It may be to Le Peep’s detriment that it opened in Laguna Hills, the territory of the Snooty Fox and Break of Dawn, both of which, in my opinion, have not only set the high bar for breakfast joints in Orange County, but also become indelible landmarks that designate this city to be more than […]
Food Reviews
The Q Joint in Costa Mesa Smokes the Competition
In Texas, Missouri and Tennessee, barbecue tends to happen when you least expect it. You can be driving, minding your own business, when the aroma of brisket suddenly wafts into your open window. I’ve gone to those states specifically to eat barbecue at restaurants such as Pecan Lodge in Dallas’ Deep Ellum; Killen’s in Pearland, […]
Grandpa’s Kitchen—Dry Noodles 168 Serves a Soupless Version of Pho
Grandpa’s Kitchen—Dry Noodles 168 has a dish I’ve neither seen nor tasted before in Little Saigon. On the menu, it’s called “Grandpa’s Dry Noodles,” but the Vietnamese translation, pho khô, reveals what it really is: the soupless version of pho. To put it another way, it’s a deconstruction of the noodle soup that has become […]
Eat This Now: Cookies & Dream at Drill’d Ice Cream
There’s the old quip that “sex is like pizza; even when it’s bad it’s still pretty good.” And the same can be said for ice cream. Whether you’re down for a little somethin’ quick and easy at the corner Thrifty’s or down for a three way between you and Ben and Jerry, ice cream is […]
Miss Shabu Brings the All-You-Can-Eat Shabu Shabu Experience to New Levels
I begin this review at the end, when our waiter, a chummy chap named Phil, dropped off the check and with it plastic cups of a sweet slushed-ice dessert called sikhye. I didn’t expect the icy treat, nor did I know it was part of Miss Shabu’s all-you-can-eat shabu shabu price, but after nearly two […]
Channeling Bob’s Burgers, Graze in Santa Ana Does a Great Black Garlic Burger
The first thing I thought of when I saw that Graze—the new 4th Street Market vendor—had a burger with black garlic in it was Bob’s Burgers. If you’re a fan of the show, as I am, you’ll remember that black garlic was what our greasy but earnest burger maker used as a secret ingredient during […]
Mamón Hillside Eatery Serves Comfort Food With Hints of Inka Mama’s Peruvian Flavor
It may not be obvious, but the new restaurant Mamón Hillside Eatery, located just a few doors down from the Inka Mama’s flagship location in Foothill Ranch, is also a Peruvian restaurant. Well, sort of. There are hints of Peru everywhere, but only if you’re paying attention. I’m pretty sure I saw bottles of Inka […]
Hook & Anchor Elevates Fast-Casual Seafood in Newport Beach
Around four years ago, I ate at the exact spot I’m writing about today. I was reviewing a new place that was simultaneously called Biggie Baguette and Quebec Montreal Poutine. The restaurant had two names because it had a split personality; it couldn’t decide whether its specialty was sub sandwiches or poutine. The place shuttered […]
Bao-N-Baguette Is the Latest Bánh Mì Purveyor in Little Saigon to Get it Right
Decades ago, I discovered the foodstuff that has made me return to Little Saigon week after week: the bánh mì sandwich. It is nothing short of a miracle. And I’m not being hyperbolic here. If Philly is known for its iconic cheesesteaks, the bánh mì should be the sandwich that defines our region. Where else […]
Basilur Tea & Coffee in Buena Park Serves Japanese Soufflé Pancakes
If you keep up with Japanese culinary trends on YouTube and Instagram, you’ve no doubt heard about the soufflé pancake. It’s the subject of numerous how-to videos, a lot of them featuring overhead shots of mixing bowls. Buzzfeed’s Tasty did a version back in 2016. But if you believe the other videos that show people […]
Lara Hanneman’s Cauldron in Buena Park Is a Cozy Tavern of Bewitching Allure
Revelers no longer have to wait for Halloween Haunt to have a frightfully good time in Buena Park. The Cauldron, a new witch-themed bar, is a charming experience. Two large, wooden doors transport all who enter into the realm of a 17th-century tavern. Transforming the nondescript longtime location of Crystal Factory Italian Galleria across the […]
