This is my first post. I have been living in OC for 11 years now and running out of places to find delicious food that is low carb. Unfortunately most ethnic restaurants are carb heavy. Rice, noodles, bread, etc.
I don’t eat poultry and for medical reasons can’t eat much raw fish. Most new places are either burger, pizza or sandwich and salad places. Now if the salad and sandwich places were like Gjusta, I would be happy, but they are not. I cook at home using mostly local, organic ingredients, so I am not interested in places that give you big portion of low quality ingredients.
Please share your favorite places that meet my needs.
Thank you
I’m sure you’re had your fair share of Tender Greens and Urban Plates but plenty of options here.
Vaca near South Coast plaza is tapas style. They have lots of choices and plenty of carb free or carb light options.
Arc at Soco is wood fire cooked food - mostly proteins and veggies.
Taqueria DeAnda in downtown Brea officially opened yesterday although its been soft opened for weeks. I noticed somebody getting tacos in little lettuce cups. They have a bunch of locations but this was the first time I’ve seen the lettuce cup tacos.
We love California Shabu Shabu (1 in CM and one in FV) for low carb. Just pick your protein and skip the rice a nice plate of vegetables is included.
There’s also Shin-Sen-Gumi Robata & Yakitori (not to be confused with the wildly popular ramen joint next door with the same name) on Brookhurst in FV for all sorts of grilled protein goodness. Check their menu to make sure there are enough non-poultry items for you.
There are also a number of Japanese BBQ places in Costa Mesa.
Seasons 52 at South Coast Plaza would probably have some good options for you.
Thank you Steve. I have been to Shin Sen Gumi a couple times before. I did not realize that they offer lunch on the weekend now.
Any high quality Japanese BBQ places that you like?
Olive Pit - decent skewers and good salads
Vien Dong - bun cha
Tacos San Pedro (Anaheim) - menudo, carne asada
LA Brisket - a la carte brisket
Quan Mi - banh xeo
J Zhou - steamed fish
Love the rocka salad and lamb at Olive Pit. Nice call.
OP said no poultry, or the spicy lemon garlic chicken at Chicken Maison and the pollo asado at Bella Cuba would have been near the top of my list. The lechon asado and vaca frita at Bella Cuba are great, though.
Northern Vietnamese specialist, known for their bun cha, bun rieu, cha ca thang long, etc. Loved the cha gio and their thit nuong - my go-to bun bowl. IIRC, @Porthos also really liked their bun bo hue as well.
Thank you. I have been to Smoky Freds a few times before but not recently. Last time we went, the only thing I liked was the rib tips. Have you been recently?
