Puesto, the San Diego-based “Mexican Street Food” restaurant, has opened at Los Olivos in Irvine. On the menu are tacos with carnitas, but also chicken al pastor, lamb barbecue, zucchini and nopales, lobster, and filet mignon. The specialty tacos of the house are the seafood tacos. Among them are an octopus taco, “Tamarindo Shrimp”, and a battered wild cod taco it’s calling its version of “Baja Fish Tacos”.
8577 Irvine Center Dr, Irvine, CA 92618
The iconic former location of La Palma Chicken Pie Shop has a new tenant: Jo Won Noodle House, a restaurant that specializes in Mandarin-Szechwan dishes but also the Korean favorites jjampong (spicy seafood noodle soup) and jjajamyeon (black bean paste noodles).
928 N Euclid St., Anaheim, CA 92801
L.A. Biryani has taken over the space Bella Marri’s vacated when it closed in August in Santa Ana. The Indian restaurant specializes in biryani made with chicken and lamb, but also offers a so-called Hollywood Rice Bowl with “fried chicken over pilaf rice with red salsa”. Beers on tap include Kingfisher.
1631 E 17th St. Ste I, Santa Ana, CA 92705
A new boba tea shop and Vietnamese food purveyor of pho and banh mi called Urban Cup has opened in the space left behind by California Chicken Kitchen in Newport Beach. California Chicken Kitchen closed in November after it announced it’s moving to a yet undisclosed location in Irvine.
2200 W Oceanfront, Newport Beach, CA 92663
Kitchen 360 has opened in Anaheim. The restaurant serves halal burgers, hot dogs, and fried chicken. Also on the menu: jalapeño poppers, onion rings, and soft serve ice cream that can be turned into shakes, floats, and banana splits.
510 N Brookhurst St. Unit 103, Anaheim, CA 92801
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.