101 Noodle Express

on Jeffrey and Walnut offers comfort food for those from the colder climes of china. succulent little dumplings filled with lamp, shrimp, pork and fish. Don't skip the beef rolls. Marinated beef wrapped in a fried pancake stuffed with cilantro.  The five spice should transport you to remote sichuan province: one of the spices in the five spice combo has a famous numbing effect. It coats thin sliced tendon. sublime. the dumplings are filled with everything from lamb to squash (they call it pumpkin on the menu). our favorites are the classic pork and cabbage dumplings. each delicious morsel slides down your throat with ease. it's better if you speak bad chinese, and pay cash. if you can't do either,  you will still be able to take home made chinese food with some attitude to boot.

mizuki

Sometimes when I feel like having sushi, we go to this little place on Michelson between a Wahoo and a sporting goods store, called Mizuki. They always have great miso soup, and my dad and I split a couple of rolls - our favorites include the tiger and the spider roll, but there are many options. You can sit at the bar and watch the sushi chef and some games on TV at the same time. Try the fresh water eel nigiri, or the ocean eel too - it's fattier but very delicious.

great park farmer's market - food truck heaven

Everyone in the OC knows about food trucks, and we have some great ones some people might even know from TV. I should have blogged some, like the LIme Truck, and the Barcelona truck, and of course the Kogi truck - but just go find them at your neighborhood spots (check their plans on twitter).

A great spot is the farmer's market in the Great Park every Sunday (where we actually took Buster the dog up in the Orange Balloon - he liked it...); and if you don't find a food truck that makes what you like, you should definitely try this tent called STREET FOODS Co. - order the Tempura Shrimp and the Blue Crab Burrito, they are awesome!

La Rocco's and Phan 55

La Rocco's Pizzeria is the only place in Orange County that satisfied my mom's craving for New York style thin crust pizza. It has a variety of different pizzas, vegetarian and VERY meaty. Last time we were there we had the classic white pizza that is really great! We were very hungry when we arrived at La Roccos (and they had very slow service), so to satisfy our hunger, we ordered these things called garlic knots. They were a combination of bread, garlic, olive oil, and cheese. They were great with the tomato sauce they served. It was very cheap and had some outdoor seating! A small T.V provides entertainment to people in line, and to kids alike. It is a great place to support! The pizza is out of this world.

       Speaking of great places to support, Phan 55 is a small place out of the way near Jamboree and Campus It is a Vietnamese place that has a huge bar and great pho. Their food is healthy, fresh, and tasty. For Pho lovers who want to find the real thing near UCI, this is the place to come for a healthy and delicious lunch. Their waiters are very nice, asking for help to spread the word of their restaurant.

taco asylum

Taco Asylum is a great little restaurant in Costa Mesa. They serve (great) non-traditional tacos from 11 am to 11pm. The link shows what is in each taco if you scroll down. They have 9 tacos and a flight of 8. The Ghost Chili Pork is the one not in the flight. They have Grilled Octopus, Pork Belly, Short Rib, Curried Paneer, Wild Mushroom, Lamb, Duck, Corazon (beef heart confit), and Ghost Chili Pork. They have 3 hot sauces, one of them the hottest chili in the world (Ghost Chili), one second hottest chili in the world, and the last one a mild chili. My dad rated the tacos in this order: 1-Duck and Lamb, 2-Beef Heart and Short Rib, 3-Pork Belly and Ghost Chili Pork, 4-Wild Mushroom and Curried Paneer, 5-Grilled Octopus. I Rated them like this: 1-Lamb, 2-Ghost Chili Pork, 3-Beef Heart and Curried Paneer and Duck, 4-Pork Belly, 5-Short Rib, 6-Grilled Octopus and Wild Mushroom (didn't have either). My mom liked the Beef Heart the best. I think the lamb was the best mostly because of the olive tapenade. It had the perfect texture and oomph to balance out the lamb and ratatouille. The Ghost Chili Pork had strands of ghost chili and the waitress said that it was going to be hot but I didn't mind the chili strands that much. The small spice was excellent in combo with the pork. My mom says the hot sauce that had ghost chili in it was much hotter. They had many beers and non-alcohalic drinks and sodas, in particular, tea and soda. It is in The Camp and has nice outdoor seating and a heat lamp and a counter/bar with only a few seating options. A nice atmosphere and waiting, with a screen that shows live tweets that mention @tacoasylum, this place is a great new place that you should help support as it is only 4 months old.

Happy Family

Happy Family does make families happy, everybody that goes to them and knows them that is. Happy Family is a very new restaurant located in what was once known as May Garden at 1400 Bristol St. Costa Mesa (telephone 714-668-9288). They serve a Buddhist, vegetarian, taiwanese fusion version of Chinese food. My dad said after going for the first time "it was almost good enough to make me vegetarian." The first time we went we avoided the fake tofu substitute meats like mock duck and mock chicken, but the second time we had to give in and we were pleasantly surprised. If you have been to Taipei, you know about Buddhist vegetarian Chinese cuisine, but if you haven't, this style of Chinese cooking is very delicious, based on Northern Chinese cuisine, with its hearty mantou or or steamed breads. Mantou are called Fried Bread on the menu is a a Northern Chinese classic and it is very good. Home style tofu was my personal favorite. My mom liked the deep fried oyster mushrooms and chicken with mushrooms. If you like Kung Pao Chicken, you'll enjoy the veggie version. The two greens we had were very good. Snow pea tops are our favorite, but they ran out the second time we were there so we had stir fried chinese romaine lettuce. It's called "A-cai" AY TSAI. if you want to order it. In other reviews that aren't as good as this one, they claim that the lotus flowers are great, but me and my parents did not like them. However, if you are a newcomer to this restaurant, they are a must try. The food is well spiced, light and balanced. According to Buddhist cuisine, garlic and onions make people quick to anger, so they are not used. You wouldn't know it though, because the dishes are so varied and savory. We ordered hot and sour soup on our first visit and tofu and glass noodle soup on our second visit. If you want to eat like the Chinese, never skip soup with your meal. You won't be disappointed by Happy Family's selection. This restaurant is also a GREAT deal. Everything is very reasonably priced. The two problems that we encountered were -- very slow service and not very special atmosphere. They are renovating the restaurant, so we hope for improvements soon. They don't serve alcohol, but my mom asked if we could bring our own, and the owners said that wouldn't be a problem. Excellent dumplings! Please give them your business. They are close to Irvine and really serve a very distinctive and authentic not to mention healthy Chinese food.

The counter

Make your own burger at the counter! The counter serves burgers or should i say you make make the burger and they serve it. When your waiter comes you get a little pamphlet that allows you to make your burger. You can chose the size,the sides, the sauce, the cheese, and the bun. We had parmesan fries with garlic, parsley, rosemary, and parmesan. I had red onions, red peppers, sharp provalone, and corn and beans with honey mustard sauce. We both had the smallest sized burgers which were not to small. My dad had tomatoes, grilled pineapple, and coleslaw with sweet barbeque sauce(yes i know, he got the best sides and sauce and i didn't want to copy him). The fries were good but not the best. They were a big portion so we had to take them home and when we heated them up they were still very good. The burger was good but not better than any other one but i guess its nice to pick your sides. A nice outdoor seating area allowed me and my new dog (:D!) to sit outside. It has a nice atmosphere and nice indoor seating area with what do you expect?... Counters! In all this is a nice sit down burger place that allows you to make your own unique burger.