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Tastes of Greece Gives 'Em Hellenic
[Hole In the Wall] This Laguna Niguel eatery might be the smallest restaurant in OC—but its Greek dishes are stunners
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January 27, 2011
Two reviews of Laguna Niguel restaurants in one issue? Hey, the last time I reviewed one of the bland 'burb's eateries was in 2004, so we might... More >>
DG Burger Is Damned If You Do Charlie Palmer's downmarket burger at South Coast Plaza tries not to eat up all the profits
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January 20, 2011
One of the most memorable things you can eat at Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's South Coast Plaza isn't the foie gras or the steaks; it's the... More >>
Wraps Xpress Is the Turkish Rose of Irvine
[Hole In the Wall] Inside this strip-mall restaurant is a great eatery desperate to express itself
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January 20, 2011
There are now two Irvines in existence: the city of Don Bren's dreams— robo-communities, never-ending development and HOAs that fine homeowners... More >>
Sol del Sur Bistro Cooks Everything Under the Sun The San Juan Capistrano restaurant's globe-trekking menu is already dizzying when you realize that one guy insists on cooking it all by himself
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January 13, 2011
Sol Del Sur’s Dave Emery is a juggernaut. The owner and chef of this tiny San Juan Capistrano bistro has a menu of Herculean proportions. It’s a... More >>
La Cemita Poblana Sells What It's Called
[Hole In the Wall] Eat the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado of sandwiches at this Santa Ana restaurant
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January 13, 2011
Indulge me for one more column, gentle readers, in my local culinary dreams. We talked about the fulfillment of my zacatecano and Colombian... More >>
Tommy Bahama: An Off-Key Bahamian Rhapsody The chain's new Laguna Beach restaurant-cum-clothing store has some kinks to work out before it can relax on the beach
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January 06, 2011
Before I can talk about the new Tommy Bahama restaurant in Laguna Beach, I have to begin with the man himself. Though not as funny or popular as... More >>
Colombian Cuisine Back In OC!
[Hole In the Wall] Colombian Cuisine at Mitzi's Kountry Kitchen in Laguna Hills reintroduces the hearty South American cuisine to OC stomachs
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January 06, 2011
My two-decades-long OC culinary dreams were answered in 2010. I wrote in this column about six months ago about the opening of Tacos Jerez in... More >>
Bruxie Is a Euro-Smash The waffles are Belgian at this Old Towne Orange eatery, but the stuffing is pure Americana
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December 23, 2010
For a city that can’t agree on a common language, the people of Brussels are united in pride on the waffle, their defining regional foodstuff. To... More >>
Nina's Indian British Grocery Stocks the Commonwealth Cupboard
[Hole In the Wall] Indian, South African, Pakistani, even Sri Lankan specialties abound at this Lake Forest shop
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December 23, 2010
A couple of weeks ago, I met a nice South African lady; the conversation, naturally, turned to food. She was impressed I knew about African Hut,... More >>
Happy Family Mocks Meat The Buddhist vegetarian fare might help you forget the beloved Costa Mesa Chinese restaurant it replaced
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December 16, 2010
More than six months have passed since Happy Family Vegetarian replaced May Garden in Costa Mesa, but practically every other person who walks in... More >>
Fond of Fonda La Meche
[Hole In the Wall] Mexico City-style dishes abound in this tiny, homey Stanton dive
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December 16, 2010
You know a Mexican restaurant is ballsy when it blasts Javier Solís. The legendary ranchera crooner nowadays is only heard in households, his... More >>
Olive Gourmet Grocer Is the Anti-Whole Foods This Long Beach storefront offers specialty products and delicious hot food without demanding your paycheck. Imagine that!
