The following are summaries of recent Times...

The following are summaries of recent Times restaurant reviews by Max Jacobson. Prices are based on average dinner costs for a party of two without wine. $--less than $15 $$--$15 to $39 $$$--$40 to $75 $$$$--more than $75 AMERICAN * Burrell’s Rib Cage, 305 N. Hesperian St., Santa Ana. (714) 835-9936. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Also at 1701 E. Mc Fadden Ave., J, Santa Ana. (714) 541-3073. Open Mondays through Thursdays 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays till 11 p.m., Sundays till 9 p.m. $

Wanna sample of what Magic Johnson and Richard Nixon say is the area’s best barbecue? Come on down to Burrell’s and see what the shouting is about. You’ll eat from plastic boxes in a dark smoky room and you’ll probably get sauce on your shirt. The good news is you won’t care. Beef brisket is as soft and lean as a baby’s cheek, and chopped pork shoulder is a symphony of textures. Save room for the especially terrific homemade sausage, crumbly and charred crisp. It’s what a food critic lives for.

CHINESE * China Muslim, 18331 E. Colima Road, Rowland Heights. (818) 810-2499. Open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. $

No one eats the rice at China Muslim, a restaurant just over the county line where the food of China’s rugged western provinces is well represented. Instead, everybody eats the sze ma da bing, a giant sesame bread served steaming hot from the oven. Try such halal (conforming to Islamic dietary law) dishes as fragrant shredded tripe, shallot rubbed chicken and lamb with pan fried noodle. An exotic, unusual restaurant.

INDIAN * Bukhara, 7954 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach. (714) 842-3171. Open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 5 to 10:30 p.m. $$

Bukhara may have a slightly generic menu but the cooking is generally fresh and honest. The lunch buffet is incredibly generous at a mere $5.95--five vegetable dishes, hot naan bread, onion bhaji and two chicken dishes. Evenings, tandoori appetizers are the best bet, even if they do suffer from an excess of food coloring. Sauced dishes are good too, even if they are all prepared with the same spices. Leave room for the kulfi ice cream, made from boiled milk and crushed nuts. It’s great.

MEXICAN * Colima, 130 N. Fairview, Santa Ana. (714) 836-1254. Open seven days a week, 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. $

Colima is your basic storefront Mexican restaurant but what comes out of the kitchen is far from ordinary. A woman named Lupe oversees the cooking and makes wonderful, hand-made tortillas daily. Her sons assist. Such fresh seafoods as snapper, shrimp, octopus, perch and catfish are the specialties, prepared in a variety of styles. Don’t miss the rompope, egg nog with a kick like a crazed burro.

THAI * Thainakorn, 24401 Ridge Route, Laguna Hills. (714) 586-0596. Open daily except Mondays from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Fridays through Sundays till 11 p.m. $$

Thainakorn of Laguna Hills is a surburban dinner house serving a smoothed over version of fare from northeast Thailand, normally one of the world’s hottest cuisines. Dine on standby Thai such as pat Thai noodles and sour shrimp soup or, better yet, specialties from the blackboard like crispy, exotically spiced Thai sausage, Chinese watercress with fermented soy, or wild boar in red curry paste. But leave the fire extinguisher at home.