Food, Glorious Food

What will we be eating in 2999? I’m guessing not a single one of the dishes I have selected as my favorites for this year.

Since 1999 is a landmark year, I’d first like to talk about my favorite dishes that have appeared in this space during the last 10 years. So here, in no particular order, are a few wonderful things I ate in the ‘90s. A few of them, it should be pointed out, are still being served. After these kudos are dished out, a list of my top 20 dishes for 1999 follows, again in no particular order.

The one dish I find myself craving again and again is the house special lobster at Newport Seafood in Westminster: huge chunks of fresh Maine lobster sauteed in a wok with rice wine, lobster roe, hot chiles and spice. Perhaps the most unusual dish in my experience is the tea leaf salad from Golden Triangle in Whittier, the Southland’s only Burmese restaurant, made with a variety of nuts, seeds and leaves.

I’ve loved the braised veal cheeks served at Aubergine and Troquet, and also the incredible pot au feu Normande that once graced the menu at Pascal, a magnificent broth containing, among other ingredients, bone marrow and foie gras.

At Mayur, which is now just a memory, owner Anju Kapoor served the most seductive meat dish imaginable, a goat rib curry that was searingly hot and fall-off-the-bone tender. The simple buttery biscuits at Ramos House Cafe remain utterly irresistible, and chicharrones en chile rojo (pork rind in a spicy red sauce) is just one of many great creations at the affordable Mexican chain Taco Mesa.

Two of my favorite Orange County chefs are Alan Greeley of Golden Truffle and Edmond Sarfati at La Fayette. Greeley’s risotto with blue shrimp and jerk chicken salad are tremendous; Sarfati’s rustic cassoulet and quenelles de brochet--feathery light pike dumplings--are still the best examples of regional French cooking I have tasted in the county.

In the early ‘80s, almost any of the Isarn, or northeast Thai style dishes, served at Thai Nakorn in Buena Park, were tremendous, though I find sadly that the restaurant has slipped in recent years. At our many fine Japanese restaurants, nothing has pleased more than tatami iwashi, a finely woven mat of fresh mackerel, at Hana No Ki, or the butter-soft miso-marinated steak made at Kappo Sui, a Japanese pub.

Finally, I nominate the princess cake at Gustaf Anders for best local dessert. I like it so much, actually, that I’m planning to have one as soon as I finish work today.

Now, the top 20:

Farmhouse cheeses

Tim and Liza Goodell have made their reputations at their restaurants, Troquet and Aubergine, in large part because of the top-flight products they buy. Troquet serves a colorful and delicious variety of boutique cheeses unavailable anywhere else locally, as part of its cheese course. Among them are Lois Mossholder’s powerful aged Wisconsin brick, Boere kaas, a super-aged California Gouda and Sally Jackson, a mold-ripened sheep’s cheese from Washington state.

* Troquet, South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. (714) 708-6865.

Spicy beef pizza

A Scandinavian restaurant is the last place you go for a pizza, especially a spicy one. Bill “Gustaf” Magnuson and Ulf “Anders” Strandberg think differently, though, and so they created a terrific spicy beef pizza to beat the band. You find this one on the menu at Back Pocket, the tiny bistro attached to their main restaurant, Gustaf Anders. It has a fat, crisp crust (compliments of its baking in the wood-burning oven), chopped beef, goat cheese and enough red pepper to make a Swede cry.

* Back Pocket, South Coast Plaza Village, Bear and Sunflower streets, Santa Ana. (714) 668-1737.

Nam kao tod

You already know that I love the Isarn cooking of northeast Thailand, and one of the best places to eat it is Thai Porn, a disarmingly informal place on a quiet Anaheim street. Nam kao tod is a pungent, slightly sour Thai pork sausage, served grilled, sliced and swathed with green onions, red chiles, fresh ginger, roasted peanuts and wedges of lime. It is bright pink inside the crisp casing, and after the main ingredient, pork, I haven’t got the slightest idea what else is in it.

* Thai Porn, 1739 W. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. (714) 956-8105.

Kibbeh

One more thing I am an absolute sucker for is kibbeh, a torpedo-shaped, deep-fried Lebanese meat snack with a bulgur wheat crust and a ground-meat filling that also includes pine nuts and sweet spices. Open Sesame makes the best local version of this dish, taken from a recipe provided by owner Ali Kobeissi’s mother. He has reduced the portion of wheat to ground meat in the crust, making this kibbeh almost sinfully filling.