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December 09, 2010
Let’s face it, foodies: Eating at Whole Foods is a crapshoot. Sure, potential gems lurk beneath those sneeze-guarded buffet islands and behind... More >>
Umami Mongolian Grill Has Pinoy Panache
[Hole In the Wall] This Buena Park eatery masters the stagnant culinary genre and even advances it
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December 09, 2010
“This is just like Mexican flan,” I told the young Filipina waitress about the slab of leche flan she placed before me.“No, it’s not!” she... More >>
Mariscos Licenciado #2 Turns Both the Flavor and the Volume to 11 The Sinaloan seafood specialties here will oom-pah their way into your heart
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December 02, 2010
If you follow this rag faithfully, you should know this is a re-review of Mariscos Licenciado #2, an Anaheim restaurant Gustavo has long... More >>
Thanh Tam Is a Corner Bakery
[Hole In the Wall] Visit this Garden Grove Vietnamese star for big bánh mìs
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December 02, 2010
If you want to show out-of-towners modern-day Garden Grove—not the city that was once America’s fastest-growing ’burb, not the faded glory of the... More >>
Liang's Kitchen's Lines Don't Lie The Taiwanese fare at this new Irvine eatery is worth the wait, and comes with a side of history
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November 25, 2010
They say you need money to make money. You also need customers to attract customers. Witness this principle in action at Liang’s Kitchen, a... More >>
Mondo Molotes at the El Moctezuma Empire
[Hole In the Wall] El Moctezuma Nos. 1, 2, and 3 all sell great Oaxacan food
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November 25, 2010
Not all locations in chains are created equal—consider the El Moctezuma empire of Oaxacan restaurants in Orange County. Its original location in... More >>
A Family Affair at Les Amis in Fullerton From grandma to grandchild, the Montecristos keep this bistro humming with their Lebanese meals
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November 18, 2010
Everyone gets hummus at Les Amis, even if they don’t ask for it. It’s just a thimble of the paste, accompanied by a paper basket of shatteringly... More >>
A New York Slice of Mind at Al's New York Café
[Hole In the Wall] Costa Mesa pizzeria offers a beautiful slice of the Big Apple
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November 18, 2010
When it comes to the physics of a New York-style pizza slice, you want a slice that droops—but just slightly, just at the cheese-heavy tip,... More >>
O Fine Japanese Cuisine Pleases Visit this Laguna Beach sushi place for rolls and traditional Japanese food
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November 11, 2010
The way I see it, there are two kinds of sushi-eaters in this world: those who abhor rolls and those who adore them. By the same token, there are... More >>
Drunk Food 24 Hours a Day at Alejandro's in Costa Mesa
[Hole in the Wall] This drive-through sells a California burrito that's muy bueno
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November 11, 2010
Alejandro’s needs no introduction to a certain segment of Orange County: hipsters who think the intersection of West 19th Street and Placentia... More >>
Capital Grille Has Big Meat for Big Money South Coast Plaza's newest eatery will set you back a paycheck, but the steak will have you happy in the poorhouse
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November 04, 2010
Everything at the new Capital Grille at South Coast Plaza follows the expensive-steakhouse rulebook. Bedroom-sized, temperature-controlled,... More >>
Peter's Gourmade Grill Is Gas-Stop Gourmet
[Hole In the Wall] Peter Stavros sells gourmet takes on gas-stop grub from a Valero station in Tustin
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November 04, 2010
One of the serendipitous side effects of our Great Recession is finding overqualified chefs in locations that seemingly don’t deserve them—in... More >>
It's DIY Time At Bari Bari Japanese BBQ OC's latest yakiniku lets you take the teppan into your own hands
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October 28, 2010
What happens when a successful teppanyaki restaurant decides to branch out without its showboating chefs? You get a yakiniku: the same dishes... More >>
Duck Soup and Beyond at Tri-Village
[Hole In the Wall] More love for the much-blogged-about Northern Chinese eatery
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October 28, 2010
The good and bad thing about modern-day newspaper publishing is that an alternate universe now exists online, and sometimes, the web and... More >>
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From the Print Edition
Bistrot Massilia: Butter Up!
You realize the futility of having a reservation for Bistrot Massilia on the Thursday night before Mother's Day weekend when you get there. There's not a soul except for the… More >>
How Undercover Animal Rights Activists are Winning the Ag-Gag War
Cody Carlson had no way of preparing for this moment. He was a Manhattan kid, days removed from working as an analyst for a business-intelligence firm, where he scrutinized corporations… More >>
Little Sparrow: An Auspicious Egg
Some food critics are of the opinion that you can't judge a restaurant in its opening weeks, that you need to give them time to work out any kinks. Some… More >>
At Inka Mama's, Mami Knows Best
There used to be a different Peruvian restaurant at the very spot Inka Mama's has recently claimed as its fourth Orange County location. By all accounts, it did a very… More >>
Pho Quyen: Absolutely Sweet Little Saigon
We're now reaching a point in Little Saigon's history where the old-school places are slowly but surely changing. Some are closing shop; others are moving to richer environs in South… More >>
For a Hot Time In Old Huntington, Go to the Black Trumpet Bistro
The eateries you'll see on the 5-mile stretch of Beach Boulevard as it extends from the 405 down to Pacific Coast Highway can have the randomness of what sticks on… More >>
Chixy Natural: Twirl-a-Bird
"Hey, man, you still going to use that?" the surfer-ish type guy asked as I scarfed down my meal at Chixy Natural. Oh, my lack of manners! This Costa Mesa… More >>
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