[Hole In the Wall] This Fullerton dive specializes in the rare Korean delicacy
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
December 08, 2011
Although I go on and on about how I'm an Anaheimer through and through, it's a bit of a lie. I grew up in a section of the city next to the 91... More >>
This Costa Mesa restaurant is great for pre-theater meals, just stick to its regular menus
By EDWIN GOEI,
December 01, 2011
I was attending a wedding reception at a storied LA hotel when a chef friend and I started to talk about the food we were eating. We lamented... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Santa Ana dive does Mexican and American—and Mexican-American!—beautifully
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
December 01, 2011
A perfect plate of restaurant chilaquiles is as elusive an achievement as hitting for the cycle in baseball. Most eateries are content to serve... More >>
This Anaheim Hills Japanese restaurant has it all, from live sweet shrimp to teriyaki served in hubcap-sized combo plates
By EDWIN GOEI,
November 24, 2011
For me, the reason to order live amaebi has never been the sushi. When compared to the divine slobber of uni or a luscious piece of toro, the... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] At this Fountain Valley restaurant, get the breakfast before trying anything else
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
November 24, 2011
We're blessed with many great breakfast traditions, both singular and cultural—chilaquiles and breakfast burritos, the Sugar Shack's Surf City... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Costa Mesa coffeehouse can convert anyone into the cult of coffee
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
November 17, 2011
I'm not a coffee cultist, save for the sugary Cuban mule-kick to the soul known as a cafecito. But even I had to make a pilgrimage to Portola... More >>
An ex-Cheesecake Factory executive sells Italian and Korean food under one roof in Irvine
By EDWIN GOEI,
November 10, 2011
If Kogi can make a fortune pairing kimchi and tortillas, why not spaghetti and ssam? Howard Gordon, an ex-Cheesecake Factory vice president and... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] Carlos Salgado stuns Orange County with his wholly Mexican luxe lonchera
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
November 10, 2011
After sleeping under the proverbial cactus for far too long, Mexican-Americans in Orange County are finally entering the luxe lonchera game their... More >>
What to eat and expect at the Filipino fast-food giant's first OC store
By EDWIN GOEI,
November 03, 2011
Social scientists and business students needn't look further than the Filipino fast-food giant Jollibee to see what our culture has wrought on... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] Classic Italian-American cuisine and a really, really big slice o' pie
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
November 03, 2011
Mark your calendars for Nov. 10, gentle readers: That's when the Weekly teams up with KCRW-FM 89.9's Good Food With Evan Kleiman to present our... More >>
Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton's long-awaited Newport Beach outpost of their pizza hut finally opens
By EDWIN GOEI,
October 27, 2011
There hasn't been anything more hotly anticipated around these parts than Mozza, Mario Batali and Nancy Silverton's Newport Beach outpost of... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Santa Ana taqueria seems normal—but go with the naughty bits
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
October 27, 2011
The tacos and carnitas at Tacos y Carnitas Sahuayo in Santa Ana are fine at best, and mostly inconsistent—if you go with the tried and true. The... More >>
This Belmont Shores gem is a gastropub's gastropub
By EDWIN GOEI,
October 20, 2011
I refuse to believe reports that Tavern On 2 is the first and only gastropub on Belmont Shore. Surely, in such a densely packed urban quarter as... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] Maybe the Reg will get around to reviewing this Little Arabia gem in 10 years or so
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
October 20, 2011
A couple of weeks ago, The Orange County Register published a review of Sahara Falafel, an Anaheim Middle Eastern restaurant we reviewed a decade... More >>
Ask former Ritz-Carlton chef and Break of Dawn owner Dee Nguyen what he considers the best meal he's ever had, and he'll tell you it was a bowl... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] Dive into a Mexican-Italian mash-up that's gloriously OC
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
October 13, 2011
So it's come to this in Orange County: a Latino serving New York Italian food to another Mexican while talking about Volkswagen Bus memories in... More >>
Chef Louie Jocson's Huntington Harbour restaurant is intensely personal and intensely good
By EDWIN GOEI,
October 06, 2011
I anticipated the deviled eggs at Red Table would be good, as all deviled eggs inherently are, but not that good. Chef/owner Louie Jocson calls... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Irvine food-court fixture does both Hellenic standards and specials right
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
October 06, 2011
This terrible economy is unsurprisingly wreaking havoc on our restaurant scene, claiming victims almost weekly. One of its lucky survivors is... More >>
The Anaheim restaurant was tapped for FOX's 'Kitchen Nightmares.' Is the food now dreamy?
By EDWIN GOEI,
September 29, 2011
If you haven't already heard, Gordon Ramsay and his restaurant-makeover show, Kitchen Nightmares, did an intervention on Anaheim's venerable... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] Elevating the placing of grilled meat on top of rice to an art form
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
September 29, 2011
Sushi Box usually gets lost in the galaxy of Japanese restaurants in Costa Mesa around the intersection of Bristol and Baker streets—no college... More >>
Go to this downtown Huntington Beach hangout for its booze and kooky art, not so much the food
By EDWIN GOEI,
September 22, 2011
To get an idea of what to expect at 2nd Floor in downtown Huntington Beach, imagine Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas spliced with an... More >>
[Hole In the Wall] This Tustin Thai restaurant, while delicious, wants to offer more
By GUSTAVO ARELLANO,
September 22, 2011
In the Orange County Thai-dining world, regional specialists such as Bangkok Taste and Thai Nakorn battle for dominance over their for-the-masses... 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 >>
