Phil B. wrote: >I'll be staying at The Sutton Place hotel across from John Wayne >airport for a week in mid-November. I used to fly in and out of there >a lot and always thought of that area as a wasteland, but that was >almost 10 years ago and I've heard it's changed a lot. Any >recommendations for casual, bistro type places for lunch and fine >dining type places for dinner? Any style cuisine is fine, although I >don't expect anything too exotic in Republican Orange County. Let's see what I can remember off the top of my head. (Actually you'll find a wide range of ethnic choices) Lunch Il Fornario. There's two of them in the area, check the phone book. I've been to the one on Anton and it has a fine lunch. Birraporta's in South Coast Plaza. If it's a nice day eat outside. Asia Noodle Cafe -- Campus Marketplace across from UCI. Cheap but very good. Steelhead Brewery -- same location, burgers and wood fired pizzas. Taco Mesa -- 19th in Costa Mesa. All the ambience of a fast food place but great (cheap) Mexican food. Dinner Il Fornario (again) Black Sheep Bistro (Tustin) -- pricey but great Provencal food. The Golden Truffle (Newport Beach or Costa Mesa, not sure which) Never been there but it's highly recommended. The menu looks quite good. Ghandi (South Coast Village) -- Indian (obviously. Dinner (not fine dining) Kanpai -- small sushi shop on Baker. Not much ambience but very good sushi and sake. Jamillah Garden -- Islamic/Northern Chinese, on Walnut in Tustin. Soups and hot pots. Be sure to order the sesame seed bread. That's it for now. David Cook
Anaheim, CA