Irvine Farmer

No. 5: Spontanaé Menu at Marché Moderne

South Coast Plaza typically isn't a haven for bargain hunters, but for several years the prix-fixe lunch at Florent and Amelia Marneau's Marche Moderne has had one of the best lunch specials in the county.Dinner for two at Marche can easily top $100, but like Rachael Ray taught us on $40 a Day, expe ... More >>

No. 6: Anything By Taco Maria

I have been known to wait outside Taco Maria for 20 minutes, desperate to be the first in line before the masses come. I've been known to drunkenly tweet that if you don't know Taco Maria, you don't know Mexican food, and fight with people over said sentiments. I've plugged Taco Maria God-knows-how- ... More >>

No. 8: Pot Pie Purse at the Crosby

Aside from La Palma Chicken Pie Shop and a handful of chain restaurants (Claim Jumper, KFC, Marie Callender's), there just aren't enough places doing pot pie anymore. And if they are, it's certainly almost never beef pot pie.Comfort food in the wrong hands can be too much of a good thing--over-porti ... More >>

No. 7: Venison Filet Mignon at Mare Culinary Lounge

Mare is supposed to be known for its seafood. But you should know by now that Alessandro Pirozzi of Cucina Alessa fame has the golden touch, even with game meats, as it turns out. The venison filet mignon he serves at his newest restaurant, two cubes the size of a baseball sitting on opposite side ... More >>

No. 9: Farmers Market Feast at Anais

Everyone talks about eating more simply, more healthfully. Everyone talks about going to the farmers market and eating more fruits and vegetables. Then they go to restaurants and get fried meat, fried potatoes, fried fried fried, and fruit only in syrup mode.Gross.It's different on Sunday evenings, ... More >>

No. 10: Tortilla de Patatas At Ole Spain Delishop

We love our breakfast morning, noon and night. Hot meals consisting of eggs and potatoes are always welcome, so when we were introduced to one dish in particular, it was love at first bite.Noticed by Niyaz back at number 30, we were pleased by Ole Spain's cuisine. Their tapas and bocatas seem unassu ... More >>

No. 11: Picadita at Alebrije's Grill

You can join the thousands of non-wab Orange Countians who have visited Alebrije's on the corner of Main and Cubbon streets in SanTana, eat nothing but their legendary taco acorazado (which we named our favorite dish in Orange County in 2010 because it was), and you'd be in our good graces forever. ... More >>

No. 12: Blowtorch-Seared Mackerel At Izakaya Ku

The menu said the mackerel would be seared tableside; but I didn't expect the hand-held flamethrower. I admit it:I was nervous. I inched away in my seat a little when the waiter lit it and the thing whooshed like an acetylene torch. We were sitting in an all-wooden booth shrouded with noren, the tra ... More >>

No. 13: Any Octopus Dish at Broadway By Amar Santana

The first time I ever went to Broadway by Amar Santana was on a double date with Gustavo and his chica. I mostly wanted to drink, and I ordered something or other off the menu without really thinking too hard about it.Then the enormous, far-too-large-for-the-tiny-table plate was placed in front of ... More >>

No. 14: Tri-Tip Benedict at Rocq Cafe

Rocq Cafe has already established itself as the place in South County for intense, incredible macarons, but even the hungriest of cookie monsters (sorry! Had to go there!) needs a real meal sometimes.Much of Rocq's menu is on the lighter side--sandwiches, salads, housemade pastas--and those suffice ... More >>

No. 15: Porkabello At Bacon-A-Fair

As we approach the home stretch of our favorites, we look back on one helluva fair season. Between our team's participation in culinary chowdowns (Go Dave!) to our interviews with Robert Irvine and Fabio Viviani, one thing is clear: It's all about the grub. Usually deep fried, and always incredible, ... More >>

No. 17: Sashimi Sandwich at North Shore Poke Company

The picture you see above is crappy, and it shows only a quarter cut. The sandwich isn't much to look at anyway. Its appearance isn't important. What's important is that it is possibly the best dish at North Shore Poke Company, which is little more than a cold station with the proprietor, Shawn Gole ... More >>

No. 18: Kotlety i Zrazy at Moscow Deli

I'm sure I'm going to take some flak for this being as high in the list as it is, and I have my defense ready: I eat this at least once a month, and I don't work anywhere near Costa Mesa. It's because it's so perfectly done that I drive so far to get this Russian home-cooking standard. Is it som ... More >>

No. 18: Meyer Lemon And Honey Duck Wings From St. Roy Chef's Pub At VINE

Wings are easy to prepare, but difficult to make memorable. I mean, how much ghost chili can one douse before there are no more stupid daring appetites left to burn? An appetizer with its own handle is coveted--even more so since it already comes sauced! Unless they are true wings, you'll likely fin ... More >>

