The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews.

Gemmell’s, 3000 Bristol St., Costa Mesa . (714) 751-1074. Open Mondays through Fridays 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays 6 to 10:30 p.m.

You’ve seen it all before: the quiet, understated rooms, the tables draped like ballroom gowns, the silver domes, the brandy cart. At Gemmell’s, thank heaven, it all makes sense. Treat yourself to an evening here, feasting on such specialties as goose liver wrapped in blackened cabbage, lobster in Sauteres, veal chop with morels. Chef Byron Gemmell has a carefuly designed menu with nearly every item on it worthy of praise. Prepare to pay handsomely for the privilege of praising.

McCormick and Schmick, 2000 Main St., Irvine. (714) 756-0505. Open Mondays through Fridays 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturdays 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Sundays 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

McCormick and Schmick is the latest member of an exclusive chain that started in the Pacific Northwest, a slick, muscular operation specializing in fresh seafoods, and the food is terrific. Oysters like Quilicene, Olympia, Golden Mantle, and Skookum taste as if they have just been dragged from the sea. Fish like Copper River salmon in cream wiith bay scallops, or sea bass with Jamaican spices, are good enough to make a grown man weep. Non-fish eaters can feast on marinated chicken, or Cajun cheeseburgers. Head of the class.

China Palms, Fullerton Metro Center, 104 W. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton. (714) 526-2196. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Joe Ling put a palm tree in the middle of his restaurant, an airy, ultra- modern dining room in Fullerton’s spanking new Metro Center. But there is nothing tropical about the solid pan-Chinese food he serves, made in one of the most accomplished Chinese kitchens around. Cold dishes, dumplings and first-rate soups make perfect beginnings. Honey glazed bananas, plunged steaming into an ice-filled

bowl tableside, make perfect endings. The goodies you can have in between are too numerous to mention.

Ferrantelli, 25001 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point. (714) 493-1401. Open Mondays through Fridays 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays 5:30 to 10, Fridays and Saturdays till 11.

Ferrantelli is an engaging dockside pasta house that doesn’t take a lot of chances but offers solid meals. The house antipasto, a stunning palette of color and taste, gives an idea of the type of effort the kitchen puts in with its limited skill. Pastas are fine, too, made fresh daily by Pasta Mia and embellished with a variety of good sauces. But the veal dishes are tasteless, and main courses are often sweet and cloying.

Yankee Tavern, 333 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 675 5333. Open nightly 5:30 to midnight.

Those who know Yankee Tavern owner Hans Prager as proprietor of the Ritz may be surprised to see him in this urban roadhouse, catering to a crowd hungry for low prices, speedy service and an unpretentious menu. The food here is almost unfailingly good, though, in a cafeteria-style manner. Meat loaf, pot pie, lamb shanks and fresh seafoods are featured along with many New England style dishes such as Little Neck clams, seafood stew and blueberry cobbler. Good fun.

Kachina, 222 Forest Ave., Laguna Beach. (714) 497-5546. Open nightly from 5:30 to 10.

Kachina is new, but it already may be the county’s best restaurant. Named for an American Indian doll of the Southwest, the restaurant serves food that is rare and exotic--edible art. David Wilhelm, late of Pave and the El Torito Grill, has composed a menu featuring some of the most imaginative, intelligent cooking this side of the Twilight Zone, full of sumptuous tastes and color-splashed textures. Run, don’t walk, to taste their green corn tamale, honey glazed pork and celestial chocolate bread pudding. And go early.

Agostino’s, 34700 Coast Highway, Capistrano Beach. (714) 661-8266. Open Tuesdays through Sundays noon to 3 and 5 to 10.

Entirely new management is in place at this Chicago-style Italian restaurant, famous for its homemade sausage and romantic beach view. Much of the menu, including the tableside Caesar and the rich, creamy pastas, is the same as it was when the place was called Sabatino’s. But Agostino already has added many seafood dishes including mussels, fresh salmon, and calamari. The bar is as good a hangout as you’ll find on Capo Beach.

Tuttomare, 545 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 640-6333. Open Mondays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Fridays 11 to midnight; Saturdays 11:30 to midnight; Sundays 5 to 10 p.m.

Service is fluid and solicitious at this smart, stunning restaurant, located in the building that used to house the Savannah Grill, but the kitchen is having its ups and downs. Wonderful, yeasty foccaccia bread served with virgin olive oil and the fine grilled seafoods are some of the ups. Naked vegetables and bland pasta dishes are some of the downs. Lombata di vitello, veal chop with fontina and prosciutto, is one reason to go back for a second look.

Umi, 2075 Newport Blvd., Costa Mesa. (714) 631-2208. Open Tuesdays through Sundays 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30 to 10:30, Fridays and Saturdays till 11.

Umi is a modern and imaginative but often unprofessional sushi bar with high-tech pretensions, and knowing what to order is important: You are safe if you stick with the sushi, which is fresh and crafted with an excellently prepared rice, but it is easy to run aground on the many hot dishes. Among them, best are a wonderful scallop casserole, a toothsome Japanese steak, and yaki-onigiri, grilled triangles of sushi rice with various fillings. Service can be painfully slow.

Pinnacle Peak, 9100 Trask Ave., Garden Grove. (714) 892-7311. Open Mondays through Fridays 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., weekends till 10 p.m.

