Crustacean at South Coast Plaza, the long-planned sequel to the much-hyped and oh-so-trendy Vietnamese Beverly Hills restaurant that I love to complain about (let's just say that I've never paid so much to be ignored by the wait staff and underwhelmed by the kitchen) has been in development across from Charlie Palmers at Bloomingdale; but only this week has there been word that it is finally underway and slated to debut this winter. They've even posted a Help Wanted ad on craigslist.
]
The only change is that it will now be called AnQi and will feature….wait for it…….a runway inside the dining room!
I'll reserve judgment for the gimmick, and even hold my tongue until I actually try the place, but again, I must remind the Newport Beach hordes that will probably beat a path to this place: Little Saigon is just a few exits away on the 405…just sayin'
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.