Garlic & Chives

, brodardrestaurant.net Pork spring rolls (nem nuong cuon) from Brodard in Fountain Valley (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) Garlic crab at Garlic & Chives That famous wok-fried crab with handfuls of garlic, jalapeños and dried chilies is still

Garlic & Chives in Garden Grove (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) Fried chicken at Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken Recently opened in Santa Ana, this new fried chicken restaurant from Tennessee is very good. The outer crust is thin

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in the Vietnamese enclave, boasting two of its most popular restaurants, Brodard and Boiling Crab, which are–stretching the analogy a little further–its Bellagio and Caesars Palace. The newest and hottest here is Garlic & Chives. ] You might recognize

the space. Until late last year, it used to be Lua Bistrot, a sleek café known for its cheap steaks and what you fell back on when the wait at Brodard was too unbearable. But in the two months it has been open, Garlic & Chives has become the star

Garlic & Chives is well-known for two things: its deep-fried salmon belly dish and one of the longer waits for a table in Little Saigon. But it should also be known for Kristin Nguyen, the chef and mother of two behind the Asian concept that has—in

interpreter to translate for her. “It was the most amazing experience.” She honed her culinary skills by cooking for friends and family. Garlic & Chives’ salmon belly dish came about from dinner parties she’d host at her home. “My sister went crazy for it

umbrellas, is Garlic & Chives by Kristin, a recently opened restaurant that is already one of the best dining rooms in Little Saigon. You put your name down on the waiting list. You dart next door for a sea salt coffee from the bakery 85°C — you definitely

for Jonathan Gold’s Counter Intelligence dining newsletter >> You begin to realize: Garlic & Chives by Kristin is a small-plates restaurant. It is the Vietnamese equivalent of a Korean pocha or a Japanese izakaya, only with a lot less beer. And those

alien. Before the restaurant, he hosted pop-up dinners where people waited in hours-long lines for his garlic chive tagliatelle with spicy chile oil, basil leaves, emerald plum XO sauce, smoked mushrooms and pistachio tahini. And the handmade Sonora

pulls a grounding sort of balance into the mix. The rainbow trout entree arrives as a nouvelle cuisine fever dream. Two sauces — a translucent garlic-chive oil and a pil pil (traditionally made by blending salt cod, garlic and olive oil) thinned to the

, plump with pork, ginger, garlic, chive and cabbage. They’re crisp on one side and chewy on the other. He also makes chicken gyoza, vegetable gyoza and dipping sauces including aromatic soy sauce and chile sesame oil. You can order the dumplings frozen

snipped Chinese leeks, also known as garlic chives. The rice flour dough had a consistency similar to mochi, satisfyingly soft and stretchy under the crisped brown exterior. Fish cakes were fried to a coppery color and served with pickled vegetables; the

-4810, davios.com/irv Davio’s Italian Steakhouse in Irvine serves a simple steak frites with fresh, hand-cut fries. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) 57. Garlic & Chives (2018 ranking: 63) A single order of garlic crab contains at

pork belly, shrimp and bird’s eye chilies. 9892 Westminster Ave., Garden Grove, 714-591-5196, garlicandchives.com Spicy garlic crab is a signature dish at Garlic & Chives in Garden Grove. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) 56. Tacos

very spicy salami, plus jalapeños, Fresno chilies and hot giardiniera. Spice level: 3 Pizza diablo at Ecco Pizzeria in Anaheim. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG) Garlic & Chives 9892 Westminster Ave., Garden Grove. 714-591-5196

, garlicandchives.com The dish: Garlic crab Description: Crab stir-fried garlic and jalapeños. More garlic than peppers, so it’s more savory and pungent than dangerously spicy. Spice level: 2 Garlic crab at Garlic & Chives in Garden Grove. (Photo by Brad A. Johnson