Good restaurants in the General Irvine Area

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Thankfully, Chano?s was in stumbling/crawling distance from the 9-O. Remember those 2AM feasts very well. Wish I?d have tried the pastrami quesadilla though, always went with the carne asada burrito. Solid post on Traddies, you even remembered the Vulcan Mind Probe, classic!



The best thing about Traddies was that you could charge the drinks on the SC card.

My parents would read me the riot act once the bill arrived with those $$$ charges.

I would put that sheepish look on my face and tell them it was for food and books.

Taking girls to upstairs commons cost my parents a small fortune, all in the name of education. Great times, thanks for bringing back the memories.
 
[quote author="IACRenter" date=1207558681]For something different try <a href="http://www.merhabarestaurant.com">Merhaba Restaurant</a> on W Ball Rd in Anaheim. Great East African/Ethiopian food. If you have never tried this type of food this is a good place to start, comparable in quality to Little Ethiopia on Fairfax in LA. Since you eat with your hands it is a very social dining experience.</blockquote>


i love ethopian cuisine. brought my friends here once and since then i am not allowed to pick restaurants. its not for everyone, but i love it! glad to see someone mention merhaba!
 
If you like Ethiopian food, there's quite a few Ethiopian restaurants around Las Vegas area. Pretty good food at reasonable prices.



Always thought it was interesting that Indians ate with naan and Ethiopians ate with injera.



I recall many years ago there was an Ethiopian restaurant in a food court area of... Santa Monica? They served their dishes with purple-ish colored injera bread and I never got to ask them where the purple came from. LoL. Restaurant is long-gone though. :(



For those familiar with IKKO in Costa Mesa, they're closed for couple of weeks. I like sushi at this place, but it's pricy, and not for those who prefer to season their own food.



http://www.yelp.com/biz/ikko-japanese-restaurant-costa-mesa
 
3 pages and no mention of A&J;cafe ? (taiwanese) Jeffrey and Walnut, near East West Bank and Yogurtland

My gf loves the beef noodle soup but I along with my roommate always end up getting the chicken and rice meal. Two other musts are the spicy dumplings for 3.95 and green onion pancake, (dip the pancake inside of the dumpling sauce as well)



Ay-Chung (Jeffrey and Walnut near S.W. cafe)

I enjoy their beef noodle soup there more than at A&J;.



For Korean Tofu, I like Kaju (Jeffrey and Walnut) better than Koba tofu house. Try the Jap chae, its really good. Plus the pickled spicy cucumbers are delicious.



Those are the normal restaurants I go to in Irvine, rest of the places are in Cerritos, or San Gabriel area
 
(it's 12:30am and my brain is not working well, so pardon any mistakes)



I think the owners of A&J;has been operating that restaurant for 14 years now. Their food is OK, I prefer thinner version of the green onion pancake and theirs is too thick. On weekends I go there sometimes in the mornings for Chinese breakfast items.



Best Ay-Chung noodles that I've tasted... in Shimending, Taipei, standing room only.



If you like japche and eat in Cerritos area, try this Korean place by Pioneer & South St. To the SE corner there's a couple shopping plazas. Look for the Filipino restaurant Pinay Pinay, then (facing the restaurant's entrance) look to the left. I recall there's a Korean restaurant by there and their japche was really, really good. It's been several years though (way too old for me to hang out at Guppy, cough), so donno if it's still there.



I like this Korean place called Ye Dang in La Habra, in SW corner of Beach Blvd & Imperial HWY. Their mushroom hot pot, beef stew, and spicy fried squid is pretty good. The seafood pancake thee is OK too but not as good as this Korean beer house in Garden Grove.



Went to eat at a Korean restaurant on Jeffery/University today. If you take 405 FWY exit Jeffery/University and head west. To the right you'll see an IHOP, pull into the center and you'll find a Korean place behind it. Their lunch special cooked sliced beef (boneless, not kalbi) was surprisingly good. Nice and tender, not over-done, well seasoned. Look to the right and you'll find a Pho Bac.



