Dining
Flavorful bet: Bangkok Thai
02.22.10
For years, Bangkok Taste in Santa Ana has quietly been dishing up some of Orange County’s most solid and authentic Thai fare. The strong flavors shine through, from the lemongrass-infused broth of the Tom Yum (hot&sour) soups to the adequately intense heat of traditional offerings like larb, a delicious salad of minced chicken or beef doused in a dressing of fish sauce and lots of lime, accompanied by some cabbage wedges that make for perfect scooping utensils. Thankfully, there’s not much watering down of the flavors—so if you ask for an item to be spicy, it will be.
The $5.95 lunch specials are a big draw here and includes an entree, rice & fried wontons. The small but clean restaurant in tucked away in a nondescript strip mall: it doesn’t get more unassuming than being next to a Big Lots, but the food speaks for itself.
Bangkok Taste is located at 2737 N. Grand Avenue in Santa Ana
714. 532.2216
Dining
Innovative sushi at Ikko
02.22.10
Ikko is for sushi lovers with an open mind. However, it’s not for anyone looking for sushi rolls or even soy sauce on the table. The tiny restaurant is known for its innovative delicacies at the hands of skilled sushi artist Ikko Kobayashi. Sit at the bar and ask for the omakase (chef’s choice), which starts at $60 for six courses and you might wind up with treats such as the steamed egg custard with sea urchin sauce and black truffles, oysters with ponzu mousse or foie gras tacos, and so on and so forth. Otherwise, tasty picks include the salmon nachos (slices of fresh salmon and wasabi cream dotted with salmon roe, all atop crunchy tortilla chips) to spicy tuna with eggplant tempura to prosciutto-wrapped duck salad. Don’t forget to check out the blackboard sushi specials for an array of fish flown in from Japan like whelk, amberjack and barracuda, too.
It can get packed for dinner, reservations are recommended.
Ikko is located at 735 Baker St. in Costa Mesa
714.556.7822
Hours:
Lunch: Noon - 2:00 p.m. Mon-Thu.
Dinner: 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. Mon-Thu.
Lunch: Noon - 2 p.m. Friday
Dinner: 6 p.m. - 11 p.m. Friday
Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Saturday
Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sunday
Photo credit: J. Wesley Brown
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