Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Anybody have some restaurants to recommend in the SA/Irvine area?

or bars?

I usually eat at restaurants in Brea, Anaheim, Orange, Tustin, Fullerton and the northern part of Santa Ana.

I am looking specifically for a dim sum restaurant to take Shari's relatives to in the area.

Did somebody say "bars"??? Oh..... it was you, John! You seem like my sorta bloke!

Santa Ana probably wouldn't be described as a culinary oriented town, unless your leaning is to churros and tamales. However, only ten minutes west down the freeway and you're in Newport Beach, with tons of restaurants and better bars up and down the coast highway.

Another 7 miles down the coast and you're in Laguna Beach which has a little bit of everything.

That'll work for me! Any dim sum restaurants you can recommend?

I believe that P.F. Chang's in Newport Beach (Fashion Island) has some really good dim sum. Haven't been there in a while though.

Santa Ana has many traditional Mexican Restaurants, so if you like real Mexican Food, just take a drive down Main Street into the heart of Santa Ana and enjoy places like La Fiesta or Guiermos Lo Mejor, both family owned. Mas Cervesas Howard mate. Tustin is right next to Santa Ana on Newport Ave. You will find some great places to eat with good prices, the closer you get to the Beach Towns the prices go up. So if you are on a budget, go to Newport Beach and check out a few places: Blackies, The Beach Ball or Sids Blue Beat, real close to the Newport Pier and great live music.

Actually, the Fajitas Gigante at the Acapulco Restaurant on Bristol (Costa Mesa, not that far from the hotel) are really good. Just down the street from there is the Inca (if I remember the name correctly), which has some interesting Peruvian dishes you won't find elsewhere.

Jeffrey, the only dim sum restaurant I am familiar with is about 90 miles south in San Diego (The Emerald Restaurant on Aero Drive in Kearny Mesa), but it is/was (it was still in business a couple of years ago, but I haven't been down there for some time) really great.

I always did like the Mexican restaurants in the L.A. area when I lived there. 90 miles is a bit far to go for dim sum, I think I can get it much closer going up into L.A.

The P.F. Chang's here in the Cleveland area doesn't serve dim sum, that would be great if they did; we usually go into Chinatown here for that.

Goat Hill Tavern on Newport Blvd. has 144 beers on tap..

Hey Dale,while you're talking Newport pier area,let's not forget Mutt Lynch's! Great pizza..

By the way,I posted some other places under the "what's everybody doing" thread..Just in case anybody's interested.

Gary mentioned the Inca Grille- indeed, that's a greatplace and we often have lunch there. Not much to look at at but what wonderful, unusual food! Bristol Street, 1/2 block west of Redhill. Only place around here that I know of that has chaufas and empanadas.

The Gypsy Den in Santa Ana has a great vibe and live entertainment many nights of the week. It's inthe Artist's Village downtown.

"If your aging hippie aunt opened her sitting room to strangers, it would resemble these two hangouts in Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, offbeat venues complete with early attic decor and arty habitues; the homespun soups, salads and sandwiches have a healthy bent, going way beyond the tofu-bean sprouts archetype." Zagat's Restaurant Survey

http://www.gypsyden.com