Sandwich Club at Diamond Jamboree is now called Spice Bar. Spice Bar still serves banh mi, but also Vietnamese-style steak and egg plates and noodle soups.
2700 Alton Pkwy. Ste 125, Irvine, CA 92606
Texas de Brazil—a churrascaria that started as a family-owned joint in Addison, Texas in 1998 and grew to over three dozen restaurants throughout the U.S. and abroad—has now opened in Irvine at the former location of On The Border. As one does at Agora, Irvine's other churrascaria, a meal at Texas de Brazil is all-you-can-eat, whereupon servers will continuously swarm your table to carve you cuts of 16 different grilled meats as long as you have your place card set to green. Texas de Brazil also has a bar, a wine cellar, and a 50-item seasonal salad area that includes appetizers, gourmet vegetables, soups, and salads.
13772 Jamboree Rd., Irvine, CA 92602
The Recess Room has opened in Fountain Valley in a former Coco's. The “modern American tapas” restaurant leans Vietnamese and offers a bone marrow burger, a sous vide of Kurobuta pork, and a “Hue Dip.”
18380 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley CA 92708
Hopdoddy Burger Bar has opened at Tustin Marketplace. It's the second Hopdoddy in OC after Fashion Island. As like Texas de Brazil, it's originally from Texas, established in 2010 in Austin. Burgers include a Classic (Angus beef, red leaf lettuce, white onion, beef steak tomato, sassy sauce) to an Ahi Tuna Burger (sushi-grade tuna, sprouts, teriyaki, honey wasabi, nori chips, pickled ginger, mayo). Beer is offered as well as shakes with flavors that include tres leches, red velvet cake, and chocolate stout.
3030 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92782
Tustin Marketplace's Wokcano has also opened. Like all the other Wokcanos in Burbank, L.A., Santa Monica, Valencia, Santa Ana, and Long Beach, this Wokcano features a menu of sushi and sushi rolls. But because of that “Asian” catch-all, you can also expect Sweet and Sour Pork, as well as a Thai-style curry, or Teriyaki chicken, and then add Singaporean noodle to your meal.
3015 El Camino Real, Tustin, CA 92782
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.