Outdoors of Orange County, Anaheim is generally identified for its largest vacationer vacation spot: Disneyland. However locals know that the town extends far past The Happiest Place on Earth, with loads of non-Disney issues value doing — and the meals scene doesn’t finish on the resort zone, both. Dig deeper into the strip malls, fashionable meals courts, and transit terminals in Anaheim’s surrounding grid, and also you’ll uncover eating places serving meals from all over the world which are cool sufficient for LA, however might solely exist within the OC.
From speakeasy advantageous eating to all-Halal feasts (and each down-home American breakfast in between), listed here are the eating places try to be consuming at in Anaheim proper now.
The Blind Rabbit
Orange County’s first speakeasy is fortunately nonetheless one in all its finest. Among the most artistic mixologists within the area proceed to move by means of The Blind Rabbit’s hidden entrance doorways, the place they craft seasonal menus of stalwart classics and customized cocktails that vary from off-the-wall to tiki-inspired. A meals menu of equal decadence (bone marrow, duck confit mac & cheese, lamb chops) awaits — if you could find the place.
Olive Tree
Orange County’s unofficial “Little Arabia” is a conglomeration of eating places and companies across the intersection of Brookhurst and Ball in West Anaheim; Olive Tree is its most notable meals ambassador. The eatery (which not too long ago expanded throughout the strip mall) serves acquainted Center Japanese meals like falafel and beef shawarma alongside hard-to-find regional specialties from Palestine, Libya, Syria, and Saudi Arabia.
Club 33 and Napa Rose at Disneyland
Amusement parks are identified for hocking a lot of junk meals, however Disneyland’s most unique eating experiences as a substitute supply up-close views to upscale, cheffy freedom. At Napa Rose contained in the Grand Californian Lodge & Spa, the Chef’s Desk provides customized, multi-course meals from chef Andrew Sutton, who places SoCal twists on NorCal-inspired California delicacies. Membership 33, in the meantime, is Sutton’s extra historic affair. The unique, membership-only restaurant hidden someplace in New Orleans Sq. is the place, for $10,000 a yr (plus a $25,000 initiation charge), you get 5 annual passes, non-public excursions, entry to VIP therapy and the privilege of reserving a time to strive Sutton’s tackle traditional American advantageous eating.
THE RANCH
THE RANCH (sure, all caps) can finest be described as a new-school steakhouse — sufficient nostalgia to signify the style, however with a recent improve to maintain the meals snobs comfortable. Government chef Michael Rossi and grasp sommelier Michael Jordan (each previously of Disneyland’s Napa Rose) signify Western farm-to-table with seasonal takes on traditional meat dishes, like a 36-ounce bone-in rib-eye and Beeler’s Household Farm pork chop. Carry a lot of buddies, and stick round for the dwell music afterward!
The Oyster Bar SKC
The Oyster Bar SKC is the one sit-down restaurant working inside ARTIC: Anaheim’s new practice and bus terminal that appears like a fluorescent rainbow airplane hangar simply off the 57 Freeway. With a New Orleans theme, The Oyster Bar focuses on seafood-drenched pan roasts — made by means of steam kettle cooking, thus the “SKC” — and its uncooked bar, which shares shells of every kind from each coast.
El Gaucho
From the surface, El Gaucho seems prefer it may very well be simply one other suburban carniceria, however this Argentine market and deli counter provides a lot extra. Cabinets of South American items and a well-stocked butcher counter await for the grab-and-go set, whereas the hooked up deli oozes Italian affect with Argentine pizzas, charcuterie sandwiches, and empanadas full of Mediterranean spiced meats like beef and tuna.
Ma’s Islamic Chinese
For those who ever wanted a reminder of how numerous Chinese language meals could be, spend a Sunday grubbing with a posse at Ma’s Islamic Chinese language, a restaurant that from the surface seems like a mosque however would possibly as effectively be Muslim Chinese language meals heaven. No pork, however a lot of beef, lamb, and noodles dot a menu of massively portioned dishes, every originating from the Hui folks of Western China. Meals right here is hearty, heaving with spice and designed to be wiped up with a recent sesame-seed flatbread that tastes just like the bridge between the Arab and Chinese language worlds — identical to the Hui themselves.
Healthy Junk
When a former supervisor of beloved Costa Mesa vegan restaurant Native Meals strikes out on her personal, you get Wholesome Junk: a haven of animal-free consolation meals on a redeveloped promenade in Anaheim. Nearly In-N-Out burgers, mock-meat Tex-Mex, and not-lame salads made this one of many OC’s early vegan spots that helped spawned the present wave of cruelty-free eating.