Wow! 30 new restaurants for Orange County

The list includes “just opened” eateries and announcements of locations setting up shop here. During the recession, the list was relatively inactive because only a handful of new restaurants would open each month.

But this year there’s been a surge of new concepts — especially this fall. Since my last update in October, I have documented at least 30 new O.C. restaurants and dessert shops. That includes a handful of dining establishments bound for Orange County in 2012.

Here’s the list:

• Peter’s Gourmade Grill, known for serving its gourmet fare from inside a Valero gas station in Tustin, opened a new location at the Balboa Fun Zone on Saturday, Dec. 3.  Address: 600 E. Bay Avenue, Newport Beach. The original location in Tustin is also relocating less than a mile away to 14311 Newport Avenue, Suite A, in Tustin. Stay tuned for more information on the relocation. Read Food Frenzy review of Peter’s gas station food stand. 
  
• Tasti D-Lite, a frozen dessert chain, opened its first California location in Orange County at 13662 Newport Ave. in Tustin in late October. The dessert chain promotes itself as a healthier alternative to ice cream. It sells a soft-serve frozen dessert that is lower in calories, carbs and sugar than ice cream and some frozen yogurt brands. Depending on the flavor, Tasti D-Lite desserts range from 70 to 100 calories per 4 fluid ounces and 1.5 fast grams. (More nutritional data here.) Have you tried this dessert?
• Saddle Ranch Chop House and El Corazon de Costa Mesa are new restaurants slated to open at the struggling Triangle Square retail center in Costa Mesa. The center is home to Yard House and Sutra Lounge.  Read full story
• Stone Oven is opening a location at the Mainplace mall in Santa Ana. Earlier this year, it opened another mall location at Fashion Island.
• Panda Express is opening a location at the Atrium Cafes at Fashion Island.
• Pho Saigon Pearl, a Vietnamese pho restaurant, opened at the Diamond Jamboree Plaza in Irvine on Nov. 11. Address: 2750 Alton Parkway Suite 121
• Koko’s Cafe, a Chinese fusion restaurant, opened in early November in Irvine.  Address: 15435 Jeffrey Road.
• Umami Burger, one of the biggest leaders in the gourmet burger category in Southern California, plans to open two restaurants in Orange County early next year.  The burger restaurants are slated for Anaheim and Laguna Beach.  (CLICK HERE to read more.)
• Pitfire Pizza, considered one of the best pizzerias in Los Angeles, is opening two Orange County restaurants next year. One is slated for Anaheim; the other, for Costa Mesa.  (CLICK HERE to read more.)
• Anaheim Ducks Breakaway Bar & Grill is opening in Terminal C at John Wayne Airport on Dec. 14. The 2,280-square foot eatery will seat 94.  (CLICK HERE to read more details.)
  
• Also opening at JWA: Zov’s, Jerry’s Wood-Fired Dogs, Pei Wei and Pinkberry are slated to open Dec. 8 in a new food court at the airport. Javi’s, a fast-casual version of Javier’s Cantina, will open at the airport in late December.  (CLICK HERE to read more details.)
• Chick-fil-A opened its 12th Orange County restaurant in Fullerton on Dec. 1.  Address: 151 E. Orangethorpe Ave.  The Atlanta-based chain also broke ground Nov. 30 on a new location in Costa Mesa. The restaurant, at 3181 Harbor Blvd., is projected to open in April 2012.
• Papa Hassan’s Grill, formerly Papa Hassan’s Cafe, celebrated the reopening of its new location in Anaheim on Oct. 25. The Lebanese restaurant near Chapman University closed its Orange location more than a year ago after it was destroyed by a fire.  Read full story here.
• Casey’s Cupcakes, winner of Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, opened Nov. 19 at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.  The cupcake shop’s other locations are in Riverside, at the Mission Inn, and Laguna Beach.
• Cucina Enoteca, an Italian restaurant that serves meals with a California-inspired twist, opens Tuesday, Dec. 6 at the Irvine Spectrum Center. Address: 31 Fortune Drive, Irvine. Read full story here
• Saladworks, a tossed-to-order salad chain from Pennsylvania, is opening its second Orange County restaurant Friday in Orange. Read full story here
• Chapman Coffee House  reopened Thursday, Dec. 1 in Old Towne Orange. Read full story
• The Original Bold Fold, a waffle sandwich shop, is slated to open by the end of the year at 5 Points Plaza in Huntington Beach.  The eatery signed a 10-year lease at the retail center, according to Present Value Properties, a Tustin-based real estate brokerage firm.
• Paul Martin’s American Grill opened in November at the Irvine Spectrum Center. The restaurant is a new concept by famed restaurateur Paul Fleming. Read full story here
• Togo’s opened its first Westminster location Nov. 9.  The restaurant is one of a handful of units that features a new design for the chain. Address: 15062 Goldenwest Street.
• The Playground opened in mid-November in Santa Ana. The restaurant is owned by Jason Quinn, the former chef of The Lime Truck.  The chef used his winnings from the Great Food Truck Race (Season 2) to launch the eatery. Address: 220 East 4th Street, Santa Ana. Read more here.
• Michelin-honored Tamarind of London opened in mid-November in Newport Coast. Read full story.

Wow! 30 new restaurants for Orange County is a post from: Fast Food Maven