I have to drive solo to San Diego from DTLA on a Tuesday afternoon. Hoping to stop somewhere good a little further along the way, like in OC rather than LA in order to break up the trip a bit, while not straying too far from the 405 or 5. I followed the Disneyland recs and enjoyed both Sup and Tacos Los Cholos during a recent trip to excitement-free Angels Stadium. Looks like Heritage is closed on Tuesdays, which is a drag, but what else is worth checking out as a quick hit on the way down south?
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Off the 5 (before the 405-5 merge in Irvine) you could do a Tustin stop at Tanakaya, Cream Pan, and/or Oliboli. Mariscos El Yaqui isnāt too far off the 5 and is p. dope in SantAna. Tacos De Juarez is on my list in Anaheim but havenāt been in yet.
Also not to encourage drinking and driving at all but depending on the trip and the reason for the SD visit, Green Cheek is absolutely worth a beer stop!
And even further south, I had a great time at Heritage Oceanside when I went once in their very early days.
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Anaheim 5 - Zait n Zataar (Lebanese)
Irvine 5 - A&J Restaurant (Chinese)
Costa Mesa 405 - Folks Pizzeria
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Itās most of the way to San Diego, but Chino Farms is great. Not far from 5.
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Im listing things that are pretty close to 5 or 405 which leaves our most of little saigon, check that thread for additional recs
405
Riiip city pizza Huntington
Pho 101 Huntington
Kuro pizza costa mesa
Sofra urbana huntington - Serbian food
Meiji seimin costa mesa
Fukada soba udon irvine
Near 5
Seasons kitchen (Singaporean) anaheim
Kawamata seafood Dana point
Truly pizza Dana point
Gibronis pizza san clemente
Aj noodle irvine
Yus garden irvine
Sichuan impression tustin
Primo foods ocean side
Yoshino deli oceanside
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FWIW - Michelin has a great app that allows you to scroll the map to see the places listed in the guide. Before people bite my head off: I trust this board more than Michelin for āquick hitā places.
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I think itās in Dana Point?
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Being a Bay Area transplant, my regular stop if Iām in OC is something you donāt get in LA - Curry Up Now - think fusion-y Indian street food.
Youāre right! Always thought everything around the bend was in San Clemente but itās Dana point
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I did Cream Pan on a trip earlier this year and would definitely hit it up again for one of those pastries. It was chill when I arrived but there was a line to the door about 15 minutes later - does that place frequently fill up like that?
Green Cheek is definitely worthwhile and the option to get a half-pour helps with the driving piece.
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Cream Pan lines come and go. Pretty variable in the morning. I find afternoons to be more chill.
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Thatās one thing I miss about Spain, ordering a ācaƱaā of beer (about 6 oz) i donāt drink as much beer as I used to but sometimes you want a little bit.
Nice to see smaller pours out there.
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Merienda-style! Perfect relief from the wilting Iberian afternoon sun. Maybe the only thing better then would be a horchata granizadaā¦
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Stopped at Kawamata Seafood on the way home from La Jolla. Even at 5PM on a Saturday, thereās a healthy line of folks ready for a pokĆ© bowl. But it moves pretty fast.
For the most part, the line moves fast so long as folks understand and adhere to the simple ordering system: size, base, sauce, protein, and toppingsā¦and any sides.
I had them load mine with half brown rice and cabbage base, all the proteins (tuna, salmon & octopus), house sauce, seaweed salad, and krab. It was pretty goodā¦but it had been a very busy day and this was my first proper meal after a small snack at 9AM. I will say that the tuna was significantly better than the salmon. The octopus was more texture than super tasty.
My companion agreed that the tuna was better than the salmon and enjoyed having corn as a topping option for texture and sweetness.
The tuna & spicy tuna bowl was the most successful.
Down to know if anyone has favorite combinations/concoctions for my next visit.
The spam musubi is super cute and a fun snack.
This is a nice halfway stop between SD and home for us. I can also see how parking can be rough during busy periods. We found parking at the spinal center a street behind the complex.
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Itās a great stop right btw LA and SD!