* Open Sesame, 5215 E. 2nd St., Long Beach. (562) 621-1698.

Stewed assorted pork

Wei’s specializes in the fiery foods of Sichuan, a north-central Chinese province. The regular menu contains few real surprises, but a blackboard--with writing in Chinese--does, and that is where this wonderful dish is found. Picture an enormous platter laden with a fine, fatty pork meatball the size of a kid’s basketball, stewed back bacon, sweetly perfumed preserved whole eggs and braised chicken feet, all ringed by perfectly cooked spinach leaves. One of these platters, which is under $15, will satisfy an entire family.

* Wei’s, 17046 Magnolia St., Fountain Valley. (714) 842-9778.

Undhyoo

Few Americans have ever tasted the sweet, richly spiced vegetarian cuisine of Gujurat in northwestern India. The jewel of the Gujurati kitchen is undhyoo, literally “underground,” a clay pot casserole that is cooked upside-down in hot ash. Jhupdi’s version is stove-top, but no less a miracle. It’s made with eggplant, yellow lentils, borad beans, big chunks of potato and mashed garbanzo bean cakes, as rich a vegetarian dish as there is in the world repertory.

* Jhupdi, 2751 W. Lincoln Blvd., Anaheim. (714) 527-3800.

Duck leg farcie

Chef Laurent Ferre serves the best bang-for-the-buck French food around, in a breezy cafe behind John Wayne Airport. I almost never eat here without ordering an appetizer called duck leg farcie, a firm, meaty roast duck leg that is stuffed with a delicious forcemeat of chicken and vegetables. Ferre serves his creation with imported Puy lentils and shredded carrots. Yep, you could make a light lunch of it.

* The Pleasant Peasant, 4251 Maringale Way, Newport Beach. (949) 955-2755.

Duck confit with fried potatoes

Edmond Sarfati always keeps some confit around, for his favorite customers and his family. It isn’t on the menu, but ask nicely and you’ll get it. Confit is meat, in this case duck, that is salted and then preserved in its own fat, a specialty of southwest France. The bird is then roasted to a crackling crispness, and served with potatoes fried in the rendered duck fat, an epicure’s dream and a cardiologist’s nightmare.

* La Fayette, 12532 Garden Grove Blvd., Garden Grove. (714) 537-5011.

Roasted quail with Nueske

smoked bacon, braised cabbage

Pascal Olhats is serving a variety of themed regional French menus at his Newport Beach digs, and all of them are superb. This dish is a tender quail that is first grilled and then baked on top of cabbage that has been cooked with a special smoky bacon from Wisconsin. The smoky bacon infuses the cabbage along with the juices from the bird, and the result is one of the most sumptuous poultry dishes anywhere.

* Pascal, 1000 N. Bristol St., Newport Beach. (949) 752-0107.

Oxtail alla Romano

Chef Paulo Pestarino takes liberties with his native Italian cuisine, and that’s what makes his food interesting. At Issay, the small, Cape Cod-style shack that has one of Orange County’s best wine selections, Pestarino has come up with an Italianized take on a traditionally Southern dish. Picture two large, meaty oxtails, with a gelatinous texture and many nooks and crannies to absorb sauce, cooked in a rich red wine and meat juice reduction. Issay serves these oxtails with a pile of the most buttery mashed potatoes around, no surprise, since the chef comes from the province of Italy closest to France.

* Issay, 485 Old Newport Blvd., Newport Beach. (949) 722-2992.

Ackee and saltfish

Everything is “irie”--pronounced EYE-ree--at Irie Jamaican Restaurant. “Irie” is Jamaican English for “thumbs up,” and that’s what I give to this mini-mall charmer. All the food is delicious. This place also does a mean oxtail, but my favorite dish here is ackee and saltfish, made from a fleshy tropical seed covering with a custard-like texture, and tiny bits of salt cod. It’s divine with rice, and it is also Jamaica’s national dish.

* Irie Jamaican Restaurant, 9062 Valley View St., Cypress. (714) 484-0661.

