher Victorio/OC Weekly​Check out our slideshow for more blink-182 pictures here!Blink-182 and My Chemical RomanceOct. 1, 2011Honda CenterIf you've been keeping up with Blink 182 news, you know they've spent the last two months trucking along with the decade-old Honda Civic Tour and are pla ... More >>

Tustin To Mull Over Weekly "Family Fun Night" at Old Town

​I don't know why I was watching the Tustin City Council Meeting last night. It is usually just about as riveting as sitting through The Weather Channel's Local On the 8s ; but something they were discussing piqued my interest. During the meeting, the owner of Beach Pit BBQ, Tim DeCinces, stood ... More >>

Ronald Charles Vinci, Former Santa Ana Honda Dealer, Dies Mysteriously in Florida

​The body of the former owner of a Santa Ana Honda dealership was found this week wrapped in duct tape in the two-story, $5 million mansion he  purchased a couple weeks ago in Fort Lauderdale, Florida's upscale Tarpon Bend neighborhood.Police there revealed few other details about the death o ... More >>

On the Line: Hung Tram of La Creperie Cafe, Part One

Photo by Laila Derakhshanian​It helps to have a sense of humor when you're launching two restaurants. Just ask Hung Tram. A couple of months ago, he opened one in Chino Hills; this month, the second La Creperie Cafe welcomed diners off Pine Avenue in Long Beach. Hung found time between commutes to ... More >>

New Japanese Restaurant Coming To Tustin

Will you mess with the Gohan?​In one of the too many strip malls along Newport Avenue in Tustin, another competitor has dared to go up against local samurais Cream Pan and Honda Ya. Its name: Gohan. Not to be confused with a bad Adam Sandler movie or the Dragonball hero, loosely translated, it mea ... More >>

Mandoorang Dumpling House Is the In-N-Out of Korean OC

[Hole In the Wall] This Buena Park diner offers great dumplings and other late-night Korean munchies

Britney Spears Confirms Honda Center Date

​Britney Spears just announced her SoCal dates with Nicki Minaj. Nervo and Jessie and the Toy Boys will also be opening. Spears will be at the Staples Center on June 20 and the Honda Center June 24. Tickets go on sale Saturday, April 30, at 10 a.m.

How to Cook Perfect Bacon!

ProfessorSalt.comOven-baked = perfect bacon​A few days ago, we told you about the Bacon Challenge, a contest to show off creative bacon cooking skills. Today, let's talk about cooking fundamentals and show you the best way to cook loads of bacon.The target? Perfectly crisp, beautifully de-fatted, ... More >>

Lady Gaga Puts Anaheim Heckler in His Place

Christopher Victorio/OC WeeklyLady Gaga at Honda Center last week​At Lady Gaga's show at Honda Center last week, she talked about her encounter with a man who was preaching Jesus talk outside the venue. even handing her a "get out of hell free card."There are a few incredible things about this sto ... More >>

¡Ask a Comida Critic!: Non-Pho Beef Tendon Dishes?

​From a close friend:Recently been enjoying beef tendon only pho. Looking to kick up the tendon experience. Have you had any beef tendon salads in OC? Looking for that Chinese dish, but hopefully there are variants in other ethnic foods.Ah, tendon: that slippery, tender band that Asians adore, L ... More >>

No Sushi, No Problem at Izakaya Meijiya

Another (delectable) attempt to make a small-plates Japanese eating-and-drinking concept work in OC

Metallica: Kings of the Bass Creep

Metallica's playing the Honda Center Dec. 10, so last night I decided to check out some recent footage of the band on Youtube to see if it's worth going to see the metal demigods. Fast forward to the 2:00 minute mark of this video and see for yourself. Needless to say, new bassist Robert Trujillo ca ... More >>

'Fame Kills' Killed; Kanye West and Lady Gaga Scrap Tour

​From the "well, you kind of had to see this coming" department: Kanye West and Lady Gaga have canceled their much-publicized, co-headlining "Fame Kills" tour, which was to stop at Anaheim's Honda Center on November 15. (Yes, surely a lot of people are going to be using "'Fame Kills' Killed." Who ... More >>

Easy Writer Part 2: Gettin' Greasy

​Once you decide on the bike that suits you best, make sure it's in good mechanical shape by either going through it yourself if you're into working with your hands, or take it to a reputable motorcycle shop in the area.http://orangecounty.citysearch.com/listings/laguna-hills/motorcycles/56117_128 ... More >>

On the Line: Chef Florent Marneau of Marche Moderne

Courtesy of Marche ModerneHe is Florent Marneau, chef and proprietor of Marche Moderne, one of the best French restaurants in the county.  We are food bloggers with a few dumb questions that we've always wanted to know but were afraid to ask.  What do you get when you mix?  You get wh ... More >>

Get out your earplugs...

