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Because nothing exists on the Internet before three days ago, I'm reprinting a 2009 article I did on the best tamales in Orange County for the holidays--and I'm also ripping off a 2007 article I did on the same subject. I will also note that Gabbi's Mexican Kitchen and Taco María make great high-falutin' tamales, as well. Anyhoo, the retread!

Almost three years ago, I wrote up this round-up of the county's best places to get tamales. Rivera's is unfortunately closed, and I still don't understand why Central and South Americans prepare tamales (with the exception of Nicaraguans and the Guatemalan pache), but the review still holds true. But other places have emerged over the years that belong on the list--let's first start, however, with the two stand-bys:
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Photo by Meranda Carter

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To the gentleman at Silver Trumpet who seated us on Thursday, Nov. 10:

I owe you an apology. You see, I lied to you. As you showed me to my seat, you asked me politely, "You have the same last name as the OC Weekly food writer. Are you him?"

Flustered and quite shocked that my cover was blown, I blurted out, "No, I'm not."

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Don't forget: This Thursday is our second Good Food Happy Hour alongside KCRW-FM 89.9's Evan Kleiman. Starts at 7 p.m. in Mesa in Costa Mesa! Another reminder tomorrow!

And there was also a reminder at the end of my conversation with Evan this past Saturday about El Borrego Sagrado in big, bad SanTana, home of wonderful Hidalgo-style barbacoa, mixiote and tlacoyos. Enjoy!

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Wish they were back in SanTana, but what are you going to do...

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Out of the many restaurants that we've lost in the near-decade I've been the food editor at this infernal rag, few pained me more than the departure of Nancy Puebla Restaurant, a SanTana dive that was one of the first regional Mexican restaurants in the county to cross over to the mainstream. Its take on moles were legendary, as was its unique specialty on the little guys: godornices (Cornish game hen) and quilotes (quails). And best of all were the aguas frescas, which many a Mexi non-profit used for their fundraisers.

Then, around late 2007, Nancy Puebla just up and left. The owner told me he was moving to Perris, to take advantage of the housing boom at the time, and was relocating his restaurant with him. Perris? That tiny town off I-15, whose only claim to fame is it's not Menifee? I wished him well, but feared the move wouldn't work--after all, how many poblanos could possibly live in the Inland Empire?

There was never any reason for me to check up on Nancy Puebla--until this past Saturday.
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Meg Strouse/OC Weekly

Crispy-skin salmon with orange couscous, watermelon, mango and tomatillo sauce.

​See Meg Strouse's slideshow of last night's Dos Lime dinner here!

We've never understood what led Jason Quinn and Hop Phan to open food trucks, other than lower startup costs, but whatever the motivation was, we're glad they did. When people drive from Los Angeles to Orange County to eat at the Lime Truck and Dos Chinos, it's obvious they've got something special going on.

Then came the inevitable announcements of brick-and-mortar restaurants. Phan is opening is in L.A. (hmph!) and Quinn is opening Playground on la Cuatro in downtown Santa Ana next month. Both came together last night at the Shark Club--not, frankly, a venue where we ever expected to have fine dining--to serve 200 dinners with cocktail pairings.

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The sweltering times are coming in, which means that it's time to drink perhaps the most refreshing drink on Earth: nuoc mia, Vietnamese-style sugarcane juice. I highlighted the best in Orange County for our summer guide, and I concentrated on my two favorite--Hot Vit Lon Long An and New Duc Huong--for a recap on KCRW-FM 89.9's Good Food with Evan Kleiman. Enjoy!

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Forgot my camera, so no photos of the new Luigi's D'Italia--you'll have to see the restaurant yourself...

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For 30 years, Luigi's D'Italia was the place you went when you wanted slops of good Italian food--but that was it. You didn't take a first date there, but rather the girl who already knew all your bad eating habits and wouldn't cringe too much when the spaghetti inevitably swung into your shirt. Most likely, you took your guys or family to twirl through mountains of pastas, pizzas as large as basketball hoops, baskets of bread that filled you up so much you either had to take most of your meal home or get fat trying to eat it all in one sitting--and guess what most of us did? It was a classic, it was beloved--and no one took it seriously.

There was nothing that made Luigi's stand out from the other Italian restaurants in Orange County, not even the Italian-American ones, and honestly, I stopped going after a lifetime of patronage as a proud Anaheimer once I discovered Rufino's on the other side of town. I just assumed Luigi's would always be there, just like its little weekly ad in the parish bulletin for St. Boniface (which I remember since I was a kid), and eventually disappear as its clientele died off or discovered better places.

But an ambitious reclamation project is currently underway at Luigi's, thanks to the impetus of Gordon Ramsay. Somebody narcced on Luigi's to the tempestuous chef, because he set up shop this past week to devote an episode of his FOX Kitchen Nightmares series to save the restaurant and make it relevant again. The show invited the chica and I to try the revamped Luigi's--I'll focus on the Ramsay angle come October, once the show airs (and you know we're going to devote like a million blog posts to that), but right now: the new Luigi's, a place to finally visit for the food, a place that can combine the best of Cortina's and Onotria if it stays on its new track. More >>

Usually, any reviews I do for KCRW-FM 89.9's Good Food with Evan Kleiman happen a couple of months after I originally wrote them for this infernal rag. But I guess my description of the pancita de borrego at Taqueria Don Victor, which I reviewed only a couple of weeks ago, must've been incredibly compelling for Evan because we recorded this segment two weeks ago--and it just aired last week. Also on this show: Eddie Lin goes grunion running. Enjoy!

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"You gave away my breakfast burrito secret!" Dave told me on Sunday, as the two of us were unloading signs for my chica's semi-annual Patchwork Show.

I had no idea what he was talking about...and then I realized it was Sunday, the day after Saturday, the day KCRW-FM 89.9's Good Food with Evan Kleiman. Ah, Athenian Burgers #3 in Buena Park--you get another day in the sun!
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The non-po' boy po' boy

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A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a guest speaker at Cal State Fullerton who stayed at the Hotel Menage in Anaheim. After his lecture, we invited students for a post-lecture eat at k'ya Street Fare, which we reviewed way back in 2009. I had never been, but remembered Edwin liked it and heard others had good experiences. Plus, almost none of the platters were below $10, so perfect student food.
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