These are summaries of recent Times restaurant...

These are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews.

La Palma Chicken Pie Shop and Restaurant, 928 N. Euclid Ave., Anaheim. (714) 533-2021. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bakery opens at 9.

This is where you want to go for meat loaf, pan fried chicken and the other kinds of tried and true, roadside American fare that are creeping back onto the menus in more upscale establishments. The signature dish, chicken pie, is a buttery, 9 oz. disc crammed with shredded meat. At $1.95 it makes a great, affordable snack. Don’t bypass the attached bakery, where the goodies include peach pie, burnt almond cake and a rich house cheesecake, and an excellent, springy chocolate cake is only three dollars.

* Greek Cuisine, 13011 Newport Ave., Tustin . (714) 731-1179. Open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sundays through Thursdays from 5 to 10, Fridays and Saturdays till 11. Flamingo, 17185 Brookhurst, Fountain Valley. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 11.

Ethnic eateries in mini-malls, Greek Cuisine in Tustin boasts exquisite taramo, creamed carp roe, fall-off-the-bone oregano chicken and a fine array of Greek specialties, while Flamingo in Fountain Valley is more terra incognita: seco norteno (piquant lamb stew in onion gravy), papas a la Huancaina (potatoes in a cheese sauce blanket), picarone (hot pumpkin fritters in blackstrap molasses). Both restaurants are casual and inexpensive.

* Viva Italia, 303 Broadway, Laguna Beach. (714) 497-6220. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 10:30.

The VIVA in Viva Italia is an acronym for the first initials of brothers Vittorio, Ignacio, Vincenzo and Antonio Romeo, and the restaurant seems to have caught on as neatly. It’s a somewhat cramped version of an Italian trattoria: terra cotta floor, tile kitchen, elbow-to-elbow seating. Food is simple and straightforward but erratic. Pastas and wood fired pizzas are the best bets. Beach crowd salads and ill-conceived main courses can be passed over. Service is snappy and efficient.

* Bayou St. John, 320 Main St., Seal Beach. (213) 431-2298. Open daily from 5 to 10 p.m.

Bayou St. John in quiet Seal Beach is currently Orange County’s only bona fide Cajun restaurant: The boom has faded, but not the delights of this cuisine. Indulge yourself with such specialties as homemade gumbo, full of hidden flavors; oysters Rousseau, a rich appetizer with cheese, bacon, cream sauce and spicy tomato; and stuffed trout, pan fried in pure butter. Blackened items are a must. Seafoods are flown in from the Gulf. Dixieland music on tape furnishes the nostalgia.

* Hyang Chon, 12921 Fern St., Stanton. (714) 891-5166. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Eel, grilled short ribs and barbecued herring are just a few items on this Korean restaurant’s exotic and varied menu. Pan cha, colorful side dishes, are especially good here, with such specialties as gae jang, raw marinated crab, and jap chae, glass noodle with meat and vegetable. Lunchtime prices are a steal.

* Revere House, 900 W. 1st St., Tustin. (714) 543-9314. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Revere House is one of those dark, woody dinner houses that were popular during the fifties and guess what: That’s when the place opened. It specializes in credible versions of plain old American food-prime rib, pan fried chicken, turkey with all the trimmings-all churned out with dependable regularity. The menu is enormous and portions are Protean. All entrees come with a choice of Caesar or spinach salad. Desserts are the one weak spot, except for the tapioca pudding you get for free.

* The Hobbit, 2932 E. Chapman Ave., Orange. (714) 997-1972. Open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays at 7:30 p.m.

The Hobbit is a special occasion restaurant, serving prix fixe dinners that are elaborate without being pretentious. Book well in advance. You begin the evening in the restaurant’s wine cellar, nibbling on Julia Child-like appetizers, sipping champagne and chatting with total strangers. Chef Mike Phillippi takes it all very seriously, preparing solid food that is well-balanced, though rarely brilliant. Entrees like beef Wellington and lobster Thermidor rotate weekly. Service is performed by smiling waitresses in print uniforms.

* Ghandi, 3820-D Plaza Dr., South Coast Plaza Village, Santa Ana. (714) 556-7273. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 6 to 10.

Gandhi could be called new wave Indian: it roasts quail in its clay oven and pours Beaujolais nouveau as often as beer. Phlegmatic waiters in fancy tuxedoes perform service on the brass enclosed patio, a former pizzeria that looks more like Paris than Delhi. Appetizers like chicken tikka salad and the various tandoori dishes are refined and pleasant. Spicy dishes like lamb in spinach puree and curried eggplant are even better. Expensive.

