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Dublin Down at Dublin 4 Darren and Jean Coyle unveil a Mission Viejo gastropub that's a stunner
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October 04, 2012
A tip for aspiring restaurateurs: When you open your restaurant, do it as though you mean it. Follow the example of Darren and Jean Coyle and... More >>
Al Tannour: OC Iraqi
[Hole In the Wall] Try the lamb and Iraqi bread at this Anaheim gem
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October 04, 2012
"Where did you find that dish?" the kind owner of Al Tannour asked when I went to the register to pay for my gargantuan meal of a lamb shank... More >>
Kale to the Chef at Healthy Junk Root for the vegetarian food, even though it's so-so, at Anaheim's deserted-for-now Center Street Promenade
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September 27, 2012
If you're eating dinner at Healthy Junk, you aren't there by accident. You didn't happen to just stroll by and thought you'd try it on a whim.... More >>
Izalco Is Saving Salvadoran Food
[Hole In the Wall] Fernando Vallardes is making a go of it at his Santa Ana restaurant
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September 27, 2012
Next to 50-cent tacos, Salvadoran restaurants are the most endangered food genre in Orange County. We have enough of a Salvi population to keep... More >>
Battle DIY Pizzas! We compare and contrast the pies and the service at Pieology, the Pizza Press and Blaze Pizza
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September 20, 2012
"I'd like pepperoni, sausage, meatba—" I started to say to the Pieology worker when she cut me off.
"No, I only do sauces," she growled.
"Pardon... More >>
Troy's Drive-In: Breakfast Burrito Beaut
[Hole In the Wall] This Orange hamburger stand doesn't make great burgers—but the breakfast burritos are magnificent!
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September 20, 2012
Imagine my surprise when Troy's Drive-In became a foodie must-visit a couple of years ago. Troy's? That rinky-dink place off Lincoln in Orange... More >>
Early Bird Is Egg-cellent Eat a perfect omelet at Joseph Mahon's new breakfast spot in Fullerton
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September 13, 2012
It's said that before you can work in the kitchens of famed French chef Daniel Boulud, he'll ask you to make an omelet. He'll decide whether... More >>
Hooray for Stacks Pancake House!
[Hole In the Wall] This Dana Point breakfast spot inspires lines worthy of a club
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September 13, 2012
When you visit Stacks Pancake House, visit before 10 a.m., before Dana Point wakes up to tackle the day. It'll be busy, sure, but manageable—some... More >>
Peking Gourmet's Chachiang-Cha-Changes The Garden Grove staple's Korean-style Chinese noodle dishes remain old-school Little Seoul
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September 06, 2012
The English spelling of the northern Chinese/Korean noodle called chachiang mein takes many forms. I've seen it as jajangmyun or even zha jiang... More >>
Cassidy's Bar and Grill Has the Best Dive-Bar Burger In OC
[Hole In the Wall] Heeding the call of cheeseburger paradise at this Newport Beach watering hole
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September 06, 2012
Cassidy's—fuuuuuck. My favorite Cassidy's story happened about seven years ago, when a girl I was courting and I somehow ended up there after a... More >>
Pandor Artisan Boulangerie & Café Is the Bread Winner This Newport Beach bakery brings out obscure French pastries and tried-and-true favorites
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August 30, 2012
Have you ever heard of a Tropézienne? It's the missing link between sandwich and dessert. On first glance, it looks like a flat, unfrosted... More >>
Danger Dawgs: Bacon-Wrapped Bueno
[Hole In the Wall] Kathy Hernandez runs this Costa Mesa cart solo
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August 30, 2012
Kathy Hernandez is a slight woman, the kind of gal you figure sits behind a desk for a living and spends weekends getting pedicures. Yet she... More >>
The Mein Event: OC's Best Noodles Noodles, noodles everywhere, from pho to pad Thai and everything else
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August 23, 2012
When doing a cover story about noodles, the first thing you need to do is get rid of all the bad headlines that quickly pop into your... More >>
Feast On Urban Kitchen Grill & Wine Bar's Suburban Splendor Head for this indie among Foothill Ranch's land of chains
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August 23, 2012
There are still some of us in OC who can't locate Foothill Ranch on a map, or we think there's nothing there besides row after row of squat... More >>
Eggroll King: Love, Chinese-American Style
[Hole In the Wall] Check out the orange chicken at this Huntington Beach strip-mall gem
