NOW OPEN:
In Anaheim, a newly opened restaurant called Cross Roast has taken Cantonese BBQ and applied it to a Chipotle-style, build-your-bowl concept. You start by choosing a protein, including Char Siu pork, bone-in roasted duck, chicken and pork belly. Then a base of rice, a French roll, ramen soup or even a taco. Toppings include Monterey Jack, roasted corn salsa, and sesame seeds. Sauces range from hoisin to raspberry vinaigrette.
401 S. Magnolia Ave, Anaheim CA 92804
A shuttered Starbucks in Fullerton has now become Cafe Ogada, a Korean dessert shop that serves tea and Korean sweets.
1805 W Orangethorpe Ave, Fullerton, CA 92833
Capital Noodle Bar in Brea is now open for business at the Village at La Floresta. Though they’ve been in soft-open mode all week last week, their official grand opening is today, July 25. This latest outlet of the noodle bar concept by the same group that owns and operates Capital Seafood at Irvine’s Diamond Jamboree and Capital at Irvine Spectrum will serve the same menu of noodles and rice dishes as the Costa Mesa and Irvine stores.
3477 E Imperial Hwy Brea, CA 92823
COMING SOON:
A new all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ called I Can BBQ is coming to Irvine’s Oak Creek Shopping Center. It will be located in the building next to Pizza One. Also in the same complex, a new diner called The Stand is planned next to Maizuru. The Stand will serve hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken “enriched by proprietary toppings, breads, sides and drinks”.
Shin Sen Gumi—one of the most venerable Japanese restaurant chains, with location Gardena, Little Tokyo and Fountain Valley—is coming to Irvine. Though it isn’t clear yet which one of the Shin Sen Gumi iterations the Irvine store will be (each of the existing Shin Sen Gumi restaurants has a distinct specialty such as ramen, shabu shabu, chanko, or yakitori), it will be located in Woodbury Town Center.
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.