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Food & Drink
![Bento Box Combo at Panda Kitchen [Hole in the Wall]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/HITW_Panda_Kitchen-348x180.jpg)
Bento Box Combo at Panda Kitchen [Hole in the Wall]
Aside from its less-than-subtle logo and name mimicking a familiar American-style Chinese chain, Panda Kitchen is your standard local takeout joint, equipped with friendly service, comfort and styrofoam boxes packed to their limits with food. Expect to see a steam table of Chinese fast-food staples: orange chicken, beef with broccoli, chow mein and fried rice. […]
Not Going to Coachella 2018? You Can Still See Some of Your Favorite Artists Perform
Part of the beauty of Coachella being so close to the bustling array of venues in the Southern (and Central and Northern) California music scenes means that you don’t have to shell out $1000+ bucks to see artists on the 2018 lineup! Didn’t manage to score that ticket to Coachella this year? Didn’t care about […]
Eat This Now: Firepig Tacos at Taco Asylum
I’ve been eating Taco Asylum’s Firepig tacos for years, since before they were even called by that name. When the Costa Mesa eatery opened at the Camp, its ghost chile tacos were somewhat larger and a tad spicier than today’s version and were served with crispy pork cracklins and chile threads as fine as hairs. […]
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 […]
Beachwood Brewing LBC IPA: Our Beer of the Week!
Let it be known: Beachwood Brewing’s LBC IPA is the new unofficial official beer of Long Beach. To be fair, this classic West Coast-style IPA kind of already was, since it’s one of only two alcoholic beverage (besides the Long Beach Tea–ugh) to even bear the name of the misunderstood beachside metropolis – not to […]
Now Open: Somisomi in Irvine and MORE!
Ube x Black Sesame ft.🍓Have a fintastic week! 📸@shelleyeatz 💜🖤🍦🐟#somisomi #ahboong #softserve #taiyaki #ube #blacksesame A post shared by SOMISOMI Icecream (@somisomiicecream) on Jan 29, 2018 at 7:01pm PST Somisomi a Korean soft serve dessert shop known for its taiyaki (a fish-shaped waffle cone) has opened in Irvine Spectrum. The franchise also has stores in […]
Spring Dining Trends: Mediterranean, Neon and CBD
While we aren’t up to speed on our fashion, our appetite for dining out is second to none. Trends aren’t always about what’s new. To us, trends are what people are talking about and what others are doing all of a sudden. Here are a few that caught our eye as of late. Mediterranean […]
2018 Ensenada Beer Fest: What the Ale!
Ensenada, Mexico, recently celebrated the fourth-annual Ensenada Beer Fest (www.ensenadabeerfest.com) with suds from more than 120 craft breweries, delicious food from local restaurants and three stages of live music. The five-day festival at the beautiful Riviera del Pacifico Cultural Center attracted more than 9,000 attendees, according to organizer Paco Talamante. Such well-known breweries as Insurgente, […]
Rose Paloma at 100 North Kitchen and Lounge: Our Drink of the Week!
Fullertonians recently got a gastrolounge serving up New American cuisine—think chicken marsala, roasted prime rib sliders and vegetarian lasagna. Located in the building that used to house Tuscany Club—the gateway to downtown Fullerton’s plethora of bars and nightclubs—100 North Kitchen and Lounge is putting out approachable craft cocktails and a menu featuring produce sourced from […]
OC Grub Guide – 3/29-4/4: Tapatio, Portillo and Sabroso!
Where do we even begin? Hot chicken, ramen and some very special meals rule the guide this week. You will definitely locate something for every price point. While there aren’t enough hours in the week to hit them all, but that won’t stop us from trying. Marche Monday – Newport Beach Earlier this month, the […]
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 […]
Eat This Now: Bibimbap Burrito at J’s Korean Cuisine
J’s Korean Cuisine is so well-hidden down a downtown Fullerton alley that you’d almost miss it—that is, if it weren’t for the scent of KFC (Korean fried chicken) wafting through the air and K-pop blasting over the speakers. They serve your typical Korean bar food such as fried chicken wings (crispy soy garlic, sweet chile […]
2018 Firkest!: Our Beer(s) of the Week!
I can give you 51 reasons why Firkfest is the Best craft beer festival in Orange County, but all you need to know is that Firkfest founder and organizer, Greg Nagel (OC Beer Blog) knows how to throw a firkin party! 2018 marked Nagel’s fifth year hosting Firkfest – bringing the craft beer community […]
Now Open: XA in Huntington Beach, On The Hook in La Habra, and MORE!
After closing its second store in Huntington Beach and then its original store in Orange, XA Sweet & Savory Cafe has reopened at a new location in Huntington Beach. 18685 Main St, Huntington Beach, CA 92648 Pirates Kitchen has opened in Fullerton advertising “Authentic Recipes from the Seven Seas.” Tostadas, seafood pastas, and crab boils […]
Laguna Beach Beer Co.: What the Ale!
Founded by Laguna Beach natives Brent Reynard and Mike Lombardo, Laguna Beach Beer Co. winning over locals with a laid-back surf style, art and delicious quality beers. But it wasn’t until the company acquired Cismontane Brewing Co.’s Rancho Santa Margarita production and tasting room and expanded it to include a kitchen, that the brews […]
OC Grub Guide: Easter Dining Edition (Hop to It!)
There are holidays, and then there’s Easter. We want to enjoy all the bountiful buffets and plated treats, but we can only choose one. Today, we present you with a sizable list of contenders to help you decide your fate. Now run along—time’s a-wastin’. Hotel Irvine Prepare for a premium experience when you head […]
![Ice Cream Treats and Espresso Drinks at Azules Coffee [Hole in the Wall]](https://www.ocweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/HITW_Azules_Coffee_Affogato-2-348x180.jpg)
Ice Cream Treats and Espresso Drinks at Azules Coffee [Hole in the Wall]
Coffee and ice are great on their own, but combined, they make the perfect pick-me-up. Mexi-style parlor Elado Ice Cream, which we’ve praised in the past, has rebranded as Azules Coffee and now offers organic, fair-trade Mexican coffee in addition to its tasty helados. The shop’s name is inspired by Azules finca in Veracruz, the […]
Loaded Cafe Is the Mexican-Owned Greasy Spoon the Future Needs
The greasy spoon diner is an icon of mid-century American culture, but it’s most prolific form is really a slice of Southern California. With home-style meals, cozy-booth settings and snappy service, freestanding kitchens slinging pancakes and burgers become important community spaces – where working-class folk from across the community could sit side by side at […]
Eat This Now: Döner Fries at Ikram Bakery & Grill
We could never spill enough ink singing the praises of the Turkish restaurants that flourish in Fountain Valley—more than anywhere else in the county. One definite stop on your tummy’s tour of the city’s de facto “Little Istanbul” is Ikram Bakery & Grill. Known best for its breads—from the yielding pide to the salted twirls […]
Our Inaugural Guide to Orange County’s World-Class Breweries
Orange County’s brewing history goes back as far as the 1850s, when Anaheim was founded as a German colony and its residents quickly turned the city into one of Southern California’s main beer hubs. Brewing thrived in this vast agricultural region despite homegrown temperance movements until the national ban on alcohol wiped out whatever was […]
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 […]
