Congregation Ale House, the church themed pub and brewery that has “chapters” in Long Beach, Azusa and Pasadena, is now open in Santa Ana in the former location of Luna Kutsi, which was Memphis at The Santora before that. 201 N Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701
The space that once housed the ambitious dancing dinner show Battle of The Dance and became M3 Live Event Center when it failed spectacularly is now India Bistro, an Indian restaurant that can now boast it has the largest room for an Indian buffet in OC. 2232 Harbor Blvd, Anaheim, CA 92802
A new Hawaiian restaurant called Hawaii Garden has taken the spot vacated by Hong Kong BBQ in Orange. Along with the usual plate lunch proteins of katsu and kalbi, the kitchen offers a something called a Honolulu Boiled Special, where fish, shrimp, beef, or pork is poached in specially seasoned water and then flavored with such things as sesame oil, soy sauce and garlic. 918 N Glassell St, Ste B, Orange, CA 92867
K-Bop Korean Cuisine has opened in the spot that used to be Round Table Pizza in Irvine’s Northpark neighborhood. Galbi tang, a braised short rib soup, and pork katsu are on the menu. 3953 Irvine Blvd, Irvine, CA 92602
A new Vietnamese restaurant called Lamai Fusion has opened in Little Saigon. Among the many dishes offered: intestine stew ramen and sausage sticky rice. 9550 Bolsa Ave, Ste 115F, Westminster, CA 92683
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.