RESTAURANTS : Faraday’s Boasts Cheerful Service, One of Best Hamburgers in the County

It’s not unusual to find Faraday’s Grill and Spirits jammed with people--even midweek.

On a Tuesday, around 7:30 p.m., I waited 20 minutes for a table, and the next day at about the same time I waited nearly 25. I’m still trying to figure out what all the waiting was about; my response to the food was mixed.

The decor is all awkward splatterings and splashes of clashing colors. Potted plants, balloon clusters, funky lamps and prefab wooden trim decorate the large main dining area. You sit at clunky booths with vinyl and polyester upholstery, and eat off stone table tops of an almost mystically green hue. Banana leaf fans swirl languidly overhead.

I have to hand it to the food servers, though, mostly perky working-their-way-through-college types who smile through your sourest moods (brought on by the annoyingly slow kitchen). They are a cheerful crew, recommending every dish with a big smile, and their enthusiasm appears to be genuine. The customers don’t seem to complain either, as long as their burgers come out medium rare and their baked potatoes are the size of an NFL linebacker’s shoulder pad.

Looking around, I see that a lot of people here start with onion strings, a golden mountain of flour-dredged, deep-fried onions that remind me a lot of the canned variety my school cafeteria put in our green bean casserole.

If you are a chili fancier, the cooks here make their own, a bland, uninspiring version topped with two kinds of cheese and diced onion.

Oriental chicken salad is another possibility--a giant bowl of julienne chicken with red and green bell peppers, water chestnuts, snow peas and whatever else you can think of, piled high. It doesn’t have much taste, but there is plenty of texture.

Things pick up considerably when the menu gets down to basics. Like most of the sandwiches here (club, tuna, French dip), the burger is excellent . . . and enormous. More than half a pound of charbroiled beef is served on a good, chewy bun and topped with red onion, good Cheddar and some surprisingly juicy sliced tomato. It rivals the best I’ve had in Orange County.

Prime rib, served only on weekends, is fine, too. I had an end slab, nicely marbled. The baked potato was so good I thought it must have been a fluke. It tasted as if it had been cooked over hot coals, smoky on the outside with crispy skin, soft and steamy inside. But why did they have to mess it up with that horrid whipped butter?

Barbecue is pushed a lot at this place, mostly chicken and ribs in a sauce that’s maddeningly sweet without being hot or even spicy. The meats aren’t bad at all, so it seems even more of a shame. They smoke their own baby backs, and the chicken is plump and tender. Another sugar-sweet alternative is the home-style roast chicken, a half chicken basted in a candy-like marinade.

I can tolerate a little sweetness in the morning, so I came to Faraday’s early Sunday for breakfast (and I got a table without having to wait). I would rate breakfast as the best meal here. Orange juice is squeezed. They make their own muffins--bran, zucchini and blueberry--in little Bundt-like molds, and they are delightfully springy and flavorful.

Pancakes are firm and fluffy, not at all gluey as they often are in restaurants that cater to families, and waffles are light and crisp. Then there are things like eggs Benedict (the kitchen is way out of its depth here), huevos rancheros , stuffed French toast, and lots of omelets with green chilies, spinach and assorted minced goodies, served with nicely seasoned, slightly over-salted potatoes.

But what I like best was a side dish: hot oat bran and raisins, the perfect antidote to all that salt and sugar.

Faraday’s is inexpensive to moderate. Most breakfasts are under $5. On the main menu, starters are $3.45 to $6.95. Burgers and sandwiches are $4.45 to $6.95. Specialties are $6.95 to $12.95. For a fax menu, call (714) 730-3461.

FARADAY’S GRILL AND SPIRITS

13102 Newport Ave., Tustin

(714) 730-3442

Open Sunday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

MasterCard and Visa accepted.