* Grappa, 2304 W. Ocean Front, Newport Beach. (714) 675-1930. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 6 to 10 p.m., Fridays through Sundays till 11.

Grappa, housed in what used to be Zeppa, is yet another beachfront Italian restaurant in Newport. New owner Vincenzo Gentile hasn’t changed the basic concept: The restaurant still resembles a Florentine villa, with a kitchen that churns out such favorites as great fried calamari, salads with lots of balsamic vinegar, and upscale pastas such as agnolotti and penne. Nodino alla griglia, an excellent veal chop grilled with aromatic herbs, is a standout. Desserts are intelligently underindulgent.

* Places Afar, 25932 Muirlands Blvd . , Mission Viejo. (714) 581-4200. Open daily except Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 10.

Calesa, 2106 Tustin Ave., Santa Ana. (714) 541-6585. Open daily except Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 10.

Places Afar is your basic Cuban-French-Vietnamese restaurant; the English is circumspect, the cooking is spectacular. Start with Cuban ham croquettes alongside greaseless plantain chips, or a bowlful of smoky black bean soup. Then try Imperial salad from Vietnam. Evenings, there are such French classics as couscous and choucroute. Calesa has a sign boasting “Round-the-World-Dining”--it’s a luxurious restaurant with Filipino, Asian and Continental specialties. There is a wide selection of main dishes from paella to sate , and cooking is often on the sweet side. Service is formal, and waiters in tuxedos flame desserts with enthusiasm that borders on lust.

* Faraday’s Grill and Spirits, 13102 Newport Ave., Tustin (714) 730-3442. Open Sundays through Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 11 p.m.

Faraday’s is a family restaurant with cheerful service, juicy burgers and some mighty devoted fans. Why else would anyone wait half an hour for institutional food on a Tuesday evening? Everybody goes ape over onion strings, mountains of flour dredged onions deep fried until crispy, and the sappy sweet barbecue that kids favor so shamelessly. Breakfast is actually quite credible here, with fluffy pancakes, homemade muffins, and squeezed-to-order OJ. Portions are predictably generous and prices are modest.

* Baci, 18478 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. (714) 965-1194. Open Wednesdays through Sundays from 5:30 to 10 p.m.

Baci is just a storefront restaurant with modest decor, but young New Yorker Angelo Parisi gives his food a rough sophistication; nearly all his dishes are touched with originality. All of Italy finds its way onto Parisi’s small menu. Complimentary appetizers might be a superbly light chicken minestrone or some cold garlic-infused broccoli. Dishes such as fettuccine agnello, flat noodles with stewed lamb, and linguine tuttomare, with scungilli and shrimp, sustain the enthusiasm. The best dessert is panna cotta, the poor man’s creme brulee.

* Hastings, in the Anaheim Hilton and Towers, 777 Convention Way, Anaheim. (714) 750-4321. Open Fridays through Tuesday s from 6 to 11 p.m. Call for lunch times.

Hastings has good food for a hotel restaurant but other aspects of dining there can be annoying; service is particularly spotty and indifferent. The room is predictably clubby with the predictable hotel creature comforts. The menu features a sumptuous lobster ravioli appetizer, a fine seafood Caesar salad, and some highly credible entrees, among them filet mignon that melts in the mouth and a great veal. Seafoods are done handsomely. The wine list is extensive and intelligent.

* Hassan’s Cafe, 3325 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach. (714) 675-4668. Open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5:30 to 11, Sundays from 5:30 to 11 only.

Hassan’s Cafe specializes in the cuisine of Lebanon--a hybrid of Turkish, French, and local influences--and the restaurant is relaxing and exotic. Mazza, one of the world’s great noshes, is the absolute must here, a splendid array of Middle Eastern appetizers such as mutebel, a smoky eggplant dip, and warrab ennaq, vine leaves stuffed with aromatic rice. There are interesting main dishes such as kibbe nayya, raw ground lamb mixed with bulgur wheat, sort of an Arabic version of steak tartare. Kebabs are first-rate.

* Nui Ngu, 10528 McFadden Ave., Garden Grove. (714) 775-1108. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 8 p.m.

Pagolac, 14564 Brookhurst St., Westminster. (714) 531-4740. Open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 10 p.m.

Little Saigon is always an arresting place to browse when in the mood for adventurous inexpensive dining. Nui Ngu, in a misbegotten strip mall on McFadden Avenue, specializes in the wonderfully obscure cuisine of Hue, in Central Vietnam. Bun bo Hue, a peppery beef noodle soup, and banh bot loc, sticky tapioca flour dumplings, are unforgettable. At Pagolac you can experience a phenomenon known as bo bay mon , literally “seven courses of beef.” The Vietnamese are mad for it. Unload a truck before you go.