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August 23, 2012
Despite this county's bounty of regional Chinese restaurants, at which eaters can gorge on Mongolian hot pots, preserved eggs, beef dishes packed... More >>
The Corner Is HB's New Hot Spot Former Kimera Chef and French Laundry alum Chris Grodach opens his own restaurant
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August 16, 2012
If you walked into the Corner cold, you'd swear the place was a dive bar. It's barely lit or decorated, and it reeks of spilled beer and alcohol.... More >>
Mariscos El Pescador: A Snail's Grace
[Hole In the Wall] This Santa Ana lonchera is the only place in OC that sells the spectacular sea snail
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August 16, 2012
The lonchera version of a clustertruck occurs every day on the corner of Bishop and Main streets in Santa Ana, where a parade of Mexican food... More >>
Juliette Kitchen and Bar: A New Tradition Former Filling Station owners John Hughes and Hyun-Sook (Juliette) Chung take over where Pascal Olhats left off
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August 09, 2012
Not long after Pascal Olhats closed his 24-year-old flagship restaurant, Tradition, news came that another Frenchman, Christophe Eme of LA's... More >>
Van's Restaurant Is Off the Wall
[Hole In the Wall] This Little Saigon classic makes the best bánh xeo around—just prepare to get messy
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August 09, 2012
Van's Restaurant is the Vietnamese version of a greasy-spoon diner, the type of place parents would force their kids to go and now take their... More >>
Izakaya Ku Plays With Fire This Fountain Valley restaurant resorts to pyrotechnics in a crowded market of Japanese pubs along Brookhurst Street
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August 02, 2012
According to Izakaya Ku's menu, the mackerel dish would be seared tableside. But I didn't expect the waiter to show up with a hand-held... More >>
Mangi Con Amore Is a Fellini Fantasy Come True
[Hole In the Wall] This Laguna Niguel restaurant makes great Italian food in an office park
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August 02, 2012
Mangi Con Amore looks, feels and sounds as though it's an imposter. A checkercloth-style Italian restaurant in Laguna Niguel. Owner Stella... More >>
Lola Gaspar: The Santa Ana Redemption The downtown hipster haven finally grows up and becomes the restaurant we hoped it'd be
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July 26, 2012
Gustavo Arellano first wrote about Lola Gaspar four years ago, when our food blog was still young and the restaurant had just opened. He weaved a... More >>
KoKo Chicken and BBQ Is a Better KFC
[Hole In the Wall] This Buena Park Korean pub makes the best fried chicken in Orange County
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July 26, 2012
Slowly but surely, Orange County is learning the superiority of Korean ways. We've already assimilated kalbi tacos; the Korean spas, where old... More >>
Roe Your Boat to Roe Restaurant McKenna's former chef opens a new seafood restaurant on Belmont Shore
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July 19, 2012
Though it's called Roe Restaurant & Fish Market, don't expect much on the restaurant front because that part isn't quite ready. For now, what... More >>
Savori Is the Next Burger Generation
[Hole In the Wall] This Fountain Valley restaurant shows what happens when Vietnamese kids get into the burger business
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July 19, 2012
Starting this Monday on our Stick a Fork In It blog, Edwin, Dave, Shuji and I will conduct our Game of Burgers, a 32-burger free-for-all in which... More >>
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From the Print Edition
Gyutan Tsukasa's Tongue-on-Tongue Action
You won't see any English signage to indicate you've found Gyutan Tsukasa or any warning that what you're about to eat is beef tongue. If you're unfamiliar with it and… More >>
La Flor de Michoacán and Its Amazing Paletas
As you leave downtown SanTana south on Main Street, the scenery turns into a time machine hijacked by Detroit. Santa Ana officials deem this area the Historic South Main Business… More >>
Is Eleven46 Kitchen the Chipotle of Vietnamese Cuisine?
We all seem to think we know how to run a restaurant regardless of whether we've ever owned or operated one. So when you find yourself in a restaurant that… More >>
Lindo Michoacán #2: Fond of the Fonda
Here's the dirty secret about Mexicans in Orange County and Mexican food: most of us nos vale madre that so many regional treasures exist in these parts. If you're from… More >>
Carne Asada In OC
Get with the Reconquista, people: This is carne asada country, so stop trying to slow-roast 'cue in some overpriced contraption, only to get results not worthy of a Memphis trash… More >>
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