Message: | Woo!
I think we somehow got involved in some kind of chowhound spy exchange. I just moved from Anaheim to Belmont Heights (Molino & 3rd), and you're now shacking up in north OC. Since you're already familiar with the Cellar, have you taken the few steps across the Villa del Sol courtyard to Cafe Hidalgo? It's a great pan-Latin menu featuring really fresh, well-executed takes on Argentine chimichurri, Yucatan-style salbutes, and the tenderest calamari I've yet tasted. You might find the wine list a bit pedestrian, but check for/ask about rotating special wines. They tend to pique more vinous interest. IIRC, corkage is around $10-12.
I don't have direct experience with many of the area's Persian offerings, but I can heartily vouch for Ali Baba, in Anaheim on the southeast corner of Lincoln & Brookhurst. I am lamb-mad, so when I'm not straying for the occasional esoteric seafood preparation, I tend to focus on Bo Peep's wooly charges. The Barreh Kabob ba Berenj is the purest expression, addictively marinated and expertly grilled. This is one place that understands that THERE IS NO LAMB PAST MEDIUM RARE! Another standout is the Chelow Khoresht Fesenjune, chicken breast chunks sauteed in a truly singular walnut-pomegranate. I do remember some Iranian wines on the menu, but never tried them, and the others were house variety stuff. No recall on corkage.
Another recco is what I call the "poor man's Valentino", The Anaheim White House, at 887 S. Anaheim Bl., 2 blocks north of Ball Rd. It's a former home efficiently and tastefully converted into a collection of themed dining rooms (just like Lasher's) named after our presidents. Just be careful with pretzels in the Bush Room. ;^) The menu is nominally Northern Italian, with notable French and California influences (check the link below for details). Given your professed love for the Cellar's wine list, I don't know how theirs will stack up. Prices run from fair to high markups, and you won't be short on Gajas, "aias" and other vowel-ridden cult bottles. As an Italian wine lover, though, it's encouraging to see a good basic Valpolicella like Masi's for a reasonable 7 ducats a glass.
Being firmly ensconced behind the Orange Curtain need not involve Chow deprivation, and I hope you'll feel the same after sampling these and other local picks. |