No. 20: The Karma Burger At Mick's Karma Bar

Like how the Thompson Twins were neither related nor named Thompson, the "karma" is as ambiguous as the fact that they don't serve alcohol (and that they close by 10 p.m.). Mick's has a number of factors going against it, even before we try to explain where this is located on the ground floor of an ... More >>

No. 21: Breakfast Hash And Eggs Waffle At Bruxie

When folks ask us where our favorite place is for breakfast, we fail to mention Bruxie. Why? Partially because we forget (we're only look young). It's not like they're notorious for only the most important meal. But we're glad that we do, because one of our favorite bites is served on the weekends t ... More >>

No. 22: Fried Bologna Slider At The Burnt Truck

With everyone else going back to school, we're reminded of that cliquish time of day known as lunch hour. Deli combos, vending machines and the occasional candy gram were standard diet. By college, we were SO over cold cuts and mayo. Anything that resembled a sandwich was avoided. We had all but ban ... More >>

No. 24: Nemesis at The Viking Truck

There was a time when we couldn't get enough of the luxe loncheras. Eventually, we got bored and took a break. Maybe five months passed before we even contemplated a truck stop. So in the last year, we've had our fair share of catch up with mobile meals. An entire menu devoted to sausages is enough ... More >>

No. 26: Suckling Pig Dinner at Haven Gastropub

Culinarily-speaking, there are few things that make you feel as caveman/badass as digging into a whole animal. But there just aren't many places in OC going whole hog in the kitchen. One local place that does is Haven Gastropub, which, with their suckling pig dinners provide quite the feast, fi ... More >>

No. 25: Tuna Empanada at Puerto Madero

Even with fantastic sandwiches packed with charred Argentinian sausage, lengths of skirt steak, or a buffet of meats and cheeses, the star on the menu at Puerto Madero is a simple fish pastry. Tuna salads and sandwiches might be in other people's lunch bags, but one of the best ways to savor th ... More >>

No. 27: Any Fried Spuds at Umami Burger

The meticulously-crafted, flavor-formulated burgers at Umami are the main draw, but whether you love or hate the Japanese-influenced twist on classic Americana, it can't be argued that every great burger needs an equally great potato pairing to truly shine.Fortunately, the Umami cooks are skilled in ... More >>

No. 28: Lunch at Playground

You'd think there would be a lot of food choices in an area as concentrated with workers and residents as Downtown SanTana, but you'd be wrong. Good Mexican is out of the question, you can only eat so many arepas at Mil Jugos or Soul Burgers at Memphis before you're all doughy inside, and the Crosby ... More >>

No. 29: Calamari at Three Seventy Common

In my circle of friends, calamari for the table is a must. Because of this little tradition, I've seen my way around more than a few plates of crunchy squid bits.It's fairly standard from place to place; you can almost always assume you've ordered a pile of fried seafood with tartar and cocktail sau ... More >>

No. 30: Four-Course $7 Lunch Special at Olé Spain Delishop

It's been a SanTana-heavy list for me in this round of 100 faves, but we gotta speak the truth, and SanTana has really emerged in the past year as a destination not just for Mexican food but for ALL sorts of food--and it's only going to get better. That's why I love Olé Spain Delishop so much--not ... More >>

No. 32: Mac 'n' Cheese at Chapter One: The Modern Local

Ladies and germs: it's okay to eat at Chapter One: The Modern Local again. Us Forkers had an unofficial ban against the place because one of its former partners trashed Mexican SanTana during a city council meeting last year. A terrible disappointment, because we did love Chapter One--Edwin gave it ... More >>

No. 31: Starving Artist Sandwich With the Fixins' at the Crosby

Apologies for the crappy photo above, but the lighting at the Crosby is never bueno...We're all still waiting for the Crosby guys to open their much-anticipated Grilled Cheese Stop, so in the meanwhile we must content ourselves with the genius that sparked this restaurant: the Starving Artist at the ... More >>

No. 33: Chocolate Dome Cake at AnQi

The garlic noodles at AnQui? Of course. The tamarind crab? Legendary. Cocktails? Superb. The South Coast Plaza eatery can always be counted on for a great, inventive dinner--a recent addition is tongue tacos made from a wonton shell--take THAT, Glen Bell!They also have a molecular gastronomy section ... More >>

On the Line: Britta Kvinge Pulliam, Part Two

Photo by Todd Barnes​Part two of our interview with Britta's Cafe owner Britta Kvinge Pulliam. First one is at this link; the latest batch after the jump!

Gustavo's Five Commandments of Dining in Orange County

See Commandment #4...​Recently, some Weeklings have been patronizing East/Borough at the CAMP, and raving about it despite my protestations. See, the pop-up restaurant charges $4.35 (before tax) for an eight-inch bánh mì, and an outlandish $6.40 for a foot-long--this, in a county that's America' ... More >>

[Hole in the Wall] Greens Cafe for an Emerald City