MARISCOSLICENCIADO#2
This place sells Sinaloan seafood but lies landlocked in the same decaying commercial pocket JC Fandango calls paradise. Their best seller is aguachile, ceviche writ amazing: scores of chilled shrimp, cucumbers, red onions and tomatoes crammed onto a large molcajete—the mortar-and-pestle contraption used by Mexicans since before Jesus. Aguachile is an incredible contradiction: light yet debilitating, intensely sour but curiously cooling, burrowing itself into the recesses of the palate yet its redolence remaining immediate. 1052N.StateCollege,Anaheim,(714)776-3415.
HWANGHAEDOBBQ
You know that terrible clich “When hell freezes over”? The bibimnaengmyun at Hwang Hae Do in Garden Grove are like that. Translated in the menu as “spicy cold noodles,” these are frigid buckwheat noodles sluiced with hot sauce and wading in a strong, beefy broth within a massive steel bowl that looks like a prison-issue toilet. Joining the bibimnaengmyun will be various frosty panchan (customary Korean side dishes): seaweed served on ice, a tofu cube dunked in chilly soy sauce and kim chi that, while nippy, will burn off at least half of your saliva glands. 9567GardenGroveBlvd.,GardenGrove,(714)590-1588.
VANHANHVEGETARIANRESTAURANT
Bn is more room-temperature than arctic but also one of the most refreshing meals in Orange County: cool vermicelli noodles snake around a mound of bean sprouts, lettuce, cucumber and carrot slices, and stray mint leaves. Studded throughout this knoll of freshness are peanut bits, while slices of meat lie to the side. It is still awaiting its imminent anointment as hipster Orange County's meal-of-the moment—see some of them at the vegan Van Hanh Vegetarian Restaurant. 9455BolsaAve.,Ste.D,Westminster,(714)531-4661.
KAREEM'S
Hummus is universally clammy—probably because most Middle Eastern restaurants serve it out of a can, with only a sprig of something green and specks of olive oil as adornment. Kareem's in Anaheim is different: owners Nancy and Mike Hawari grind their own chickpeas into paste, refrigerate the results and present the firm, silky hummus in a plate, remembering to add bits of grilled beef, chile powder, olive oil pools and many delicious little pine nuts. It's Orange County's best hummus—and don't forget the Hawaris' divine falafels! 1208S.BrookhurstSt.,Anaheim,(714)778-6829.
HOLLINGSHEAD'SDELI
And no attempt at beating back summer's heat will succeed without a couple of cold-cut sandwiches to aid the battle, and who better than the Germans when it comes to anything involving war? That side of combat comes via the impressive selection of Kraut hooch that Hollingshead's Deli stores in shelves and on tap. Hollingshead's heroes, meanwhile, are multifolded mortars made with sausages sliced straight from their tank-big deli case; this is the same shrine where you will also find snappy, phallic pickles; purple eggs kept in brine; and cups of pungent macaroni salad. 368S.MainSt.,Orange,(714)978-9467.