The Experience of Finding, Then Eating Chef Peter Hung’s Banh Xeo Is Like Traveling to Southeast Asia
You walk toward Saigon Supermarket realizing that in the more than two decades you’ve spent eating and shopping in Little Saigon, thinking you’ve explored every nook and cranny, you haven’t been here before. When the sliding doors of the market open, you immediately detect the smell of fried fish. It’s faint, but from the online […]
Heirloom Farmhouse Kitchen at the New Marriott Irvine Spectrum Is Aimed at Millennials, Connoisseurs of Good Food
From the outside, the new Marriott Irvine Spectrum resembles another one of Irvine’s yawn-inducing office towers. Built with equal portions of glass, steel and concrete, it’s a square-shaped skyscraper that’s neither tall nor architecturally distinctive. The inside, however, is a different story. Marriott invested its $120 million budget in making it, in its own words, […]
Ditch the Utensils and Eat With Your Hands at Bawarchi Biryanis in Lake Forest
After several hours and multiple hand washings, my fingers still bear the aroma of the leftover biryani I ate. It’s because, for the first time, I used my bare hands to consume the entire plate. I was copying the two Indian gents at Bawarchi Biryanis. When I saw how they ate, I was mesmerized. In […]
Tell Everyone Raw Bar By Slapfish in Huntington Beach Is the Best Place to Eat Oysters for Not Much Clams
Before Slapfish started franchising and expanding to more than 20 locations—soon to include South Korea—it was the first brick-and-mortar for a seafood concept that was previously a food truck. And when I reviewed that seminal store back in 2012, I spent nearly half the article talking about the oysters that founder Andrew Gruel served me […]
Two Former Kitayama Sushi Chefs Open Kakurega in Costa Mesa
If you know about Kakurega, you’ve no doubt also heard its owners are a pair of former chefs from Newport Beach’s venerable Kitayama. It was primarily for this reason that I featured the Costa Mesa eatery in our food blog’s weekly roundup of new restaurant openings last November. And it’s also why I decided to […]
Golden Road Pub Is a Big, Boisterous Addition to Anaheim’s Platinum Triangle
For this review, I’m not going to bury the lede. With the exception of the vegan chocolate cake, I did not love the food I tried my first night at Golden Road Pub. But that doesn’t mean I’m not recommending the place—I do wholeheartedly. In fact, I’m looking forward to bringing all my friends with […]
Former Marine and CIA Grad Derrick Foster Makes Great ’Cue at Santa Ana’s Ember BBQ
The barbecue chain Lucille’s takes great pains to transport its customers to the South of fables, of rocking chairs on the front porch, of twangy blues music. It’s all artifice, of course, designed to convince you that the smoked meat you’re eating came from the recipe books of one Lucille Buchanan, a fictional character raised […]
Legendary Vietnamese Restaurant Brodard Moves to Fountain Valley
In the ebb and flow of Little Saigon, Brodard was the Rock of Gibraltar. Since Diane Dang and her daughters opened this restaurant in 1996 at the Mall of Fortune—behind a 99-Cent-Only store in an alleyway past the dumpsters—it has arguably become one of the most influential landmarks for Vietnamese cuisine in the county, if […]
Zevia Brings Its All-Natural, Calorie-Free, Sugarless Wizardry to Cocktail Mixers
My memory is I first discovered Zevia through a neighborhood Sprout’s promotion that allowed you to get a free six pack with another you purchased. Always on the lookout for a good mixer with daddy’s whiskey, I grabbed two sixers of ginger ale and never looked back. That’s because the ginger ale was promoted […]
Yes, the New Casa Barilla at South Coast Plaza Is Run By the Same Company That Makes Jarred Sauce
Just as most people, I always have a jar of marinara and a box of spaghetti in my pantry. The brand I happen to have in stock at the moment is Barilla. It’s not always the case, but my point is that I’m never more than 15 minutes away from a pasta dinner. So when […]