Crazy Horse Steak House, 1580 Brookhollow Drive, Santa Ana. (714) 549-1512. Open Mondays through Fridays 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturdays and Sundays 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

While everyone else is busy disavowing addiction to good steak, sneak off to one of these places. Leave the tie at home when you visit Pinnacle Peak; someone will sneak up on you and cut it off. Honest. The restaurant’s trail boss steak, cooked over an open flame, is a char-broiled monster, a great value at $9.95. The Crazy Horse is a bit longer on atmosphere but, apart from the high-grade beef, it’s run-of-the-mill. Many of the side dishes have been frozen, and the whole place has a packaged feel about it.

Garduno’s Ristorante Italiano, 298 E. 17th St., Costa Mesa. (714) 645-5505. Open Mondays through Thursdays 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays till 10 p.m.; Saturdays noon to 10 p.m.

Garduno’s may be the quintessential Italian sidewalk cafe-except the sidewalk is missing. Mark and Julie Garduno, an engaging young couple, run the place as if it was a small family room, serving fresh, home-cooked fare that often delights. Standout dishes include a killer carbonara loaded with fresh peas, pancetta and sauteed mushrooms; and a fabulous fusilli, twirly pasta spirals in a chunky tomato sauce with big pieces of homemade sausage. The regular menu has all the favorites, the cappuccino is frothy, and there are wonderful creamy cheesecakes to boot.

California Wok, 4466 Cerritos Ave., Los Alamitos. (714) 527-0226. Open Mondays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays till 10 p.m.

Eat health-conscious, pan-Asian food in this spotless little gem, owned and operated by a Thai microbiologist who is a gem herself (her name, Baiyok, means jade leaf.) Chinese dishes here are excellent, prepared with pure soy oil. Especially good are vegetarian egg rolls, and stir fried chicken in an edible basket of straw potato. Thai dishes are equally fine. Nam sod is fiery ground pork with chili. Pad Thai are fried flat noodles. And tod mun plar, rubbery fish cakes with mint and cilantro, are wonderful.

The Cellar at Villa del Sol, 305 N. Harbor Blvd., Fullerton. (714) 525-5682. Open Tuesday s through Saturdays 6 to 10 p.m.

The Cellar is one of those “occasion restaurants” in the grand manner; whatever the kitchen lacks in imagination is made up for handsomely by quality and consistency. Pass on the ready-made items like smoked salmon, caviar and the various salads. They miss the point. The chef here can cook. See that he does. Best are lamb, pheasant, veal Florentine and the ethereal desserts. The souffles, naturally, are perfect.

Far Pavilions, 1520 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach. (714) 548-7167. Open seven days, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5 to 10:30 p.m.

Elegant, beachfront Indian dining. Far Pavilions has a surfeit of specialties hard to find in other local restaurants: minced chicken balls in a spicy tomato puree; bhindi masala , a.k.a. curried okra; Bihari kabab , a saucy chicken dish from north central India. Some flavors run together here, but you can avoid that problem by sandwiching dishes in the fine tandoori breads from the restaurant’s clay oven. Meats from the same oven are so good they should be eaten bareheaded, kneeling.

Caliente, 1910 Main St., Irvine. (714) 975-1220. Open seven days, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., to 11 on weekends .

Caliente is Spanish for hot, and that is exactly what this stylish new restaurant is. It’s the latest jewel in the El Torito crown, and its modest adobe exterior conceals a stunning design--a faint red, ‘80s-chic motif complete with dramatic lighting, an open kitchen, and a comal, the high-tech version of a stone tortilla cooker. The restaurant smokes its own meats, and you can wash them down with premium margaritas made from vintage tequila. Desserts, such as burnt cream and apple crisp, are wonderful.

Rutabegorz, 211 N. Pomona Ave., Fullerton (714) 738-9339 and 158 W. Main St., Tustin (714) 731-9807. Open seven days, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

The Greenery Natural Kitchen, 119 E. Commonwealth Ave., Fullerton (714) 870-0981 and 323 S. Magnolia Ave., Anaheim (714) 761-8103. Open Monday through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. , Saturdays 10 to 5.

Rutabegorz in Fullerton looks as if it belongs on a college campus; the food they serve does too. Best avoid the frozen poultry casseroles in favor of the meatless dishes like stuffed squash or veggie lasagna. Desserts like carrot cake and apple pie are reminiscent of a church bake sale.

The Greenery is a modest, unadorned storefront restaurant with homey, health-conscious fare. Best dishes are the lentil burrito, with guacamole, and the unburger, made from ground nuts and brown rice.

Both restaurants are inexpensive, with few dishes over $5.

Five Feet, 328 Glenneyre St., Laguna Beach. (714) 497-4955. Open Mondays through Thursdays 5 to 10 p.m., to 11 Fridays through Sundays.

Owner Michael Kang has some of the most compelling art around decorating this restaurant’s somber, postmodern walls, and he serves plates of food very nearly as artful. Dishes of pot stickers or steamed dumpling are no better than you would get in any Chinese restaurant, but the eclectic lamb, scallop, and catfish entrees demonstrate Kang’s flair. The catfish is particularly fine.

Crocodile Cafe in the Brea Marketplace, 975 E . Birch St., Brea . (714) 529-CAFE. Open seven days 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., to 12 on weekends.

Greg Smith is doing more than just promoting the new American cuisine; he’s making it into a populist movement at this small, laughably inexpensive cafe. Enjoy wonderful hamburgers grilled over smoking embers of oak, wood-fired pizzas with designer toppings, and trendy homemade pastas like fettuccine with roasted Pasilla chili and ancho-cream. Sit under the 30-foot vinyl crocodile sipping boutique wines. You can bet your Beamer that this restaurant is a good value.