...because AC/DC's coming to town. Yes, Australia's favorite school-boy dressing rock band is hitting the Honda Center Sept. 8. Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.   Because I'd lived in SoCal my entire life, I've had the opportunity to see just about any band I ever wanted to see. This has ... More >>

Sushi and Bulgogi Live Together in Perfect Harmony, Side-By-Side at Tustin's Haru Izakaya

The Most Pointless Valet Service in Orange County: Geisha House

Geisha House in SanTana's cursed CityPlace development just opened, and I haven't stopped by to try the place so can't comment on the food. I can, however, offer an opinion on its valet service: pointless.It's one thing to offer valet service in urban areas where parking is scarce or in vast lots, b ... More >>

Next for Diamond Jamboree: A Greek Restaurant & A Yakitori Bar

Two more places put their sign up at Diamond Jamboree. First, there's Greek Islands Cuisine. If the name sounds familiar, it's because they already have a food stall at the Main Street Plaza Food Court, also in Irvine. Their new store in Diamond Jamboree will be significantly bigger. It will b ... More >>

Izakaya is the New Sushi

Have you noticed something lately? Izakayas -- the Japanese equivalent to the gastro-pub, tapas house, and neighborhood bar all wrapped up into one -- are popping up all over O.C. So many izakayas have opened lately, in fact, that the trend is obvious: Izakaya is the new sushi. Last year, Takashi ... More >>

Big Wave Riding Awards 2008

Yes to Complexly Rock Honda Center Aug. 20

Set aside your negative bias toward Yes—and while you're at it, lose your knee-jerk hatred of prog rock. Yes fuckin' rock—albeit in a long-winded, redonkulously complex manner. And Chris Squire's bass playing? Completely slaughters Les Claypool's. Ask Squarepusher. He'll vouch for me. As thos ... More >>

The Chuck Wagon

Steakhouses, mess halls, eateries, barbecues, fine-dining establishments, & gratuitous & thematically inconsistent Tolkien references

Grub Guide

Tasty morsels from the county's best damn dining guide

Saturday's Headlines & Surprises: 'Stinky' White House

777: The Gabrielino-Tongva tribe is coming to Garden Grove with a huge bag of Halloween goodies. What's the treat? $78 million-a-year to city coffers, 10,000 permanent new jobs and college scholarships to every graduating high school student in the city. The trick? Let the tribe--and some guys name ... More >>

Thursday's Headlines & Surprises: Register Slams Sheriff

A broken clock is right more often than Rohrabacher: Orange County Congressman Dana Rohrabacher recently uttered that President George W. Bush deserves another six months to turn things around in Iraq. But the Huntington Beach/Long Beach representative has a shameful history on the subject. More t ... More >>

Brookhurst Do's and Don'ts

Three days. Three meals. Stand and shoot: H. Salt Fish & Chips 18856 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley Don't: Stop by for lunch. It'll take a small lifetime. And the seating area's tight. Do: Step in if you like your seafood caked in batter. And if you don't mind that everything tastes the same. Sto ... More >>

Grub Guide

Tasty morsels from the county's best damn dining guide

Kkkcuf Amerikkka

Jan. 4-Jan. 11

Prostate Orgasm

GET OUT! Nightlife and more: Dec. 7 - Dec. 14

Special Screenings

Movie of the Week: Playtime

Plum Pickings

Two grand ways to eat at Kappo Suzumaru

This Week in Food on a Stick

Sushi by Moonlight

Feasting into the early morning at Honda-Ya

Speed Tanning

Executive Tans browns the busy businessmanor woman

For Shame!

Despite all the talk, were still creeped about sex

Dude, Wheres My Electric Car!?!

Can one activist fight off Detroit, Japan, Big Oil and the Bush administration to keep EVs alive?

Where famous people eat!