Homemade biscuits

The last time I saw talented young chef John Humphries, he looked more like a grip for a rock band than a top local chef. But he’s more than proven himself in my book. In his small but accomplished outdoor cafe, which is open for breakfast and lunch only, he’s rewriting the book on new American cooking. Trouble is, his baking powder biscuits are so incredible that I am rarely hungry enough to appreciate the rest. These biscuits come with meals, and I’d swear they had more butter than flour. I’ve never had better biscuits anywhere, period.

* Ramos House Cafe, 31752 Los Rios St., San Juan Capistrano. (949) 443-1342.

Bacon, leek, Roquefort and Gruyere tart

On my very first trip to the south of France, I tasted a cheese souffle in a crust that I have dreamed about ever since. The closest thing I’ve tasted to it would be the magical tart served at French 75 from the Sunday brunch menu. The filling is egg-rich and creamy like that of a good souffle, and the flavors of bacon and leek permeate every mouthful. It’s a dish I go back again and again for; I never tire of it.

* French 75, 1464 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. (949) 494-8444.

Fanny Bay oysters

When we get a craving for fresh oysters, many of us first think of a seafood restaurant. But me--I think Japanese. The charming I Love Sushi served me a dish of oysters this year that were so fresh that their white shells glistened like stars. The sushi man splashed them with a tart ponzu sauce, added a dollop of grated fresh red pepper and then topped each one with a sprinkle of chopped onion. Sheer perfection.

* I Love Sushi, 2340 Harbor Blvd., Costa Mesa. (714) 540-6195.

Circassian chicken

Mezeler, or appetizers, are the glory of the highly accomplished Turkish kitchen. Tosh’s is the only place to eat this underexposed cuisine in Orange County. Even though dozens of hot and cold appetizers are served here, the one I like best is not on the regular menu. That would be cerkez tavuk, or Circassian chicken, finely minced chicken meat kneaded with bread crumbs, garlic, crushed walnuts and hot peppers. It’s devilishly good.

* Tosh’s Mediterranean Cuisine, 16871 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. (714) 842-3315.

Pot au feu

The well-traveled Jean-Pierre Lemanissier worked briefly in the kitchen at the Ritz this year, and he cooked me one of the best things I ever ate there. That would be pot au feu, a gorgeous, clear broth brimming with exquisitely tender pieces of boiled beef, chicken, leeks, carrots, potatoes, veal sweetbreads and foie gras. The dish was wonderful even if considerably less rustic than one I might have experienced in the chef’s grandmother’s house. But then, nothing in the Ritz is what you’d call grandmotherly.

* The Ritz, 880 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. (949) 720-1800.

Glazed doughnuts

If you’re from this planet, what else is there to say?

Krispy Kreme, 1801 W. Imperial Highway, La Habra. (562) 690-2650. Also at the Block in Orange, (714) 769-4330.

Fagiolini verdi

Sometimes, often when it comes to Italian cuisine, the simplest dishes are best. At Luciana’s, one of our few Italian restaurants that manages to be rustic and elegant at the same time, the ticket is this simple appetizer of fresh green beans fried in batter and served with a delicious garlic- and chile-infused mayonnaise. The beans are light, crisp and flavorful, a huge improvement over the fried zucchini sticks lesser Italian restaurants push.

* Luciana’s, 24312 Del Prado, Dana Point. (949) 661-6500.

Toll House pie

The Quiet Woman succeeds on almost all fronts. It’s sort of a neighborhood steak joint, but the good taste of owner Lynne Anthony-Campbell fuels the business. It’s tough saving room for dessert here, but the restaurant’s Toll House pie should provide the incentive. Picture a wedge of nutty, fudgy homemade chocolate chip cookie hot from the oven, topped with vanilla bean ice cream. Schedule an extra hour of aerobics next week.

* The Quiet Woman, 3224 Pacific Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. (949) 640-7440.

Shawarma

Sahara Falafel isn’t a restaurant, but rather a mini-mall takeout place with terrific food. The best thing to order here is chicken or beef shawarmas, thin slices of spiced meat sheared off a vertical spit turning on a hot brazier. The countermen stuff the meat into hot grilled pita bread, along with tomatoes, pickles, tahini sauce and a powerful garlic sauce. It’s the best sandwich I know of.

* Sahara Falafel, 590 S. Brookhurst St., Anaheim. (714) 491-0400.