[Summer Guide 2012] Anahita Naderi and her crew wows foodies monthly with a shroud of secrecy and great courses
By MICHAEL CHIN,
May 24, 2012
Hidden Dinner is perhaps best defined by its name: It's hidden, and it's a dinner. There is no set location or menu. Find a password that allows... More >>
Get Pascal Olhats' legendary foie gras dinner (but skip the dessert) before it's banned
By EDWIN GOEI,
May 24, 2012
I had my first real piece of foie gras as everyone usually does: at a French restaurant, seared and served with fruit to cut through the inherent... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Santa Ana foodmaker hints at the potential of OC's cottage-food industry
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
May 24, 2012
Every couple of weeks, I get an urge to try the best damn tamales in Southern California, moist, fluffy masa bricks wrapped in banana leaves,... More >>
A pho proliferation in South OC bodes well for the assimilation of Vietnamese food
By EDWIN GOEI,
May 17, 2012
If Little Saigon is to Vietnamese restaurants as LA's seminal Chinatown is to Chinese food, then Lake Forest might be OC's San Gabriel Valley.... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Placentia meat market is launching an audacious experiment with Mexican food
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
May 17, 2012
An interesting trend is rising in Orange County: the emergence of second-generation Mexican food entrepreneurs continuing their family tradition,... More >>
Danny Godinez's second restaurant serves Mexican meals in the French style
By EDWIN GOEI,
May 10, 2012
Like Break of Dawn's Dee Nguyen and the Playground's Jason Quinn, Danny Godinez cut his teeth and proved his chops during stints at the most... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] Los Alamitos' first Filipino restaurant is small but delicious
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
May 10, 2012
I literally ran into Bahay Kawayan, starving after a day driving across Southern California, needing a starch-filled pick-me-up before I could... More >>
You have Adam Fleischman to thank for bringing the Japanese word "umami" into the mainstream consciousness. Before he came along and started the... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Garden Grove Vietnamese restaurant makes great pastries
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
May 03, 2012
Song Long Bakery is the Little Saigon version of Jax Donuts or Norms: a standard, one that has stood for so long people take it for granted,... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] The Orange restaurant, with its wondrous wieners, is well-suited to a college town
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
April 26, 2012
Next to spotting orange groves and tracking the return of the swallows to Capistrano, one of the best geographic parlor games in Orange County is... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] The best little Persian supermarket in OC makes Mission Viejo sumptuous for the first time
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
April 19, 2012
God bless the entrepreneurial wile of immigrants, those hardy souls who repurposed cookie-cutter strip malls, shopping plazas and office parks... More >>
Shawn Gole's Huntington Beach restaurant finally gives the Hawaiian standard its full, undivided attention
By EDWIN GOEI,
April 12, 2012
We Mainlanders like to stereotype Hawaiians as obsessed with heavy meals such as plate lunches or loco moco, but the true religion is poke. A... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Irvine gem makes amazing hamburgers from a corporate Irvine office tower
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
April 12, 2012
No restaurant in Orange County deserves an upgrade in location more than Mick's Karma Bar. From this former juice stand come some of the best... More >>
Irvine's version of a San Diego restaurant that flies against Donald Bren's beige boringness
By EDWIN GOEI,
April 05, 2012
We sat under a leafy olive tree. If not for butcher-paper placemats, the cold, metal surface of our table would've sapped the warmth from the... More >>
The Irvine restaurant teaches you well with its grade-school theme and Taiwanese food
By EDWIN GOEI,
March 29, 2012
You're sitting at an actual wooden school desk. There's a cubbyhole for stowing your books and an indentation carved at the top so your pencil... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This La Habra dive impresses every possible way
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
March 29, 2012
In the world of searing condiments, few are as caustic as a properly made mojo de ajo—olive oil spiked with garlic, the soy sauce of Cuba. Too... More >>
Dealing with epic lines for wonderful meals at the Long Beach breakfast institution
By EDWIN GOEI,
March 22, 2012
You might better know the mile-long stretch of Anaheim Street between Atlantic and Junipero in Long Beach as Cambodia Town, the center of all... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This San Bernardino landmarks deserves a pilgrimage from all lovers of Mexican food
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
March 22, 2012
This week marks the 50th anniversary of Taco Bell, the Irvine-based giant that fundamentally changed how Americans consume Mexican food. But 2012... More >>
When I re-evaluate the best burgers I've eaten in my life, the most memorable are usually from dives, greasy spoons, places where I can see,... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Buena Park Indian restaurant is leading the city's subcontinental renaissance
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
March 15, 2012
In 1999, Buena Park residents loudly protested when a group of Hindus proposed to build a massive temple in the city that Knott built. "I don't... More >>
Extron owner Andrew Edwards has invested major coin into his restaurant and saloon
By EDWIN GOEI,
March 08, 2012
It's said that Walt Disney created Disneyland because he wanted a place to spend time with his daughters. Andrew Edwards, the owner and president... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Santa Ana restaurant sells pho, bun and other Vietnamese faves to a Latino clientele
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
March 08, 2012
In the wild and wacky world of food translations, few have proven more good-natured-but-incongruous than what the owners of Pho Binh in Santa Ana... More >>
Hidden Dinner is perhaps best defined by its name: It's hidden, and it's a dinner. There is no set location or menu. Find a password that allows you to access… More >>
I had my first real piece of foie gras as everyone usually does: at a French restaurant, seared and served with fruit to cut through the inherent richness. In celebration… More >>
Every couple of weeks, I get an urge to try the best damn tamales in Southern California, moist, fluffy masa bricks wrapped in banana leaves, rubbed with mole negro and… More >>
If Little Saigon is to Vietnamese restaurants as LA's seminal Chinatown is to Chinese food, then Lake Forest might be OC's San Gabriel Valley. For a bedroom community with a… More >>
An interesting trend is rising in Orange County: the emergence of second-generation Mexican food entrepreneurs continuing their family tradition, but tweaking the model to stay relevant. At the Northgate Supermarket… More >>
Like Break of Dawn's Dee Nguyen and the Playground's Jason Quinn, Danny Godinez cut his teeth and proved his chops during stints at the most expensive and uppity restaurants in… More >>
I literally ran into Bahay Kawayan, starving after a day driving across Southern California, needing a starch-filled pick-me-up before I could take on the night. One elderly lady grunted her… More >>