* Bagatta, 3012 Newport Blvd., Newport Beach. (714) 675-4020. Open Mondays through Thursdays from 6 to 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till midnight. Sundays from 5 to 10 p.m.

The early returns show Bagatta to have a healthy lead in the Newport Beach Italian restaurant sweepstakes. It’s a terrific addition to the local dining scene. Chef Andrea Rogantini brings heavyweight experience to the kitchen. Owner Tony Bagatta makes a charming host. Such dishes as salmon carpaccio, latticed with a moss green pesto sauce, and dry cured bresaola make spectacular beginnings. Pastas are beautifully textured. Desserts such as zucotto and homemade spumoni are other-worldly.

* Sapori, 1080 Bayside Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 644-4220. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., till 11 p.m. weekends.

Sapori is a modish, elegant neighborhood trattoria where the cooking is serious. Chefs Adriano and Franco Maniacci hail from Palermo, Sicily, but play no favorites with regard to the many regions of Italan cuisine. Bruschetta di pane Saracena , triangles of roasted wheat bread with a garlic puree, are delightful, and many pastas come blanketed in savory sauces. Suprema di rombo, turbot in a leek and watercress sauce, pays homage to nouvelle. Veal Milanese is the best you’ll find anywhere.

* Five Feet Too, in Fashion Island, 1145 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. (714) 640-5250 . Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to midnight.

The gentrification of Chinese cuisine reaches new heights of absurdity in this self-consciously chic restaurant, the second effort of owner chef Michael Kang. The restaurant is visually stunning but often comes up short in the taste department: Many dishes are precious and ill-conceived. The signature deep-fried catfish is excellent, and some imaginative dishes work well. Curried beef spring rolls are delightful. Kung pao three, with chicken, scallops and shrimp, is too. Desserts also are fine. Pity they don’t serve humble pie.

* The Towers, in the Surf and Sand Hotel, 155 S. Coast Highway, Laguna Beach. (714) 497-4477. Open daily for breakfast and lunch and for dinner from 5:30 p.m.

It’s a task to upstage the commanding sweep of the California coastline at the Towers, a Laguna Beach restaurant perched atop a beachfront hotel. New executive chef Jackson Kenworth tries his mightiest. He came from Citrus in Los Angeles, and he shows his mettle in a variety of dishes. Home-cured salmon is a delight, served in bite-sized nubs. Sea scallops in a Citrus-like potato risotto are sensational. Warm short rib terrine with vegetables in a mustard vinaigrette is as original as they come.

* Capers, 34150 Coast Highway, Dana Point. (714) 661-3983. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5 to 10 p.m.

Capers is a bright new seafood restaurant occupying the site of the former Dana Trader, and it has a beachy, casual air well suited to the location. The food isn’t half bad when the kitchen plays it straight, but the kitchen tries too hard to be creative, often with disastrous results. There is a noble, garlicky Caesar, not for wimps, some fair broiled fish and several good shrimp dishes. Be wary of the ill-conceived attempts at nouvelle , especially anything with the horrid lime dipping sauce, coconut batter--or capers, the restaurant’s signature condiment.

* Ten Hu, 315 S. Magnolia Ave., Anaheim. (714) 826-9910. Open Tuesdays through Thursdays and Sundays 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 10.

Ten Hu doesn’t compare with Chinese restaurants in Chinatown or the San Gabriel Valley, but that shouldn’t put you off. Just remember that the steamed fish might be frozen. Winter melon soup with shredded chicken is a masterwork, and the Sichuan shrimps are particularly fine. It’s primarily a seafood restaurant, but you may do just as well with the non-seafood items such as the Peking spareribs or the mouth-watering rice noodle dishes. Stay away from the retro-Chinese standbys such as chop suey and egg foo young. They’re awful.

* Salud, 17401 Beach Blvd., Huntington Beach. (714) 842-1194. Open Sundays through Thursdays 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till midnight.

Salud, a new high-concept Mexican restaurant from Larry Cano, has an outlandish design that looks like a set Roger Corman might have used for a movie on Aztec discomania. All the trendy Mexican buttons are pushed: hand-shaken margaritas, ‘80s chiles, blue corn. Avoid the usual Meximush and head for the soups, grilled meats and desserts. Pozole verde is hominy and shredded chicken in broth, and it’s great. So is Ibarra chocolate bread pudding, little cubes of fudge soaked bread in a tequila orange cream sauce. Prices are reasonable.