Best pickled veggie (modified Korean style) I had was actually from a short glass container sold at Ranch 99 back in 2000's. The daicon were chopped into small squares and every piece was nice and crunchy, tasty, and wonderful. But I can't find it anymore. :(
 
Speaking of that type of food in the Irvine area - what about Nice Time Deli? It's nearby Ai-chung and that new Chef Chen's. Usually full of people, but noticed lately it's been empty.



Porkchop rice is pretty standard menu item. (Most of the times I share that plate and the owner(i think) always says, "that's it?")
 
[quote author="anteaterscientist" date=1207870309]Speaking of that type of food in the Irvine area - what about Nice Time Deli? It's nearby Ai-chung and that new Chef Chen's. Usually full of people, but noticed lately it's been empty.



Porkchop rice is pretty standard menu item. (Most of the times I share that plate and the owner(i think) always says, "that's it?")</blockquote>


I've been eating their pork chop noodle for years. But lately the pork chop seems a bit... thin?



Was at the new Ranch 99 in Chino Hills the other day and saw a Nice Time Deli branch there..



=================



P.S. Daikokuya branch now open in Costa Mesa!

http://elmomonster.blogspot.com/
 
Went to S.W. tonight and the Beef chow fun (crispy noodle) is really good.



I will have to try Nice Time Deli. For the amount of Chinese and Taiwanese, you'd think there would be more of a selection.



El Cholo Cantina has a pretty good chimichanga from what I recall. However, I never really felt the urge to return there.
 
I was told by my hair stylist that both Ay-Chung and Nice Time Deli were owned by Koreans now. I don't think Ay-Chung is tasty, and it is only barely resolve my home-missing feeling once in awhile. There are too much MSG in it. You need drink a lot of water afterwards. The owner is stingy and they charge you tips, while the original San Gabriel particularly says you don't need to tip.

Nice Time Deli has too limited selections. For Taiwanese cuisin in Irvine, I only like A&J;, but still not the best. I am hoping the new Diamond plaza to open soon.
 
I went to La Sirena in Laguna Beach this weekend. I saw that they opened one in the Orchard Hills Village Center. I haven't been to that one, but I love the one on Mermaid in Laguna. From looking online, it looks like the one in Irvine is bigger and nicer inside. Anyone been to both? Is the Irvine one just as good?
 
[quote author="mimi" date=1207924664]I was told by my hair stylist that both Ay-Chung and Nice Time Deli were owned by Koreans now. I don't think Ay-Chung is tasty, and it is only barely resolve my home-missing feeling once in awhile. There are too much MSG in it. You need drink a lot of water afterwards. The owner is stingy and they charge you tips, while the original San Gabriel particularly says you don't need to tip.

Nice Time Deli has too limited selections. For Taiwanese cuisin in Irvine, I only like A&J;, but still not the best. I am hoping the new Diamond plaza to open soon.</blockquote>


Ay-Chung is way overrated. When it first opened, the place was packed but now the place barely fill out on the weekends. Much like Ding Tai Fung. . .



A&J;is okay but the waitresses are not nice at all. Taiwanese cuisine is about familiarity and down home cooking. . the people at A&J;treat you as if they are doing you a favor when you order. . .not cool at all.



There are not that many good Taiwanese or even Chinese places in Irvine. . .San Gabriel Valley is where it is at.
 
Shiny just mentioned the Greek place in the food court on Main in the comments from today's blog entry.I can't believe I forgot to list it in this thread. The name of the place is Greek Islands Cafe. This is in the food court on Main between Jamboree and MacArthur (the one with Baja Fresh).



I have eaten a lot of good Greek food, and this place is awesome. The best falafel and tahini sauce I have ever tasted. I know the owners, who have been there a long time. If you go at lunch, you'll see it dominates the business in that food court. Always a line. Get a #2 with falafel and enjoy.
 
