Critic’s notebook: Gone but not forgotten, 10 closed restaurants I miss the most

Thank you, Orange County, for (over-) feeding me again this year. I have eaten very, very well. In fact, I’ve been keeping a list. And here it is: the 20 best things I ate this year.  20. Gorgonzola pizza at Il Palco This isn’t the first Italian...

When you eat out every day like I do, it’s easy to forget about much of what you eat. But then there are those other meals or dishes that won’t let you stop thinking about them: a pizza, a burger, a bowl of ramen, Spanish, Italian, Bosnian… These...

That tingly itch you get on the top of your head when you swallow a spoonful of hot, spicy green curry. That soothing, creamy comfort of a fast swig of Thai iced tea. That aromatic swoosh that fills the room when you pop the top of a container of...

Bangkok Kitchen    Chada Thai    Issara Thai    Jasmine    Lucky's Thai    Sumran Thai    Street Thai    Thai Avenue    Thai & Laos Market    Thai Nakorn   

Every year as the holidays approach, my inbox fills up with variations of the same question: “Hey Brad, I’ve got relatives coming into town for the holidays. Where should we dine out?” My first response is to steer them toward several years’ worth...

“Do you like it spicy?” I love hearing those words. It’s a question I got recently from the cashier at Southern Spice in Irvine. When I said, “Yes. Yes I do,” she steered me toward an incredible eggplant curry. “You want it spicy?” asked a...