[quote author="T!m" date=1208228011]I went to La Sirena in Laguna Beach this weekend. I saw that they opened one in the Orchard Hills Village Center. I haven't been to that one, but I love the one on Mermaid in Laguna. From looking online, it looks like the one in Irvine is bigger and nicer inside. Anyone been to both? Is the Irvine one just as good?</blockquote>


We went over to La Sirena today. I can't compare because I haven't been to the others. We had considered and rejected it before because the "walk up to the counter to order and have your food delivered" was a too reminiscent of Carl's Jr. and Pat & Oscars. Actually, the whole experience reminded me of Pat & Oscars, but with better food. Staff was reasonably friendly and helpful and the food was quite good. The portions were bigger than I expected, but not so large that you overstuffed yourself. The quality of the food is a big plus, and I appreciated the fact that they use Niman Ranch beef and pork (i.e., organic / humane products) over <a href="http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=harris+ranch+cows&y=Search&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=utf-8&js=1&x=wrt&w=500&h=333&imgurl=static.flickr.com/41/85489589_3a6657501d.jpg&rurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/studioh/85489589/&size=109kB&name=Hold Your Nose!&p=harris ranch cows&type=JPG&oid=033675c89651358c&fusr=Studio H (Chris)&tit=Hold Your Nose!&hurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/studioh/&no=4&tt=15">feedlot products</a>.



The minuses? The partial self service and the "hard" decor. The interior is brick wall and uncovered cement flooring. When we arrived, there were some families there with their kids. Kids being kids, they were not using their "inside" voices, plus the banging of pots and pans from kitchen, and the lack of carpeting or other material to absorb the sound made for a noisy atmosphere.



I would go again for the food, but might get take out rather than sticking around.
 
Not sure if anyone mentioned California Fish Grill yet, off of Barranca and Culver. Its a quick serve restaurant that has several types of fish that are grilled, they have pretty nice sized portions, and the plates are under $10. They also have clam chowdah, calamari, fish tacos, etc. Great place to grab some grub.
 
This all came from another thread, but for posterity (and easy searching) I have reposted the info here.



From Caraway:



<blockquote>If you like Anjin KB_B, try TSURUHASHI?s off of Brookhurst, right next door to primeval pets. From Irvine 405 North, exit brookhurst west, it?s about a mile down. Some say it?s better than Anjin, definitely a little bit cheaper prices, but the interiors aren?t as nice, same quality food. Similar wait time.</blockquote>


From Momopi:



<blockquote>Tsuruhashi is actually next to Turner?s, the pet shop over to the right is Prehistoric Pets. The center also has one of the last remaining H. Salt Fish & Chips in the area, and a neat used book store tucked away in the corner.



IMO Manpuku in Costa Mesa is better than Anjin and Tsuruhashi for yakiniku. The best Japanese BBQ I?ve had in this area is Tamaen in Lomita. Gyu-kaku in Torrance is also OK but not the Huntington Beach location. Sansui Tei in Torrance at Rolling Hills Plaza is good if you?re willing to order washugyu beef ($$$). Look across the parking lot from Sansui Tei for a good traditional Japanese soba house.



Instead of Tsuruhashi, try one of the Korean BBQ places in Buena Park. Drive south of Knotts Berry Farm on Beach Blvd and look for a Ken Cranes, it?s about 1-2 blocks south of Beach & La Palma. Pull into the Ken Cranes parking lot and look for a Korean BBQ restaurant directly behind it. Do not order the 2 person combo (the marinated meat included isn?t very good). Order the individual meat selections on the menu instead. The ventilation system sucks but meat selection is good, plus the grill uses square wire-mesh style so the grease drips off. It?s a bit pricy here but meat quality is good.



If you don?t mind lesser quality meat, go north on Beach to Beach & Orangethrope, north of Knotts Berry Farm. Look for Aria restaurant, they have a good all you can eat BBQ special, plus their banchan (side dishes) are pretty decent.



If you like pork (oink oink) try Wako Honey Pig @ 7212 Orangethrope, Buena Park. </blockquote>
 
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